How to Create Graphics for the Sega Genesis & Mega Drive with Aseprite

How to Create Graphics for the Sega Genesis & Mega Drive with Aseprite - Beginners Dev Tutorials

Рет қаралды 13,122

Күн бұрын

A commenter by the name of Yasmine Steinbauer has suggested this as a more accurate palette for the console
www.dropbox.com/s/nfifb29unh0...
Technical discussion of colour on the Mega Drive:
gendev.spritesmind.net/forum/...
Patreon:
/ pigsysretrogamedevtuto...
The palette mentioned in the video:
www.dropbox.com/s/75tpxyui4to...
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:15 Creating a background image
8:11 Coding the background into the game
8:55 Creating a foreground image
11:33 Coding the foreground image into the game
13:33 Correct aspect ratio for Mega Drive graphics
14:18 What is indexed colour mode and how do the palettes work?
16:18 Current limitations of SGDK
17:50 VRAM limitations
19:23 Palette issues to look out for
21:12 Summary of how to create graphics
22:22 Is making Sega Genesis/Mega Drive graphics for you?

Пікірлер: 86

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials Жыл бұрын

UPDATE: Please note that SGDK has been updated since this video was created. If you are using a version of SGDK newer than 1.7, then please write "u16 ind = TILE_USER_INDEX;" instead of "u16 ind = TILE_USERINDEX;" and it should compile fine :)

@RetroPiero 2 жыл бұрын

Its amazing how big the development community has gotten for the Genesis. People seem to have fun making games for the system and tend to learn new things along the ride. It's great.

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

Agreed! I hope these tutorials help even more people get into the hobby.

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

I might do a special video a few weeks from now where I feature graphics created by viewers of the channel. I'm sure there are a lot of talented artists among my subscribers, and I would love to see what you all come up with! Maybe a cyberpunk style cityscape or a Green Hill style natural environment or some alien planet as a shoot'em background? The possibilities are endless! My email is in the About section of the channel, so feel free to send me the rom with your graphics displayed. I hope everyone has fun creating their very own Mega Drive graphics :)

@yateoi Жыл бұрын

I see Tile16 was released just a few days ago in the Allone Works site. But now I also wanna go look up and try the tilemap in Aseprite. Hope I get the time to make something for that video!

@GimblyGFR 2 жыл бұрын

Another great episode. I used to draw sprites all the time just for fun, but I'm a little out of practice these days. Your videos are a great inspiration, and I'm seriously considering starting to work on a Genesis game, once I've learned more advanced stuff from you. Thank you very much for uploading these amazing tutorials.

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

Great, I hope this gets you back into it! The next lesson will be about displaying sprites, so hopefully that will be useful for you.

@GimblyGFR 2 жыл бұрын

@@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials Excellent!

@108Stars 2 жыл бұрын

I really appreciate your tutorials. I did many of the graphics for Pier Solar more than a decade ago, but I never was great with the technical side of things. I used MS Paint most of the time (only program installed on the PC at my day job where I actually worked on the game quite a bit XD) with a little Gimp and PSP here and there... I asked coders for the correct multiples of R,G,B and then adjusted colors by hand changing the values instead of importing ready made palettes, I copy pasted checkerboards onto the canvas to have my grid without an actual grid function etc. And to test animation I would create animated GIFs every time. The job got done but it was quite ineffective. I am now trying to follow along to be able to not only make my own graphics but to be able to put them into a game, however simple. There have been quite a few projects on several systems where I did some graphics but the programmer lost interest or simply didn't have the time anymore, so I like the idea to always be able at least put graphics I did into a playable ROM myself in the future. :) It's nice to think that even if a project may fall through I could at least put it all into a little graphics demo or something myself. :) So thanks for the well done tutorials!

@stephenwhite506 2 жыл бұрын

If you need a programmer then I would be happy to help you.

