The story of a cancelled X-Men TV controller game, as told by former LucasArts illustrator Mark Ferrari, who is a world-renowned and innovative pixel artist responsible for popularising multiple graphical techniques — including dithering, colour cycling, and palette shifting. And an inside look at the downside of having marketing-focused gatekeepers in charge of what products hit store shelves.See full show notes and episode player…

Tags: 8-bit, art, business, cancelled games, mark ferrari, marketing, tv game, x-men, colour cycling, palette shifting, dithering

This is the story of illustrator Mark Ferrari, whose artwork was so good it forced Lucasfilm Games to figure out how to make a graphics technique called dithering compress to fit on floppy disks — in the process winning awards and triggering the use of dither in the wider games industry — and who pioneered the use of two background illustration tricks that gave the illusion of animation. He became world-renowned for his colour cycling and palette shifting techniques, which could be used to make a single computer illustration appear alive.
See full show notes and episode player…

Tags: graphic adventures, colour cycling, deluxe paint, dithering, art, gary winnick, loom, lucasarts, lucasfilm, mark ferrari, palette shifting, scumm, seize the day, thimbleweed park, illustration