From ASCII to Pixel Art and Back
Game Developer
MAY 15, 2024
pixel art game on my old text-mode engine. I'm developing a 2.5D A character-based ASCII engine can handle this task, it just needs a couple of upgrades.
Art Games Pixel 
Leveraging Emotional Design Features to Enhance Character Perception in Pixel Art
Game Developer
JUNE 20, 2024
This article explores how emotional design features - colours and shapes - influence player perception of pixel art characters. By understanding these design elements, game developers can create characters that elicit specific emotional responses, improving player engagement and retention.
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Death by Scrolling
Grumpy Gamer
FEBRUARY 1, 2025
First screen shot from my new game called Death by Scrolling. I started working on this game back in 2019. Everyone asked for progression and “game” stuff and over the next six months I proceeded to ruined it. There is something about the game that I could never let go of. What do they know?
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The gorgeous visuals of Bionic Bay that Juhana Myllys calls Painterly Pixel Art
PreMortem.Games
JANUARY 24, 2024
Physics-based 2D platformer Bionic Bay is a collaboration between the Finnish one-man-studio Mureena and Taiwanese indie game company Psychoflow Studio. The game started as a demo shown on Reddit, but picked up momentum when Badland art director Juhana Myllys offered to mix and match his distinct artwork with the gameplay.
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Mirthwood by Bad Ridge Games is mixing genres with something darker and more adventurous
PreMortem.Games
DECEMBER 4, 2024
Mirthwood , the debut title from Bad Ridge Games , merges genres like RPGs, life sims, and farm sims into a medieval sandbox experience. Fast forward a bit and we thought we’d try something we had been talking about for a few years; making a game. Learning to draw specifically for the game, he refined the style over time.
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From Concept to Completion: Navigating the Game Art Production Pipeline
iXie gaming
MARCH 28, 2025
Behind every immersive world lies a meticulously crafted game art pipeline, a process where raw ideas evolve into interactive, polished assets. Game art isnt just about making things look good. In the early days of game development, creating assets was a fragmented, time-consuming process.
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DPaint.js — Modern Deluxe Paint Inspired Pixel Art App
Game From Scratch
APRIL 13, 2023
GameFromScratch.com DPaint.js — Modern Deluxe Paint Inspired Pixel Art App DPaint.js is a free and open source pixel art application heavily inspired by Deluxe Paint. Deluxe Paint was the most common painting application for game art in the 80s-90s, used by studios such as iD Software, Lucas Arts, Sega and more.
Pixel 101
101 
The Art of 2.5D: How It’s Redefining Game Design
iXie gaming
MARCH 2, 2025
While 3D dominates modern game development, 2.5D continues to evolve, leveraging AI, modern rendering techniques, and cutting-edge game engines to push the boundaries of game design. Works While 2D and 3D have traditionally been viewed as separate paths in game development, 2.5D From indie studios to AAA developers, 2.5D
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Detective Dotson by Masala Games is a cultural joyride through modern-day India
PreMortem.Games
DECEMBER 9, 2024
When you live in a country that houses twenty percent of the entire worlds population, yet hardly see a genuine and honest representation of that country in video games, its time to take matters into your own hands. And thats precisely what Shalin Shodhan is doing with his studio, Masala Games. That choice was very much deliberate.
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Gerel: Against The Corvus Empire - a pixel art video game by CGS grads
CG Spectrum
NOVEMBER 24, 2022
He decided to start his own indie game development studio, Overwrite Interactive , and create a video game from scratch. For Alan's video game to come to fruition, he needed a team of capable artists to help him. The game's narrative was inspired by the strong women in Alan's life. About Gerel: Against the Corvus Empire.
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Three Minutes to Eight developer Chaosmonger Studio “Multiple stories moving parallel”
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 27, 2023
Chaosmonger Studios , based in Tallinn, Estonia, is a multimedia production company specializing in everything from documentaries, science fiction films and animations to music video, graphic design and video games. His latest game Three Minutes to Eight is a real tour de force, both in storytelling and visual flair.
