Sprites and sprite sheets
As far as XNA and the SpriteBatch class are concerned, a sprite is a 2D bitmapped image that can be drawn either with or without transparency information to the screen.
Tip
Sprites vs. Textures
XNA defines a "sprite" as a 2D bitmap that is drawn directly to the screen. While these bitmaps are stored in Texture2D objects, the term "texture" is used when a 2D image is mapped onto a 3D object, providing a visual representation of the surface of the object. In practice, all XNA graphics are actually performed in 3D, with 2D sprites being rendered via special configurations of the XNA rendering engine.
The simple form of the SpriteBatch.Draw() call that you used in Chapter 1 when drawing squares only needed three parameters: a ...
Get XNA 4.0 Game Development by Example Beginner's Guide now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
