Digital Graphics for Computer Games

Level 3 games design p1

unit 78 digital graphics for computer games

Digital Graphics for Computer Games 

Concept art

Concept art is a type of art used to throw  ideas on the table and to give ideas on characters, places etc. Concept art is used very early on in a games life and is only a concept which means somethings will be scrapped while others will develop into something very iconic and memorable. The art is often hand draw on draw in Photoshop/on a tablet and looks very different to the final result.

Pixel Art

Pixel art is used in gamers for a specific type of games. They are used in games for smaller indie titles and are not used for triple a titles. 3D pixel art can be used for very unique games such as fez and minecraft. These arts are special and unique to games design.

Texture Art

Texture art is when the entire canvas is taken up by the image and therefore the image can be used as a wall, floor etc because is does not have a border. They can be small or large and can be painted over a canvas many times on a wall and it would be difficult to detect. The developers also save time and effort by used the same image if it is a wall because not many players will stare at a wall seeking for flaws.

Background Art

The background is a image that adds atmosphere to the game and makes it is an essential to any game because it would be a black background other wise which is not what you want your game to look like. This is one of the first things in games design.

H.U.D

HUDs are used to show you health, magic etc. They are essential to the player so they can know what health or magic they have. They are basic or can be complex and can look very ascetically pleasing. 

Print  Media

Print media is used to show the player what they are going to buy and a sneak into the game. The box art is important because the advertisement and art is what makes people buy the game. The screen shots are because  it shows the player all about the game and can be the selling point to some games.

Types of Digital Graphics

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Vector

Raster images change quality after you zoom in far enough. You can see the pixels on the image and they are used for static images. Vector images stay the same quality regardless of how much you zoom in. Vector are used more for logos because you can use the same image in advertisement or boxes because the can be resize but if the image was to always be the same size it would be wiser to use raster. The reason you would use raster is because you want things to look burly from far away in games and it looks more realistic. Vector are harder to do but look sharper and are better for up close images. Each image is used in games design and in real life but must be used correctly to look right. Mobile games would need vector images because raster images would look blurred and would be harder to see and on a mobile you need high quality.   

bmp,gif,tiff,jpg are the file types used in raster images 

psd,wmf,fla,al, are the file types used in vector images 

http://chilliwackdesign.com/logo-design/ (2)

http://aornish.deviantart.com/art/Aperture-Science-Vector-Logo-76503583 (1)