Finally, some games use a specific position on the color palette to determine what color will not render or be clear. Remember, the computer cannot see color, only the numbers. This method for masking has the computer looking at the position on the palette, not the color, to determine transparency. Usually...

Masking can also be achieved by dedicating a specific color to be rendered as clear or transparent. This color is usually an ugly green or purple that most likely will not be used any other time in the game art

A mask is a special image that is used to “mask” off portions of another image. A mask works like a stencil. Since an image is square or rectangular, the mask allows the edges to be any shape, as the game will render the masked portions invisible (see Figures 3.41, 3.42, and 3.43). Figure 3.41 ...

In the previous section, we looked at some basic information related to editing an image. This obviously only scratched the surface of what we’ll need to do in order to create graphics for a game. Sprites Sprites are small pictures of things that move around—characters, buttons, and items in your...

During the development of your project, you will have to manipulate images in order to get them to fit your needs. The basics of image manipulation are similar to the text editing you may have done in your word processor. Commands such as Cut, Copy, and Paste are common. We will also look at Skew, Rotate,...

On the CD A computer video card can display a certain number of colors at a time—16, 256, thousands, or even millions (see Figures 3.18, 3.19, 3.20, and 3.21, and see the Color Gallery in the Figures folder on the CD-ROM for the color versions of the images). The number of colors is called color depth,...

When working with most interactive content, you need to understand how color works in the computer. You will need precise control over your colors in certain situations in order to achieve certain effects and accomplish some jobs. In games and Web sites, you often have to set precise color information...

Another important component of resolution is aspect ratio, or the ratio of the pixel’s width to the pixel’s height. Not all images are square. In 640 x 480, 800 x 600, and 1,024 x 768 mode, the aspect ratio is 1:1 or 1, meaning the pixels are perfectly square. In 320 x 200 mode, the aspect ratio...

Resolution is the number of pixels displayed (width x height) in an image. A typical computer monitor displays 75 to 90 dpi (dots per inch, the number of pixels per inch in an image). A printed image usually needs to be 300 dpi or more if it is to look good in print. Often a computer-based person requesting...

To begin with, we will look at the most fundamental of fundamentals—the most basic element of an image—which is the pixel, or a picture element. A pixel is a colored dot on the screen. A computer image is made up of these pixels arranged in rows and columns. See Figure 3.5 for an illustration of...