Types of Digital Graphics, Image Resolution and Compression

Raster

   A raster or a bitmap is a type of image file format that is used to store digital images. Raster/bitmap images are made up of many pixels which makes them an ideal file format for photographs as they don't need to be resized. The reason why photographs should be stored as this file format is because unlike vectors a raster contains a lot of complex information which is too complex for a vector. However, people working with raster images must remember that they mustn't resize the image too much because it will cause it to become blurry and pixelated. There are a number of raster file formats, some more commonly used than others; for example a GIF is a file format "which allows a single image to reference a palette of up to 256 colours"; it can also support "up to 8 bits per pixel". A GIF "supports animation and allows the same palette of colours for each frame". This colour limitation means it is unsuitable for reproducing continuous coloured images/photo but it is best used for simple images like graphics with solid colours. PNG’s are another bitmap file which was created to improve the GIF; it "supports palette-based images and RGB images". This file type was designed for "transferring images on the internet and not for professional quality". TIFF is another format that is only used for bitmap data; it is a "highly flexible and platform-independent format" supported by numerous software applications. JPEG is the most commonly used bitmap file; it is commonly used when storing photographs and transmitting images onto the internet.


Vector

   A vector file is used when an image is made up of geometrical primitives (e.g. points, lines, curves, shapes, etc.) based of mathematical expressions representing images. According to Wikipedia the complexity of these graphics "do not affect the size of the files substantially because all the information is stored in the structure". With this advantage it is clear that vectors are best used to store logos and graphical designs as it cannot handle the data from more complex files like images. The image to that vectors have much more pixels than a raster because the raster has become pixelated as it has stretched out.

Image Resolution

   Image resolution is the term used when describing the detail an image holds; the higher the resolution is means the more detail the image has. This term is commonly used to for the pixel count within digital imagery; if the image has a lot of pixels it will also have a lot of detail. Wikipedia says that "resolution quantifies how close lines can be to each other and be visibly resolved". The "resolution units can be tied to sizes (e.g. lines per mm), overall size of an image (lines per image height) or to angular subtenant". Image resolution is different for different uses; for example if an image is needed to be used of a website it needs a balance of speed and quality. Most computer monitors display a maximum of 72 DPI which means when creating images for web use it should be on average this size. When using images on the internet it is important that the file size is as small as possible to ensure the website speed is fast. However for print use image resolution is very important because if they don’t have a high resolution the images will become blurry. Most printers made for professional use requires a minimum of 300 DPI for all images at the final print size. It is better to print an image with a higher resolution to ensure better quality.

File Compression & Image Optimisation

   File compression is used when sending a file from one computer to another using the internet. Compressing a file just makes the file smaller which makes it faster to send. Although, the computer which it is being sent to must have software which will decompress the file so it can be used as normal. File compression will be used often for digital graphics in the computer games industry because there is a large number of people working on the game they need to be able to look files over. File compression will enable them to send the graphics to each other quickly to make changes or send it to the producer when meeting deadlines.

   Image optimisation however is when using the most compressed yet visually acceptable image in a file format for a specific use. Image optimisation is used to decrease the download time and bandwidth used. This is used for graphics in computer games to ensure more hardrive space for them to work on; this is very important because there is a lot of memory used when creating a game.

The Uses of Digital Graphics for Computer Games

Pre-Production

   During pre-production the creation of digital graphics is very important; it allows the game development team to plan out their game through concept art. Pre-production is arguably the most important stage during the production of a video game. During this stage game developers find themselves coming up with ideas and recording them; one of the best ways they can do this is by representing the ideas visually.

   The image to the right is some concept art for Fallout 3; this concept art is clearly planning the 'Pip-Boy Model 3000'. There are lots of different sketches on this image that represent this one object. You can tell that planning graphics beforehand is so important so that everyone can get their ideas across and agree on the best one. It would be silly to just start making this object without planning because the 3D modelers might not create something that the team likes.

   The picture to the left shows some concept art created during the pre-production of Skyrim. This is a final design for the Stormcloak NPC; you can tell from this that creating concept art is also important when the team have all agreed on an idea. Having concept art is so important because the 3D modelers can work off it during the making of the graphics; this ensures that they create the right thing. 











In Game

   When pre-production is complete in-game graphics will be created; this is all things from textures to 3D renders. 3D models of characters, environments and objects are usually created first and then the textures are put onto them. This is an essential step because without it there would be no game.

   To the right is a picture of a 3D model in polygon form and above it is the same model but textured. You can see from the picture that texturing the model is just as important as creating it because it doesn't like right without it. The game would look incomplete without textures. Without in-game graphics the game wouldn't make any sense and you wouldn't be able to do anything within it.

   In-game graphics don't just include the nessessary stuff like characters, weapons and environments. It also includes objects that make up the game and help encourage the theme. The picture to the right is a screenshot from Fable 3; you can see that in the room there are a number of objects (e.g. basket, chest of draws, chair, etc). These objects aren't crucial to the gameplay or the storyline but they're just as important. The house wouldn't look right if it was empty; the style of the objects also go with the theme and that's important so that the theme trends through the entire game.





