What does the term 'Culling' refer to in a game engine like Unity?

In the context of a game engine like Unity, 'Culling' specifically refers to the process of not rendering objects that are outside the camera's view. This optimization technique is crucial for enhancing performance and ensuring that the game runs smoothly, especially in complex scenes with many objects. By not rendering objects that players cannot see, resources are saved, which reduces the workload on the graphics processor and increases the overall frame rate.

Culling helps maintain high performance by focusing the rendering engine's efforts only on what is visible to the player, allowing for a more efficient use of processing power. This is particularly important in real-time applications like games, where maintaining a high frame rate is essential for a responsive and enjoyable user experience. The concept can be extended to various types of culling techniques, including frustrum culling, occlusion culling, and backface culling, all of which contribute to optimizing the rendering process and improving performance.