Spritely speaking
Many years ago, a computer geek invented a cool way to render and display small images on a computer screen. These images would move around on the screen and even collide with other objects. The computer geek called these images sprites, and that name has stuck ever since.
Sprites versus non-sprites
A sprite is simply an image that represents an object on the screen. Examples of sprites include characters, NPCs, weapons, alien spaceships, and rocks. Anything that can move on the screen or be hit by another object in the game is a sprite. Objects that don't interact with other objects aren't sprites. Examples might include mountains in the background, the ground, and the sky.
Obviously, it takes both sprites and non-sprites to implement a game. Also, the distinction is a little arbitrary. Some games implement all of the images in the game as sprites because it is more convenient to treat all images in the game in a consistent manner.
Flipbook animation
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