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->''"...but can it run ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}''?"''
-->-- [[MemeticMutation Gamer (and hardware) in-joke]]

Whenever some new technology comes out, companies want to find ways to market their product. The best way to do it is to show it off. This usually happens in the PC hardware world where graphics card vendors put out tech demos to show it off. Or in an environment that's limiting, such as video game systems, smartphones, and tablets, a proof of concept to show that hey, that piece of hardware really can do it.

And what better way to show off the technology by having users interact with it in a fun way? This is where the Tech Demo Game comes in. As the name implies, it isn't ''just'' a tech demo; the developers behind it did their best to craft a full gameplay experience around whatever they're trying to show off.
* For PC games, this almost always means a game has ridiculously high hardware requirements, as it aims to give you the best graphics possible for the time-- this is the origin of the aforementioned ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'' meme.[[note]]Please note, this must be intentional and it must show, as [[PortingDisaster bad ports]] and poorly built games can also inadvertently push a computer to its limits.[[/note]]
* For other platforms, a tech demo-game usually aims to put a spotlight on a system's unique hardware: be it focusing on a single feature, or taking the player through everything the system has to offer (peripherals and accessories included).
Ultimately, the developers had something new they wanted to show off, or at the very least experiment with, and the game is primarily just an excuse to do so.

This Trope can have a Sliding Scale effect regarding how much of a tech demo it is versus how much of a game it is. While all of the examples below have ''something'' new and exciting that they're trying to show off, having progression, unlocks, variety, story, a fair length, and a series of levels that string together can help make it feel more like a game. The demo-est of tech demos meanwhile are often just a collection of five or so barely-related minigames focused around a particular gimmick that come across more as proof-of-concepts than anything substantial.

Note that this trope has nothing to do with the respective ''quality'' of a game: many games started with the motivation of being a tech demo end up as extremely well received classics for much more than just their technical aspects. On the other hand, games that prioritize new technology at the expense of other aspects like gameplay or story may find themselves forgotten or even CondemnedByHistory as their technical innovations [[TechnologyMarchesOn are inevitably surpassed]].

Compare DancingBear, WreakingHavok, and SelfContainedDemo.

----
!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Arcade]]
Before the PC positioned itself in the [=2010s=] as the high performance gaming platform of today, arcade games were well-known for being capable of doing things that consumer hardware couldn't do, or at least without being prohibitively expensive for consumers. From the manufacturer's perspective, their large physical size makes it much easier to just cram tons of big iron in a fridge-sized cabinet instead of having to spend billions of dollars developing a pint-sized graphical powerhouse; from the owner's perspective, it's OK to pay thousands of dollars for a single arcade machine if said machine will generate revenue and eventually pay itself off, especially if it's a highly attractive-looking game with crowd-drawing next-generation graphics; and for the final customer, the comparatively low price of a single arcade credit makes next-generation graphics so much more accessible to the player.\\
\\
While consoles and [=PCs=] of today can match arcade games in terms of performance, and modern arcade games use PC-based architecture, modern arcade games can still provide an experience that's impractical or expensive to replicate at home. After all, what sounds more attractive to the average consumer: Going to an arcade to try the latest game with killer graphics and unique controls for $1, or spending $600 on a specialized controller (the alternative being extremely clumsy controls on a standard controller) for a game one is not sure of just yet?
* ''VideoGame/IRobot'' provided a demonstration of 3D raster graphics. It even had a minigame ''Doodle City''.
* ''VideoGame/HardDrivin'' is seemingly the first 3D racing game. The 3D board it featured was actually quite huge, looking like several modern-day computer motherboards stacked.
* ''VideoGame/VirtuaRacing'', Sega's first 3D arcade game, was originally designed as a proof-of-concept demo for the state-of-the-art polygonal graphics hardware on which ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'', ''Wing War'' and ''Star Wars Arcade'' would also run. It was released in '''1992'''. A time when the Platform/SegaMegadrive and the Platform/{{SNES}} were the most powerful home consoles available.
* The Model 3 hardware developed by Sega and Lockheed Martin could be considered Tech-Demo Hardware. The games released for it -- ''[[VideoGame/DaytonaUSA S.C.U.D Race]]'' (''[[MarketBasedTitle Sega Super GT]]'' [[MarketBasedTitle in North America]]), ''[[VideoGame/VirtuaFighter Virtua Fighter 3]]'', ''[[VideoGame/DaytonaUSA Daytona USA 2]]'', ''The Lost World: Jurassic Park'', ''Star Wars Trilogy Arcade'', etc. -- were released in the mid to late '90s, a time when the best-looking graphics you could get on home consoles came from the [[Platform/PlayStation PS1]] and [[Platform/Nintendo64 N64]]. These games boasted visuals that surpassed those of even most early Platform/SegaDreamcast and Platform/PlayStation2 titles! It helps that the hardware used for the Model 3 and its predecessor used technology derived from Lockheed Martin's flight simulators, which was no small expense--arcade operators who went by the bleeding edge would have to spend quite a fortune on a Model 3 machine.
* ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}'' shows off three screens side-by-side being used for one game, resulting in an aspect ratio of 4:1 (12:3). The seamless look is achieved by having only one screen be upright while the other screens are laid on their backs and reflected at the player with a mirror, eliminating the problem of the screens' bezels getting in the way. ''Darius II'' comes in both this configuration and a more compact 2-screen 8:3 setup, and much later, ''Dariusburst Another Chronicle'' brings this setup back (after Taito decided to go with just one screen for ''Darius Gaiden'' and ''G-Darius'') but with widescreen monitors, for a 32:9 ratio.
* ''VideoGame/{{DJMAX}} Technika'' is one of the first arcade games to use an infrared touchscreen. Infrared touchscreens allow for multiple touches at once like capacitive touchscreens used on smartphones and smart tablets, but do not require that the user's hands be bare in order to operate. The same technology would later be used in other arcade games such as ''VideoGame/ReflecBeat'' and ''VideoGame/{{maimai}}''.
* ''VideoGame/{{Galaxian}}³'' was a theme park attraction that ran for ten years and used a 360-degree screen powered by 16 projectors and up to ''28 players'' on ''two floors'' playing the RailShooter game at once. This game would later be [[AdaptationDistillation distilled]] into a much more arcade-friendly but still impressive form with two screens and a 6-player capacity, and was billed as the "World's Largest Arcade Game!"
* ''VideoGame/SilentScope'' features a screen inside of the sniper rifle controller's scope, and players have to actually look into the scope at this mini-screen to reliably shoot their targets.
* ''VideoGame/Police911'' is basically the answer to the question, "What if there was a game like ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'', but you actually had to move your body to dodge attacks rather than using a pedal?" It's one of the first arcade games to use sensors that detect the player's bodily movements, years before the introduction of Microsoft's Kinect peripheral. ''Mocap Boxing'' by the same company uses largely the same technology, but in a boxing game.
* ''VideoGame/{{DoDonPachi}} II: Bee Storm'' was mostly just developed to show off the [=PolyGame=] Master arcade hardware, and was outsourced to Taiwanese company IGS. Creator/{{CAVE}}, the developer of the series, would later make a proper ''DDP'' game, ''[=DoDonPachi=] dai ou jou'', for the same hardware, having seen that the hardware is capable of handling such a game.
* ''VideoGame/{{RayForce}}'' for the Taito F3 hardware is designed to show off the hardware's sprite scaling and rotating properties, with scenic fly-bys of space stations and descents to Earth and its layers of rock that would do the Super NES proud.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{GITADORA}} GUITARFREAKS 8thMIX & drummania 7thMIX]]'' were the first games to use Konami's [=eAMUSEMENT=] online service, one of the first instances of cloud networks for video game player data. This allows the player to have their records, unlocks, etc., on any machine connected to the network, without needing to store it locally (i.e. in a floppy disk, controller memory card, or some other form of removable media) or having it be protected by a username and PIN but only limited to the machine the account was made on.
* The dance stage on ''VideoGame/DanceRush'' is basically an infrared touch panel (similar to those of ''DJMAX Technika'' and ''CHUNITHM''), except for the players' feet.
* The dedicated cabinet for ''VideoGame/XMen1992'' -- the Konami arcade game -- is best known for using the same 2-screen setup as ''Darius II'', as well as accomodating ''six'' players at the same time.
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Neowave'' was created so that SNK Playmore could test out the new Atomiswave hardware before the next mainline game. Unfortunately, this means that they didn't try very hard with the game itself, as other than the return of Saisyu as a playable character and a young Geese Howard, the roster is ripped character for character from ''KOF 2002'', along with everyone's sprites, and the game is another relatively plotless DreamMatchGame like ''2002'' (there isn't even a single line of written dialogue in the game.)
* The ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' series was this for Creator/{{Capcom}}'s [=CPS3=] arcade board. The series' FinalBoss, Gill, had an asymmetric [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation half-red half-blue]] character design that averted SpriteMirroring specifically to show off the graphical capabilities of the [=CPS3=].
* Before unleashing ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'' on arcades, Creator/MidwayGames put out ''VideoGame/WarGods'' as a sort of proof-of-concept as well as to test the fighting engine, by using the game engine from ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' and putting it in a 3D environment where side-stepping and 3D movement are possible. While ''War Gods'' was critically panned, Midway would learn from that criticism to make improvements to the engine and gameplay for ''[=MK4=]''. To quote WebVideo/{{SCXCR}}, "''Mortal Kombat 4'', [[TwoAndAHalfD while 3D graphically, had 2D fighting.]]"
* ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'' was the first video game with fully texture-mapped 3D graphics, coming out a year after ''Virtua Fighter''. It ran at a silky smooth 60fps at a 640x480 resolution, no small feat for a 3D game in 1993, thanks to hardware co-developed by Evans and Sutherland, who were designing advanced 3D chips for medical and military fields. It set the bar for 3D graphics that other 3D games of the '90s would be measured to. The hardware that powered this game was so ahead of its time that Namco continued to use it for three more years. Its launch-day Platform/PlayStation port wound up being a tech demo for that system as well, showing off how close it could get to the cutting-edge of the arcades.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:PC]]
After the arcade market fell out of fashion in the Western hemisphere starting the [=2010s=], the PC evolved to fill the void left behind by the powerful arcade machines. Unlike consoles, which are developed as one single monolithic device that can only be purchased whole, high performance [=PCs=] are typically purchased by their individual components and then assembled together; as a result, companies can focus all their individual resources towards developing extremely high-performance models of one specific piece of hardware, all of that while simultaneously keeping a comparatively low barrier for the final customer to enjoy next-generation graphics (if your CPU and RAM are decently powerful, you can purchase a graphics card that doesn't cost much more than a current generation console yet greatly surpasses them in pure graphical power). The large size of a standard ATX PC and its roots as a business machine mean the PC typically has much better ventilation and more room for big iron infrastructure than a console -- the heat caused by raw horsepower and the large amounts of electricity it requires are simply not a concern when water-cooled [=GPUs=], 20 cm case fans and kilowatt power sources are available.\\
\\
Whereas consoles have tightly sealed and locked architectures that do not allow any programming outside of their official frameworks, the PC is a wide open architecture where the developer can even directly control both CPU and hardware with assembly code. And on top of that, whereas developing a game for future consoles is impossible because console technologies change dramatically with each new release, developing a game for future computers ''is'' possible, because computer technologies can easily remain with active support for as long as 10 years -- running a [=PS2=] game on a [=PS4=] Pro is impossible without an emulator, but running a Windows 7 game on Windows 10 with no special configuration is usually still possible. These factors combined have led many PC game publishers to develop games specifically intended to squeeze all the power a PC can deliver -- in some cases, even going as far as making games intended to be run on hardware from 5 years and onwards.
* Taking a first-person game and squeezing it into 96kb of space is what ''.kkrieger'' did. And with high-end graphics, too.
* ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}''. When released in 2007, only a handful of computers could actually handle the "High" setting at 1280x800. Even fewer could run the "Very High" setting at 1280x800 above 10FPS. [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]] summarized it best, saying that the game must have been designed for some ultra high-tech supercomputer ''from space''. Although the lower settings could perform well and still look better than most games at the time. All the way through ''2013'', it was still used to benchmark new hardware.
** One pitfall with ''Crysis'' was that it was coded with the assumption that CPU clock speeds would progressively increase over time, as what Intel once boasted when they were still marketing Netburst. This didn't pan out. Clock speeds stagnated over the past decade, and CPU's evolved to have more cores and simultaneous multithreading. ''Crysis'' can utilize multiple cores to some extent, but it mostly expects a single core to do pretty much everything, and not even a top-tier Threadripper a decade and a half later has the per-core speed the game erroneously predicted. This accounts for why the ScrappyLevel "Ascension" was removed on the console releases, as it was too resource-intensive even on PC.
** The ''[[Videogame/MechWarrior MechWarrior Living Legends]]'' GameMod wrenched up ''Crysis''[='=]s tech-demo status to another level, being capable of bringing all but the most godlike computers to their knees (on "Ultra" graphics) when it first came out - with ''much'' larger levels than ''Crysis'', more effects, vehicles, and 32 players. Later optimization updates and the switch to running on the more optimized engine used by ''[[ExpansionPack Crysis Warhead]]'' brought significant improvements to performance.
** ''VideoGame/Crysis2'', while still quite heavy-duty graphically, was criticized for being somewhat "nerfed" in terms of graphics. In response to this criticism, ''Crysis 3'' was once again developed with a no-holds-barred, "fry-your-GPU" mentality. The game was published in February 2013, but couldn't be played reliably in 4K with maximum detail at 60 FPS until mid-2018 when the Geforce RTX 2080 Ti hit the shelves.
** ''Crysis Remastered'' [[https://www.pcgamer.com/crysis-remastered-can-it-run-crysis/ ups the ante]] with its highest graphical setting literally called "[[IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels Can it run Crysis?]]". This setting means infinite view distance, no asset pop-up, always maximum level of detail, and absolutely no tampering with the full, untransformed graphics to ease the load on the GPU. As of September 2020, ''literally not even a Geforce RTX 3090 can squeeze 30 FPS out of Crysis Remastered on that setting at 4K''. Though some argue that the game is just poorly optimized, as while it does utilize multiple CPU cores more than the original, it's still largely expecting a single core to do the heavy lifting.
** An extremely JustifiedTrope in this case. ''VideoGame/FarCry1'', ''Crysis'' and ''Crysis 2'' were all developed specifically to show off the first three versions of the [=CryEngine=]. This trend was dropped for a while, with the engine being given incremental updates rather than big new versions. It started again on a slightly lower key with ''The Climb'' being developed to show off the new [=CryEngine=] V in VR, although this was more of a traditional tech demo rather than a full game that also functioned as one.
* ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}''
** ''VideoGame/Battlefield1942''. In order to take advantage of the large draw distance (which was unheard of at the time), one needed 1GB of RAM for maximum draw distance. The trouble is, RAM was expensive back then, and most of the world was fine on 256MB.
** ''VideoGame/Battlefield3'' has no ability to use Platform/DirectX 9. This means it is not playable on Windows XP machines. It was arguably one of the first applications that had a real impact in driving people to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7.

