The Beauty of Color Cycling in Video Games

By Modern Vintage Gamer

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Color Cycling is a classic technique that brought life to early video games and computer art. This episode we examine the mechanics behind Color Cycling, a method used to create animations and visual effects without using extra processing power or memory - and by looking at examples from games like Sonic the Hedgehog and Shovel Knight, we can see how developers maximized the limitations of their hardware. We also break down the technical side of things, specifically focusing on how Amiga bitplanes and computer color palettes functioned to produce these iconic visuals. From complex landscape scenes to simple object animations, this breakdown covers the fundamental engineering that made these retro graphics possible. Sources: https://www.markferrari.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt-AxAqlrOo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb1xrYORwuY&t=137s https://amiga.lychesis.net/specials/ColorCycling.html Music Credits: Crystal2 - C.Korge/Xography Hangover - Void/Reality Hubbard - NEO S

Tags: Amiga bitplanes, retro graphics, computer color palettes, amiga, mvg, modern vintage gamer, palette cycling, color cycle, color cyling, color cycling video, color cycling animation, snes, commodore amiga, video games, amiga 500, mistakes were made, amiga 1200, amigaos, color cycling, amiga games