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

Asperite sounds a lot better for making game art than MS Paint! I've heard a lot of stories of great projects be abandoned due to lack of programmers or the programmer dropping out. That is my main reason for doing these tutorials - to create more MD programmers and hopefully more MD games :) At the very least, you'll learn enough in this beginners series to be able to put your work on the screen and enjoy seeing it run on the console without needing anyone else help. All the best!

@108Stars 2 жыл бұрын

@@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials Just a little update with a video... It took a while since I want to use my own graphics instead of the downloads, but I finally did get to manage to display a basic background and foreground thanks to your tutorials. Nothing fancy, but it all looks and works as intended, I am grateful for that. Now I am looking forward to sprites and to how what else can be done. :) kzfaq.info/get/bejne/d8yHpbZ7mNiygn0.html

@108Stars 2 жыл бұрын

@@stephenwhite506 I really appreciate the other,but for the time being I just want to play around a bit. It has been a long time since I did MD graphics anyway. But maybe I can get back into it. :)

@user-hx9be2hl1r 6 ай бұрын

really good tutorial ! Ive heard of asprite before but it looked complicated so thanks for the overview

@colos3284 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for another video.

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome. I hope you enjoy it!

@denraimei32 2 жыл бұрын

I'm intrigued to know about palette cycling. With the know-how, I could give life to Super Sonic like Dr. Frankenstein. Haha.

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

I'm going to do lots of palette -related lessons at some point in the future, but it will probably be part of the intermediate tutorial series, as it involves arrays and such. You can do some really neat things with palette cycling!

@dfcx1 2 жыл бұрын

That palette becomes a lot easier to navigate if you size it to be 8 swatches wide. That way the x and y axes of each square correspond to G and R values and moving between squares becomes the B channel. It's still an inconvenient way compared getting 3-bit RGB sliders that actually give you accurate Mega Drive values but I haven't found a way to do that in Aseprite yet.

@ThatOldTV 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this video. I can't wait until you cover sprites.

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

A lesson on sprites is coming next week!

@yateoi 7 ай бұрын

I do agree that masterpiece looks absolutely amazing and is a suitable background for any Sonic 4 Mega Drive game. Awesome lesson.

@briankumanchik2474 5 ай бұрын

These are awesome, thanks! - Sent some thanks! ;)

@briankumanchik2474 5 ай бұрын

Thanks!🙂

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 5 ай бұрын

Thanks a lot, much appreciated! I'm glad you're enjoying the tutorials. More to come this year!

@munichandy1 2 жыл бұрын

Great tutorials! Can't wait for the next episodes :-)

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks. New episode coming this weekend!

@minzy421 2 жыл бұрын

Hi new here! Am getting my pc next to build games on unreal engine but am defo gonna try n cook something for the megadrive! Awesome tutorials 😊

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

SGDK beats UE5 any day of the week, haha!

@yasminesteinbauer8565 2 жыл бұрын

The palette you linked does not match the video output of the Mega Drive. Your palette has steps of 0, 36, 72, 108, 144, 180, 216, 255, which corresponds to an almost linear curve. Real Mega Drive hardware, on the other hand, according to oscilloscope measurements, has a non-linear progression with steps of 0, 52, 87, 116, 144, 172, 206, 255. On top of that, there are additional possible colors due to Shadow and Highlight which have the following steps: Shadow: 0 29 52 70 87 101 116 130 HiLite: 130 144 158 172 187 206 228 255 By the way, even many emulators display the colors incorrectly in a linear way. The official Mega Drive emulator on Steam, for example, does it correctly.

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

If you have a more accurate palette, then please send me a link and I will update it. I found the palette currently linked on a forum a few months back and it doesn't seem too bad, but the more accurate the better of course!

