Game Programming Algorithms and Techniques: A Platform-Agnostic Approach

Chapter 2. 2D Graphics

With the explosion of web, smartphone, and indie games, 2D has had a renaissance of sorts. Developers are drawn to 2D because the typical budget and team can be much smaller. Gamers are drawn toward 2D because of the purity and simplicity of the games.

Though the primary focus of this book is on 3D games, it would be a mistake not to cover the core concepts behind 2D graphics. It also should be noted that many of the topics covered in latter chapters, whether physics, sound, or UI programming, are equally applicable in both 2D and 3D games.

2D Rendering Foundations

To fully understand 2D rendering, it is important to understand the limitations of display devices when these techniques were first developed. Even though we ...