What does the term 'baking' refer to in Unity?

In Unity, the term 'baking' specifically refers to the process of pre-calculating lighting and shadows for a scene. This technique is employed to optimize performance by allowing the engine to store the lighting information in textures rather than calculating it in real-time during gameplay. As a result, baked lighting can make scenes look more visually appealing without placing a heavy load on hardware resources.

This method is particularly beneficial in scenarios where static objects do not change over time, as it allows for high-quality lighting effects with relatively low computational overhead. Baked shadows can enhance realism, making environments appear more immersive and well-crafted without needing to continually calculate lighting each frame.

In this context, while creating game assets, rendering high-resolution textures, and loading scenes dynamically are all important components of game development in Unity, they do not match the specific definition of 'baking' as it pertains to the pre-calculation of lighting and shadows.