Print Media

   The last stage is used to create print media which is used mainly for advertising. This stage is when game packaging is made; this stage is also planned so that they get the right design before creating the final product. It is so important that the print media represents the game in a good way so that the viewer can tell what the game is about and is attracted by it and more likely to purchase it.

   The picture to the right is the Bioshock 2 game cover; I think this is a great cover because it represents the game so well. The title is rusted metal and has barnacles surround it which implys that the game is set underwater. On the cover is also 2 characters that you can clearly see are enemies because they have that certain look about them. It is important to put things that are in the game on the cover so that the pottential customer knows what the game involves.

   Not only is print media produced for packaging but also for advertising. Posters, leaflets and other similar things are created before the release of the game to draw peoples attention and create excitement before the release date. The picture below is a promotional poster for Battlefield 3; it was released before the release of the game to create hype. The poster has images of tanks and soldiers on it to represent what the game is about. It is so important that the promotional material represents the game in a good way so that more people are encouraged to buy it.

Image Capture and Storage of Image Assets

Forms of Capturing Images for Digital Graphics


Scanner

   An image scanner is a device that can scan a number of things (e.g. images and writing) and convert them into a digital image. The device can only scan images from a particular angle which obviously limits the user to a certain degree. According to Wikipedia "scanners usually read RGB data from the array and then it is processed with proprietary algorithm to correct for different exposure conditions". The file is then sent to the connected computer where the user can access the file and edit it within editing software on the PC. The colour depth of the scanner depends on the models characteristics but it is usually low, having at least 24 bits; higher quality models have 36-48 bits. Recently scanners have become very unpopular due to the development of the digital camera. The digital camera can do a very similar job with better quality. The scanner is now mainly used when a written document must be converted into a digital image.


Digital Camera

   A digital camera is a device that can capture still images and videos using an electronic image sensor. Digital cameras are much more popular than film cameras because they can display the images on the built-in screen straight after being captured. Digital cameras also have the ability to store thousands of images on the smallest of storage devices and delete them to create more space. The majority of digital cameras can also record videos with sound and allow the user to edit images straight on the camera by using editing tools such as crop and remove red eye. These devices are widely used in every day life and can be found in most mobile phones and vehicles. There are many uses of for digital cameras; most people have them so they can capture special moments; professional photographers have them so they can produce photographic graphics for a living whereas they can also be used for more serious matters (e.g. security cameras).


Graphics Tablet

   A graphics tablet is a device that allows its user to hand-draw images and graphics straight onto a PC stored file. Tablets replace the use of the mouse and makes some tasks much simpler. There are many uses of this devices; for example you could use it to capture data or signatures, to trace images from paper onto a file on the computer or just hand-draw imagery. Using the device to hand-draw imagery gives the user control and the ability to go into deeper detail. Graphics tablets aren't the cheapest of the devices which is why they are primarily used by people in creative professions that do a lot of graphics designs.



Storing Image Assets Effectively


Naming Files Logically

   Naming files logically is very important so that the user finds it much easier to find certain files among the other ones. When naming files you should think about what the document consists of and name it accordingly; naming a file a specific name will cut down the time you would usually spend trying to find it especially if you have a lot of files. When a file is given a name that goes with its purpose the user is more likely to remember it which will allow them to access the file as quickly as possible.


Carefully Managing Assets

   Carefully managing assets is very important so that the users documents are organised. Organising files is very easy and can be most effectively be done by creating a number of folders that hold different files. It is important to remember to keep all of the related files in a certain folder titled with a name that matches the trending theme of the files. Creating folders will prevent cluttering and will make it much easier for the user to access the files that they need at any given time.


Keeping Control of File Sizes

   Keeping control of file sizes is very important so that large files aren't taking up a lot of space on the hardrive and making the PC run slow. This can be done simply by deleting unessessary assets within a file. With smaller files a PC will run faster and will have more room available for other files.

Styles of Graphic Art in Computer Games

Photorealism

   Photorealism is the most commonly used graphic art style for computer games during the present due to the development of technology. Not many years ago game developers were very limited to the graphics they implemented within games because they just didn't have the hardware to create anything better. However, as all of us will know game graphics have just evolved over the years. This advancement has now given game developers the ability to create photorealistic graphics! This has made companies even more competitive because they are always trying to make the game with the best graphics! One of the most important factors about a game is how immersive it is; photorealistic graphics are a good way to highten this factor because the more realistic a game looks the more the player will believe the game is real.

 The term 'photorealism' is used to describe art that has been created to look like an actual photograph. Photorealism is just a developed concept of 'realism'; realism began very early and was made popular during the 1800's in France. However it began much earlier than that; it was crucial that there were always realism artists to paint portraits of royals if not for any other reason. Diego Valázquez was a Spanish painter who worked within King Phillip IV's court during the 1600's. His job was to paint the Spanish royal family and other European figures. The picture to the right shows one of his paintings titled "Infanta Margarita Teresa in a Pink Dress". It's a painting of the Kings daughter and you can tell by looking at it that he was very good at capturing realism in his paintings.

