The specularity of an object surface simply describes how shiny it is. These types of effects are often referred to as view-dependent effects in the shader world. This is because in order to achieve a realistic Specular effect in your shaders, you need to include the direction that the camera or user is facing the object's surface. The most basic and performance-friendly Specular type is the Phong Specular effect. It is the calculation of the light direction reflecting off of the surface compared to the user's view direction. It is a very common Specular model used in many applications, from games to movies. While it isn't the most realistic in terms of accurately modeling the reflected Specular, it gives a great approximation that performs well in most situations. Additionally, if your object is further away from the camera and there is no need for a very accurate Specular, this is a great way to provide a Specular effect to your shaders.
In this recipe, we...