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How To Draw Pixel Art
DameDev.tv
NOVEMBER 21, 2022
Rick Davidson & Tim Ruswick* are joined by Reece Geofroy to talk all things pixel art and how to get good at it. We also have a new Pixel Characters course from Reece, you can check that out here. You can also check out Reece’s pixel art game Monster Tribe on Steam.
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Humble Game Design Book + Pixel Art Course Bundles
Game From Scratch
MARCH 13, 2023
GameFromScratch.com Humble Game Design Book + Pixel Art Course Bundles There are a pair of Humble Bundles of interest to game developers launched today on Humble, the Game Design and AI Featuring Steve Rabin bundle and the Complete Pixel Art Online Course by Mammoth Interactive bundle.
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Player choice is key in Bohemian Pulp’s debut game Let Bions Be Bygones
PreMortem.Games
JANUARY 15, 2024
The creator of Let Bions Be Bygones (LBBB) is indie game studio Bohemian Pulp , the brainchild of co-founders and life partners, Đorđe and Jasmine Marković. “I decided to make a game that I can do by myself. . “I decided to make a game that I can do by myself.
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A Void Hope by Elden Pixels lacks violence and destruction “We’re proud of that”
PreMortem.Games
AUGUST 21, 2023
In 2016 Mikael Forslind got together with some friends and decided to create their own video game. What began as a casual endeavor gradually evolved into a fully-fledged studio as the game’s success solidified their path. As video game enthusiasts we’re so used to just going out guns blazing in all video games. “As
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Artist Cassie Simpson on navigating Life, three University Majors and Work
PreMortem.Games
JANUARY 17, 2024
My first encounter with Cassie Simpson was during the inaugural Xbox Game Studios Game Camp Africa in 2023. She earned her place and represented South Africa at prestigious programs like the Epic Games Women Creator Program and the Women in Games International (WIGI) Mentorship Program. She was a very honest person.
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How to make Game art with Stable Diffusion
Game Development for Beginners
APRIL 6, 2023
In this article, we are going to use stable diffusion to create simple game art like concept art, UI icons, pixel art. AI can make a lot of process easier using the computational power. The best part is its available for free. Read more
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Job Opening
Grumpy Gamer
SEPTEMBER 18, 2018
I have a (paid) art job opening for my side project. I'm not going to say much about the game other than what I'm looking for in an artist. I'm looking for a great 2D pixel tile artist. I'm looking for someone that can create a very distinct art style and can help set the look and feel for the game.
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Job Opening
Grumpy Gamer
SEPTEMBER 17, 2018
I have a (paid) art job opening for my side project. I’m not going to say much about the game other than what I’m looking for in an artist. I’m looking for a great 2D pixel tile artist. I’m looking for someone that can create a very distinct art style and can help set the look and feel for the game.
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Player choice is key in Bohemian Pulp’s debut game Let Bions Be Bygones
PreMortem.Games
SEPTEMBER 25, 2024
The creator of Let Bions Be Bygones (LBBB) is indie game studio Bohemian Pulp , the brainchild of co-founders and life partners, Đorđe and Jasmina Marković. “I decided to make a game that I can do by myself. . “I decided to make a game that I can do by myself.
Pixel 104
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The sense of wonder in Verne: The Shape of Fantasy by Gametopia “It’s a tribute”
PreMortem.Games
DECEMBER 4, 2023
Development studio Gametopia has translated their love and admiration for the works of the author into an original tale, told through a pixel perfect point-and-click adventure. At first glance a normal indie game studio, but the co-founders live and work continents apart. The influence of his work on our culture is enormous.
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2D Game Art Styles Overview
Moonmana
NOVEMBER 17, 2022
Today we’ll try to figure out the main peculiarities, styles, and differences of 2D art in game development. Even though some players consider 3D game art superior to 2D game art and believe that the latter is not so popular, we are sure of the opposite. Let’s figure out what makes 2D art special.