   Photorealism itself began to develop during the late 60's from 'pop art'. Richard Estes was considered one of the founders of the photorealism movement; Estes would paint every day places such as diners and public transport but in such a realistic way which caught peoples attention. One of his most famous paintings is titled "Telephone Booths" which features four telephone booths next to eachother (to the left).

   Although paintings are much different to digital graphics they had a massive influence on the design and style of certain games. A recent game that pulled off photorealism very well is L.A. Noire; the game was released in 2011 as an 'action-adventure third-person shooter neo-noir crime' video game. The game is set in Los Angeles during the late 40's and you play as a detective. The game relys heavily on its theme which is the reason why they chose to create photorealistic graphics. Using this technique the developers could more effectively represent the theme and immerse the players. The picture to the right shows a screenshot from the game; you can see why it's graphics have been raved about. When you play the game you feel much more immersed in the game and that you actually are the main character. Like a lot of films and games L.A. Noire has actually based their animated characters on their voice actors; the main character Cole Phelps is played by an actor called Aaron Staton. In the picture to the right you can see a comparrison of them both; creating 3D models this way can be much easier and effective than basing models on people that don't exist. Obviously this technique of working off a photograph worked for the developers of L.A. Noire because the character looks exactly like the actor.

   Skyrim is an 'action role-playing open world' video game set in the fictional province of Skyrim. This game also has a photorealistic graphic design; it is very important to the game that the graphics are interesting because players find themselves travelling large distances going from quest to quest. Epic landscapes are abundant in this game and make the game what it is. Since the game is set in a fictional, 'better' world it is important that they depict this with their graphics. Role-playing games usually do have this particular style because they help immerse the player into the game more and take on the role of their character. However, Skyrim has exaggerated themes about it because obviously this world doesn't exist and includes some outrageous themes.



Cel Shading

   Cel shading is a graphic art style used to make the games graphics look as if they were hand-drawn. This style is used to give the graphics a comic book or cartoon look; it isn't often used in video games but it is usually used when the designers want to give the game a unique or simplistic look. Obviously this style was influenced by traditional comic art; comics such as Wonder Woman use bright colours and thick black lines in order to make the images stand out. Cel shaded games use the same technique in order to create a fun and playful feel.

   Two of the most popular games to use the cel shading technique is Borderlands and Borderlands 2. The picture to the left is some promotional art for the game; it has all of the playable characters infront of a scene in the game world. You can see by the designs of just the characters and weapons that the game is meant to be outrageous and silly. All of the characters have a unique style and unique traits which can be manipulated within the game. These traits are suggested due to the individual styles of each character and are well represented with the outlandish graphics style.

    However, some games appear to just use the cel shading technique because the developers are too lazy to create anything that looks better. Take the game, 'Project Rub' for example; it is only available on the DS which obviously limits the graphics to a certain degree but they don't seem to make much effort at all. The imagery uses block colours and no shading which obviously tells you that the graphics were made easily and quickly. To compare Project Rub's graphics to Borderlands is like comparing Da Vinci's Mona Lisa to a childs finger painting.

Abstract

   Abstract is a graphic art style which uses lines and shapes to represent things opposed to photorealism which incorporates real life objects within the game. This style is only really used in puzzle games because other genres can't just use lines and shapes to represent the games assets.

   Tetris is one of the most famous games ever and it has an abstract style; the game wouldn't work in any other style than this. The whole point of this game is to fit different shapes together and create a line with no gaps; using any other style to create this game just couldn't be done because the whole point of the game is to use shapes. The screenshot to the right shows how basic the graphics actually are in Tetris; another reason why they will have used an abstract style is because it was simple to create. When Tetris was released in 1984 game developers were limited to the graphics they made so this was a simple way of the creator to make something that looked quite good.

   Another game with abstract graphics is Edge; this game is also a puzzle game and you can tell its a lot different to Tetris. It still uses shapes but it has more of a realistic look because there is actually a scene. The aim of this game is to get the square (controlled by you) to a certain point in the game using a correct amount of moves. As you can see the abstract style works very well for puzzle games because there is no story line that needs to have real objects in the game to represent this.



Exaggeration

   Exaggeration is a graphic art style that is similar to photorealism but much more exaggerated. It's basically a style that represents things in a much more exciting way using things that aren't real; Japanese game developers are well know for using this style in most of their games.

   Take the Final Fantasy series for example; you can see from the picture to the right that the graphics are pretty realistic but the style is completely exaggerated making it look much more exciting. All of the characters are in outlandish costumes and use outlandish weapons. Even the environments are eggarated to make this fictional world look even more exciting! The reason some games use this graphics style is because it allows the player to escape into a different world and experience new things.  

    Horror games are the biggest culprit of using an exaggerated graphics style and you can clearly see why. Obviously monsters aren't real in real life so the graphics have to be exaggerated to a certain degree. The picture to the right shows a screen shot from one of the Resident Evil games; this game series probably has the most exaggerated graphics ever! The monsters are completely ridiculous however the other characters and environments are pretty realistic. It is important that games get the right balance because the game world still has to be believable so the player finds themselves immersed into it.