I Realized Most Game Details Are Actually Fake

I used to think everything was fully modeled. Then I looked closer at real games. Most details are an illusion — and that’s intentional. This post is part of my daily learning journey in game development. I’m sharing what I learn each day — the basics, the confusion, and the real progress — from the perspective of a beginner. On Day 50 of my game development journey, I learned how games fake details using textures instead of geometry . What I tried / learned today I learned that most games don’t model everything . Many small details are created using: Textures Normal maps Flat meshes instead of real geometry For example, items inside a refrigerator are often just flat planes with textures . They look 3D because normal maps fake depth and lighting. This approach saves a lot of performance , especially in large environments. I also learned that lighting still reacts correctly on these fake details, which helps sell the illusion. What confused me At first, I was confused about: How fake o