Unit 78 : Digital Graphics Computer Game Graphics P1 - Understand Theory Applications of Digital Graphics

Unit 78 : Digital Graphics

Computer Game Graphics

P1 - Understand Theory Applications of Digital Graphics

Pixel Art

Pixel art uses raster graphics software, this is where the image is edited at a pixel level. This art style was often used in older games because the technology struggled to run anything else. Pixel art is often used to create 2D sprites, a sprite is a bitmap graphic that is designed to be part of a larger image, sprites can be either a static image or an animated graphic. Sprites can be characters, objects or even icons that are part of the UI. Sprites aren't as common in modern video games but they are still used for other purposes, like to add buttons or symbols to software programs.

Concept Art

Figure 1

The concept art is often used as a starting point for a game, whilst doing this you can plan different ideas for characters, areas and objects.
For example Figure 1 is concept art from the fantasy game World of Warcraft, it tells us that a new army is involved in the newest expansion. You can immediately tell that the characters depicted in the art evil due to the colour palette chosen, you can see the darkness of the image and particularly in the Warcraft universe the colour green is associated with the evil fell energy that corrupted the orcs. The purpose of concept art isn't only to plan out ideas but to make us feel what the designers are trying to convey.

Figrue 2

Texture Art & Background GraphicsTexture art is the way we convey how a surface would feel in a game. It takes both an element from 2D and 3D designed, this along with other element of game design can serve to fully immerse you in the game that you are playing. You can see the use of 3D art in the 2D image in Figure 2.
A lot of texture art is used for the background graphics in games and occasionally the art isn't drawn but pictures are taken and implemented into the game. The background is what the sprite is placed into, originally just a bitmap image background graphics now include various graphical overlays. Both the way the surface quality appears and how well the background images fit the styles play a major role in immersing the player in the game. See video at end of page.

 Print Media

This is responsible for attracting the players to the game. It includes box art, bill boards and posters. The box art has to relate to the game, it must be eye catching however the box art is never in game footage, it is usually some concept art. This is to make the game look better when compered to the others and make people want to buy it. If a game hasn't been developed particularly well then focus can be placed on the print media to hype the game and sell copies.  

Raster Image

When enlarged, individual pixels appear as little squares. In computer graphics, a raster graphics image is a dot, representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of colour, viewable via a monitor or paper. Raster images are stored in image files with varying formats.

Vector Image

Vector graphics are the use of polygons to represent images on computer graphics. Vector graphics are based on vectors, which lead through locations called control points or nodes. For example ( i , j )

A pixel isn't a little square it is one point something to do with I and J vectors

Story Telling in Games

Story Telling in Games

The Borderlands Series

Throughout the 3 Borderlands games there is a linear story with branching side quests. It starts off with 4 vault hunters searching for a vault, a epic storage place full of rare loot, however to do this they must first find the 3 pieces of the vault key when they do they then head to the vault only to find no loot but the destroyer of worlds. Then in the second instalment of the series a new set of 4 vault hunters have to stop handsome Jack from awakening and controlling the vault of the warrior, to do this they must work with the original 4 to fight there way though Jack's robot army to stop him at the vault. The next game is titled the Pre-Sequel because the events come before the second game and tell the story of how handsome Jack became the insane villain you have to defeat in Borderlands 2. All three Borderlands games have a cell shaded art style. You can tell from the bold outlines and high contrast colours.

Batman Arkham City  This Batman game is the second instalment in the franchise and focuses around a prison district which is walled off where the villains are allowed to roam free. However when the evil Doctor Strange kidnaps and discovers Batman's secret identity he must fight to uncover the sinister plot Dr Strange has of destroying the city and everyone in it, whilst also finding a cure for the Joker's blood that he has been injected with. The Batman series of games are all highly exaggerated. Exaggerated is when things are are of proportion when compared to the real world, for example in the picture above the moon's size is highly exaggerated. 