* ''VideoGame/{{Cryostasis}}'' had extremely advanced fluid simulation on release. Ironically, newer computers have a ''lot'' of trouble running the game thanks to a lack of multi-core processor support.
* ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander'':
** The game has much greater multi-core support than most games, with performance scaling heavily with the number of cores.
** Somewhat less conspicuously, it is also one of the few games that can accommodate multiple monitors in a useful way. It, along with ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'', was also one of the first mainstream games to seriously interact with [[http://www.anandtech.com/show/2272/4 the user space address limitations on memory]], making the movement to LARGE_ADDRESS_AWARE and eventually 64-bit operating systems becoming relevant to normal users.
* Many of Creator/IdSoftware's games has started off (before further development) as an excuse to show off whatever piece of technology Creator/JohnCarmack had just recently mastered:
** ''VideoGame/CommanderKeen'' was made to show off the smooth-scrolling graphics engine, which was once thought only to be possible on systems with dedicated scrolling hardware, and was previously used to develop a proof-of-concept game resembling ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' (that was never released). The [=SMB3=] demo was initially pitched to Nintendo in hopes of getting a home computer conversion to be approved, but Nintendo unsurprisingly declined.
** ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' and ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' were made when Carmack decided to one-up Looking Glass Studios and their ''VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld'' series' 3D visuals. Carmack claimed he could make a ''faster'' renderer, not a ''better'' one. ''Ultima Underworld'' and ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' were far more punishing on the hardware of their era than even ''Doom'' was.
** ''VideoGame/{{Quake|I}}'' was the company's first fully-3D game, and explicitly demanded to be run on the then-recently launched Intel Pentium processor. Its experimental support for hardware accelerated graphics was one of the major factors driving the introduction of graphics cards to the consumer market.
** ''VideoGame/QuakeII'' showed off a brand new game engine with colored lighting, and like ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}'' five months later, spurred more and more consumers to buy graphics acceleration cards.

