Sprite (computer graphics)
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In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional bitmap that is integrated into a larger scene, most often in a 2D video game. Originally, the term sprite referred to fixed-sized objects composited together, by hardware, with a background.[1] Use of the term has since become more general.
Systems with hardware sprites include
(1987). Hardware varies in the number of sprites supported, the size and colors of each sprite, and special effects such as scaling or reporting pixel-precise overlap.Hardware composition of sprites occurs as each
The CPUs in modern computers, video game consoles, and mobile devices are fast enough that bitmaps can be drawn into a frame buffer without special hardware assistance. Beyond that,
Etymology
According to Karl Guttag, one of two engineers for the 1979 Texas Instruments TMS9918 video display processor, this use of the word sprite came from David Ackley, a manager at TI.[2] It was also used by Danny Hillis at Texas Instruments in the late 1970s.[3] The term was derived from the fact that sprites "float" on top of the background image without overwriting it, much like a ghost or mythological sprite.
Some hardware manufacturers used different terms, especially before sprite became common:
Player/Missile Graphics was a term used by
Stamp was used in some arcade hardware in the early 1980s, including Ms. Pac-Man.[5]
Movable Object Block, or MOB, was used in MOS Technology's graphics chip literature. Commodore, the main user of MOS chips and the owner of MOS for most of the chip maker's lifetime, instead used the term sprite for the Commodore 64.
OBJs (short for objects) is used in the developer manuals for the NES, Super NES, and Game Boy. The region of video RAM used to store sprite attributes and coordinates is called OAM (Object Attribute Memory). This also applies to the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.
History
Arcade video games
The use of sprites originated with
The earliest video games to represent
The
Home systems
Signetics devised the first chips capable of generating sprite graphics (referred to as objects by Signetics) for home systems. The Signetics 2636 video processors were first used in the 1978 1292 Advanced Programmable Video System and later in the 1979 Elektor TV Games Computer.
The
The 1979
Systems with hardware sprites
These are base hardware specs and do not include additional programming techniques, such as using raster interrupts to repurpose sprites mid-frame.
System | Sprite hardware | Introduced | Sprites on screen | Sprites per scan line | Max. texels on line | Texture width | Texture height | Colors | Zoom | Rotation | Collision detection | Transparency | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amstrad Plus | ASIC |
1990 | 16 | 16 | ? | 16 | 16 | 15 | 2, 4× vertical, 2, 4× horizontal | No | No | Color key | [17] |
Atari 2600 | TIA | 1977 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 1, 8 | 262 | 1 | 2, 4, 8× horizontal | Horizontal mirroring | Yes | Color key | [18] |
Atari 8-bit family |
GTIA/ANTIC | 1979 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 2, 8 | 128, 256 | 1 | 2× vertical, 2, 4× horizontal | No | Yes | Color key | [19] |
Commodore 64 | VIC-II | 1982 | 8 | 8 | 96, 192 | 12, 24 | 21 | 1, 3 | 2× integer | No | Yes | Color key | [20] |
Amiga (OCS) | Denise |
1985 | 8, can be reused horizontally per 4 pixel increments | Arbitrary, 8 unique | Arbitrary | 16 | Arbitrary | 3, 15 | Vertical by display list | No | Yes | Color key | [21] |
