Pixel art
Pixel art is a type of game graphics mainly used in old titles or remakes of old titles, some of the most popular games that use pixel art are Super Mario Donkey Kong. Pixel art was brought into the gaming industry when technology was not very advanced and the world of gaming was new, so there was very little technology available to create anything like the games we have today. Pixel art is a type of game graphics typically used in 2D games, most commonly found in older games that are widely popular such as the older and newer Super Mario and Donkey Kong games. Below you can see some animated pixel art for the mentioned game series'.
http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lcrtz02G9u1qzj5ggo1_400.gif
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyubnhubU91roc7wpo1_500.gif
Pixel art was brought into the gaming industry when technology was not very advanced and the world of gaming was quite new, so there was very little technology available to create anything like the games we have today, that reflect real life with intense realism.
When gaming was introduced, all games were extremely simple, so when games were introduced in the 1980's with the first ever recognisable character, it was quite an advancement. Due to the low level of technology around back then, games were made up of pixels that were manipulated to appear as various assets within a game.
Pixel art is still used today in many 2D games, as they have retained their popularity over the years since being introduce, I myself have recently created my own 2D game using some pixel art as you can see below.
As you can see I have used some basic 2D shapes within my 2D game, though the red player character on the left of the screen at the beginning and the blue and red enemy players are made up of small pixels.
Concept art
Concept art is usually created at the beginning of the production process of a game, this is done to get a feel of what the game is going to look like, how the characters and environments will look in a game and what weapons will be featured in the game.
Concept art is also used for game posters and advertisement and sometimes on loading screens during gameplay.
Below is concept art for the game World of Warcraft. If you are aware of to overall appearance of the game World of Warcraft, then you will know that though there are similarities with the below concept art and the game, there are very few. The game World of Warcraft is far less realistic when compared to this artwork, this is an extremely regular occurrence within the games industry, in which the concept is only vaguely representative of actual gameplay and in game models such as structures and characters.
http://imagery.playerattack.com/2010/01/WarcraftMovie-WorldTree.jpg
Below is another example of concept art for the game World of Warcraft. This particular concept art does not actually represent anything I can recognise within the game itself and I have played this particular game for many years.
http://i.neoseeker.com/ca/world_of_warcraft_wrath_of_the_lich_king_conceptart_vYSwv.jpg
Texture art
Texture art is created to be put on 3D models and character models, it is a necessity in a game, if there was no texture art then all the characters and models in the game would just be general outlines of what they are supposed to represent, games are covered in texture art and it is primarily what brings a game to life. Below is the texture art for a World of Warcraft character, with individual UV coverage laid out side by side, so you can see every texture that is used to texture a single character.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnmy_CApbbuIgVn9AqY7xqB7aY-cUl_V5KbHmg_yUkXPAAcnxAbVW3ji6hLKmVww0-WSQxWiI67iWA0yERXr070VxJ9QoGPzADiQvtTF78kVlZfA7UxUEPA8crorXCq6hFeWJUnsfHQg/s1600/texture1024test.jpg
Methods like this are used all the time in the games industry and you can quite clearly see how complicated the process of texturing models including character models actually is. It is a very lengthy process to get this operation right, but when done correctly you can end up with magnificent results!
Background graphics
Background graphics are used in a game to help give a game a theme, though you usually can't interact with them, they are what brings the game together and make it complete. Depending on whether the game is 2D or 3D the, the background graphics will vary.
As you can see below a 2D background graphic is a simple singular backdrop that is often layered and moves along with the player as the move through the game.
Below you can see Super Mario, the background graphics are the sky and the trees, these are the only non-interactive assets in the game and are there just for show, as they are there to make the game appear more complete and appealing to the eye.
I particularly admire this overall look of the below game and I have played it many times myself, as well as other similar games.
http://cdn.canadiancontent.net/t/screenshot/750/super-mario-forever.jpg
Below you can see a screenshot of one of the games from the Call of Duty franchise. As you can see there are assets in the foreground that can be interacted with, though the furthest assets such as the trees and the backgrounds furthest away are merely just for show.
This is a very effective methods of making a scene more appealing and creating boundaries for a game, as if the player could infinitely walk in one direction, they would go past the playable area filled with assets and enter nothingness, which would have a very negative impact in the game and its solidarity.
http://pichost.me/1452265/
Print media art
Print media art is the art used to promote the game physically, typically used when creating posters and game cases.
This kind of art is typically what attracts a lot of people to a game, like when your in a game store and a game case or poster catches your eye.
An effective way to boost sales for a game is to have an appealing array of media art, as this is what is advertised to the public and encourages them to either look into the game or buy it outright.
http://dgeiu3fz282x5.cloudfront.net/g/l/lgFP2848.jpg
http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/02/06/26/72/0002062672212_500X500.jpg
I find this particular artwork very appealing and it would definitely encourage me to play the game if I was not already, though I recall the media art encouraging me to play the game many years ago.
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