** ''VideoGame/Doom3'' has extremely complex lighting that requires either a Geforce 4 Ti 4800 or an ATI Radeon 9800XT, which were the most powerful [=GPUs=] at the time of the game's release. Its lighting was complex enough that the original version still looks impressive from the standpoint of lighting and shadow effects and in-game screen rendering, well over 10 years after its release back in 2004.
** In turn ''VideoGame/QuakeIV'' stressed processing power due to its more wide open spaces and more advanced shading than ''Doom 3''.
** ''VideoGame/Rage2011'' is basically a demonstration of their new id Tech 5 engine, and especially its ''Virtual Texturing'' feature (an improvement on the [=MegaTexture=] technology developed earlier).
** ''Videogame/Doom2016'' didn't really introduce anything ground breaking at first on initial release, but it was the game's inclusion of the Vulkan API render path in an update that showed just how superior Vulkan was -- which was at the time just recently open sourced by AMD -- compared to the previous go-to open source graphics API which was [=OpenGL=]. This allows even lower midrange video cards to achieve 60 FPS at 1080p on the highest quality settings.
** ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' refines and streamlines the previous iteration's game engine, and is one of the few, if not only, games that has a 4-digit frame rate cap (1000). [[note]]Frame rate caps are emplaced usually beacuse this is the fastest the game's logic will run. Adjusting this will cause weird things like physics to not work properly. Most games rarely go above 200[[/note]] The efficiency of the engine is such that it can run on the Platform/NintendoSwitch.
* ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}''[='s=] graphics were near-unparalleled at the time of its release and various setpieces were intentionally designed to show off things its competitors couldn't do. For instance, the first level was set in a crashed prison ship with the sort of dingy brown and grey textures you'd seen in the original ''VideoGame/QuakeI''... and then you set foot out in the open world, with vibrant greens and blues and draw distances that surpassed anything seen before. It also played a major part in heavily increasing the sales of graphics accelerators.
* ''VideoGame/ShatteredHorizon'' has very advanced benchmarking tools. Not surprising when it's from the same developer responsible for the ''[=3DMark=]'' line of benchmarks. On top of this, it requires [=DirectX=] 10, and by extension Windows Vista or later.
* ''VideoGame/{{Audiosurf}}'' is a less traditional demo. It shows off its developer's interactive audio visualizer.
** Ditto with ''The Polynomial - Space of the music''.
* ''VideoGame/SeriousSam'' came with various attempts to show off its engine (there's even a built-in tech map, accessible from the menu, which is literally a gallery of the engine's graphic effects). For this reason, the game was actually positioned in most markets as a budget title, retailing for half the price of other PC shooters.
* ''VideoGame/MicrosoftFlightSimulator X'' is sometimes accused of this. Nowadays, a budget gaming PC can run it on full settings with minimal lag. When it was released... [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B000GBPLYI/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_summary?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending less so.]]
** The Microsoft Flight Simulator series was always designed with future hardware in mind as a means of "future-proofing" the software. The problem with FSX is that the developers made the wrong prediction about where the hardware market was headed. They thought that CPU's would stay single core while becoming progressively faster, and so FSX is wholly unable to take advantage of the multicore CPU's that were starting to become prevalent at the time; it also doesn't help that the software is largely CPU bound and only uses the GPU for rendering the final image. The developers also missed the boat (plane?) on 64-bit, and to this day the software continues to be plagued by the infamous "out of memory" error, especially if the user is running a lot of third-party add-ons.
** The original ''Microsoft Flight Simulator'' was a benchmark test for IBM PC compatibility, along with Lotus 1-2-3. Computer magazines would test IBM PC clones with both programs, as it was assumed that if a computer could run them, it could run every other IBM PC program.
** 2020's ''Microsoft Flight Simulator'', meanwhile, is a showcase of ProceduralGeneration technology as well as cloud computing. The game uses Microsoft Azure AI to comb through data from Bing Maps and [=OpenStreetMap=] to autonomously generate a 1:1 scale replica of Earth, while cloud computing is used to give that replica a level of texture detail and real-time weather information that would not be possible if the entire game had to be stored on your computer.
* In an example not related to high system requirements, Microsoft had a problem on their hands when convincing game developers to leave behind DOS in the mid-90s: the idea of making games for Windows made them wince. Intent on correcting their past mistakes, they heavily prioritized making Windows 95 a gaming-friendly platform, and a handful of titles released near its launch were made to help prove that viability:
** ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' for Windows 95 was the first game ever released to use [=DirectX=], then called the Windows Games SDK, and proved the game could run just as smoothly natively on the platform as it could in DOS, with numerous user-friendly enhancements too.
** The Windows 95 port of ''VideoGame/PitfallTheMayanAdventure'' was released to prove that a sidescrolling platformer could work just as well on Windows as it could on specialized console hardware, all while using the same enhanced graphics from the [=32X=] port while delivering a rock-solid 60 frames per second.
** ''VideoGame/Fury3'' was also released very close to the launch of the operating system, and demonstrated a rather impressive fully 3D engine all running in a resizable window and fully integrated into the Windows desktop environment, something very unheard of at the time.
* When the first installment of ''VideoGame/IL2Sturmovik'' came out in 2001, it was the most advanced combat flight sim of that day, both on a physics level and a graphics level. While it wasn't a game few computers could run, it certainly required a quality rig to get full enjoyment of the game. Some of the highest graphics settings in the game only became fluidly usable several years later, when most home ordinary gaming [=PCs=] caught up in their average performance. While the graphics of the series' first generation have grown more dated after over a decade, the games in the series still have a technically impressive physics and damage model, as well as highly realistic audio.
* A lot of games by the defunct Rage Software really showed off the capabilities of then-current 3D technology. ''VideoGame/{{Expendable}}'' and especially ''VideoGame/{{Incoming}}'' were often bundled with graphic cards.
* ''Space Manbow'' showed off the graphical capabilities of the {{Platform/MSX}}2+, in particular its smooth horizontal scrolling.
* ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' based its entire art style around the Beast global illumination software, which simulates indirect lighting to make colorful scenes look almost photorealistic.[[note]]The Beast GI system used in the game refers to ''baked'' global illumination, not the real-time GI as seen in ''VideoGame/Battlefield3'''s Frostbite 2.[[/note]] While the game itself sold poorly, GI later became a standard feature of Unreal Engine 3 and is used in games like ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' and ''VideoGame/InfinityBlade''.
* ''VideoGame/{{Vette}}'', being one of the very first true 3D PC games (and [[UrExample the first]] WideOpenSandbox driving game), severely choked hardware of the time at full detail.
* ''VideoGame/{{Outcast}}'' had gorgeous environments, bump-mapping, great particle effects, and even very good-looking water... but it brought 1999-era computers down to their knees because since the terrain was "height field with some software raycasting" (commonly mistaken for voxels), it wasn't compatible with 3D accelerator cards, thus using a software-rendered engine that took a heavy toll on the slow [=CPUs=] of the time.
* Say what you will about ''VideoGame/JurassicParkTrespasser'', but it had a lot of concepts that soon became standard for FPS games. As well as a tendency to make computers chug framerates down to the single digits when copious amounts of blood was on screen.
* The Source Engine tends to get a game just to demonstrate a new feature.
** Creator/ValveSoftware treats the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' series this way, with each installment focusing on pushing games in some way. In ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'', it was scripted storytelling with no cutscenes. For ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', physics-based animation was a focus, hence why there's a gun that can pick up and fire objects, while Episode Two explored natural settings like rivers and forests. ''VideoGame/HalfLifeAlyx'' pushes the boundaries of Virtual Reality gameplay.
** ''Half-Life 2: Lost Coast'' featured the newly developed HDR and was specifically designed to show off these features with its shiny beaches, dark and light areas and bright sunlight.
*** Playing with the developer commentary makes this even better, with real time demonstrations of the engine.
** When the ''Orange Box'' came out, Valve added a bunch of cinematic stuff to the engine. Most notably the physics in the opening scene of ''Episode 2'' and the trailers for ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''.
** ''VideoGame/Left4Dead''[='=]s most visible feature was the touted "AI Director", which dynamically adjusted what was going on in the game based on the performance of the players. ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' would improve upon the AI Director and the game was also a test for the dismemberment effect on the cannon fodder zombies when they were hit at specific body parts.
** ''VideoGame/Portal2'' and ''VideoGame/CounterStrike Global Offensive'' touched on lighting effects.
** Before submerging deep into the virtual reality ocean with ''VideoGame/HalfLifeAlyx'', Valve released two VR tech demos loosely within the ''Portal'' universe. The first, known as ''The Lab'', is specifically a tech demo for the HTC Vive, hardware that Valve assisted during development and that works out of the box in Steam. The second, known as ''Moondust'', is a tech demo for the Knuckles [=EV2=] controller, which was developed by Valve and allows much better input on virtual reality games, including detecting when a specific finger on your hand is moved and how hard your grip is on the controller.
* ''VideoGame/GoreUltimateSoldier'' was made by 4D Rulers with a heavy eye on the ''Doom''[=/=]''Quake'' development model. The game was a showcase for the developer's [=AMP=] engine, which they hoped to license out heavily and make a killing. However, the game's reception was mediocre, and the only other games ever made with the engine were budget shooters from 4D Rulers themselves that are universally regarded as terrible, namely ''Patriots: A Nation Under Fire'' and ''Secret Service: Security Breach''. That said, ''Gore'' had a competent, ''Quake''-style single-player campaign (something ''Quake III'' and ''Unreal Tournament'' didn't even bother with), even if it cut corners a bit by heavily re-using models and levels from the multiplayer.
** For its part, ''[[VideoGame/SecretService Secret Service: Security Breach]]'' had advanced graphical features including bump-mapping and real-time lighting a full year before ''VideoGame/Doom3'' brought them into the mainstream.
* The Ur-UrExample: back in 1961, some guys at MIT were trying to work out how best to demonstrate the capabilities of the new PDP-1 computer they'd got from DEC. They decided to cook up a test program; quoth the author, "the team's PDP-1 test program was built upon three fundamental tenets. Firstly, the program had to use as many of the computer's resources as possible and push it to the limit. Secondly, it had to be interesting and, as much as possible, unique upon every run. Thirdly, it had to be engaging and interactive. In short, it had to be a game." That game? ''VideoGame/SpaceWar''.
* If you believe the promo video, ''VideoGame/StarCitizen'' is partly intended by its developer to be a demonstration that [[MediaNotes/PCVsConsole [=PCs=] can bring more hardware power to creating realistic graphics than consoles can]]. Unlike ''Crysis'' its recommended system requirements are met by most of the higher-end [=PCs=] currently on the market, but are expected to overpower even the upcoming eighth-generation consoles. Brave souls wishing to test motherboard-based graphics against the initial alpha releases were advised to [[ExplosiveOverclocking "keep a fire extinguisher on standby"]], and after the launch of the Hangar Module, at least one alpha-tester reported that rendering the hangar caused his video card to ''melt''.
** Part of this is because the game runs on a modified version of [=CryEngine=] 3, the same engine used by Crysis 3.
** Unfortunately, the game has been going through a somewhat idiosyncratic version of DevelopmentHell. While it could certainly stress any PC at the time of its Kickstarter funding, five years down the line with no release in sight it's looking more and more likely that when it is eventually finished it will not be anything special, running an already-outdated engine that will be happy on any low-end PC.
* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' and its intent to create the most detailed and accurate simulation of real-world weather and geology possible with ProceduralGeneration might also count, depending on what you're trying to do in it. Handling the pathfinding of 100+ dwarves and their pets, or draining a large volume of water, will certainly give your poor comp a kick in the processor. Handling spring thawing, or winter freezing, is another infamous lagbomb, though thankfully a short one. And all of this using only ''ASCII characters'' for graphics. Most of the really advanced fortresses in the game tend to be abandoned/retired not because of a crisis, but because the Frames Per Second started hitting single digits and wouldn't go back up, slowing the game to a bit of a crawl.
* ''[[Videogame/BattleZone1998 BattleZone II]]'' shipped with over-the-top requirements to fuel its [[SceneryPorn unmatched graphics]]. In fact, the strain it put on reviewer's computers was one of the chief criticisms on its release.
* ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIVThePerilsOfRosella'' was a showcase for Creator/{{Sierra}}'s newest game engine, the Sierra Creative Interpreter or SCI. It was also the first game to support sound cards like the Ad-lib and Roland MT-32. Both cards were thus widely supported by game developers in the late '80s and early '90s. Likewise, ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder'' was one of the first games to feature full voice acting on the CD-ROM version and full 256-color VGA graphics. Too bad they used an amateur voice cast.
* ''VideoGame/RepublicTheRevolution''. If you spend any time in the rooftop view (3D mode), it becomes painfully obvious that the game's engine, codenamed "Totality", was intended to simulate the life of an entire city in full detail, down to the individual street names, cars, and every single [[VideoGameAI artificially-intelligent]] resident. Unfortunately, while the simulation part was largely successful (after all, the director and lead designer [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demis_Hassabis Demis Hassabis]] later went on to work on general artificial intelligence), the devs had failed to use it for any gameplay more gripping than a rather bland, repetitive, and overly-complex EuroGame. As a result, most of the game time is spent in the RiskStyleMap of the city, while the intricate simulation running in the background goes mostly unnoticed and unused.
* ''VideoGame/{{Boneworks}}'' is often held up more as a series of VR physics demonstrations tied loosely together rather than as a coherent game. It released before the seminal ''VideoGame/HalfLifeAlyx,'' was built by a smaller team, and beat many of ''Alyx''[='=]s mechanics to the punch.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Forza}} Forza Motorsport 6: Apex]]'' was a free version of ''Forza Motorsport 6'' released on PC with a sampling of the main game's content, essentially existing as a trial run for not just future ''Forza'' games appearing on PC, but for Creator/XboxGameStudios releases in general.

