the method used to represent 3D objects as a collection of triangles not used in 2d The more the triangles, the more realistic the render will be Tessellation is not used in 2d graphics What is the importance of tessellation? https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/1936-what-is-tessellation-game-graphics Tessellation is a way of doubling [the triangles] on the graphics hardware – so what was two triangles becomes four, what was eight becomes sixteen, and so on. When we do that, that allows us to do things like displacement or smoothing and increase the apparent detail . This not only makes the surface look higher resolution, [but also adds] bumps and hills and valleys that weren't there before. You get a much higher fidelity surface.” -Alan Willard "Epic biases displacement in tessellation based on camera distance. A small object far away doesn't need to spend performance for [tessellation]. Think of a wall as a flat surface. You can do a l...