Programmer art

Not to be confused with algorithmic art.

A computer-generated image of a typical platform game, showing simplified graphics of the player's character, a door, a ladder, a set of spikes, a lever to be pulled, and one of the monsters. The graphics are very simple with basic textures, on a plain blue background

A computer-generated image of the release copy of Braid as a platform game, showing the main character, a door, a ladder, a set of spikes, a lever, and one of the monsters. The art appears to be painted elements, consisting of wooden beams adjoining rock faces, with foliage around, against a faded yellow-green background showing more of a forest.

Jonathan Blow's original programmer art for the game Braid (top) compared with the game's final artwork by artist David Hellman.

Programmer art refers to temporary graphics added by the software developer to test functionality. When creating the artwork, speed is a priority and aesthetics are secondary (if they are given any consideration at all). In fact, programmer art might be intentionally bad. This draws attention to the fact that the artwork is only a placeholder and should not go into the final product. This practice might also speed its replacement.

Common forms of programmer art include stick figure sprites, in platformers, and fuchsia textures, in games using 3d models. Games with a "top-down" perspective tend to use alphanumeric characters and simple 2-d shapes to represent characters and landscape elements.

Not all programmers decide to replace the art in their games prior to release, though. This is especially common in indie games, since indie developers generally lack the resources to commission large amounts of art for their games.

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