* When ''Franchise/{{Lego}} Builder's Journey'' came out on Apple Arcade, it was pretty enough for the platforms it ran on. When it came to PC and consoles, the presentation was overhauled with support for full ray-tracing for PC's with compatible graphics cards. With the game's simple, relatable premise and the high amount of individually toggleable RT options, it makes for a very effective showcase of how ray-tracing can change a game's look beyond adding more accurate reflections.
* ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon'' was a notorious system hog back in its 2005 release, due to its impressive but highly demanding lighting, absurd amount of particle effects, and top-shelf texture and object work. Before ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'', it was generally the go-to for PC benchmarking - unlike that game, however, just about any modern gaming rig will happily chew through ''F.E.A.R.'' on max settings without breaking a sweat.[[note]]That said, you might need to install [[https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/789-directinput-fps-fix/ this]] fan-made fix to get it running correctly; otherwise, it likes to start dropping frames on more modern hardware, to say nothing of the expansions crashing on trying to load later levels.[[/note]] The sequels, while both technically competent for the time, unfortunately fell short of the standard the first game had set, primarily due to being designed more for consoles.
* A much-ballyhooed feature in the somewhat controversial third-person action-adventure game ''VideoGame/{{Messiah}}'' was that of its tessellation system which Creator/ShinyEntertainment heavily promoted in its official literature. There was practically no limit to the detail artists can work on with the models, averaging around ''300,000 to 500,000 polygons''! Of course, given the constraints of the time, these models would have to be simplified on the fly depending on the system being played on, the main point being that the game would be future-proof at least to an extent. In practice however, Shiny's technology was more ambitious than it need to be, and it shows in its framerate and the rather average environmental models.
* ''VideoGame/UltimaVII'' was the first game to require the 486 processor instead of the older 386, and was so large and complex that it had to use unorthodox memory management to get around [=DOS's=] limitations.
* ''VideoGame/SpaceStation13'' was originally made as a tech demo for simulating air physics, before slowly evolving into a role-playing game (the [[TabletopRPG tabletop kind]], that is).
* When NVIDIA released its RTX 20 series cards, where the key feature was real-time ray tracing and AI upscaling, various games that used these features were heavily marketed by NVIDIA To show off what it could do
** ''Videogame/BattlefieldV'' was one of the few "launch titles" for NVIDIA's RTX graphics cards, which show cased ray traced reflections and the AI upscaling DLSS.
** ''VideoGame/MetroExodus'' was released in 2019 for PC and console, and, technically, was just a game. Then in April 2021 the developers, who were clearly keen to present a ray tracing showcase, released the "Enhanced Edition", which can only run on a PC with hardware ray tracing.
** A few months after NVIDIA released the RTX series of graphics cards, a modified version of ''Quake II'' called ''Quake II RTX'' was released. This changes the rendering engine to one that is completely ray traced (or more technically, path traced), showing a glimpse of what lighting effects can look like in games with such a rendering engine. It also has support for the ray tracing API's fall back mode, allowing non RTX NVIDIA cards to run it, though with obviously worse performance. While it initially used an NVIDIA only Vulkan extension to do ray tracing, it has since switched over to the Vulkan's standard so any GPU capable of ray tracing can run it.
** In addition to the above-mentioned RTX version of ''VideoGame/QuakeII'', a special RTX version of ''{{VideoGame/Minecraft}}'' was made specifically to show off what a fully ray-traced game could look like.
** ''VideoGame/WolfensteinYoungblood'' could count due to using a number of next-generation rendering features effectively. This includes real-time ray tracing, DLSS (a form of AI-enhanced upscaling), and variable rate shading (where certain blocks of the screen are rendered at a lower resolution). The result is that the RTX 2060 Super, the second lowest performing card that can do all of that, can almost manage a consistent 60 FPS at 1440p with everything turned on.
** ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'' started slating itself as the 2020s version of ''Crysis'', with AnalysisChannel Digital Foundry declared to have the best graphics of 2020. It was one of the poster children for NVIDIA's RTX features, including ray tracing and DLSS. As time went on, [=CDProjekt Red=] and NVIDIA started using it to add on whatever updates it just happened to push out for the RTX featureset, including DLSS 2.0 that brought improved AI upscaling, path tracing to increase how much detail ray tracing could do, DLSS 3.0 frame generation, and in the latest release, and DLSS 3.5 which brought improved ray tracing details. In addition, the game now uses up to 8-cores, which will bring even midrange [=CPUs=] to their knees
** ''{{VideoGame/Portal}}'' received the RTX update in the form of the appropriately named ''Portal RTX''. This was mostly to show off a tool that NVIDIA was working on called RTX Remix, which hijacks the rendering system of a game to do ray tracing instead. Since then, various [[https://www.moddb.com/platforms/rtx/mods mods using this]] are in development.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Console]]
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Nintendo Consoles ]]

