Programmer art refers to temporary assets added by the
programmer to test functionality. When creating the graphics, speed is a priority and aesthetics are secondary (if they are given any consideration at all). In fact, programmer art might be intentionally bad, to draw attention to the fact that the graphics are merely placeholders and should not be shipped with the final product. This practice might also speed its replacement.
Common forms of programmer art include
stick figure
A stick figure, also known as a stickman, is a very simple drawing of a person or an animal, composed of a few lines, curves, and dots. On a stick figure, the head is most often represented by a circle, which can be either a solid color or som ...
sprites in platformer games, and
fuchsia
''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, ''Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) ...
textures in games using
3D models
In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical coordinate-based representation of any surface of an object (inanimate or living) in three dimensions via specialized software by manipulating edges, vertices, an ...
. Games with a "top-down" perspective tend to use alphanumeric characters and simple
2D graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models (such as 2D geometric models, text, and digital images) and by techniques specific to them. It may refer to the branch of computer s ...
to represent characters and landscape elements.
Not all programmers decide to replace the assets in their software prior to release, though. This is especially common in
indie games
An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...
, since indie developers generally lack the resources to commission large amounts of assets for their games.
Computer art
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