Ari Feldman's Book on Game Graphics



In 2000, Ari Feldman wrote a book called Designing Arcade Computer Game Graphics. Unfortunately, it was taken out of print (although copies still might exist in the retail channel). Ari Feldman has been so kind to give us the right to distribute the book electronically. In this way all of you can learn about how to create graphics for your games.

Graphics play a central role in the computer gaming experience, and arcade-style games are no exception. Designing Arcade Computer Game Graphics emphasizes the development of quality graphics for 2D arcade-style computer games, both online and offline, including such topics as game design and documentation, animation, proper color usage, and fonts.

You can download the full book here:


 * [[Media:Feldman_full.zip|Arcade Computer Game Graphics]] by Ari Feldman (zipped pdf, 4.8 MB)

Because this might be a bit large you can also view the most useful chapters of the book below.

Color is more than just something we see, it's something we experience. This being said, you need to fully understand color in order to exploit it and use it to its full potential. This chapter provides an overview of color theory and how to effectively use it your game creations.
 * [[Media:Feldman_chapter07.pdf|Chapter 7: Color and Arcade Game Graphics]]

For various reasons, many arcade games are limited in the amounts of color they can display. Therefore, you need to choose your colors wisely. This chapter helps you understand what color palettes are, how they differ across platforms, palette effects and how to effectively define your own.
 * [[Media:Feldman_chapter08.pdf|Chapter 8: All About Color Palettes]]

Animation is central to the arcade game experience. This chapter provides an overview of animation theory and breaks down the most commonly used methods of game animation into easily understandable pieces. From this information, you will have the basics of how to reproduce virtually any type of animated effect or action.
 * [[Media:Feldman_chapter09.pdf|Chapter 9: Arcade Game Animation]]

Arcade games need to display textual information in order to represent everything from game scores to instructions. Fonts allow us to display game information both legibly and in a variety of sizes and styles. This chapter provides a primer on fonts and their effective use in arcade-style games.
 * [[Media:Feldman_chapter10.pdf|Chapter 10: Fonts and Arcade Games]]

It's unlikely for you to have a successful, not to mention timely and hassle free game project without a proper plan. This chapter shows you how to plan out an arcade game from an artist's perspective.
 * [[Media:Feldman_chapter11.pdf|Chapter 11: Planning Arcade Game Graphics]]

This chapter provides you with a comprehensive tutorial on planning and designing the graphics and animation for an actual arcade game. This example covers the creation of an online game but the information is applicable to other types of games as well.
 * [[Media:Feldman_chapter12.pdf|Chapter 12: Hands-On Arcade Game Project]]

Every game artist has different styles, techniques and tool preferences. There is no better way to get this information than right from the artist. Therefore, this section includes two interviews with two very talented computer game artists.
 * [[Media:Feldman_appendixa.pdf|Appendix A: Artist Interviews]]