* ''Gyromite'' and ''Stack-Up'' were made to give [[VideoGame/RoboticOperatingBuddy ROB]] something to do at the [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]'s launch.[[note]]Specifically, it was made as a way for Nintendo to market the NES as more of a sophisticated toy and/or an "Entertainment System"--after all, they did have to regain the trust of the mainstream public who had been understandably burned out with video games following the MediaNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983.[[/note]]
* ''VideoGame/DuckHunt'' is meant to make use of -- and advertise -- the NES Zapper peripheral.
* Enforced in ''VideoGame/MarioBros'', where the art direction of the arcade game was deliberately kept simple so the NES version could demonstrate how closely the system could reproduce arcade graphics of the time.
* ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'' can be noted for its fast-paced gameplay, virtually no slow down or flickering, and then advanced effects, such as the waving fire in Volkmire's Inferno and the rotating Dark Queen's Tower.
* Name any first-party [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super NES]] game. These games would show off the Mode 7 capabilities of the system, some more subtle than others. The two that made it most front and center were ''VideoGame/FZero1990'' and ''VideoGame/{{Pilotwings}}'', which both were launch titles. ''VideoGame/StarFox1'' touted the Super FX chip's polygon capabilities, and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland'' did the same for the Super FX-2 chip's sprite distortion (most memorably, the rotating moon in Raphael the Raven's boss fight).
* Further adding to the above, ''VideoGame/{{Pilotwings}}'' is a Tech Demo ''series''. Whenever it is released it shows off the latest graphical tricks, and all three of its installments were launch titles for their respective systems to further drive the point home.
* ''VideoGame/FZero'' could be considered Nintendo's other tech demo series. It's probably not a coincidence that Nintendo stopped producing new games in the series right around the time when they released the Wii and decided to stop pursuing the latest graphical technology.
** The first game showed off the SNES' pseudo-3D Mode 7.
** Even though its graphics were very simplistic with heavy amounts of distance fog, ''VideoGame/FZeroX'' ran in full 3D at a smooth 60 FPS with 30 racers on the track during a generation where most games struggled to hit 30 or even 20 FPS.
*** The ''Expansion Kit'' demonstrated what the [=64DD=] could've been capable of had it released under better circumstances. Demonstrating the increased capacity of disks over cartridges, it replaced the game's mono soundtrack with one with full stereo, as well as adding two extra cups with twelve all new tracks, a vehicle creator and even an in-depth track editor, supposedly based on one Nintendo used internally during the game's development. It also demonstrates the [=64DD's=] rewritable capabilities by allowing you to save up to 100 custom tracks on the disk and share them with friends.
** ''VideoGame/FZeroGX'' showed that the Platform/NintendoGameCube could run a 60 FPS high-speed racer ''without'' compromising graphics. It also demonstrates arcade-console connectivity. You can take a memory card with a ''GX'' save on it, plug it into an ''F-Zero AX'' machine, and unlock new content from the arcade game in ''GX''.[[note]]You can also do this without the arcade game, it's just really, ''[[NintendoHard really]]'' hard to do so.[[/note]]
* The original ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1'' was an effort to prove the aging SNES was capable of high-quality graphics. One executive mistook it for a Nintendo 64 title, it was that ahead of its time[[note]]Technically, the game isn't pushing the SNES' rendering capabilities any harder than normal, with the "3D" graphics being completely 2D sprites that were created from pre-rendered 3D models. ''VideoGame/{{Vectorman}}'' used the same gimmick on the Genesis/Megadrive[[/note]].
* The entire point of ''VideoGame/{{Uniracers}}'' was to demonstrate that the SNES could achieve the same rapid scrolling as the Sega Genesis. The game succeeds in this, but pulling it off also necessitated that the graphics and number of onscreen objects be reduced to a minimum to maintain the smooth scrolling at fast speeds, like stripping a Nissan Titan down to its drivetrain to show that it can go as fast as a Mustang GT.
* ''VideoGame/SuperDemoWorldTheLegendContinues'', a [[GameMod ROM Hack]] of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', was created to show off the abilities of Lunar Magic, a ROM editor.
** ''VideoGame/BrutalMario'', released a lot later, was unofficially considered one to show the capabilities of custom bosses and ASM modifications.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong94'' was Nintendo's main showcase for what the Platform/SuperGameBoy was capable of, having many exclusive features to its version of the game that weren't present in its vanilla Game Boy version: colorized sprites that make the game look almost like an NES title, higher-quality sampled voice clips, and a custom border that makes it look like you're playing on an arcade cabinet. ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2'' also made prominent use of the Super Game Boy's features by giving the game a plot-significant RainbowMotif and having similar features to ''Donkey Kong '94'' (custom colors, border, and audio).
* ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' not only showed off the Platform/Nintendo64's graphics, but it was also meant to show off the ''controller,'' being heavily designed around analogue movement -- a concept which, while not entirely unheard-of, was nevertheless in its infancy. As a side-effect, this brought to light a direct flaw in the N64's controller, in that it seemed at first to be built solely with ''Mario 64'' in mind and no other game. (Why would a 2D game need camera buttons?) But then developers figured out how to use the camera buttons as action buttons. For instance, they provided the classic 6-button layout for fighting games, and [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Zelda]] famously used them for quick access to your inventory.
* ''VideoGame/WaveRace'':
** ''Wave Race 64'' was made to show off the water effects of the N64, particularly the undulation of waves, which was impossible on earlier consoles.
** ''Wave Race: Blue Storm'' repeated the same feat on the [=GameCube=], showing even more impressive water effects, such as reflections, and improved graphics.
* ''VideoGame/StarFox64'': The game is programmed to show off the then-new tech of force feedback, supplied by the Rumble Pack controller accessory (One of which was packed in with the game). It demonstrates this technology by means of glorious, wonderful, dome-shaped explosions (as well as the expected feedback when you bump your ship into things).
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' displays several graphical effects unseen before and a ([[TechnologyMarchesOn then]]) large overworld with plenty of side-quests. This game was probably the most hardware-intensive game of its time - the developers were forced to program the game engine to run at just ''20 frames per second'' (~17 in the European/Australian version!).
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' was developed as a showcase of the Nintendo 64's Expansion Pak and the advanced graphical techniques it allowed, including dynamic lighting, and so came bundled it. (The Expansion Pak wasn't used by the game as a hackish patch for a GameBreakingBug as the PopCultureUrbanLegends [[https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/11/feature_donkey_kong_64_devs_on_bugs_boxing_and_20_years_of_the_dk_rap claimed]].)
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' showcased in a better light on what the Expansion Pak could do; not only the textures were better looking, but there was also a bigger draw distance, more polygons, and there was even motion blur.
** The N64 version of ''VideoGame/{{Turok}} 2'' was one of the first games for the system to use the Expansion Pak for high resolution textures, and its framerate was also rather sluggish.
* The Nintendo 64 version of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' deserves a mention. Imagine squeezing a game that needed 2 [=CDs=] (a total of about 1,300 megabytes[[note]]Both discs share most of the same assets since the only difference is your chosen character and their exclusive data, but we're still talking about over half a gigabyte in total.[[/note]]) down to 64 megabytes. Angel Studios, the development team behind the port, managed to find ways to cut down a lot of detail on various assets without it making look obvious. Notably, the game still has most of the [=FMVs=] intact, done so by reducing the resolution, color resolution, and reducing the frame rate (which this could be 'fixed' by blending two frames together to smooth out the animation). Another quirk was that various screens in the game would have differing resolutions due to backdrops being of various resolutions. But when playing this all on a CRT monitor, it isn't apparent these changes were happening at all. On top of this, they were able to add a few other features that weren't available on the original [=PlayStation=] release. One has to wonder if Angel Studios took this on simply to show off they could pull off the seemingly impossible.
** It's worth noting that Angel Studios was acquired by ''Creator/TakeTwoInteractive'' and renamed to Rockstar San Diego. They would later lead the development of not only the ''[[VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption Red Dead]]'' series of games, but also the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) that would power all of Rockstar's games from the 7th generation onward.
* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion1'' was this for the Platform/NintendoGameCube. Fire effects, water effects, ice effects, transparent, glowing ghosts, Luigi's flashlight, the Poltergust 3000's wind tunnel, cloth effects... it goes on. It shows off the high poly count by repeatedly showing off how round it can make locked doorknobs. (The doorknobs are also a jab at ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' and its DynamicLoading cutscenes with locked doors -- here, you can skip them immediately, showing the [=GameCube=]'s faster loading times.) Heck, it even shows off the analog shoulder buttons and the C-stick, as both are integral to the game. It was even a test for stereoscopic 3D at some point in development.
* ''[[VideoGame/RogueSquadron Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader]]'' was originally made as a tech demo in 1999 for the then-unreleased [=GameCube=]. After this tech demo received great praise from the audience viewing it at [=SpaceWorld=] 1999, the creators of the game, Factor 5, decided to make a full-fledged game out of the demo as part of the ''Rogue Squadron'' series.
* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}}'' was brought to life from the original [=GameCube=] tech demo, "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_128 Mario 128]]"; both the demo and the game were designed to showcase the [=GameCube's=] ability to both rapidly generate objects on the fly and run multiple dynamic [=AIs=] simultaneously.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' proudly showed off the [=GameCube=]'s ability to show detailed character models. Pausing in the middle of a match offer much more camera control to the player than ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros64'', letting them view each character from almost any angle; they can even take screenshots of these models and save them to the memory card. This is further accentuated by the presence of trophies, collectable 3D models that can be freely repositioned to look at each and every detail.
* The developers of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' stated in an interview that the game takes place in an ocean to show off the [=GameCube=]'s power and ability to render wind effects. The cloth physics engine that resulted is still impressive to this day.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'' was created to show how well the [=GameCube=] can handle water. It's one of the most impressive things about the game and to this day it still shows.
* Hiroyuki Kimura, who directed ''VideoGame/YoshiTouchAndGo'', made it for the Nintendo DS because he wanted to create a simple game that made use of its gameplay interfaces.
* ''VideoGame/WiiSports'' and ''VideoGame/WiiPlay'' show off the Platform/{{Wii}} Remote's motion abilities. ''Wii Sports Resort'' and ''VideoGame/WiiPlayMotion'' show off [=WiiMotion+=]. ''VideoGame/WiiFit'' shows off the Wii Balance Board, however it has yet to be implemented well in any other game.
** ''VideoGame/LinksCrossbowTraining'' was created to show off the potential of the Wii Zapper shell for {{Light Gun Game}}s, and came packaged with it. The game is basically a SpiritualSuccessor to the shooting minigame from ''Wii Play''.
* ''Videogame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' was further proof of concept the Wiimote could do FirstPersonShooter games.
* The release of [=PlayStation=] Move and Microsoft's Kinect resulted in variations on ''Wii Sports'' for those systems: ''Sports Champions'' on the [[Platform/PlayStation3 PS3]], and ''Kinect Sports'' on the Platform/XBox360.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'', while not a direct example, was used to show off several things not seen before in a Wii game, like the unique gravity system and [[SceneryPorn the amazing space opera-like scenery]]. Heck, the reason the minigames are there is probably to show off the controller!
* ''VideoGame/{{Elebits}}'', ''VideoGame/ZackAndWikiQuestForBarbarosTreasure'' and ''Rayman VideoGame/RavingRabbids'' were Creator/{{Konami}}, Creator/{{Capcom}} and Creator/{{Ubisoft}}, respectively, experimenting with the Wii Remote's unique controls. In fact, ''Raving Rabbids'' was going to be a mainline ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'' platformer rather than a MinigameGame until Creator/MichelAncel sat down and toyed with the Wiimote.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' was developed to showcase how accurate the [=WiiMotionPlus=] is, while still being comfortable for long playtimes. A good chunk of the development period was dedicated to deciding on a control scheme.
* High Voltage's ''VideoGame/TheConduit'' provides a showcase of their [=Quantum3=] engine, which can produce some pretty nice graphics on the Platform/{{Wii}}.
* ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii'' shows that Nintendo can put up to ''twelve players'' in a single online race. The 12-player format has since become the standard for ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' netplay.
* ''VideoGame/FASTRacingLeague'' shows that a full-fledged 3D racing game can be crammed into the 40 MB limitation of Platform/WiiWare games. Its sequel, ''VideoGame/FastRacingNeo'', later ported to the Switch as ''Fast RMX'', [[https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-vs-fast-racing-neo was praised by Digital Foundry]] for its graphical detail and use of advanced features like physically-based rendering and small footprint at just around 556 MB. It isn't entirely surprising as Creator/ShinenMultimedia was an offshoot of the {{Demoscene}} group Abyss, with its founding members applying what they have learned during their demoscene days.
* ''VideoGame/NintendoLand'' is ''Wii Sports''[='=] successor for the Platform/WiiU, showing off the new Wii U Game Pad. In fact, many of the minigames included in ''Nintendo Land'' were shown in prototype form as tech demos at E3 2011, when the Wii U was first announced. ''VideoGame/GameAndWario'', similarly made up of prototypes, was even considered as a preinstalled game on all new Wii U consoles.
* ''Wii Sports'', however, did eventually come to Wii U in the form of ''Wii Sports Club'', featuring novel uses of the Wii U [=GamePad=] such as displaying a golf ball on the screen for you to swing your Wii Remote over in the Golf game and using your [=GamePad=] to aim your swing in Baseball.
* ''VideoGame/ZombiU'' is the game to show how the Wii U's game pad will work in gameplay with a variety of different controls taking advantage of the inbuilt touch-screen and motion controls.
* ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero'', one of the final exclusive games released for the Wii U, also served as this for the gamepad. Despite releasing in the twilight years of the console's life, Miyamoto pushed for the game to have heavier controls revolving around the gamepad, feeling that not enough Wii U titles fully utilized it. This led to the gamepad serving as both the cockpit of the game and motion controls to aim. Ironically, the game's late release and poor reception had the opposite effect of what a Tech Demo Game is supposed to do, as instead of selling people on the Wii U and its gamepad, it was the final nail in the coffin that convinced people that the hardware was conceptually flawed.
* ''VideoGame/OneTwoSwitch'' is this for the Platform/NintendoSwitch. As one of the system's few launch titles, it was intended to show off the console's single Joy-Con playstyle, the motion controls, and the HD rumble (advanced haptic feedback) technology, in addition to experimenting with the idea of being a multiplayer video game where the players look everywhere but the screen.
* ''VideoGame/NintendoLabo'' takes what ''1-2-Switch'' started and asks players to put the Joy-Cons inside of other, homebuilt objects, demonstrating just how versatile the controllers' rumble, motion sensing and IR camera can be.
* ''VideoGame/RingFitAdventure'' also furthers what ''1-2 Switch'' started by having the player insert the Joy-Cons into exercise accessories so the features of the controllers could be used for fitness and tracking of bodily bio signs.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Sony Consoles ]]

* ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer'':
** The original was a bare-bones driving game that just so happened to show off the original Platform/PlayStation's 3D effects spectacularly. (The original arcade version did a lot more -- 60fps at 640x480 compared to the [=PS1=]'s 30fps and 320x240 -- but this was a time when a console being able to do 3D at all was jawdropping.) An UpdatedRerelease came with ''R4: Ridge Racer Type 4'' that bumps the frame rate to 60fps, the caveat being that you only race one opponent.
** Five years later, ''Ridge Racer V'' would show off the Platform/PlayStation2's improved graphical capabilities with a real-time rendered intro cinematic featuring a detailed and fluidly animated woman. The game also runs at 60fps.
** ''Ridge Racer 7'' is, astonishingly for a launch game, a 60fps ''1080p'' game. For the seventh generation of consoles this is pretty uncommon and to see that in a 2006 game is quite a feat.
* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' was another major example, with its lush 3D environments and fluid ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''-inspired animation being major selling points for both the game and the [=PlayStation=]. Other developers accused Creator/NaughtyDog of having access to Sony's internal codebase -- they didn't, instead just making use of as many programming tricks and hardware quirks as they could.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. Square really took the opportunity to show off some of the stuff they couldn't do on the {{Platform/SNES}}, like polygons and pre-rendered cutscenes. The game also manages to show off the CD-ROM format's main advantage over the Nintendo 64's ROM cartridges, in that the former allows for bigger games that can be spread across multiple discs if necessary, rather than being severely pared down to fit on a far smaller cartridge.
** Interestingly enough, it was originally to be a tech demo for Nintendo, but Square jumped over to the [=PlayStation=] after Nintendo announced that they would be using cartridges and not [=CDs=] on the Nintendo 64.
** To test their graphics engine for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', Square created ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve''.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' was meant to be a Platform/PlayStation3 launch title and spent roughly ''seven years'' in development because it was being developed with a brand-new graphics engine that [[HilariousInHindsight was meant to be used in all future SquareEnix games]] (the [=PS3=] launched in 2006, ''FFXIII'' at the turn of 2009). The same engine was used for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', an MMORPG, while the graphics engine was made for single player games, which ended up being part of the reason why the game bombed so hard before it got rebooted - it prioritized graphical fidelity over basic gameplay (most infamously, potted plants had the same number of polygons as ''player characters'').
* From a graphical perspective, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'' can be considered this.
* The creators of ''VideoGame/RollAway'' maxed out the [=PlayStation=] hardware [[AchievementsInIgnorance without realising the fact]] with all kinds of fog effects, transparent polygons and a giant skybox.
* While the Dual Shock had been out for a while before its release, ''VideoGame/ApeEscape'' was designed specifically to push sales of the controller by splitting movement and actions between the two joysticks.
* ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'' was treated by Kojima Productions as a warm up to see what they could do with the Platform/PlayStation2 hardware before tackling ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', which used the same engine (and the demo of which was [[PreviewPiggybacking a major selling point]] for ''Zone of the Enders''). It shows, too: The game doesn't take very long to beat, and many of its environments look like they're straight from the [=PS1=] era.
** Its sequel, ''The 2nd Runner'', though much longer and more complete than the original, does a lot of tech-demoing in its own way. It used particle effects to great, err, effect, along with showing how many independent units the engine could keep track of at once. This came right before ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', which then used many of those same techniques to a greater extent to render copious SceneryPorn of a jungle environment.
* Any game from Atari's Melbourne House studio, now known as Krome Studios Melbourne, during the [=PS2=] era. ''VideoGame/Transformers2004'' for one, had sprawling environments and lots and lots of foliage, and yet it still runs at 60 frames per second.
* ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' was, in addition to its better-known qualities, a demonstration of the Platform/PlayStation2's ability to generate volumetric fog. Given that ''Franchise/SilentHill'' had not really attained a great deal of wide popularity before the second game [[GrowingTheBeard grew the beard]], as much of the buzz surrounding ''Silent Hill 2'' before its release was about its graphics and the fog effect as it was the monsters or characters.
** Another feature that doesn't exactly get a lot of attention was that shadows were cast realistically by objects when the flashlight shined over them. Not exactly an easy to do feature, especially in 2001.
** ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'' was one of the first games to fully utilize the [=PS2=]'s vector units.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fantavision}}'' seems to have been made because firework explosions are excellent exhibits for the smooth textures and higher resolution of the Platform/PlayStation2.
* ''VideoGame/Killzone2'' is a tech demo for the Platform/PlayStation3. Heck, even one of the commercials for the game (the one where it tracks a bullet fired from the player character) can be downloaded and run on the system, in real time.
** The original ''VideoGame/{{Killzone}}'' was this even moreso.
** ''Killzone: Shadow Fall'' continues the trend, which is good because it's a launch title for the Platform/PlayStation4.
* ''VideoGame/{{Lair}}'' appeared to be an attempt to show off the Platform/PlayStation3's ability to do Motion Control and native 1080p graphics. It couldn't do either very well, and in the former's case it killed enthusiasm for Sixaxis technology (as if the lack of rumble on the early Sixaxis controllers due to "technical" (actually legal) reasons didn't already) right out of the gate.
* ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'' and Creator/NaughtyDog's later games demonstrated that some blockbuster games don't need a large amount of space on the hard drive to be installed on. They also pushed the Platform/PlayStation3 to its limit, often making its fans noticeably loud just to cool it down.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' shows off all the [=PlayStation=] 3's hardware features. Surround sound, Bluetooth headset support for Otacon's codec calls, motion control for the Screaming Mantis battle, and most importantly, Blu-Ray for holding [[StoryToGameplayRatio loads and loads of long-winded cutscenes]] (the latter point is even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when Otacon calls Snake and tells him to [[MediumAwareness swap to the second disc]], but then he remembers that the game is on Blu-Ray).
** Likewise, ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVGroundZeroes'' was intended to be a demonstration of Kojima Productions' new FOX Engine (although it was first demonstrated in Konami's sports game ''Pro Evolution Soccer 2014''), and was revealed to be the prologue to the next numbered entry of the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain,'' instead of a standalone game.
* ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' offers an internal example: the games' story modes are really just designed to show off the LevelEditor.
* ''The Playroom'' on the Platform/PlayStation4 was to show off the revamped [=PlayStation Eye=] and [=DualShock4=]. [[TheRuleOfFirstAdopters It ended up showing off peoples' private parts instead before being forgotten.]]
* Part of the purpose of the ''VideoGame/{{Knack}}'' is to demonstrate the Platform/PlayStation4's ability to handle a large number of discrete objects on screen - the main character in his largest form is made up of hundreds of independently rendered pieces.
* Two launch titles for the Platform/PlayStation5 stand out as showing off what the new console can do. Unlike many other launch window games, these games aren't also releasing for [=PS4=] meaning that the developers are free to exploit the [=PS5's=] capabilities to the fullest extent.
** ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankRiftApart'' shows off various aspects of the [=PlayStation 5=]: The SSD's ability to near-instantaneously load in assets, raytracing, and the Dualsense's adaptive triggers.
** The remake of ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' is also promising, with Bluepoint Games throwing all of their incredible technical abilities into updating the presentation of an older game as much as possible, much like they did with their ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' remake.
** ''VideoGame/AstrosPlayroom'', which comes pre-installed on every [=PS5=], serves as a showcase not for the system's graphics (although it certainly doesn't disappoint in that department) but for the console's new [=DualSense=] controller and its enhanced tactile features such as haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. It's been compared to what ''Wii Sports'' did for the Wii Remote.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Xbox Consoles ]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Shrek}}'' for the Platform/{{Xbox}}. Gameplay-wise it was pretty hard and repetitive, but programmer Rich Geldereich [[http://sites.google.com/site/richgel99/#TOC-Shrek-Xbox-and-Deferred-Shading managed to pull off]] some pretty impressive effects for a game of its time, as it was meant to be a showcase of what Microsoft's then-new console can do. The game earned the distinction of being the first commercial title to use [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferred_shading deferred shading]], years before ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'' and ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' further popularised it.
* ''VideoGame/{{Malice}}'' also provided a demonstration of the Platform/{{Xbox}}'s bump mapping capabilities but ended up being released for both Xbox and [=PS2=] several years after people stopped caring about it.
* ''VideoGame/{{Wreckless}}: The Yakuza Missions'' was an early showcase for the original Xbox, leveraging the console [=DirectX=] 8 features for post-processing and reflections that look a full generation ahead. Its sequel ''Double S.T.E.A.L: The Second Clash'' pares down these effects but can boast to being one of the few games to use the console's 720p/1080i display modes while still running at a stable framerate.
* ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' demonstrated the Platform/{{Xbox 360}}'s impressive processing capabilities with its massive hordes of zombies.
* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' was a technical showcase for the Xbox 360 early in its life, taking advantage of the system's capabilities more than any game had previously and setting graphical standards for the rest of the generation. Making ''Gears'' look as good as possible even convinced Microsoft to double the 360's RAM from 256 to 512 MB in the late stages of the console's development. It also served as an effective demo for Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3, which went on to become one of the most popular Platform/{{Game Engine}}s of the 7th generation.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Sega Consoles ]]

