I am currently trying to design a multiplayer action game that will be similar to Adventure of Link on the NES. I am running into the problem of how the sprites should be implemented. I want the sprites to be able to be dynamically changed based upon what the character is wearing and wielding. Is there a simple way of doing this or do I have to create an image of all possible results ahead of time?
You can use the paper-doll type system fairly effectively on truly 2-dimensional sprites.
You just need to first draw the character, then the clothes, then the weapon. All three graphics can be the same size using transparency so you don’t need to worry too much about positioning. I believe you could also build a new image at runtime out of the three components, but I haven’t done this.
Another (simpler) possibility is to use palette shifting, which is what I remember as being very common in the 8-bit glory days of sprite based games.