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When I Made Another Monkey Island
Grumpy Gamer
APRIL 30, 2022
They were just random thoughts about a (then very unlikely) new Monkey Island game. People talk a lot about Monkey Island 3a as if it was the game I would have made after Monkey Island 2 had I stayed at Lucasfilm. Games, movies, and books don’t come out fully formed. Monkey Island 1 and 2 weren’t pixel art games.
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Detective Dotson by Masala Games is a cultural joyride through modern-day India
PreMortem.Games
APRIL 8, 2024
When you live in a country that houses twenty percent of the entire world’s population, yet hardly see a genuine and honest representation of that country in video games, it’s time to take matters into your own hands. And that’s precisely what Shalin Shodhan is doing with his studio, Masala Games. says Shodhan.
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The magical realism of Indonesia in the 90’s captured in A Space for the Unbound
PreMortem.Games
JULY 31, 2024
Video games have the ability to transport users to another place and time. The indie game that does this especially well is A Space for the Unbound by Mojiken Studio. It’s a tribute to the time we grew up in and serves as a time capsule for that period”, says Dimas Novan, Director and Art Director of A Space for the Unbound.
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Pixel perfect rendering problem
Cocos
OCTOBER 8, 2023
I’m having trouble rendering pixel art without sub-pixel distortion. All I’ve done with this project is imported a TMX file as a tilemap, and while it renders correctly in game without modifications, it renders incorrectly in the editor and also when using integer scaling (2x, 3x, etc).
Pixel 52
52 
Pixel perfect rendering problem
Cocos
OCTOBER 8, 2023
I’m having trouble rendering pixel art without sub-pixel distortion. All I’ve done with this project is imported a TMX file as a tilemap, and while it renders correctly in game without modifications, it renders incorrectly in the editor and also when using integer scaling (2x, 3x, etc).
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Combat
Grumpy Gamer
MARCH 21, 2018
Does anyone out there have any good examples of top-down action/RPG games that have nice feeling combat? Preferably using pixel art and keyboard only. The combat in Nuclear Throne feels really nice, but like so many games out there, they use a combination of mouse and keyboard (keyboard to move, mouse to attack).
Pixel 130
130 
A deep dive into the beautiful (video) game in A Tale of Two Halves by Bitmap Books
PreMortem.Games
OCTOBER 16, 2024
Bitmap Books is known for its catalogue of visually stunningly books on the art, history and culture of video games. Their latest offering, the upcoming book A Tale of Two Halves: The History of Football Video Games , is no exception. Each release demonstrates a genuine love for the subject matter and great attention to detail.
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Combat
Grumpy Gamer
MARCH 20, 2018
Does anyone out there have any good examples of top-down action/RPG games that have nice feeling combat? Preferably using pixel art and keyboard only. The combat in Nuclear Throne feels really nice, but like so many games out there, they use a combination of mouse and keyboard (keyboard to move, mouse to attack).
Pixel 130
130 
When I Made Another Monkey Island
Grumpy Gamer
MAY 1, 2022
They were just random thoughts about a (then very unlikely) new Monkey Island game. People talk a lot about Monkey Island 3a as if it was the game I would have made after Monkey Island 2 had I stayed at Lucasfilm. Games, movies, and books don't come out fully formed. Monkey Island 1 and 2 weren't pixel art games.
Art 113
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The CORVID-19 edition
Grumpy Gamer
MARCH 21, 2020
There is a bi-weekly game prototype group I would meet up with and I do miss that. One of the changes I made to the engine was severing it from pixel art. It can still do pixel art, but it’s better at doing higher res formats and I implemented Spine for character animations.
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So long 2023! Thank you for the great game dev stories
PreMortem.Games
DECEMBER 29, 2023
A stellar year for game releases, that’s for sure. But also a dreadful year for job security in game development, with a heartbreaking 10.000 layoffs. We let the creators talk about their own games. On the last working day of 2023 we take one final look over our shoulder to see what we are leaving behind. See you in 2024!