* ''VideoGame/AlienSoldier'' was tailor made to push the Platform/SegaGenesis hardware to its absolute limits, much like ''Videogame/GunstarHeroes'' before it. This is made apparent by its impressive presentation, featuring massive multi-segmented sprites, buttery smooth framerate and amazing sound design. Blast Processing indeed.
* 1994 saw the release of two first-person shooters for the Genesis, a console not usually associated with that genre due to hardware limitations. ''Zero Tolerance'' from Creator/{{Accolade}} saw a full western release, while Creator/{{Acclaim}}'s ''Bloodshot'' only came out in Europe. Despite the novelty of being on the Genesis, neither game saw much success in the wake of established properties like ''Doom''.
* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' was often used to flaunt Sega's hardware prowess back in the 1990s and early 2000s.
** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'' was designed as a showcase of what the Platform/SegaGenesis could do; the system was three years old at the time, but ''Sonic'' was the first game to really draw people's attention with its then-impressive visuals and gameplay. The main character's [[SuperSpeed primary trait]] indicates how well the higher game resolution and clock speed (the latter of which was embellished in advertisements as "Blast Processing") lent themselves to high-speed gameplay, and the large, lively sprites, elaborate, colorful backgrounds, and rotating Special Stages milk the graphics chip for all it's worth. In fact, the primary purpose of the Special Stages in early Sonic games seems to be blowing players away with their advanced, pseudo-3D visual effects.
** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'' takes full advantage of the Platform/SegaCD's hardware enhancements. It shows off the add-on's FMV capabilities (however limited they are), Mode 7-like effects, sprite manipulation, and support for high-quality PCM audio via both an on-board chip and on-disc Redbook audio tracks.
** ''VideoGame/KnucklesChaotix'' features very colourful and at times downright gaudy artwork meant to flex the [[Platform/Sega32X 32X]]'s ability to display 32,768 colors on-screen, versus the base Genesis's 512 total/64 on-screen. There's even a color test accessible from the option menu, presumably left there so players could marvel at the expanded palette. More generally, the game takes advantage of the 32X's power with things like bigger sprites, smoother animations, and more liberal use of sprite rotation, scaling, and polygonal effects.
** ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' did this for the Platform/SegaDreamcast. You ''know'' you wanted to play that game once you saw Sonic running from that killer whale in the commercial. The whole reason that Chaos was made of water was because they wanted to show off the system's capabilities - this is especially apparent in the cutscene where Perfect Chaos floods Station Square & bursts out of a building.
** On the fan front, [[https://info.sonicretro.org/SoniNeko soniNeko]] is a ROMHack of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'' created mostly as a vehicle to show off the author's MIDI-to-SMPS (the music format most ''Sonic'' games on the Genesis use) conversion tool. It does ''have'' other features, but the extensive soundtrack is definitely the centerpiece.
* In response to ''Star Fox'' and its Super FX chip, Sega created its own add-on GPU chip for the Sega Genesis, dubbed "Sega Virtua Processor." The only game released with one was the Sega Genesis version of ''VideoGame/VirtuaRacing.'' Unfortunately, the hardware required made this single cartridge have a retail price of around $100 USD, nearly double the $60 MSRP of ''Star Fox.'' At the time, the 32X add-on for the Genesis/Mega Drive was in development and highlighted the problems of SVP chip games: adding extra processing power to the 32X meant that the hardware could be purchased once and applied to every 32X game, rather than each game needing it's own extra hardware in the cartridge. There's evidence that a modular pass-thru of the SVP chip was prototyped, but ultimately scrapped either because of similarity to the 32X. Also, the accountants had probably decided that it wasn't worth pursuing because feedback gathered stated that SVP version of ''Virtua Racing'' was putting off potential buyers because it was too expensive.
** The lack of adoption of the SVP is further complicated by a potential patent issue. The pass-thru version of the SVP chip was patented in Japan, but never in the United States. However, Codemasters, the company that made the UsefulNotes/GameGenie had already patented a device similar enough that attempts to market the pass-thru SVP would likely have gotten into a nasty legal fight. It's likely that any hypothetical profits from such a device already had a potential to bust, but a potential patent suit made the add-on dead on arrival.
* Many of the games that were developed by Creator/TravellersTales for Sega's consoles were meant to show off new hardware tricks. ''VideoGame/MickeyMania'' had 3D rotating objects and a ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot''-style chase sequence, and ''VideoGame/ToyStory'' had fluid pre-rendered sprites and Amiga-style Platform/{{MOD}} music, as well as a ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''-esque first-person segment; while these were more commonplace on the SNES and other consoles, pulling them off on the relatively underpowered Genesis was no small feat. ''VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland'' had a full motion video intro cutscene (on the Genesis!), and ''VideoGame/SonicR'' had an impressive draw distance and complex rendering effects on the notoriously finicky Platform/SegaSaturn hardware. Many of the hardware tricks used in these games are explained in detail on the [[https://www.youtube.com/c/GameHut GameHut]] [=YouTube=] channel, which is run by the founder of Traveller's Tales, Jon Burton.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:VR]]
While the early years of VR were experimental enough for any game to arguably qualify, there are some that apply in specific ways more than others.
* ''VideoGame/ApertureHandLab'' served as a tech demo for Valve's Index controllers.
* ''VideoGame/TheLab'' was made as an experiment for bringing existing genres into VR.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamVR'' has investigative mechanics totally different from the main Arkham series, but is notable for introducing them and nothing else, being less than half an hour long.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLifeAlyx'', being a spin-off of one of the most tech-demo video game series ever made, is filled with this. It boasts visuals and physics that push the boundaries of VR technology, and allows for interactivity with the game's world in ways that very few VR games at its time allowed for.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Handhelds]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Nintendo Handhelds ]]

* The Platform/GameBoyColor version of ''VideoGame/CannonFodder'' is one of a handful of games to sport full motion video, complete with PCM audio.
* The Game Boy Color version of ''Franchise/ToyStory Racer'', while nothing too spectacular from a gameplay standpoint, was praised in retrospect for its use of pre-rendered first-person race tracks (a la ''Hot Wheels Stunt Track Driver''), a feature that is uncommon on the 8-bit handheld.
* ''Super Mario Advance'' was to the Platform/GameBoyAdvance what ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion1'' was for the Platform/NintendoGameCube. As a port of the ''Videogame/SuperMarioAllStars'' version of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' with extra bells and whistles, the game showed that the little handheld could do everything that its big brother the Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem could do and then some. It featured sprite rotation, stretching, and scaling, all without external hardware which the [=SNES=] required for all of these things. It was also fully voice-acted, a first for 2D ''Mario'' games and for a handheld game. It even showed off the [=GBA's=] ability to do multiplayer with only one Game Pak. The fact that a handheld was doing all of this in 2001 was revolutionary. Even right when you boot the game up, it shows off the system's tech as during the intro it shows a shadowy frame that partially obscures everything except what can be seen on the Platform/GameBoyColor's screen, only for it to fade away near the end to show off how bigger and wider the screen on the [=GBA=] is.
* ''VideoGame/WarioLand4'' was made to test the capabilities of the Game Boy Advance, such as rotating sprites and distortion effects. ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' would then be built upon the same engine that ''Wario Land 4'' used and looking through the game's DummiedOut data reveals that some of the assets from ''Wario Land 4'' were still in the game (likely for testing).
* Nearly everything developed by the French duo Velez and Dubail on Nintendo handheld systems are, while not necessarily groundbreaking on a gameplay standpoint, a showcase of what can be done on the likes of the Game Boy Advance and Platform/NintendoDS. While far from the only studio to produce polygonal 3D games on the Advance, Velez and Dubail were praised by reviewers for their work on what is perceived to be a 2D-only system.
* ''[[VideoGame/SuperMario64 Super Mario 64 DS]]'' demonstrated the 3D capabilities of the Platform/NintendoDS. For the first time ever, a full-fledged 3D ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' game on a handheld console. Not only that, but it ''looked better'' than the original Nintendo 64 version with more detailed models and fully-textured environments. Keep in mind that while the Game Boy Advance was capable of 3D, the DS was the first handheld gaming system designed with 3D in mind, beating the Platform/PlayStationPortable to market by just a few months.
* ''Videogame/MetroidPrimeHunters'' was proof the Nintendo DS could run online multiplayer first-person shooter games, to the point it was the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' game that least resembled series tradition, aside from ''Videogame/MetroidPrimePinball''.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'' employed every single hardware function of the DS, including its ability to fold closed, at least once to solve puzzles or defeat monsters.
* ''VideoGame/FeelTheMagic: XY/XX'' was Creator/{{Sega}} experimenting with the DS.
* Developer Toshio Iwai also developed ''VideoGame/{{Electroplankton}}'' because of his interest in the DS's hardware features as well.
* ''VideoGame/KirbyCanvasCurse'' was Creator/HALLaboratory's experiment with the capabilities of the Nintendo DS stylus, with the game having a unique gameplay concept that would only work on a touch screen-based console: a character you don't directly control but instead guide by drawing lines around the stage. The stylus is even worked directly into the game's plot, contextualized as [[FromBeyondTheFourthWall a magical paintbrush that you control from outside the game world.]] Fittingly, you can defeat the FinalBoss by literally ''poking'' it with the paintbrush/stylus. A CreatorDrivenSuccessor for the Wii U, ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheRainbowCurse'', used similar gameplay mechanics with the Wii U touch screen while experimenting with AsymmetricMultiplayer.
* Vicarious Visions' ''VideoGame/GuitarHero: On Tour'' was seen by some critics as an experiment on whether a ''Guitar Hero'' game could work on the DS.
* The Platform/Nintendo3DS had a bunch of these built in. There was ''VideoGame/FaceRaiders'' and a handful of AR cards to show off its 3D camera and AugmentedReality capabilities, and ''VideoGame/StreetPassMiiPlaza'' for its [=StreetPass=] mode (the Puzzle Swap puzzles are small 3D animations originally demonstrated at E3 2010).
** Soon afterward, ''[[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pokédex 3D]]'' was released to demonstrate not only AugmentedReality and [=StreetPass=], but also that you can get stuff off of an online [=eShop=].
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheMercenaries3D'' was mostly created to test the waters; ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'' is the first "proper" 3DS ''RE'' game.
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor [[VideoGameRemake Overclocked]]'' was used by Creator/{{Atlus}} as a way to gauge how much space was available for voice acting, demons, etc. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' uses this knowledge and even expands on it.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater: The Naked Sample'' was a literal tech demo developed by Konami to show off the capabilities of the [=3DS=] hardware. Konami later released a proper [=3DS=] port of ''[=MGS3=]'', but it wasn't as technically impressive as the Naked Sample version.
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' was ported to the [=3DS=] to show off the so-called "New Nintendo 3DS" hardware revision (to the point where it's incompatible with the original hardware).