Amiga (AGA) | Lisa |
1992 | 8, can be reused horizontally per 2 pixel increments | Arbitrary, 8 unique | Arbitrary | 16, 32, 64 | Arbitrary | 3, 15 | Vertical by display list | No | Yes | Color key | |
ColecoVision | TMS9918A | 1983 | 32 | 4 | 64 | 8, 16 | 8, 16 | 1 | 2× integer | No | Partial | Color key | |
TI-99/4 & 4A | TMS9918 | 1979 | 32 | 4 | 64 | 8, 16 | 8, 16 | 1 | 2× integer | No | Partial | Color key | |
Gameduino | 2011 | 256 | 96 | 1,536 | 16 | 16 | 255 | No | Yes | Yes | Color key | [22] | |
Intellivision | STIC AY-3-8900 | 1979 | 8 | 8 | 64 | 8 | 8,16 | 1 | 2, 4, 8× vertical, 2× horizontal | Horizontal and vertical mirroring | Yes | Color key | [23] |
MSX | TMS9918A | 1983 | 32 | 4 | 64 | 8, 16 | 8, 16 | 1 | 2× integer | No | Partial | Color key | [24] |
MSX2 | Yamaha V9938 | 1986 | 32 | 8 | 128 | 8, 16 | 8,16 | 1, 3, 7, 15 per line | 2× integer | No | Partial | Color key | |
MSX2+ / MSX turbo R | Yamaha V9958 | 1988 | 32 | 8 | 128 | 8,16 | 8,16 | 1, 3, 7, 15 per line | 2× integer | No | Partial | Color key | |
Namco Pac-Man (arcade) |
TTL | 1980 | 6 | 6 | 96 | 16 | 16 | 3 | No | Horizontal and vertical mirroring | No | Color key | [25] |
TurboGrafx-16 | HuC6270A | 1987 | 64 | 16 | 256 | 16, 32 | 16, 32, 64 | 15 | No | Horizontal and vertical mirroring | Yes | Color key | [26] |
Namco Galaxian (arcade) |
TTL | 1979 | 7 | 7 | 112 | 16 | 16 | 3 | No | Horizontal and vertical mirroring | No | Color key | [27][28][29] |
Donkey Kong, Radar Scope (arcade) |
1979 | 128 | 16 | 256 | 16 | 16 | 3 | Integer | No | Yes | Color key | [30] | |
Nintendo DS | Integrated PPU | 2004 | 128 | 128 | 1,210 | 8, 16, 32, 64 | 8, 16, 32, 64 | 65,536 | Affine | Affine | No | Color key, blending | [31] |
NES/Famicom |
RP2C0x PPU |
1983 | 64 | 8 | 64 | 8 | 8, 16 | 3 | No | Horizontal and vertical mirroring | Partial | Color key | [32] |
Game Boy | Integrated PPU | 1989 | 40 | 10 | 80 | 8 | 8, 16 | 3 | No | Horizontal and vertical mirroring | No | Color key | [33] |
Game Boy Advance | Integrated PPU | 2001 | 128 | 128 | 1210 | 8, 16, 32, 64 | 8, 16, 32, 64 | 15, 255 | Affine | Affine | No | Color key, blending | [34] |
Master System, Game Gear |
YM2602B VDP (TMS9918-derived) |
1985 | 64 | 8 | 128 | 8, 16 | 8, 16 | 15 | 2× integer, 2× vertical | Background tile mirroring | Yes | Color key | [35][36] |
Genesis / Mega Drive | YM7101 VDP (SMS VDP-derived) |
1988 | 80 | 20 | 320 | 8, 16, 24, 32 | 8, 16, 24, 32 | 15 | No | Horizontal and vertical mirroring | Yes | Color key | [37][38] |
Sega OutRun (arcade) |
1986 | 128 | 128 | 1600 | 8 to 512 | 8 to 256 | 15 | Anisotropic |
Horizontal and vertical mirroring | Yes | Alpha | [39][40][41][42][43][44][45] | |
X68000 | Cynthia jr. (original), Cynthia (later models) | 1987 | 128 | 32 | 512 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 2× integer | Horizontal and vertical mirroring | Partial | Color key | [46][47][48] |
Neo Geo |
LSPC2-A2 | 1990 | 384 | 96 | 1536 | 16 | 16 to 512 | 15 | Sprite shrinking | Horizontal and vertical mirroring | Partial | Color key | [49][50][51] |
Super NES / Super Famicom |
S-PPU1, S-PPU2 | 1990 | 128 | 34 | 256 | 8, 16, 32, 64 | 8, 16, 32, 64 | 15 | No | Horizontal and vertical mirroring | No | Color key, averaging | [52] |
System | Sprite hardware | Introduced | Sprites on screen | Sprites on line | Max. texels on line | Texture width | Texture height | Colors | Hardware zoom | Rotation | Collision detection | Transparency | Source |
See also
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