GameDev.net -- Isometric and Tile-based Games

Home » Articles & Resources » Programming » Isometric and Tile-based Games

Isometric and Tile-based Games

This section covers a genre that many of us here at GDNet have a lot of interest in. Here you will find articles covering the subjects important in these types of games.

For more information about Isometric and Tile-based Games, check out:

Resources Listed: 32

Jump To :
General


Subcategory: General
Topic		Author	Description
	Action Arcade Adventure Set [Added: 8/17/1999]		Although a bit dated (the book was published in 1994), this is probably the only guide to making side-scrolling, tile-based games. By Diana Gruber.
	Axonometric Projections - A Technical Overview [Added: 1/2/2001]	Thiadmer Riemersma	Discusses how axonometric projections may be used in computer graphics.
	Coordinates in Hexagon-Based Tile Maps [Added: 4/13/2002]	Thomas Jahn	Provides some solutions to problems encountered when working with hexagonal tile maps.
	Dynamic Tile Maps 1.0 [Added: 9/15/1999]	Lee French	Dynamically allocated tilemaps sizes got you confused? Don't know where to start? This article has an easy to understand example of how to make a dynamically sized 2d map.
	How to Cache Graphical Tiles [Added: 11/18/1999]	Joshua Cantrell	Goes over a technique of caching for tile based games. How to have a large number of graphical tiles and efficiently support as many memory configurations as possible.
	Introduction to Isometric Engines [Added: 9/16/1999]	Jim Adams
	Isometric Cube Coordinates [Added: 9/15/1999]	Charles Fu	A response to a newsgroup question about determining coordiates in a hex-based tile system. A rocket science approach for those who enjoy excess math.
	Isometric Engines: Are they for you? [Added: 12/16/2000]	Geoff Howland	A superb introduction to isometric tiling for the designer, this article will provide designers with what they need to know to make the decision to use it or lose it.
	Isometric 'n' Hexagonal Maps Part I [Added: 9/16/1999]	TANSTAAFL	This is an very good introduction to programming isometric and hexagonal based games, written by our very own TANSTAAFL.
	Isometric 'n' Hexagonal Maps Part II [Added: 9/16/1999]	TANSTAAFL	TAN follows up with descibing how to put objects on the map as well as some clarifications of part I.
	Isometric Source Code [Added: 9/14/1999]	Geoff Howland	Very good source example of how to implement an isometric tile display.
	Isometric Tiles [Added: 9/16/1999]	Dino Gambone	Hey, it's an article by Dino... what more needs to be said? READ IT NOW!
	Line of Sight Algorithm for Tile Based Games [Added: 9/15/1999]	Andy McFadden	a little outdated, but chock full o' knowledge
	Map File Format [Added: 9/16/1999]	Dino Gambone	Hey, it's an article by Dino... what more needs to be said? READ IT NOW!
	Mouse Maps for Isometric Height Maps [Added: 12/17/2003]	Steven Harrison	Explains one approach for converting mouse coordinates to tile coordinates on a tilemap with uneven height.
	Object Selection [Added: 9/16/1999]	Dino Gambone
	Pixel Coordinates to Hexagonal Coordinates [Added: 9/15/1999]	Amit Patel	WOOHOO! lots of equations!
	Range Sight Algorithm [Added: 9/15/1999]	Amit Patel	An algorithm to determine how far a unit can move in a given turn.
	Razorblade's Isometric Dynamic Lighting Algorithm [Added: 9/16/1999]	Travis Bemann
	Screen to Map Coordinates [Added: 9/16/1999]	Jim Adams
	Smooth Scrolling a Tile Map [Added: 9/16/1999]	Jim Adams
	Tile Based Gold [Added: 9/16/1999]	Hung Phan
	Tile Graphics Techniques [Added: 9/15/1999]	Jason McIntosh	he uses graphical examples...
	Tile/Map-Based Game Techniques: Base Data Structures [Added: 10/30/1999]	David Michael	As the title suggests, this covers the basic data structures involved in tile-based games.
	Tile/Map-Based Game Techniques: Handling Terrain Transitions [Added: 2/23/2000]	David Michael	Trying to make a fluid world out of tile graphics can require a lot of extra graphics to make the different tiles merge smoothly but this article shows a way to do it with a lot less graphics and headaches.
	Tile-Based Games FAQ version 1.2 [Added: 9/15/1999]	Greg Taylor/Chris Palmer	Common problems for tilebased games, and suggestions for solving them.
	Tileset File Format [Added: 9/16/1999]	Dino Gambone
	Tiling in DirectX: Part 1 [Added: 7/24/2000]	Martin Estevao	Tile-based games have been around for a while, and tiling is still commonly used. This article presents the basics of tiling using DirectX.
	Tiling in DirectX: Part 2 [Added: 11/27/2000]	Martin Estevao	Part 2 expands on the topics presented in the first article, covering smooth scrolling techniques.
	Tiling in OpenGL [Added: 12/12/2000]	Martin Estevao	Covers basic tiling in OpenGL using textured quads to represent the tiles.
	Using Direct3D For 2D Tile Rendering [Added: 2/24/2000]	Herbert "Bracket" Wolverson	You don't need to make a 3D game to take advantage of 3D acceleration. This article will show you how to use Direct3D to speed up your tile routines.

Key:

= HTML article hosted here

= HTML article hosted elsewhere

= link to another web site

= Adobe Acrobat document

= Zip files

= Word or text document