Pixel Art Restoration

Information

• Publication Type: Bachelor Thesis
• Workgroup(s)/Project(s):
  • Rendering and Modeling
• Date: March 2024
• Date (Start): 2023
• Date (End): 20. March 2024
• Matrikelnummer: 11907095
• First Supervisor: Michael Wimmer

Abstract

Games developed in the 8 and 16-bit era of computing used low-resolution images called sprites for displaying game worlds and their objects. This art style is often referred to as Pixel-Art and evolved into its own subgenre of games with new games still getting released to this day. While modern Pixel-Art games incorporate the visual fidelity of modern Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitors into their design, games from the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) era often look worse when displayed on an LCD monitor. Understandable, since games at that time were designed to look good on CRT TVs and Monitors which function in very different ways compared to modern Displays. Since the upcoming of retro game console emulators, a lot of effort was put into reproducing the effects of CRT monitors when playing back these old game files on LCD monitors. This often requires the use of upscaling algorithms to improve the look of the low-resolution game assets on higher-resolution monitors. Upscaling in general but also tailored towards Pixel-Art is still an unsolved problem and the focus of many recent publications. In this work, we will explore what effects CRT monitors have on Pixel-Art and how to use this information to guide the upscaling of 8 and 16-bit era Pixel-Art to improve visual fidelity when displayed on modern LCD monitors.

Additional Files and Images

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BibTeX

@bachelorsthesis{wagner-2024-par,
  title =      "Pixel Art Restoration",
  author =     "Florian Wagner",
  year =       "2024",
  abstract =   "Games developed in the 8 and 16-bit era of computing used
               low-resolution images called sprites for displaying game
               worlds and their objects. This art style is often referred
               to as Pixel-Art and evolved into its own subgenre of games
               with new games still getting released to this day. While
               modern Pixel-Art games incorporate the visual fidelity of
               modern Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) monitors into their
               design, games from the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) era often look
               worse when displayed on an LCD monitor. Understandable,
               since games at that time were designed to look good on CRT
               TVs and Monitors which function in very different ways
               compared to modern Displays. Since the upcoming of retro
               game console emulators, a lot of effort was put into
               reproducing the effects of CRT monitors when playing back
               these old game files on LCD monitors. This often requires
               the use of upscaling algorithms to improve the look of the
               low-resolution game assets on higher-resolution monitors.
               Upscaling in general but also tailored towards Pixel-Art is
               still an unsolved problem and the focus of many recent
               publications. In this work, we will explore what effects CRT
               monitors have on Pixel-Art and how to use this information
               to guide the upscaling of 8 and 16-bit era Pixel-Art to
               improve visual fidelity when displayed on modern LCD
               monitors.",
  month =      mar,
  address =    "Favoritenstrasse 9-11/E193-02, A-1040 Vienna, Austria",
  school =     "Research Unit of Computer Graphics, Institute of Visual
               Computing and Human-Centered Technology, Faculty of
               Informatics, TU Wien ",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2024/wagner-2024-par/",
}