Vector graphics

[Ady]

As we all know, there's been countless vector games across a multitude of formats since the year dot. The first two Star Wars arcade games, Elite, Vib Ribbon and of course everything released on the Vectrex to name some.

It was me playing on a friend's Vectrex recently that made me realise that vector graphics seem to have a timeless stylissh quality to them. Whereas a lot of sprite-based and even some plygonal games look dated now, vector graphic-based games do not.

There's something sexy about their stylish minimalism, the austere white (or green) lines against stark black. Vib Ribbon for instance would've lost most of its charm and impact had it been rendered with polygons or colourful sprrites. The way Vibri's world pulses and vibrates to the music, becoming more unstable as the player's co-ordination begins to elude them is wonderfully expressive and artistic.

I'd like to see more devcos exploit the artistic possibiliies of vector graphics (Rez's mix of ploys and vectors is a good recent example).

So, what is your take on this visual style? Do you think vectors have a timeless quality or are they anachronistic and bland? Please make your thoughts known.

[Madbury]

For me they still draw the eye. However I think they are even more powerful when on their native display hardware. A proper vector image on a proper vector display just looks lush. The raster equivalents don't quite hold the same appeal for me.

Play an original tempest cab and you will see what I mean about the crispness and definition of the image. Raster displays simply cannot do them justice.

[Ish]

Yup I still like them. There's something about the clarity I just find appealing.

I like simple non-textured shaded polygon models too. Just flat colours, a simple model, add in a light source and I find it quite charming I think is the word.

[Sketcz]

I like them a great deal, smooth and clean looking. And they age far better as well.
Id argue though that polygons age fastest of all, sprites even after many years can still hold a certain charm.

Though can vib Ribbon really be called a vector game? I thought vector games were meant have perfectly straight lines with no jagged edges, hence vector moniters like the vectrex has, or battlezone. (a personal arcade favourite)

Even vib ribbons straight lines are terribly jagged, whereas in dedicated vector display games, all lines are perfectly straight.

I dunno, I could be confusing the issue here, if so, sorry about that.


Otherwise yes, clean, fresh and timeless. Like good socks.

[Abhisara]

Vib Ribbon on a proper vector display instead of a raster display. Now that would be rather nice to see

[DJ Sack]

Vib ribbon is wireframe though rather than vector right?

[Tetsuo]

Wireframe is the state of a shape/polygon that hasn't been rendered or filled, it's not a 'technique', as it were.

Vector graphics are graphics that are 'drawn' by an algorithm, a process, as opposed to, erm, pixel graphics.

That makes Vib Ribbon and Rez...er, wireframe?

[Grey Area]

*bit off topic. would vib look better running through vga?

[Molloy]

Vector games on a vector monitor do indeed look fantastic. Mame emulation on a raster monitor just isn't the same at all.