@yasminesteinbauer8565 2 жыл бұрын

@@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials I got the values from here: (Link in Base64 format because Google blocks almost all links.) aHR0cHM6Ly9nZW5kZXYuc3ByaXRlc21pbmQubmV0L2ZvcnVtL3ZpZXd0b3BpYy5waHA/dD0yMTg4 Since I can't export palettes as .pal I simply adapted your palette. JASC-PAL 0100 512 0 0 0 0 52 0 0 87 0 0 116 0 0 144 0 0 172 0 0 206 0 0 255 0 52 0 0 52 52 0 52 87 0 52 116 0 52 144 0 52 172 0 52 206 0 52 255 0 87 0 0 87 52 0 87 87 0 87 116 0 87 144 0 87 172 0 87 206 0 87 255 0 116 0 0 116 52 0 116 87 0 116 116 0 116 144 0 116 172 0 116 206 0 116 255 0 144 0 0 144 52 0 144 87 0 144 116 0 144 144 0 144 172 0 144 206 0 144 255 0 172 0 0 172 52 0 172 87 0 172 116 0 172 144 0 172 172 0 172 206 0 172 255 0 206 0 0 206 52 0 206 87 0 206 116 0 206 144 0 206 172 0 206 206 0 206 255 0 255 0 0 255 52 0 255 87 0 255 116 0 255 144 0 255 172 0 255 206 0 255 255 0 0 0 52 0 52 52 0 87 52 0 116 52 0 144 52 0 172 52 0 206 52 0 255 52 52 0 52 52 52 52 52 87 52 52 116 52 52 144 52 52 172 52 52 206 52 52 255 52 87 0 52 87 52 52 87 87 52 87 116 52 87 144 52 87 172 52 87 206 52 87 255 52 116 0 52 116 52 52 116 87 52 116 116 52 116 144 52 116 172 52 116 206 52 116 255 52 144 0 52 144 52 52 144 87 52 144 116 52 144 144 52 144 172 52 144 206 52 144 255 52 172 0 52 172 52 52 172 87 52 172 116 52 172 144 52 172 172 52 172 206 52 172 255 52 206 0 52 206 52 52 206 87 52 206 116 52 206 144 52 206 172 52 206 206 52 206 255 52 255 0 52 255 52 52 255 87 52 255 116 52 255 144 52 255 172 52 255 206 52 255 255 52 0 0 87 0 52 87 0 87 87 0 116 87 0 144 87 0 172 87 0 206 87 0 255 87 52 0 87 52 52 87 52 87 87 52 116 87 52 144 87 52 172 87 52 206 87 52 255 87 87 0 87 87 52 87 87 87 87 87 116 87 87 144 87 87 172 87 87 206 87 87 255 87 116 0 87 116 52 87 116 87 87 116 116 87 116 144 87 116 172 87 116 206 87 116 255 87 144 0 87 144 52 87 144 87 87 144 116 87 144 144 87 144 172 87 144 206 87 144 255 87 172 0 87 172 52 87 172 87 87 172 116 87 172 144 87 172 172 87 172 206 87 172 255 87 206 0 87 206 52 87 206 87 87 206 116 87 206 144 87 206 172 87 206 206 87 206 255 87 255 0 87 255 52 87 255 87 87 255 116 87 255 144 87 255 172 87 255 206 87 255 255 87 0 0 116 0 52 116 0 87 116 0 116 116 0 144 116 0 172 116 0 206 116 0 255 116 52 0 116 52 52 116 52 87 116 52 116 116 52 144 116 52 172 116 52 206 116 52 255 116 87 0 116 87 52 116 87 87 116 87 116 116 87 144 116 87 172 116 87 206 116 87 255 116 116 0 116 116 52 116 116 87 116 116 116 116 116 144 116 116 172 116 116 206 116 116 255 116 144 0 116 144 52 116 144 87 116 144 116 116 144 144 116 144 172 116 144 206 116 144 255 116 172 0 116 172 52 116 172 87 116 172 116 116 172 144 116 172 172 116 172 206 116 172 255 116 206 0 116 206 52 116 206 87 116 206 116 116 206 144 116 206 172 116 206 206 116 206 255 116 255 0 116 255 52 116 255 87 116 255 116 116 