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, graphics tools, animation, proper color usage, and fonts. Graphic designer and animator Ari Feldman provides a step-by-step example of designing 2D graphics and animation for an arcade-style game.

* Understand the capabilities of various display modes and learn the nuances of designing for each of them.

* Follow the step-by-step Fish Dish example for designing 2D graphics and animation for an online game.

* Create detailed design plans that document every aspect of the creative-related issues associated with your games.

* Find out the most important features of graphics creation tools, including painting programs and screen capture utilities.

* Identify the essential graphic file formats used in arcade game graphics development and find out which image compression techniques are most suited to arcade game graphics.

* Implement file naming conventions, version control, and backup strategies to manage your graphic assets.

* Discover how the proper use of fonts can liven up your graphics in addition to displaying important game information.

Ari Feldman is the creative lead at ZapSpot, where he designs artwork and animations for arcade games. He has created game artwork for the Atari ST and Windows platforms, and is also the creator of SpriteLib, a collection of animated objects for arcade-style games.