In the screenshot from 'Zombies Ate My Neighbours' (Lucasfilm Games, 1993) it can be seen that the background consists of repeated 8x8 characters.Ī single character takes up 32 bytes of video memory (VRAM): So, every pixel on the screen comes from a 8x8 character using a 16 color palette. These can modified at runtime to create effects such as color cycling or screen fades. Each palette color is defined using 9 bit, allowing for a total of 512 colors. The Video Display Processor (VDP) in the Genesis has dedicated color memory allowing for 4 different palettes at a time.

The characters are defined using 4 bits / pixel, the bits representing an index in a 16-color palette. Sprites can be up to 64圆4, but they are still comprised of a set of 8x8 characters next to each other. Playfields consist entirely of characters, arranged in a 8x8 pixel grid. Playfields are used for levels and backgrounds, sprites for animated objects.īoth playfields and sprites are composed of 8x8 pixel tiles called characters.

The graphics of the Genesis consist of two components: playfields and sprites.

Zombies ate my neighbors sprites