255 144 116 255 172 116 255 206 116 255 255 116 0 0 144 0 52 144 0 87 144 0 116 144 0 144 144 0 172 144 0 206 144 0 255 144 52 0 144 52 52 144 52 87 144 52 116 144 52 144 144 52 172 144 52 206 144 52 255 144 87 0 144 87 52 144 87 87 144 87 116 144 87 144 144 87 172 144 87 206 144 87 255 144 116 0 144 116 52 144 116 87 144 116 116 144 116 144 144 116 172 144 116 206 144 116 255 144 144 0 144 144 52 144 144 87 144 144 116 144 144 144 144 144 172 144 144 206 144 144 255 144 172 0 144 172 52 144 172 87 144 172 116 144 172 144 144 172 172 144 172 206 144 172 255 144 206 0 144 206 52 144 206 87 144 206 116 144 206 144 144 206 172 144 206 206 144 206 255 144 255 0 144 255 52 144 255 87 144 255 116 144 255 144 144 255 172 144 255 206 144 255 255 144 0 0 172 0 52 172 0 87 172 0 116 172 0 144 172 0 172 172 0 206 172 0 255 172 52 0 172 52 52 172 52 87 172 52 116 172 52 144 172 52 172 172 52 206 172 52 255 172 87 0 172 87 52 172 87 87 172 87 116 172 87 144 172 87 172 172 87 206 172 87 255 172 116 0 172 116 52 172 116 87 172 116 116 172 116 144 172 116 172 172 116 206 172 116 255 172 144 0 172 144 52 172 144 87 172 144 116 172 144 144 172 144 172 172 144 206 172 144 255 172 172 0 172 172 52 172 172 87 172 172 116 172 172 144 172 172 172 172 172 206 172 172 255 172 206 0 172 206 52 172 206 87 172 206 116 172 206 144 172 206 172 172 206 206 172 206 255 172 255 0 172 255 52 172 255 87 172 255 116 172 255 144 172 255 172 172 255 206 172 255 255 172 0 0 206 0 52 206 0 87 206 0 116 206 0 144 206 0 172 206 0 206 206 0 255 206 52 0 206 52 52 206 52 87 206 52 116 206 52 144 206 52 172 206 52 206 206 52 255 206 87 0 206 87 52 206 87 87 206 87 116 206 87 144 206 87 172 206 87 206 206 87 255 206 116 0 206 116 52 206 116 87 206 116 116 206 116 144 206 116 172 206 116 206 206 116 255 206 144 0 206 144 52 206 144 87 206 144 116 206 144 144 206 144 172 206 144 206 206 144 255 206 172 0 206 172 52 206 172 87 206 172 116 206 172 144 206 172 172 206 172 206 206 172 255 206 206 0 206 206 52 206 206 87 206 206 116 206 206 144 206 206 172 206 206 206 206 206 255 206 255 0 206 255 52 206 255 87 206 255 116 206 255 144 206 255 172 206 255 206 206 255 255 206 0 0 255 0 52 255 0 87 255 0 116 255 0 144 255 0 172 255 0 206 255 0 255 255 52 0 255 52 52 255 52 87 255 52 116 255 52 144 255 52 172 255 52 206 255 52 255 255 87 0 255 87 52 255 87 87 255 87 116 255 87 144 255 87 172 255 87 206 255 87 255 255 116 0 255 116 52 255 116 87 255 116 116 255 116 144 255 116 172 255 116 206 255 116 255 255 144 0 255 144 52 255 144 87 255 144 116 255 144 144 255 144 172 255 144 206 255 144 255 255 172 0 255 172 52 255 172 87 255 172 116 255 172 144 255 172 172 255 172 206 255 172 255 255 206 0 255 206 52 255 206 87 255 206 116 255 206 144 255 206 172 255 206 206 255 206 255 255 255 0 255 255 52 255 255 87 255 255 116 255 255 144 255 255 172 255 255 206 255 255 255 255

