Video game graphics

Games use many looks.

Some very old games used only words. You would read about the rooms and items.

Other games use lines and shapes to make pictures. Some games let you look from the side. You can move left or right. Some games look like real movies. They use clips of video to show action. New games look very real and lifelike. They use 3D to show the world. All these ways make games fun to play.

Video games use many ways to show pictures.

Early games used text instead of pictures. You would read words to see rooms or items. These were called text games. Later, some games used vector graphics. These use math to draw points, lines, and curves. Some old arcade games used a beam to draw these shapes.

Other games use a side-scrolling view. In these games, you move left or right. The screen moves with your character. Some games use 2D graphics with a top-down view. This looks like a bird's-eye view from above.

You can also play games with full motion video. These use clips of real movies to show action. In the 1990s, these games used CD-ROMs to hold the video. Most modern games use 3D graphics. This makes the world look lifelike. Some 3D games use a fixed 3D view. This means the camera stays in one spot. This helps the game run on smaller machines. Developers use these many tools to make games fun.

Video game graphics are the ways computers show images on a screen. Over time, these methods have changed a lot. This happens because computer parts get more powerful. Early computers had very little processing power. This meant they could not show complex pictures easily.

Developers had to find clever ways to make games work. They used different techniques to create worlds for players to explore. These methods range from simple words to lifelike 3D worlds.

In the beginning, many games used text instead of pictures. These were called text-based games. Players would read descriptions of rooms, items, or actions. Some of these games, like MUDs, were played by many people at once. Other games, called roguelikes, used text to show monsters and items. Because text is easy for a computer to handle, these games were common from 1970 to 1990. Even today, people still play these interactive stories.

Some programmers even have contests to see who can write a roguelike in seven days.

Next came vector graphics, which use math to draw shapes. Instead of using tiny dots called pixels, they use points, lines, and curves. Some old arcade games used an electron beam to draw these shapes. This worked much like a laser show. Companies like Atari, Cinematronics, and Sega made many of these games. You might know titles like Asteroids or Tempest.

These games often used color overlays to make the monochrome lines look bright. After 1985, these became less common as other technologies improved.

Some games try to fake being three-dimensional. This is often called 2.5D or pseudo-3D. One way to do this is with parallax scrolling. This is when different layers move at different speeds to show depth. Another way is using a top-down view, which looks like a bird's-eye view. Games like SimCity or Pokémon use this style.

You can also see side-scrolling games. In these, characters move left or right, like in Sonic the Hedgehog. The screen might follow the player or move on its own.

Modern games often use full 3D graphics to look lifelike. These use complex shapes to create worlds that look like real life. Some 3D games use a technique called fixed 3D. In these games, the camera stays in one spot while characters move. This helps the game run well on smaller machines. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time used this for buildings.

Other games use full motion video, which uses pre-recorded movie clips. This was popular in the early 1990s with CD-ROMs. Today, high-budget 3D graphics can look as beautiful as movies.

Video game graphics are the visual techniques used to display content on a screen. These methods have evolved significantly throughout the history of gaming. This evolution is driven by hardware advances and the limitations of computer parts. The processing power of the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing unit (GPU) dictates what can be shown. As these components become more powerful, graphics move from simple text to lifelike 3D worlds.

Early video games often relied on text-based graphics. These games used text characters instead of bitmapped or vector graphics. Multi-user dungeons, or MUDs, allowed players to read descriptions of virtual rooms and actions. Roguelikes are another subgenre that uses text for monsters and items. These games often emphasize randomization and permanent death. Because text requires very little processing power, these games were common between 1970 and 1990. Today, people still play MUDs and interactive fiction. Even beginning programmers use text games to learn coding languages. Some contests challenge programmers to finish a roguelike in just seven days.

Vector graphics represent a different mathematical approach to imagery. Instead of using pixels, vector graphics use geometrical primitives like points, lines, and curves. These shapes are based on mathematical equations rather than resolution-dependent bitmaps. In early arcade games, vector displays used an electron beam to draw images. This process is similar to how a laser show works. Many of these monochrome images used full-color overlays to add detail. Companies like Atari, Cinematronics, and Sega produced famous vector games. Examples include Asteroids, Tempest, and Star Trek. After 1985, vector graphics declined as sprite technology and rasterized 3D graphics became more popular.

During the early 1990s, full motion video (FMV) became a notable trend. FMV games rely on pre-recorded television or movie-quality recordings. They use these clips instead of sprites, vectors, or 3D models. This format became popular as CD-ROMs and Laserdiscs entered homes. These storage formats provided much more capacity than the ROM cartridges used by consoles at the time. However, many FMV games were criticized by gamers. Players often felt there was a lack of interaction in these games. Consequently, the popularity of FMV declined after 1995 as advanced consoles arrived. Some FMV games functioned like music games, while others were rail shooters like Sewer Shark.

Two-dimensional games often use parallel projection to create efficient worlds. Developers divide art into sprites or tiles to reuse them repeatedly. This allows for large, complex environments with fewer art assets. One common style is the top-down perspective, also called a bird's-eye view. This camera angle shows the player and the area from above. Games like SimCity, Pokémon, and Railroad Tycoon used this view. Action games like the early Grand Theft Auto also utilized it. Another common 2D style is the side-scroller. In side-scrolling games, characters generally move only left or right.

Many games use "pseudo-3D" or 2.5D techniques to fake three-dimensionality. These methods use parallel projection to reveal multiple facets of an object from a fixed perspective. Examples include isometric projection, which is used in games like The Sims and Diablo. Other techniques include parallax scrolling, where layers move at different speeds to suggest depth. Scaling is another method used in games like Space Harrier. Developers also use 3D techniques like bump mapping to add detail. This increases the illusion of depth without raising the polygon count too high. A high polygon count refers to the number of shapes used to make a 3D object.

Modern gaming is defined by 3D accelerated graphics. These allow for views that are much more lifelike than older technologies. Some games use a technique called fixed 3D to save processing power. In fixed 3D, foreground objects are rendered in real time against a static background. This allows for high detail on minimal hardware. However, the player cannot move the camera to different viewpoints. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time used fixed 3D for many building interiors. This technique was later replaced by full 3D in Majora's Mask. High-budget 3D graphics can now display levels of artistry once found only in films.