Heroes of the Storm

Heroes doesn't actually have a prominent story in the game, however it tells a story though the means of character introduction. Whenever a new character or map enters the nexus Blizzard releases a trailer for them, within the trailers is a subtle story line. In the beginning heroes where simply fighting good versus evil however the heroes now rally behind Medivh and Ilarian to fight Gul'dan and Beleth to stop them harnessing the true power of the nexus. The games graphics are exaggerated, we can tell this because of the heroes that you can play. They can be anything from fish creatures to the literal devil.

Please Don't Touch Anything At the beginning of this game you find yourself in front of a panel with a big red button in the middle, your coworker asks you to watch the machine whilst he goes to the restroom and to not touch anything, of course most of us will immediately start pressing buttons. There are a total of 25 different endings each harder to discover then the last and each time a different event will occur on screen. In the end it turns out that it's just the coffee machine and the TV occasionally plays adverts. The games uses cell shaded graphics as it matches the cartoon style of the story and general game play. 

The Binding of IsaacThe main game play in the Binding of Isaac gets you shooting your tears at a range of different enemies in each room. At the end of each floor there is a boss and after four floors you have to fight Mom. The story is told with a cut scene at the beginning and end of the game, in which God tell Isaac's mother to kill him, Isaac hides in his room and escapes through a trap door which leads into the game. The story is inspired by the bible story 'The Binding of Isaac'.The artistic style used for the games is cell shaded, it suits a rouge-like dungeon game and the comedic items you can acquire.

Pokemon

In each of the main Pokemon games so far the main story has you getting your first Pokemon in your hometown then travelling throughout the various regions to battle the eight gyms and eventually taking on the elite four, then becoming the champion. Usually in the games there is some sort of evil organisation that want to harness the power of the region's legendary Pokemon and it comes down to you to stop them. The games don't stop there though because finishing the game opens up new areas or the national dex which allows to find Pokemon that you couldn't before. The Pokemon games, especially the new ones, are cell shaded. This really improved in X and Y in which the transition was made from pixel the cell shaded art.

Warcraft: Orcs and HumansIn the beginning there where the titans who where looking to create planets, however the most relevant one to us is Azeroth, they also created protectors, one of these being Sargeras who quickly grew to resent the titans he wanted to fight back against them and so created the burning legion. The legions plan was to surge all life from Azeroth, to do this Sargeras set his right hand Kil'Jaeden to corrupt the orc on the world of Draenor and turn them into the blood thirsty army known as the Horde by making them drink the blood of a Pit Lord. Sargeras possessed a sorcerer know as Medivh and made him contact the orc Warlock Gul'dan on Draenor. The Horde then invaded Azeroth through the dark portal, a dimensional gateway created by Medivh and Gul'dan and lead by the Warchief Blackhand clashed with the humans. Khadgar, the apprentice to Medivh discovered the demon possessing him and managed to kill him, which in turn banished Sargeras to the twisting nether. In the end the Horde shattered Stormwinds defences.

Super Mario Bros

When the mushroom kingdom is attacked and Princess Peach is kidnapped by Bowser.Jr, Mario chases after him but he escapes into a castle in which Mario must face of against Bowser once defeating him and dropping him into the lava he becomes a bony version of himself whom Mario must defeat again. After defeating both Bowser and his son for a third time Mario will finally reach the Princess and take her back to her castle.

Westerado: Double Barrelled

At the beginning of this pixel art shooter you find yourself on your families farm however that your house is raided bandits and your mother and sister are murdered, the rest of the game see you finding clues about the man who killed them and hunting them down, it can turn out to be any NPC in the games.

Diablo 2

The Dark Wanderer and Baal join with Mephisto, open a portal to Hell, and the Dark Wanderer sheds his human form and becomes the demon Diablo. ... The story continues in the expansion Diablo II: Lord of Destruction where Baal attempts to corrupt the mythical Worldstone on Mount Arreat.