Unit 78

Computer Games Graphics

P1-Understand Theory and Applications of Digital Graphics

Pixel Art:

Pixel art is most often done in 2D using raster graphics software, where the image is created at a pixel level. The design was particularly used in older games due to the limitations in technology at the time. Sprites are two-dimensional bitmaps that are designed to be apart of a larger image. Sometimes they are animated, sometimes they aren't. They can be characters, objects or icons on the UI. They are mostly used now for mobile games or small indie games. Isometric views in pixel art means that the objects look 3D, but is still in 2D, whereas non-isometric is clearly 2D. The picture to the top right shows 2D versions of Sonic in his different poses.

The other picture on the right shows Fez, a 2D platforming game using isometric pixel art. However, it is soon realised that the game levels are in fact 3D.

Concept Art:

Concept art is used as the basis for the characters, environments and items that will appear in the game. It can give the designers more ideas as they develop their illustrations. The art can also be presented to the developers and media, to give an idea as to what the finished game could look like. This also means that the art can be constructively criticised and the artists can use that criticism to build upon their current illustrations. In this picture we can see that the artist is clearly creating artwork for a fantasy-based game. 

Texture and Background Graphics:

Textures are what the surfaces of objects look and feel like in the game. They can be both 3D and 2D and help immerse the player in the games. Textures are also more commonly used in the foreground of an image, in the parts where the user is more likely to be looking, whereas background graphics are used in the parts of the image that the user will be less likely to look at.

Background graphics are what the background looks like, for example in the image to the right, each of the four columns has different textures. On the columns you can see that they are made of stone, concrete, brick and metal, and just by looking at them you could almost tell what they feel like.

In the assassins creed picture on the right, you can see that the textures in the foreground are very well detailed. Comparably, the background is less refined and 'duller' than the foreground.


Head-Up Display(HUD):
The Head-Up Display is how information is displayed in-game, as well as being used to display several pieces of information at once, such as a health bar, items and a mini map.
Most of these pieces of information are static and stay visible during gameplay. Common features include: health/lives, weapons/ammunition, capabilities such as spells and special abilities; menus to exit, change options/settings etc; a mini-map, the players current score/money/lap or level. In some games there is also a quest arrow/compass. For example, the picture above shows the Diablo II inventory, with health in the big red globe, usable potions to the right of it, mini-map on the bottom left. Weapons and armour are on the centre-left of the screen.

Print Media:
Print media is how the game is advertised and presented to the public. If the advertisement appeals to the public eye, it is more likely to sell well. The forms of print media are: game packaging, posters, box cover and manuals.
Game packaging is used for shop display and protection of the contents, Aside from the game itself many items are included, such as instruction manual, upcoming game teasers and various other advertisements and any other hardware needed for the game. It always features box art on it.
The box cover(or box art) is usually flashy and original, to attract potential users into buying it. Also, screenshots on the back show pre-rendered shots of the game. They are generally the game equivalent of film posters.
Game manuals can be any size, from a single double-sided A5 page to a booklet 50 pages long. These always contain information about the gameplay, game mechanics and tutorials. It is also quite common for screenshots to be included, sometimes in colour, sometimes in black and white.
In the picture, we see that there is cover art on the game packaging, an art book with concept art inside, as well as the audio soundtrack and the game itself. The manual has in it pre-rendered images and screenshots of the main character.


Raster Images:
BMP: Bitmap's are used to store digital images without the use of a graphics card. They are stored as pixels that are assigned a colour and put together to form the image. They are used because, despite their slightly larger size compared to JPEG's, they are of a generally better quality.
GIF: A GIF is a collection of moving bitmaps to make up an image or animation. They are used to create a simple logo or animation in a game.
TIFF: A TIFF is used to store raster graphic images in one file, for example holding, JPEG's or BMP's in a compressed format.
JPEG: A JPEG is a compressed file format for digital images, usually those taken with digital cameras. Compression can also be altered, thus changing file size and picture quality.

Vector Images:
PSD: A PSD file is a layered image file used in Photoshop, which the default format for saving data in that program. It allows user's to alter the individual layers even after the image has been saved. The file can then be converted to JPEG or GIF files and shared around.
WMF: A WMF is the primary graphics display file used in Microsoft Office programs, such as Word or PowerPoint, and is used to display the images in those programs.
FLA: FLA files are used by Adobe Flash applications for use on the Web. The files usually contain animations created with Adobe Flash.
AI: AI file formats are used in Adobe Illustrator to help convert the images used in Illustrator to different file formats.