Pixels and Digital Graphics

BTEC Level 3 Video Games Design

Unit 78: Digital Graphics in Computer Games

Pixel

A pixel is not a square

A pixel is a point sample, it holds up to, maybe, 3 colours, one for each primary colour, and the pixels close by change your view of a pixel. A pixel is in a square, maybe even a rectangular shape, and the different pixels merge together in our eyes and we are only able to see a square shape unless we zoom in.

Picture Resolution

Picture resolution is, not what it looks like on screen, but how it will look printed on paper. When using Photoshop, or any other photo editing software, you can choose how many pixels will be within each inch of paper.

Intensity (Pixel Value)

The pixel value describes how bright a

pixel should be and what colour it should be. Red, green and blue components (RGB colourspace) need  The higher the intensity is, the better the picture resolution.

Types of Digital Graphics

Raster Images (bmp, gif, tiff, jepg)

When you zoom in on a raster image, the image becomes pixelated and blurry.






Vector Images (psd, wmf, fla, ai)

When you zoom in on a vector image, the image stays clear as possible, no pixilation.

File Extensions

File extensions are usually files with a name then followed by a full stop with a file type afterwards, for example .bmp, .png, .gif, .tiff, .jpg, .psd.

Compression

Using approximations to reduce a file size so you have more data space.

Image Capture

Image capture is using a scanner, digital camera or tablet/phone to take a picture of something/someone, and then put into your computer, often used with compression.

Optimising

Optimising is rearranging data to improve quality or efficiency. For example, compression can be used to help you with file space.

Storage of Image Assets

Used for organising files, storing things like textures, graphics etc. and can be very useful for gaming industries as they need to be fast and they need to meet deadlines.