Sprites for games - what is it?

Computer industry in recent years has risen very, very high. If earlier computer games were just entertainment for a narrow circle of fans, now it is something more. People of all ages can play in them, projects are created that correspond to even the most subtle tastes. And most importantly, there were incredible opportunities that you could not even think about before, so now computer games can be virtually indistinguishable from reality in terms of graphics and physics, they can immerse the user in uncharted worlds, allowing him to live incredible stories and be in them the key Character. But while some people do not want to confine themselves to the process of "playing" - they are carried away by the procedure for creating games. However, most of these dreamers remain at the level of fantasy, because they believe that this process is too complicated. In fact, everything is not as it is confirmed by a huge number of indie developers who are now producing many projects without large budgets and publishers' support. You just need to start small and gradually go ahead. From this article you will learn what sprites are for games and how to use them, then start creating your own projects.

What are sprites?

If you have a computer game in front of you, what do you see before you? The graphical shell of this project, a variety of textures, composed of tiny pixels. If you plan to create a computer game, then you have a lot to work with graphics. But if you do not yet aim at a major project, then you do not need an ideal work with graphic 3D editors. Here you can use the sprites for games, which you can download on the Internet. But what is it? How can they be used and how does this help you? Sprites for games are ready-made textures of characters, objects and so on, which you can download to your computer, and then use it in the creation of the game. This means that you will not need to draw each object in the game, as well as every phase of its movement - all this will already be in your finished form. As you can see, sprites for games really can greatly facilitate your life.

Kind of sprites

Now you have a general idea of what sprites are for games, but it will not be enough to use them in practice. It is necessary to understand what they specifically represent and how to apply them in creating games. If you are going to use sprites, then you need to download them to your computer. In most cases, they will look like a large or even a huge graphic file, in which tens or even hundreds of small images will be placed on a transparent background. Accordingly, you can cut this large file into small ones to have direct access to your sprites. Perhaps some of them you will not need, and you can cut them, so this method is much more convenient than downloading tens and hundreds of individual images. You simply select a large file, mark the area, and you are ready to sprite.

Using Sprites

As you well know, in most cases you can find sprites for 2D games, since 3D images are not so standardized, so it takes a lot of space to transfer all the movements of one 3D object. At the same time, working with two-dimensional sprites is extremely simple. You just need to load the sprites into the editor in which you create, and glue them together, creating motion effects. And then upload to the level and enjoy the result.

Transition from sprites to graphics

You can not use sprites all your life to create games, so if you are setting ambitious goals, you need to either learn to work with graphic editors, or look for an assistant who owns this skill.