Parallax mapping was introduced by Tomomichi Kaneko et al., in 2001.
To the end user, this means that textures such as stone walls will have more apparent depth and thus greater realism with less of an influence on the performance of the simulation. Parallax mapping (also called offset mapping or virtual displacement mapping) is an enhancement of the bump mapping or normal mapping techniques applied to textures in 3D rendering applications such as video games. Texture mapping technique Parallax mapping with shadows