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

I don't think KZfaq allows links, so it might be better to email me if you do have a better palette (my address can be found in the About tab). Thanks

@yasminesteinbauer8565 2 жыл бұрын

@@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials Yeah, that's why I posted the link base64-encoded. But I have now also sent it to you by mail.😅

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

@@yasminesteinbauer8565 It looks like KZfaq is already smart to that trick, as that comment isn't showing up for me. I got your email though and have added a download link to the video description.

@Ryan.Lohman 2 жыл бұрын

I finally found the Asprite Genesis/Megadrive digitizer and really want to be able to output content to the Mega Drive. Not a programmer here (more of a script kitty) but I'd love to make cinematics, graphics or movies for the console. I don't want to use Bee Hive or some sort of video encoding software as I really want to use indexed colors and asprite

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

That's a great idea! apart from games, I think there is a lot of potential for making music/art/movie projects on the console. I hope these tutorials give artists like yourself the knowledge to be able to bring your work to the system. Good luck!

@nintendo4life132 Жыл бұрын

Really awesome to learn retro games development. For me, I'm more SNES than in Genesis. Not because Genesis can't do that much, then SNES. It's shown more differently

@TheNomcognom 4 ай бұрын

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials did the tool mentioned at the last quarter of the vido came out to the public? or is still on developement? Also, did you have any video regarding on tricks or speed ups using asm calls from c code for megadrive? Ty for the channel. Keep working on it, please ;)

@valpachman 3 ай бұрын

Спасибо за видео! У меня все получилось!

@anjodaharpa8757 2 жыл бұрын

Better MD dev tutorials videos!

@airthrowDBT 2 жыл бұрын

I was having problems using another tutorial to import my art, my palettes always turned up wrong, this was perfect thank you for the help!

@Armm8991 2 жыл бұрын

I dont know if tou have used it in this video but asepeite has a tilemap feature that shows you how many unique tiles you have and it is very useful to keep track of how many tiles you have

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

I didn't know that! I'll look into that now, thanks

@claudiosettiart Жыл бұрын

Phenominal tutorials! Thank you for doing this! Where can you find the "Alone Works" Palette tool or follow the developer?

@brunch1572 2 жыл бұрын

Another good one. I've been putting off switching to Aseprite but this video made me take the plunge and I'm glad I did. Gimp was really getting on my nerves. Looking forward to more. I'm very interested in how to animate sprites in code and how to do raycast collision. Cheers.

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, Aseprite is pretty good. Lessons on sprites coming soon!

@NoahNCopeland 2 жыл бұрын

Cool! What happens if try to use colors that are not in the mD palette? Does it snap to the nearest ?

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah. Sometimes it gives a good result, but other times not so much haha. I will cover this when I do a lesson on porting graphics from other games.

@The-E-Base 11 ай бұрын

Would be interesting if I was able to get my hands on Aseprite before going here. Since I can't afford that though, I can only use GIMP at this time. Update 1 (July 16, 2023): Looks like I'm out of luck for good.

@boywithanearring Жыл бұрын

confused at 8:11, first time i programmed the background it worked however i tried to program the foreground and it didnt work then i tried to change the background and it wont work. i deleted the image and everything its off my computer but when i complie and run it still pops up

@denraimei32 2 жыл бұрын

Do you plan on covering how to compile roms in a fixed size? I'd like to challenge myself in making games in 1 megabyte (or 8 megabit) at most.

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

I think you simply keep adding assets until you got to 1MB and then stop, but maybe you're after something more than that!

@sdfmnb2314 Ай бұрын

question: how do I use a tileset for displays?

@Poprock6108 4 ай бұрын

Cuál sería el orden de tus vídeos? Algún programa para crear música para el juego?

