Games Are Made
of Pixels
How a computer draws a whole world out of tiny squares
The Mystery of the Tiny Squares in Games: a picture is made of tiny colored squares called pixels. The computer paints each square, each square gets its own color, and thousands of squares make the picture. From far away they look smooth, up close you can see the squares.
Tap to see the full poster.
Level 1

Zoom in on the hero

Drag the slider. Every picture in a game is a grid of tiny colored squares called pixels.

x2
Tiny and smooth. Now zoom in!

Challenge: how many different colors did the artist use?

Level 2

Every pixel is three tiny lights

Look really close at a screen and each pixel is a red, a green and a blue light. Mix them to make any color.

Up close
From far away
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Missions: can you make these?

    Level 3

    Paint your own sprite

    A game character is called a sprite. Old games made them on grids this small. Tap or drag to paint.

    Small
    Real size
    Mirror trick: faces and bodies are the same on both sides, so pixel artists paint one half and copy it. Turn on Mirror and try it.
    Level 4

    Moving pictures are a flipbook

    Nothing on the screen really moves. The game draws a new still picture, called a frame, again and again. Change how many frames it draws each second.

    Pictures drawn: 0
    Cool fact: most games draw about 60 frames every second. That means every pixel on your screen gets a fresh color 60 times a second.
    Level 5 Advanced

    3D games are built from triangles

    A 3D world is made of thousands of flat triangles. The graphics chip works out which pixels are inside each triangle and colors them in, darker on the side away from the light.

    20
    Drag the ball to spin it. More triangles make it rounder.

    Watch how the pros do it Advanced

    A long, deep dive from Branch Education. Great for big kids, or to watch with a grown-up.

    Q 1/12
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    Pixel Pro!
    You got 0 out of 12 right!