A Moment of Pixelated Zen, Brought To You By HTML5
Posted by Joshua_Kopstein on Monday, Jul 26, 2010
In addition to being gorgeous backdrops for your parlour, bedroom or other stress-relieving living space, these moving pixelated scenes from artist Mark Ferrari were designed and coded with the limitations of 8-bit computers and game consoles firmly in mind. While it would be impossible to create something of this nature on, say, an original Nintendo Entertainment System (the NES displays graphics in tiles with extremely limited palette data), these lush landscapes gain their zen-like qualities without exceeding the 256 color limit of most 8-bit processors.
Go here to see the images in their full animated glory, and enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
The moving images are powered by an HTML5 routine that cycles colors in and out of the palette, making it appear as if certain objects are moving, when in reality the pixels are merely changing colors at a framerate of ~40fps. It also allows control over the animation speed and shows the color palette cycling in real-time. There are over a dozen scenes available, from jungle waterfalls to mountain vistas and sleepy seaside towns, all accompanied by soothing audible ambience.
Slowly but surely, HTML5 is changing the way we access video and interactive content on the web. Check here for a few more examples of how programmers are using this new lightweight web standard to great effect.
[Thanks, Hank!]
via EffectGames
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Electronic musician and computer culture journalist. Contact: josh ◢at◣ motherboard ◐dot◑ tv
