8-Bit Theater is a sprite comic created by Brian Clevinger that ran from 2001 to 2010 and consisting of 1,225 pages. It is a sprite comic, meaning the art is mainly taken from pre-existing video game assets. The webcomic was at times one of the most popular webcomics, and the most popular sprite comic. The comic initially follows and parodies the plot of the first Final Fantasy game, following the "Warriors of Light" who are supposedly on a quest to find four elemental orbs to help them defeat Chaos. Instead, the characters mainly serve their own selfish interests, causing destruction in their wake. The success of 8-Bit Theater contributed to the popularity in creating sprite comics, with one list recording over 1,200 sprite comics as of 2004. 8-Bit Theater allowed Clevinger to earn an income, and gain experience and exposure which led to future works such as Atomic Robo. Creation 8-Bit Theater began in March 2001. It was one of the first sprite comics, a comic made by using pre-existing video game graphics. In one interview, Brian Clevinger said that he had had the idea of doing a sprite comic but had not acted on it until someone sent him a link to the sprite comic Bob and George which inspired him to try it himself. Clevinger also said that he lacked drawing skills, which made a sprite comic attractive. According to some other sources though, the comic started as a college assignment, with Clevinger saying, "8-Bit Theater began as an excuse to essentially do nothing and get college credit for it." Clevinger originally intended to use 8-Bit Theater to adapt multiple NES games, such as Metroid and River City Ransom, but ultimately stuck with Final Fantasy because of the popularity of the Final Fantasy manga. 8-Bit Theater uses sprites from the first Final Fantasy game for the NES, as well as other games, though Clevinger often altered the sprites, added effects, and created original backgrounds, as well as using other pre-existing images from the internet. The comic sometimes used 16-bit or 32-bit sprites to depict more powerful creatures. While most speech bubbles are white with black text, colored bubbles or text are sometimes used to give an impression of the voice. The use of video game assets was unauthorized use of copyrighted material, but as of 2004 Clevinger had not heard directly from the copyright owners of the images.