File Format + Types

                  File formats and types
A pixel is a square full of colour used in raster images.
The resolution of an image is determined by the amount of pixels there are in a set area, DPI (which stand for dots per inch) measures this, the higher the DPI the better the resolution.
The colour intensity of a pixel show how much of a certain colour is shown in the pixel, in comparison to the other colours.
The colour intensity is commonly stored in either a RGB or CMYK format. RGB, is a channel containing the colours red, green and blue. RGB also contains alpha, a channel that shows transparency in a picture, RGB is for storing images digitally. CMYK has the following channels of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and black. CYMK is mainly used for images you wish to print off.

Compression reduces the files size, it does this by compacting all the information and removing what isn’t needed. Compression is very useful as it allows you save up space on your computer, compressed files are also quicker to send via the internet.

A lossy compression removes any unused data from the file which reduces its size. This also means the images lose quality when zoomed in onto.

A lossless compression technique allows you to keep the quality of the image as the extra data about the image such as layers, is kept. This also means you will be left with a much larger file than a lossy compressed file.

Raster Images pixelate when zoomed in on, as they use these coloured squares to produce the image.
Vestors however do not, as they use co-ordinates to plot the shape, although they have a more limited colour palette.

A raster image uses pixels it generally is used images in which you do not want to zoom in on but you can use a wider range of colours than a vector image.

• BMP- these files were used in old video games as they didn’t require de-compression saving the consoles processing power to be used for more important things, this also meant the files were very big.
• GIF- these files were originally the common image file on the internet, they are small, allow for animations and use lossless compression. However they only have 256 colours maximum so they aren’t very good for photos.Used online for non-photos and small animation loops.

• TIFF- these files are large files stored in a lossless format with all the data intact. Because of the size it isn’t advised to keep many although they are good for high quality pictures. Used for final design. Very good for editing photos.
• JPG- Widely used format for storing images on the web, with enough colours to be sufficent for coloured photos while being smaller than a PNG file as it has no transparency due to the lossy compression. Not very high quality, do not use for photos.

Vestor images use mathematics to make shapes by plotting out the shape with vectors. Because of this you are able to scale the images without them getting pixelated. You are unable however, to produce many details/gradients with the limited colour pallet. 

• PSD- Raster file created by photoshop, it uses a lossless compression format and can save layers, transparency and masks. This means the files are moderatly large, so they are usually used as the source file to be edited, rather than the final design. Is it supported by many other programs other than Adobe programs.
• FLA- Flash animation file, used by adobe. Reduces large graphic files into a smaller file that is better for sharing on the web. Can be used for animation, videos and games like on the website newgrounds.com. Websites with flash generally load slower than those without.

• ai- Adobe Illustrator Artwork, uses unflattened images in a vector format. Editable in Coreldraw, Inkscape and Illustrator it is mainly used for printable media. It saves in a lossless format. As it is a vector image it can be zoomed in indefinitly without it pixelating. Newer versions may have compatability issues.

Computer Game Graphic Types

Digital graphics play an important part in the creation of video-games. They are used to create in-game content like menus and sprites as well as promoting the sales of the game through cover art and posters. I’m going to list some of it uses and try to explain them.

 2D Sprites

A 2D sprite is a flat image of an object or a character.

 A group of them are used in sequence in order to produce movement.

 The more sprites in an action, the more frames required resulting in a more fluid

 and realistic movement

3D Isometric Sprites                          

An isometric sprite is a model made in a 3D program that is then rendered on a 2D plain. They are used to make the look of a 3D object without the system requirements of having 3D objects rendered.

Concept art                                

Concept art uses ideas from the game designers to make some rough sketches in order to display how the different game elements would work
together. Enviromental concepts give an idea of

the in-game landscape, character concepts show how different npcs would look and interact with the player.Vehicle concept shows how the cars and trains in-game would look in the setting. Weapons concepts show different weapons, these weapons are then worked upon remove and adding different features.

Textures
Textures form the details on a model, this means the system doesn't have to render as many polygons.There a few different texture types the first is  the bump map, high intensity areas are represented by white and low intensity areas are represented by black. Grey represents normal areas. Normal Maps are rainbow coloured grids of mainly blue. It's mainly used in the production high resolution models, where developers then bake the geometry onto a low poly-count model to save polygons.

Specular maps are used to show an objects shininess, the higher the the value of the pixel the shinier the object becomes. Textures like cotton will have a dark specular map while marble would have a high specular map. Diffuse maps use textures to define the objects main colour.

                                                                                                                                                                                    








 Game Interface                         

The game interface of game range from the heads-up display in-game, the text, the menus to the menu backgrounds.Interfaces are mainly 2D with a few exceptions, the HUD must be visible without taking up the whole screen, the text needs to be large enough to read and the menu need to indicate which option you are selecting.






Printed Media
Different types of printed media are distributed during the end of production and start of selling period of a game, they can be in the form of posters, box-art and cases as well as the image on the disc.Most of which is used to promote and advertise the game, in order to gain more sales.

Graphics Styles

Graphic Styles

    The graphic style of a game decides the art style of the textures and assets used. Graphic styles vary from hyper-realistic to really wacky cartoon textures in order to help mould a general idea of what the game is going to be like.

Photo-realistic

  The photo-realism graphic-style is the closest to real life as you get in the video game world. It uses photos of the real world as a reference for the texture in game. Games that use this graphic style consist of: Battlefield 3, Crysis 2 and Beyond Two Souls. This style makes the game more immersive as it looks closer to real life.

 

Abstraction

 

 The abstract graphic style has shapes and objects that look the most unrealistic. It is usually very cartoony, having bright colours and shapes that vaguely relates to characters and objects. Many of Jackson Pollock’s paintings use this style. In the games market it is usually used in games aimed at a younger audience as it is very colourful and bright. Examples would be Loco Roco and Limbo.

Cel Shading

Cel-shading is similar to abstract although it is usually more realistic. A key feature of cel-shading is the bold, black border around objects. This makes the textures within the border stand out more. Games that use this style are: Borderlands, Team fortress 2 and Cel damage overdrive.

Exaggeration

Some games have an exaggerated graphic style, this means that some aspects of the characters are disproportionate such as the eyes and arms, much like caricatures.  Most JRPG’s such as Tales of symphonia use it, having giant eyes. Gears of war also has exaggerated graphics with the characters having giant feet and torsos. These giant proportions can make a character look really strong or cute.