Unit 78 Digital Graphics in Computer Games (Exercise)

BTEC Extended Diploma in Computer Games Design

Unit 78 Digital Graphics in Computer Games

 

 

What are Computer Game Graphics?

 

Types of Digital Graphics

 

 

Computer game graphics are both in game graphics such as characters, interface and environment and print media such as the game manual, box art, posters and concept art. They can be incredibly detailed or they can be very simple like a super Mario sprite. They can be either Vector or Raster graphics.

 

In Game Graphics:

Characters- These can be 2D or 3D and are anything that depicts a singular person or entity in the game world. These can use a variety of visual styles and do not have to be realistic. Popular software to create these are 3Ds Max or Maya. These graphics can be very simplistic. The early Super Mario Bros games had a  very simple design (picture right) because of the limitations of the console. However in photorealistic games these graphics often have a lot of detail, as it is very difficult to emulate real life faces and expressions.

Interface – These are graphics on the game screen that aim to help the player in playing the game. These are things such as the HUD (heads up display) and Start Menu. Things such as the HUD help the player out by showing important values such as a players health. The Start Menu is there to help the player navigate the games content such as starting a new game, loading a save game or viewing extra unlocked content. Nearly all games have some sort of graphic on screen while in game and almost one-hundred percent of games have a Menu Screen.

 

Environment – The environment of the game is the graphics that make up the games world or the area in the game that you are in. They can be very complex and feature realistic detail projected on to a 3D mesh or they can be simple and be a plain 2D background. Usually the environment of a game takes up the most time and is the hardest to create.

 

Print Media:

Manual – The game manual is a leaflet inside the games case that usually instructs the player on how to set up and play the game. Older games manuals try and immerse you into the game world by giving background information and pictures that are not available in game. The art in video game manuals are usually designed to entice the player into playing the games and are often very similar to the box art.

Box Art – The box art is the most important piece of print media. It is used to grab the consumer’s attention and interest them into enquiring more about the game. It should be very visually appealing and should give a vague idea of what the game is about so as to interest newcomers.

Posters – Posters are very much like box art and have to be appealing to the new viewer. They can be a little vaguer however, so as to add a feeling of unknown and make the consumer curious about the product. They can be placed in various locations in public places or developers could pay a company to display them on their site to endorse the product.

Concept Art – Concept Art is art that is drawn early in development to give an idea or outline of the game world and its characters etc. They are usually very artistic, hand drawn pieces that are originally created for the games production. Sometimes they are sold in art books that are separate to the game or they can be given away with exclusive versions of the game such as pre-order editions. They can also be included in the special features of the game.

Types of Graphics

Vector - Vector graphics are primitive geometric shapes that are made up of things such as points, lines, shapes, polygons and curves. They are based on mathematical expressions and have the advantage of not losing image quality when scaling and de-scaling.

Raster - Raster images are commonly known as bitmaps. They are different from Vector graphics as they use individual coloured pixels to form a complete image, thus they scale very poorly. Raster graphics are more commonly used for things such as photographs because of the fact that each pixel can be a different colour. This allows for a wide variety of colour blends that mimic real life detail.

 

 What is Graphics Specification?

 

Specification - A specification is a statement of precise requirements

 

Graphics Specification - A graphics specification is a detailed document of precise requirements for the graphics of a particular project. In the video game context this may be given by a video game publisher such as Electronic Arts or Ubisoft. In the video game context this would detail exactly what graphics will be needed for the project such as specific character, environment and interface graphics and what type of graphics would be utilized. It will also cover what the target audience is of the project and what exactly will be expected from the final project. It would detail the artistic style that the employer requires from the final product.