A handy dandy guide for certain numbers relevant to GB studio development!
Tiles
8×8 | The size of a background tile |
8×16 | The size of a sprite tile |
16×16 | Two sprite tiles, a metasprite |
32×32 | Eight sprite tiles, a metasprite |
80×64 | 36 sprite tiles combined, the largest connected metasprite one can create |
Sprites
3 | Colours can be used for sprites (1 transparent) |
4 | Colours can be used for backgrounds and UI |
5 | Projectiles per scene |
10 | Sprite tiles can be loaded in one row (scanline) before dropping out |
10 | Active actors can be on screen at once |
16 | GBC Palettes total, 8 for background and 8 for sprites. Each palette can hold 4 colours |
20 | Active actors over a larger scene |
38 | Maximum amount of 8×16 sprite tiles on screen at once (2 reserved for Emote) |
96 | Max amount of sprite tiles in a scene total |
Backgrounds
128 | Max Background Tiles in a scene to be able to have 96 sprite tiles available |
192 | Max Background Tiles in a scene and still be able to use dialog/text. 64 sprite tiles available |
256 | Max Background Tiles in a scene that isn’t logo mode. 64 sprite tiles available |
360 | The amount of tiles that make up a 160×144 resolution. All tiles can be unique in logo mode. 12 sprite tiles are available |
Dimensions
160 x 144 | The base resolution for the Gameboy and smallest size for a scene |
512 x 2040 | Maximum size for a scene height wise |
1016 x 1024 | Maximum size for a scene equal-ish size |
2040 x 512 | Maximum size for a scene length wise |
Colors
071821 | Darkest tone for sprites and backgrounds | |
306850 | Mid dark tone for backgrounds only | |
86c06c | Mid light tone for sprites and backgrounds | |
e0f8cf | Lightest tone for sprites and backgrounds | |
65ff00 | Transparency for sprites |
2bit pixel artist. Makes Game Boy demakes at the appropriately named Gameboydemakes. Mspaint enjoyer. (he/him & they/them)