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Reference.org
Tile-based video game
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<p>A tile-based video game, or grid-based video game, is a type of <a href="/facts/Video_game/vmTdNASJ">video game</a> where the playing area consists of small square (or, much less often, rectangular, parallelogram, or hexagonal) graphic images referred to as <i>tiles</i> laid out in a grid. That the screen is made of such tiles is a technical distinction, and may not be obvious to people playing the game. The complete set of tiles available for use in a playing area is called a <i>tileset</i>. Tile-based games usually simulate a <a href="/facts/Top-down_perspective/0C39CTRF">top-down</a>, side view, or <a href="/facts/2.5D/yYrVGBAY">2.5D</a> view of the playing area, and are almost always <a href="/facts/2D_computer_graphics/j6dBxDpX">two-dimensional</a>. </p><p>Much video game hardware from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s has native support for displaying tiled screens with little interaction from the CPU. </p>