OpenGL ES 2.0 represents a major milestone in the convergence of graphics capabilities between desktop and handheld gaming devices. The OpenGL ES 2.0 specification introduces the majority of the functionality used by todays desktop games into the embedded space. The latest version of OpenGL ES will have a major impact on mobile game developers. In keeping with the design goal of removing any redundancy from the API, the Khronos group has completely removed fixed-function vertex/pixel processing. While this change ushers in the shader era to mobile gaming, it also means that mobile game developers will need to make significant changes to their applications. The goal of this presentation is to review in detail what has changed in OpenGL ES 2.0 and what the changes mean for mobile game development.

The discussion begins by briefly reviewing the history and design goals that drove the OpenGL ES specification. The changes to the OpenGL ES API for version 2.0 are then discussed from three different directions: what has changed in GLSL, what is new relative to OpenGL ES 1.1, and what has changed from OpenGL 2.0 on the desktop.