Background and sprite sizes

[Snarky]

AGS questions isn't really what this thread is for, so I'll move your question to the Beginner's Tech Forum soon, but for now:

Usually, you want a room background to be the size of your game resolution, so it fills the screen. Your first decision, then, is what resolution to use. Typically, a "classic" VGA-style adventure will have a 320x200 (widescreen) or 320x240 (3:4) resolution, while a "high-res" (relatively speaking) game might go with 640x400, 640x480 or 800x600. Higher resolutions are possible (and with the next AGS version you'll be able to make up any resolution you like), but can have performance issues.

320x200 is a good place to start.

You should set up your game project to the resolution you decide (under "General Settings") before you start making the game, because changing it later can wipe out or mess up some of your work.

The size of a standard sprite also varies considerably depending on your resolution and your the graphic style: how large you want them to be on screen. Guybrush in Monkey Island and Bernard in Day of the Tentacle are not the same size: Gubyrush is about 50 pixels tall, while Bernard is about 70), and Sierra sprites tend to be a little smaller. In a low-res game, somewhere between 40-100 pixels is pretty typical.

I usually start by making a template of how I want the game to look in Photoshop. I set the canvas to my chosen resolution and put in a sample background, either by borrowing an existing image or just sketching one real quick (don't forget to account for the user-interface, if it takes up any space on screen), and draw in a stick figure (or paste in a borrowed sprite) to figure out the scale. You can stretch it until it looks right, then measure how big it is in pixels.

[The Morning Tree]

AGS questions isn't really what this thread is for, so I'll move your question to the Beginner's Tech Forum soon, but for now:

Usually, you want a room background to be the size of your game resolution, so it fills the screen. Your first decision, then, is what resolution to use. Typically, a "classic" VGA-style adventure will have a 320x200 (widescreen) or 320x240 (3:4) resolution, while a "high-res" (relatively speaking) game might go with 640x400, 640x480 or 800x600. Higher resolutions are possible (and with the next AGS version you'll be able to make up any resolution you like), but can have performance issues.

320x200 is a good place to start.

You should set up your game project to the resolution you decide (under "General Settings") before you start making the game, because changing it later can wipe out or mess up some of your work.

The size of a standard sprite also varies considerably depending on your resolution and your the graphic style: how large you want them to be on screen. Guybrush in Monkey Island and Bernard in Day of the Tentacle are not the same size: Gubyrush is about 50 pixels tall, while Bernard is about 70), and Sierra sprites tend to be a little smaller. In a low-res game, somewhere between 40-100 pixels is pretty typical.

I usually start by making a template of how I want the game to look in Photoshop. I set the canvas to my chosen resolution and put in a sample background, either by borrowing an existing image or just sketching one real quick (don't forget to account for the user-interface, if it takes up any space on screen), and draw in a stick figure (or paste in a borrowed sprite) to figure out the scale. You can stretch it until it looks right, then measure how big it is in pixels.

Ah, thank you!  That pretty much answers my questions perfectly.

I'm sorry about putting it in the wrong area-- I thought the Beginner Tech area was for scripting questions rather than ... Aesthetics.  The latter seem ignored in tutorials as well. :S