Ray casting is a fundamental rendering technique in computer graphics that creates a 3D perspective from a 2D map, developed in the 1960s. It works by casting rays from pixels to calculate object intersections and is faster than ray tracing due to fewer computations, making it popular in early 3D video games. However, images produced by ray casting lack realism compared to those rendered with ray tracing, and not all shapes can be rendered due to geometric constraints.
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