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Discussion Photoshop image settings compatible with GameMaker

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gamehunter123

Guest
Hello,

Background: My name is Will and I'm new to GameMaker and your community. I'm in the process of making a large game with many rooms. I'm pretty new to GameMaker, having only watched a few tutorials and started making a few rooms with backgrounds, sprites, sprite sheets. I've been using Photoshop to make all my image files, saving as a PNG file before importing into GameMaker.

Objective:
Want to be able to make large game, with many rooms and objects that will not be slowed down or otherwise suffer performance issues due to the image files imported from Photoshop but I would also like to use images that are higher resolution than pixel art.

Questions:
1. can I use Photoshop for all my image files to be used as backgrounds, objects, tile sets?
2. if I can use Photoshop, what are the settings I should use, regarding the following:
A. Resolution of file (pixels/inch: 72 or 300?) when creating new document.
B. Color mode (RGB vs. Bitmap) when creating new document.
C. Saved image file type (JPEG vs. PNG or other)
D. Any other recommendations you have in order to achieve objective (above).

Thanks to anyone who can help a newbie get started with GameMaker.

--Will
 

c023-DeV

Member
1. yes, you can use any image editor that can save to compatible file formats (png, gif, jpg, bmp, tga ...) But you will have to re-import them every time you make a change to the images outside of gamemaker.
2.
A. resolution on screens is usually ~72dpi but that only matters for print. In digital media (images presented on screens) the measurement is in pixels. So you can ignore that setting. Setup Photoshop for Pixel units (Preferences) (Here a LINK to a topic that gives some hints)
B. same as A. - > RGB is for screens, the other stuff is for print.
C. PNG! jpg has compression at the cost of image quality.

D. Make a File, the size of your game resolution (HD for example is 1920×1080 pixels) and start blocking out your game ruff (with big blocky solid colors - no gradients!) to get a feel for proportions and color harmony ... Make a stylesheet (image where you paint colors and ideas) where you save your main colors for re-use.

Paint as much as you can...get a feel for proportion, volume, colors ... I use the color picker more than I use an eraser btw ;)

Then try to break down all your elements into small graphics that you then import into gamemaker...

Edit: try to finish small projects first. (game jams etc...)

Have fun!
 
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gamehunter123

Guest
Thanks c023–Dev for all the information!

I may be confusing things here, but I read something about recommendations that you should only import bitmap images into GameMaker and that vector images were a problem. Does this have any bearing on Photoshop settings or saved image file types?

Thanks.
 
D

Deleted member 13992

Guest
Thanks c023–Dev for all the information!

I may be confusing things here, but I read something about recommendations that you should only import bitmap images into GameMaker and that vector images were a problem. Does this have any bearing on Photoshop settings or saved image file types?

Thanks.
Photoshop doesn't really use vector art (unless you count paths) so no it won't be affected.

Performance impact will be more dependent on how you construct your levels, than how you use and export from Photoshop. Are your levels single-screen or do they scroll? Are there multiple layers of backgrounds? Will you be constructing your levels with high-res tilesets, large sprites of chunks of environment, or a unique art asset for the whole background? These are things you need to consider ahead of time.
 
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gamehunter123

Guest
Thanks for clarifying.

In terms of the game I have in mind, I would like to make something like Alchemists Castle. I’m not familiar with all the terms you used but I thinks its not a scrolling game. I’m not sure if there are multiple background layers or if the sprites are high-res. I don’t think they are. The game does use some very simple background layers for parallax effect if I remember correctly.

The game does use different sized rooms that connect together thru doors.
 
H

HW.

