Anisotropic filtering

Anisotropic filtering is like a magic eye trick that happens in video games. You know how if you look at something from the side or from far away it looks blurry or distorted? That's because our eyes can only see in one direction at a time, and so things that are angled or far away don't look as crisp.

Well, video game graphics work the same way. When you look at textures in a game, sometimes they can appear blurry or stretched out because your computer is trying to display them evenly, even if they're at an odd angle or far away. Anisotropic filtering is like putting on a special pair of glasses that helps your computer display those textures more clearly and accurately.

So, when you turn on anisotropic filtering in a game, you're telling your computer to use some fancy math to figure out which parts of the textures need to be stretched or displayed differently so that they look more realistic from all angles. This makes objects and surfaces in the game look smoother and more detailed, which can make the game feel more immersive.