@TheRealSparkster Жыл бұрын

how can i get the pal file working on aseprite

@videogamesandfilm6821 5 ай бұрын

can your main sprite use more than 1 16 colour palette? Can you use colours from the palettes in the background and vice verse? if so does that mean you can use the transparency color from pal0 across all sprites or does each palette use colour 1 as transparent automatically? cheers dude.

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 5 ай бұрын

Each background tile or sprite can only use one of the 4 palettes. If you wish to use the colours from more than one palette in a single character sprite, then you will need to create 2 sprites in SGDK, each using a different palette, and then layer them on top of each other in the game. I used this technique for the first level SotN boss.

@videogamesandfilm6821 5 ай бұрын

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials So technically you could split the character into 4 sprites with only the information for each colour in the separate palettes. Just thinking you could have a highly detailed main sprite and hide the extra colours past the initial 16 in the other palettes. For example in fighting games you could share the skin tones in 1 palette then share clothes colours in another palette.

@analog_ape 2 жыл бұрын

Really appreciate you doing these, very helpful! I'd be very interested in the process of adapting existing images to the Mega Drive in Aseprite or similar. Basically what you're doing adapting SotN from PS1 to work on the MD (change resolution, palette, etc.). Any upcoming videos on this, by any chance? :)

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

Yes, I will be doing a lesson on converting assets from other games for the Mega Drive (still a few weeks away though)

@maxcraft3936 6 ай бұрын

Hello, i am there because i need help. does someone has the Sega Genesis Palette but in 256 colors, because i import the palette on Clickteam fusion 2.5.

@inceptional 2 ай бұрын

Question: The Genesis can use any of its four colour palettes for background or sprites or both, rather than it being limited to say two palettes dedicated to only sprites and two to only backgrounds, correct?

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 ай бұрын

That's right, any of the 4 palettes can be used with any sprite or background tile, it's entirely up to the programmer

@inceptional 2 ай бұрын

@@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials Okay, I thought so.

@Wmx2011 Жыл бұрын

Why when i compile using your color palette on my aseprite custom background it says that the palette is incorect in resources.o

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials Жыл бұрын

Make sure the graphic only has 16 colours, is a multiple of 8 pixels wide/high, has colour mode set to indexed etc. If it still doesn't work then you can email me your custom background

@Poprock6108 4 ай бұрын

el archivo de descarga no sale,esta inactivo?

@TheRealSparkster 9 ай бұрын

How can i activate this file to aseprite

@victoriagrayson5082 8 ай бұрын

*'... There _is_ a lot of tutorials ...'.

@papa4896 Ай бұрын

hey man the link of the sega megadrive color pallete is unavevivle

@ABlob Ай бұрын

Works for me! It's just a .pal file, which you can load in Aseprite.

@jbmaru 2 жыл бұрын

With that master palette I can see how, as you said, the MD is lacking in the darker colours and greyscale. That's all the more curious as there are plenty of hues for the rainbow colours, which look a bit samey. I wonder if the hardware designers could have hand-picked and forced any in themselves. So if you use the chromatic bar, plus the brightness one above and pick a colour, Asperite will just choose the closest one in the MD palette?

@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials 2 жыл бұрын

I would easily sacrifice some greens and reds for a few dark greys! I'm not sure if the designers of the hardware could handpick any 512 colours, or whether there were some addition technical limitations at play. Yeah, Aseprite can be quite good at selecting the nearest MD colour. Actually, the console itself will also select the nearest colour for you if you upload an image with colours that don't match the palette.

@jbmaru 2 жыл бұрын

@@PigsysRetroGameDevTutorials Great to know, thanks; that's good news, as the way those hues are arranged on the palette feels pretty awkward to me.

@CamAlert2 Жыл бұрын

But you're wrong. This palette does have grayscale

@jbmaru Жыл бұрын

@@CamAlert2 I said lacking in grayscale, not lacking grayscale :p