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Sony Handhelds ]]

* ''Welcome Park'' is a built-in Platform/PlayStationVita app that shows users how to use the full range of the [=PlayStation=] handheld's functions (the front and rear touch-screens, dual cameras, gyroscopic sensor, etc.)
* ''Little Deviants'', a PS Vita launch title, is a collection of minigames. It takes full advantage of every hardware input. Touchscreen, rear touchpad, accelerometer, augmented reality, you name it.
* ''VideoGame/{{Killzone}} Mercenary'' can be considered one on the graphical side. One of the goals it achieved was proving that the Vita can handle a [=PS3=] engine.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tearaway}}'' utilizes '''all''' of the Vita's functionality and shows just what it can do in creative ways.
* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterPortable3rd'': The [=PS3=] version [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scD0gsGDxcU was used at a PS Vita tech demo]] to show that one could simply port a home console game over to the handheld. Capcom was amazed at how easy it was.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Mobile Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/InfinityBlade'':
** This is the first Unreal Engine 3 game on handhelds, and thus was designed to be a showcase for the engine, making use of the [=iPhone's=] biggest strength (its console-quality amount of RAM) for [[http://epicgames.com/infinityblade/img/s2.jpg photorealistic baked lighting]]. Some consider it a DancingBear.
** ''Shadowgun'', which came out shortly afterward, [[http://blogs.unity3d.com/2012/03/23/shadowgun-optimizing-for-mobile-sample-level/ was similarly designed to show off the rival Unity 3D engine]]. Both it and ''Infinity Blade'' are used as demo programs for their respective engines.
** ''VideoGame/{{Aralon}}'' is the same deal.
* ''Tappy Chicken'' is a small little mobile game that's basically ''Flappy Bird'' in everything but name. What makes it significant, though, is that it was made by Epic Games using Unreal Engine 4, and is meant to showcase the engine's massive versatility compared to its predecessors, as well as its ease of use (since it was made by one person with no programming ability).
* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': The game's top-notch graphics and WideOpenSandbox nature means that, on mobile, high-end devices are recommended to have a smooth and stable experience even at lower graphic settings. Since it's also free-to-play, it quickly became a popular choice for tech reviewers stress-testing new phones.
* ''VideoGame/AkaToBlue'' is billed as "the first console-quality smartphone shooter", featuring absolutely dazzling graphics for a mobile shmup, to the point where, much like ''Genshin Impact'' after it, its smartphone app store blurbs provide a list of recommended devices and warn you about using higher-quality graphic settings to avoid overtaxing your device's hardware.
* ''VideoGame/{{Rotaeno}}'' makes extensive use of mobile phones' gyroscopic sensors, with the player being able to rotate their phone to hit notes along the circular track.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Other ]]

* ''VideoGame/ApertureDeskJob'' is a short game whose main purpose is to show off the capabilities and features of the [[Creator/ValveCorporation Steam Deck]]. However, like all games on the Steam Deck, it can also be played on the PC with a controller.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Amiga]]
* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheBeast'' started out as a tech demo, but looked so damn good they had to turn it into a game. The original authors are under no illusions regarding its playability.
* ''VideoGame/{{Drakkhen}}'' is a very, very early example of a partially 3D video game in 1989, an RPG with a 3D world. It later served the same role when ported to the Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem, which could replicate the effect with Mode 7.
* Creator/{{Cinemaware}}'s games, including ''VideoGame/DefenderOfTheCrown'' and ''VideoGame/ItCameFromTheDesert1989'', were explicitly designed as showcases for the Amiga's video and sound capabilities, even if they were ported to other platforms.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Multiplatform/Misc.]]
* 2006's ''Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis'' demonstrated the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE), which is later utilized in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' and ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption''.
* ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' was the first game to use the Hedgehog Engine, which not only provided [[SceneryPorn prettier backdrops]] and more consistent lighting through baked GI light probes (to amend criticism of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' that Sonic was too cartoony in the realistic setting), but it could simulate Sonic's [[SuperSpeed trademark]] more accurately than previous games. The engine was reused in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', to even greater effect. Unfortunately, many of the engine's innovations were being developed by other companies around the same time (like Creator/{{DICE}} with ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' and [[Creator/{{Psygnosis}} Studio Liverpool]] with the ''VideoGame/{{Wipeout}}'' series), limiting the Hedgehog Engine to Sega's own studios.
* Team Bondi's ''VideoGame/LANoire'' was a showcase for their facial animation technology.
* ''Backbreaker'' started as an attempt to show off Natural Motion's Euphoria physics engine with a simple "Dodge the tacklers" football game, but eventually was expanded into a full simulation.
* One of the major selling points of ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'' was its use of the Euphoria animation engine, the same one used for ''Backbreaker'' and ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'', enabling fluid character motion and [[WreakingHavok physics based on Force powers]].
* ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' is the first game to utilize the [=UbiArt=] Framework, which smoothly integrates artwork into the game and easy animation of 2D characters. It shows in the huge amount of SceneryPorn and cartoony characters.
* ''VideoGame/{{Hydrophobia}}'' was created with the purpose of showing off [=HydroEngine=], the engine behind its pretty sophisticated fluid simulation effects.
* Creator/SquareEnix has reportedly stated that everything they do, at least regarding a good portion of their games, were done just to show off.
* [[http://www.live2d.com/en/ Cybernoid's Live2D]] wanted to create a sort of standard for making 2D based character graphics... but specifically aimed for visual novels first.
* The notorious ''VideoGame/CrazyBus'' was created as a demo app to showcase the author's BASIC compiler and sound driver that targets the Genesis architecture. Well, it certainly did show off the sound driver... Of note is that the infamous title screen theme is ''[[UsefulNotes/RandomNumberGenerator randomly generated]]''. Unfortunately, due to a programming oversight, the random seed is generated when the console's turned on -- it's always the same seed, so it's not really random at all.
* Ron Edwards' ''TabletopGame/{{Trollbabe}}'' was less of a commercial TabletopRPG than a showcase of alternative approaches to conflict resolution and narrative power distribution in pen-and-paper [=RPGs=], which were at the time just being conceptualized on Creator/TheForge. While not as famous as Edwards' previous game, ''TabletopGame/Sorcerer2001'', ''Trollbabe'' had a much larger enduring impact on the indie RPG thinking, thanks to pioneering many of its future design staples.
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series made both the VideoGame3DLeap and MultiPlatform leap starting with ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]''. Every game since has combined a ''massive'' world with graphics (especially SceneryPorn) that push their systems to the limits of their technical abilities.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsSecretsOfTheEmpire'' is a "hyper-reality" experience using the latest virtual reality technology. At only 15 minutes long, the game is effectively a demonstration of the technology's capabilities.
* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear Xrd'' was [=ArcSys'=] attempt to create a TwoPointFiveD fighting game with the look and feel of the previous 2D sprite-based games, and this faux-2D style was carried over into future [=ArcSys=] fighters such as ''VideoGame/DragonBallFighterZ'', ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasyVersus'' and even ''VideoGame/KillLaKillIF'', a 3D anime arena fighter.
* ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'' was partially created as a testbed for {{Creator/Atlus}}' P-Studio to familiarize themselves with HD consoles and with a new engine (Gamebryo) before developing ''{{VideoGame/Persona 5}}''. While ''P5'' ended up using a different, in-house engine, its graphical stylings and lighting effects are very similar to what was presented in ''Catherine''.
* A primary marketing ploy for ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'' was to promote the upgraded version of the Xbox One, the Xbox One X, releasing around that game's launch (Q4 2017). By extension it also promoted the [=PS4=] Pro which released Q4 2016. Both are able to support massively high quality textures, better load times, and the choice of either 4k resolution or 1080p and a consistent 60 frames per second. Some of the game's graphical hiccups on the base console versions lead fans to speculate it was compromised simply to sell the new hardware. [[PlayTheGameSkipTheStory Even though the game-play received praise]].
* ''VideoGame/TonicTrouble'' was reportedly created so that Creator/{{Ubisoft}} could both test the engine they'd designed for ''VideoGame/Rayman2TheGreatEscape'', along with learning the ins and outs of 3-D platforming design.
* {{Exaggerated|Trope}} with ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''. Due to the game's source code being available for public use, many programmers and modders have taken to porting the game onto damn near everything with a screen. From various consoles (in the form of homebrew source ports), to [=ATMs=], cash registers, calculators, refrigerators, and even a ''pregnancy test'' or the Macbook's Touch Bar. "It runs ''Doom''" has basically become an exaggerated version of "can it run ''Crysis''".
* {{Creator/SEGA}} and Colorful Palette's {{Music/Vocaloid}} rhythm game ''VideoGame/ProjectSekai'' was made to demonstrate the use of Crypton Future Media's "Newtype" voice banks, a series of in-development voice banks running on Crypton's own Piapro Studio voice synthesis engine that is designed to retain the distinctly mechanical aspects of "virtual singers" in the face of Yamaha's Vocaloid software shifting to more realistic voice synthesis.
* ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' is often used as a testing bed or demonstration of new technology on Nintendo consoles and handhelds. ''VideoGame/WarioWareTouched'' was used to exemplify the DS's control scheme, ''VideoGame/WarioWareTwisted'' showed off the cartridge's built-in gyroscope, ''VideoGame/WarioWareSmoothMoves'' was used to showcase different ways of using the Wii Remote, ''VideoGame/WarioWareSnapped'' shows off the [=DSi=]'s camera, ''VideoGame/WarioWareDIY'' shows how the DS can send data between consoles and to the Wii, and ''VideoGame/GameAndWario'' shows different ways of using the [=GamePad=]. ''VideoGame/WarioWareGold'', being a MegamixGame, goes on to show how the 3DS can emulate many of the previous games' (and systems') gimmicks, even categorizing them according to what aspect of the system is being exploited. The trope is averted for ''VideoGame/WarioWareGetItTogether'', as it didn't take advantage of the Switch's Joy-Cons (the game was even criticized for it), but that was rectified for ''VideoGame/WarioWareMoveIt''.
* The DatingSim ''No-Ri-Ko'' for the PC Engine was a technical showcase for the then-brand new CD-ROM format. For the first time ever, a video game combined digitized graphics unbounded by the size limitations of cartridges with high quality Red Book audio.
* ''VideoGame/TheRNGTree'' was made to show the flexibility of MediaNotes/TheModdingTree engine by making a randomly generated tree.
* ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeedCarbon'' was a showcase for EA's facial motion capture technology, which was also used in several others including a Tiger Woods golf sim. This predated ''L.A. Noire'' by several years, and was absent on the sixth-gen releases due to platform limitations.
* ''Worm Game'' was a simple clone of ''Snake'' internally developed to test the features of Platform/GoogleStadia. From January 13-18, 2023, the last five days of the service's operation before going offline forever, the game was made available publicly for free as a parting gift from the Stadia team.
* The Platform/{{ColecoVision}} port of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' served as a technical showcase for the console, designed to show off how the console, with its use of a Zilog Z80 CPU (also found in many early home microcomputers), was capable of running arcade game ports that, for the time, were as close to arcade-perfect as the home console technology of the time could allow.
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