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Graphics in Games

© Joe Jeskiewicz

In almost every type of game there are elements of graphic design. Whether you are choosing the font for a deck of cards or an artist to illustrate an ogre getting his head chopped off, the graphics and the decision you make for this aspect of the game are important. And whether it is important or not, I have a Bachelor of Science Degree of Graphic Design, from West Liberty State College in West Virginia. (Go Hilltoppers!)

Board Games, card games, and even computer games use a great deal of iconography in their design. Iconography is the use of icons to facilitate the communication of ideas. The more often they are used throughout society the more recognizable they become. And at times it is wiser to use a recognized icon rather than make up your own. For instance, we would not change the sign on a bathroom door. The little male and female figures that appear on the public restroom are pretty standard. Another standard is the telephone icon. Telephones don't much look like they did 30 years ago but the icon does. That icon has become a standard and a new icon that represents a cell phone isn't likely to change the public conception of a telephone any time soon.

Where am I going with this? Card Games and Board games have an established iconography as well. Sometimes they are localized to a particular game, such as monopoly. If you were to make a 2D computer game and used the silhouettes of the game pieces I think it would be quickly understood what you were trying to accomplish. The game of monopoly has been around long enough that it has established its own iconography. Playing cards have a well established iconography. I think almost every country in the world would know what the heart, club, diamond, and spade represent. When thinking about redesigning these elements of a game however I think it is important to use the established iconography, and if you are desiring a change then do it gradually.

And while computer games today have much more to offer than simple 2 bit graphics, there are elements of computer graphics that are strong proponents of the use of iconography. When booting up a computer for the first time, do you know what the "My Computer" icon looks like? Recycle Bin? When playing games what usually represents saving a game? Or perhaps "attack"? These icons have become a standard by which we recognize core concepts and changing them can be a momentous decision or a disastrous one. What I am trying to say is changing icons can be a deadly mistake and should only be changed to suit the flavor of the game.

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