#pixel effects

Particles and Pixel Effects

** Warning: The video above contains strobes and strobe-like effects. **

This video demonstrates the use of my Particle Generator, full-screen Pixel effects, as well as depth between sprites and the horizon, and differing AI's stemming from a base Sprite class.

Particle Generator

For the Particle Generator, I created a function that allowed the creation of dynamic particles. This function allowed control of:

the texture of the particle

how long a particle lasts

starting and ending colors of the particle

movement behaviors

velocities and friction

frequency of particle creation

Some examples in the video of the Particle Generator is the Rabbit's after-image, the Professor's "thought-process steam", and the King's "fireworks explosion." This allows for a diverse and interesting display of particles for individual AI's and events.

Pixel Effects

For the Pixel Effects, I used the Graphics Card on the computer and with HLSL, created a variety of effects. The effects shown are, respectively:

Colorful Strobe: affecting each pixel to be a random color

Grey-scale: changing each pixel to become grey

Red Channel: changing each pixel to only show their red RGB color value

Blur: changing each pixel to appear "blurred" if not in a radius around the center of the screen

Strobe: changing each pixel to black and it's actual color quickly

Pulsing Darkness: changing each pixel to black and it's actual color slowly

Darken: changing each pixel to a darker value

Depth

The program demonstrates the depth using the horizon (an x value) as a point to relate to. The closer/farther each sprite came to that horizon, the smaller/larger they appeared on-screen. As well as changing sizes, each sprite would move behind/in-front of other sprites depending on their current position from the horizon. This was done by comparing the sprite's "base box" around their feet with one another.

AI Variation

Lastly, the AI system used a base Sprite class that contained variables such as the sprite's speed, texture, and behavior on how to move. Extending this base class, I was able to create a variety of different AI that had various characteristics. Some examples of the different AI are Feng the giant, AI with a larger texture and slower speed; the Rabbit, who created after-image particles and moved faster than most; and Zork, the yellow character who moved more rapidly than the other AIs. With this system of diverse AI's, it is easy to create characters who appear to be different, yet contain a similar framework with the other characters.

"The People" was a program created for my Graphics class in the Fall of 2013 at Champlain College.