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Creating Cohesive Game Worlds: Integrating 2D and 3D Art Styles
Juego Studio
FEBRUARY 13, 2024
Game development has come a long way since the inception of video games. Beginning with pixelated 2D art to hyperrealism today, game aesthetics have rapidly evolved.
Art 52
52 
A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Game Art That Doesn’t Suck
iXie gaming
JANUARY 10, 2023
Programming is only one aspect of creating video games. The game art! The first thing that players notice about every game whether it’s a text-based one, is its visuals, or game art. But what is Game Art? What is Game Art. Why You Need Game Art. Vector Art.
Art 52
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The sense of wonder in Verne: The Shape of Fantasy by Gametopia “It’s a tribute”
PreMortem.Games
AUGUST 23, 2024
The Jules Verne Museum in Nantes, his hometown, has recently selected the game Verne: The Shape of Fantasy to be part of their collection. Development studio Gametopia has translated their love and admiration for the works of the author into an original tale, told through a pixel perfect point-and-click adventure.
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104 
Minigames Revisited: How Developers Are Continuing to Tap into Trends and Drive Engagement
Game Refinery
NOVEMBER 21, 2024
With IDFA regulation changes and an influx of new games entering the market, publishers and mobile game studios are facing an ever-uphill battle to acquire new players (UA) and retain them. However, as we wrote last year , many top-grossing mobile games have found that minigames are the best way to boost UA and player retention.
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Lock-down in Seattle
Grumpy Gamer
MARCH 21, 2020
There is a bi-weekly game prototype group I would meet-up with and I do miss that. One of the changes I made to the engine was severing it from pixel art. It can still do pixel art, but it’s better at doing higher res formats and I implemented Spine as an option for character animations.
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The Impact of Game Art Production on Player Experience
iXie gaming
JUNE 20, 2024
These memorable experiences are thanks to the amazing power of game art production. From stunning landscapes to unforgettable character designs, game art shapes how we connect with our favorite games. That’s where game art production helps. More player engagement and a better gaming experience.
Art 52
52 
The magical realism of Indonesia in the 90’s captured in A Space for the Unbound
PreMortem.Games
MARCH 10, 2023
Video games have the ability to transport users to another place and time. The indie game that does this especially well is A Space for the Unbound by Mojiken Studio. It’s a tribute to the time we grew up in and serves as a time capsule for that period”, says Dimas Novan, Director and Art Director of A Space for the Unbound.
Art 104
104 
I’m making an RPG!
Keith Burgun
NOVEMBER 7, 2023
(Above: some WIP pixel art from Wizbane) You might have noticed I’ve been writing about and playing a lot of RPGs recently. Some of my earliest, most enchanted memories of games were in some early RPGs. That has changed over the last few years, and I’m really happy to be back playing games like these.
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Setting the Mood: Exploring Lighting and Mood in Game Art
iXie gaming
JULY 19, 2024
Have you ever played a game with amazing graphics, but something just didn’t feel right? Bad lighting can make a game world feel dull and lifeless, while great lighting can make a game unforgettable by creating emotions, leading your exploration, and immersing you in a believable world. The problem might be the lighting.
Art 52
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The Basic Fundamentals of Game Design
Logic Simplified
AUGUST 1, 2023
Have you ever designed a game? If yes, then what game design fundamentals do you prioritize in your own designs? Game design is incredibly complex and fascinating, with countless nuances and techniques to master. In this article, we'll explore some key building blocks of game design fundamentals.
Pixel perfect rendering problem
Cocos
OCTOBER 8, 2023
I’m having trouble rendering pixel art without sub-pixel distortion. All I’ve done with this project is imported a TMX file as a tilemap, and while it renders correctly in game without modifications, it renders incorrectly in the editor and also when using integer scaling (2x, 3x, etc).
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40 
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