Game resolution and sprite sizes

[SeaOtterGamer]

Hey all.

I am new to making videos games, and only have a basic coding background. I read through the manual and did a quick forum search but could not find the answers I needed.  I appologise if this has already been answered.

• What are the pros and cons for different resolution?
• If I stick to a certain resolution, will the game always be that small?  Can I resize the window?
• What is the largest character sprite I can import and animate? If I pick a high resolution, will my sprites sizes be limited or stretched?

Thank you ll very much for your help! I'm trying to decide if I can get away with 800 x 600, or if I need to upgrade to 1024 x 768.  The windows just seem so small on my monitor (of course, that may be due to my monitor resolution).  Can I set the monitor resolution on start-up and revert it back when the game closes? Thanks again!

[Khris]

When you compile your game, a small exe called winsetup is also created. You can use this to set a graphics filter. That way you can run a small game in a x2, x3 or x4 window.
The game can also be run fullscreen; if necessary, borders are added for widescreen monitors by AGS, or the graphics driver or monitor will do it.
Many people here create lowres games (320 x 200/240) and they run fine in scaled up windows or fullscreen.

The size of character sprites is usually determined by your game's resolution; it's possible to import huge sprites though. Not sure what you're referring to by "limited or stretched". An average character's height will be something in the range of 20% to 50% of the screen height. You can use 600 pixels tall sprites in a 1024 game no problem.

In case you are asking about the relation of game size to graphics size, it's 1:1. Creating a 1024x768 game means you'll have to create background images of at least that size in pixels.
If you are a beginner when it comes to creating graphics, I definitely recommend starting with a 320 game.

[SeaOtterGamer]

When you compile your game, a small exe called winsetup is also created. You can use this to set a graphics filter. That way you can run a small game in a x2, x3 or x4 window.
The game can also be run fullscreen; if necessary, borders are added for widescreen monitors by AGS, or the graphics driver or monitor will do it.
Many people here create lowres games (320 x 200/240) and they run fine in scaled up windows or fullscreen.

The size of character sprites is usually determined by your game's resolution; it's possible to import huge sprites though. Not sure what you're referring to by "limited or stretched". An average character's height will be something in the range of 20% to 50% of the screen height. You can use 600 pixels tall sprites in a 1024 game no problem.

In case you are asking about the relation of game size to graphics size, it's 1:1. Creating a 1024x768 game means you'll have to create background images of at least that size in pixels.
If you are a beginner when it comes to creating graphics, I definitely recommend starting with a 320 game.

Thank you SO much, and this answered almost all of my questions.  Is there any cons to starting with a 320 game. I would assume the 640 would be better, but would make for a larger game, more resource intensive, and each image would take longer to make.

Thanks again!

[Snarky]

Thank you SO much, and this answered almost all of my questions.  Is there any cons to starting with a 320 game. I would assume the 640 would be better, but would make for a larger game, more resource intensive, and each image would take longer to make.

Most beginners think that they'll be able to make better-looking games in higher resolutions, but the truth is usually that unless you're an experienced artist, it's actually harder to create graphics that look good in higher resolutions. Plus, most of the graphics work is in making the animations, and that takes much more time in higher resolutions. For these reasons, the default recommendation is nearly always to start off with a 320x200/240 game.

The one notable drawback to a low-resolution game in 320x200 or 320x240 is that it makes for quite grainy text. If you just want plain printed text it will generally look fine, but effects like italics or handwriting fonts are hard to pull off.

[SeaOtterGamer]

Thank you SO much, and this answered almost all of my questions.  Is there any cons to starting with a 320 game. I would assume the 640 would be better, but would make for a larger game, more resource intensive, and each image would take longer to make.

Most beginners think that they'll be able to make better-looking games in higher resolutions, but the truth is usually that unless you're an experienced artist, it's actually harder to create graphics that look good in higher resolutions. Plus, most of the graphics work is in making the animations, and that takes much more time in higher resolutions. For these reasons, the default recommendation is nearly always to start off with a 320x200/240 game.

The one notable drawback to a low-resolution game in 320x200 or 320x240 is that it makes for quite grainy text. If you just want plain printed text it will generally look fine, but effects like italics or handwriting fonts are hard to pull off.

Ok this makes a lot of sense now. I think I'm going to make a few small, lower res games to get used to it then I'll up my resolution for the main game that I've been planning.

It order to get text to look better, would it be a good idea to background in 320 and then scale it in your photo editor to 640. That way the art is easier to make, but the text appears smoother? Or is this a bad idea?

[Snarky]

Put it this way: If your graphics look a bit like this (which is quite decent for someone just starting out), I don't think you gain much from the high resolution anyway:

Spoiler

[close]

If you went with a lower resolution instead, it might end up looking something like this:

Spoiler

[close]

... which I think many people (around here at least) tend to prefer.

It order to get text to look better, would it be a good idea to background in 320 and then scale it in your photo editor to 640. That way the art is easier to make, but the text appears smoother? Or is this a bad idea?

Well, like I said, normal text will generally look fine (though computery) in 320x200. It's just if you want fancy fonts or special text effects, or if you are really going to display massive amounts of text, that it might be worth upping the resolution for that reason.

Some examples:

Spoiler

[imgzoom]http://www.corbydesigns.com/hq/hqscreen1.png[/imgzoom]


320x200, fine for normal text


fancy text effects and font that require this high resolution to look good


this particular font would probably have looked better in a higher resolution

[imgzoom]http://khato.furrified.com/DWEF/Promotional/Metaverse_WIP2.PNG[/imgzoom]
here the game has tried to squeeze in so much text on one screen that it gets too small for the resolution, and readability suffers

[close]

Using upscaled graphics has its own drawbacks, particularly that sprites will scale in a way that doesn't match the apparent game resolution, which can look ugly. (This is called "mixed resolution" and is usually frowned upon.)

Spoiler

notice how the size of the pixels on Eddie and Lara are completely different, and don't match the background. In this case they were probably drawn that way, but upscaling graphics can cause a similar effect.

[close]

There are some games that do it and make it look pretty good, but generally it's not a good idea. Better to just stick with 320x200/240 and work within the limitations.

[SeaOtterGamer]

Thanks Snarky. The mixed resolution problem is what I was trying to avoid when I asked whetehr my sprite sizes would be stretched.

I think I'm good to start this up. Thank both of you for your help

[Eric]

Put it this way

I think this is a super helpful post because of the examples you provide, and I also appreciate that by using some of them, you're saying, "Well, this is a bit crap, innit?"

[Snarky]

I don't mean to have a got at any of the games/artists. Obviously some of the creators are more technically proficient than others, but what I hoped to get across is that you can make your game look as good as possible within your skill level by being aware of some of these technical things. E.g. Sepulchre (the sepia-ish one in a bar) is a good-looking game that could have looked even better with a different font (or perhaps, since it looks like it might not use any sprite scaling anyway, going mixed-resolution to achieve a smoother look of this font, Blackwell Convergence-style).