Jul 27 2009

MIP Mapping and Windows Mobile

Category: Windows Mobile | GraphicsJoel Ivory Johnson @ 16:53

I've heard developers ache over the challenges that targetting multiple form factors and multiple resolutions can bring.  I just went through an excercise this weekend in which I had to make a simple game that would run on 4 different form factors.  320x240, 320x320, 240x400, and 480x640.  It wasn't as challenging as one would think (Of course it helps that it was a simple game).  To make my graphics look their best on each platform I used mip maps for my sprites

 

I didn't specifically target any of those resolutions.  Instead for my sprites I made a high resolution version (first row) and then scaled it down in half, and again, and again.  Then I created a mapping function so that if I requested the red orb of a certain size then a copy of the orb that best fit my requirements would be selected.  The result that I ended up with was the graphics looked absolutly stunning when the program was wun on a WVGA device, but scaled themselves back reasonably when run on a QVGA device.

The technique itself is old.  I remember first being introduced to it in 1994.  And it is very effective.

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