Guest
- I usually combine Illustrator (vector) and Photoshop (raster), but in the end the final format is produced by photoshop which is raster .PNG.
- I frequently export vectors to raster in Photoshop as limited-editable "Vector Shape" on the raster Photoshop IDE, it will keep the imported vector nature while you are editing the "scale up/down" only (that's why editing shape points should still be done on Illustrator), especially for raw images that needs to be resized multiple times when editing in PSD.
- If you do NOT do that retro classic "pixelperfectpowerof2" blocky pixel art style, you had better use fixed size for the graphics with the "final room screen resolution" in mind, vs scaling it up like what pixel-art usually does on IDE.
- Final sprites file format is in .PNG with transparency as it is easy to import on the GMS IDE later
- my Photoshop setting is 72dpi, RGB 8bit, btw
- screen resolution depends on my needs, 720p/1080p. btw it is for mobile, not PC. desktop might need much more for crisp graphics.
- on my GMS IDE, i choose to use 16bit color mode when compiling to mobile to support some low end devices. If you do for PC, you might want to choose 24bit for better.
- i minimize using gradients. If i need to, i use "dither" to smooth the gradients, but most of the time the blocky strips is still spotted.
- i've also noticed lately that GMS2 textures files, eventhough the same 2048x2048, but with the plain graphics or minimalist (simple vector like), the file size is smaller vs the full graphics (full of effects/filters etc).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
G

gamehunter123

Guest
- I usually combine Illustrator (vector) and Photoshop (raster), but in the end the final format is produced by photoshop which is raster .PNG.
- I frequently export vectors to raster in Photoshop as limited-editable "Vector Shape" on the raster Photoshop IDE, it will keep the imported vector nature while you are editing the "scale up/down" only (that's why editing shape points should still be done on Illustrator), especially for raw images that needs to be resized multiple times when editing in PSD.
- If you do NOT do that retro classic "pixelperfectpowerof2" blocky pixel art style, you had better use fixed size for the graphics with the "final room screen resolution" in mind, vs scaling it up like what pixel-art usually does on IDE.
- Final sprites file format is in .PNG with transparency as it is easy to import on the GMS IDE later
- my Photoshop setting is 72dpi, RGB 8bit, btw
- screen resolution depends on my needs, 720p/1080p. btw it is for mobile, not PC. desktop might need much more for crisp graphics.
- on my GMS IDE, i choose to use 16bit color mode when compiling to mobile to support some low end devices. If you do for PC, you might want to choose 24bit for better.
- i minimize using gradients. If i need to, i use "dither" to smooth the gradients, but most of the time the blocky strips is still spotted.
- i've also noticed lately that GMS2 textures files, eventhough the same 2048x2048, but with the plain graphics or minimalist (simple vector like), the file size is smaller vs the full graphics (full of effects/filters etc).
- I usually combine Illustrator (vector) and Photoshop (raster), but in the end the final format is produced by photoshop which is raster .PNG.
- I frequently export vectors to raster in Photoshop as limited-editable "Vector Shape" on the raster Photoshop IDE, it will keep the imported vector nature while you are editing the "scale up/down" only (that's why editing shape points should still be done on Illustrator), especially for raw images that needs to be resized multiple times when editing in PSD.
- If you do NOT do that retro classic "pixelperfectpowerof2" blocky pixel art style, you had better use fixed size for the graphics with the "final room screen resolution" in mind, vs scaling it up like what pixel-art usually does on IDE.
- Final sprites file format is in .PNG with transparency as it is easy to import on the GMS IDE later
- my Photoshop setting is 72dpi, RGB 8bit, btw
- screen resolution depends on my needs, 720p/1080p. btw it is for mobile, not PC. desktop might need much more for crisp graphics.
- on my GMS IDE, i choose to use 16bit color mode when compiling to mobile to support some low end devices. If you do for PC, you might want to choose 24bit for better.
- i minimize using gradients. If i need to, i use "dither" to smooth the gradients, but most of the time the blocky strips is still spotted.
- i've also noticed lately that GMS2 textures files, eventhough the same 2048x2048, but with the plain graphics or minimalist (simple vector like), the file size is smaller vs the full graphics (full of effects/filters etc).

Thanks for the information HW. Wow, there's a lot I don't understand here but hopefully I'll figure it out over time. The photoshop settings help as well as compiling for different devices, when I get there. Thanks!
 
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