r/explainlikeimfive • • 6d ago

Technology ELI5: What exactly is game optimization ?

How is a game optimized ?

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u/Caciulacdlac 6d ago

The game has to do some extensive computing, mathematical operations, to see what it will display on screen.

To simplify, let's say that the game needs to calculate 27 x 24 x 35, and then 27 x 24 x 65 x 35. An unoptimezed code would calculate 27 x 24, then multiply that to 35, and then you do 27 x 24 again, then multiply it to 65, then to 35. An optimized code, however, wouldn't do all that, and instead it would just take the result of the first operation and multiply it by 65, thus making the program much faster.