Screens, Titles & Extras
Many front-ends are able to display many different kinds of media for all the roms from each system (arcade, consoles, handhelds, computers, etc). Generally, most systems will share the common elements of screens and titles. Certain systems will have different elements that other systems don't have and vice versa.
Contents
Element combinations
Below are common combinations for screens, titles and extras of different systems. Other elements such as icons, samples, and information file are also available, but tend to be front-end or emulator specific.
Arcade
- Artwork
- Cabinets
- Control Panels
- Flyers
- Marquees
- Screens
- Titles
Consoles
- Boxes
- Manuals
- Cartriges
- Screens
- Titles
Handhelds
- Boxes
- Manuals
- Cartriges
- Screens
- Titles
Computers
- Manuals
- Screens
- Titles
Other elements such as icons, samples, and information file are also available, but tend to be front-end or emulator specific.
Examples
Artwork
Artwork is primarily used for arcade systems. Generally bezel overlays are the most common type of artwork, however some arcade games have artwork that is lit from behind that corresponds with game play (Gorf, Lunar Lander, etc).
Most of the time, a mask file will accompany the artwork. The mask is used by emulators to fuse the artwork in with the gameplay.
Front-ends generally don't use artwork, but some people like the option of showing this element. The mask file would most likely not be used in front-ends.