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Reforj developer 4J Studios unveils Rixels: modified pixels that reduce texture memory requirements by 98%

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Reforj developer 4J Studios unveils Rixels: modified pixels that reduce texture memory requirements by 98%

The studio has applied for a patent on the technology, which uses vector shapes instead of normal texturing

Reforj developer 4J Studios has debuted a technology called Rixels that offer an alternative way to provide textures using a fraction of the memory requirements. The Dundee-based studio has applied to patent the technology.

Rixels, short for Reforj Pixels, are modified pixels that each contain a vector shape – and because they use vector graphics, they retain their sharpness even when viewed close up.

"The Rixel was our response to a problem with texture size," 4J Studios chairman Chris van der Kuyl tells GamesIndustry.biz. "We were using 512x512 normal textures, so a pixel grid with square pixels in it, but as [the game] got bigger and bigger and bigger, we realised that we were going to run ourselves into a wall with space."

Van der Kuyl challenged CTO Richard Reavy to come up with a solution, and Reavy designed Rixels, which each contain one of 23 vector shapes. Vector graphics are images built from mathematical formulas, "so no matter what size you render, it's not pixelated," says van der Kuyl.

Initially, the 512x512 pixel grids in 4J's Minecraft-like game Reforj required 4MB of memory. But with Rixels, the same sized grid can be made from 20x20 squares, using only 72KB of memory – a reduction of over 98%.

"Now, when you zoom in, it doesn't get fuzzy anymore," says van der Kuyl. "You start to see these beautiful little vector shapes that exist at perfect resolution.


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