Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Shoba on February 19, 2007, 05:31:39 pm

Title: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Shoba on February 19, 2007, 05:31:39 pm
Hmm... I had this Idea for a game character while playing Cave Story Lately.

(http://shoba.at/newton/nameless_hero_001.gif)

So, hiding the fact this whole thing was inspired by Cave Story would be pointless :3.
Title: Re: [WIP] Game Character
Post by: Xion on February 19, 2007, 09:47:21 pm
It's nice to know that someone else capitalizes Idea.

Nice. I think the antennae are too thick.
It's weird how the eyes are different heights. I mean, I understand that one's covered by the hat, but it still looks strange to me.
The antenna in the bg...I think the two topmost pixels should be moved left once.
That's all I got.


Your avatar is extremely frightening.
Title: Re: [WIP] Game Character
Post by: Malor on February 20, 2007, 01:28:00 am


Your avatar is extremely frightening.

I must be inclined to agree.....frightening indeed. Sadly, I fail to see these antennae....anyways, I like the sprite, and never have played the game myself, I don't really know the extent of the ..based on-ness. BUT I like it. Nice job ;D
Title: Re: [WIP] Game Character
Post by: AdamAtomic on February 20, 2007, 07:57:20 am
pretty cute - i agree with xion's comments, I'd also like to add that the front antenna is bugging me a bit - it appears to curve slightly, which looks odd to me.  His hanky or scarf or whatever is pretty huge - the more I look at it the more it confuses/bothers me, I am not really sure where to start on that one.  nice start, just needs a little love to get the rest of the way there!
Title: Re: [WIP] Game Character
Post by: Shoba on February 20, 2007, 09:34:02 am
Thanks for the Feedback. Okay, here is my next version:

(http://shoba.at/newton/nameless_hero_002.gif)

By the way, its not a scarf, its supposed to be a Poncho (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poncho), like the one Clint Eastwood was wearing in "A Fistful of Dollars". I made the Poncho bigger and darker to make it easier to figure out, what exactly it is. For the Antennae ... I wanted them to look kinda 80 Anime Style. I slightly changed them, I think they look better now.

Title: Re: [WIP] Game Character
Post by: willfaulds on February 20, 2007, 12:27:05 pm
much improved - the poncho is easily readable now.

i think the hat still needs a little work - i keep flipping between seeing it as a trucker cap and a western cowboy hat (i take it should be the latter?).  i think the antennae have something slightly wrong about them - either they don't seem to be at the right angle to his stance or it might be that the front one is not effecting the hat enough or rather the effect is not clear enough.
Title: Re: [WIP] Game Character
Post by: Shoba on February 20, 2007, 12:48:29 pm
Hmm... actually its supposed to be a trucker hat. this one (http://666kb.com/i/alzww9y45o5iesybe.jpg) to be exact. I even wanted to put SNK on the metal plate, but the sprite was simply to small for this detail. I understand that the antennae would not work that way with a cowboy hat.
Title: Re: [WIP] Game Character
Post by: sharprm on February 20, 2007, 09:16:04 pm
I was thinking the shading on the plate on his cap and the antenna doesn't fit with the light source the other parts are shaded with.

Just figured out thats a cat on your avatar.
Title: Re: [WIP] Game Character
Post by: Shoba on February 21, 2007, 12:30:45 pm
Its just not any cat, its the one cat to rule them all. The Alpha and Omega of the Universe Cat :3.

Anyway, I changed the shading of the plate and the shading of the antennae (just slightly)

(http://shoba.at/newton/nameless_hero_003.gif)

and here is my first attempt at a walk (more run) cycle

(http://shoba.at/newton/nameless_hero_walkcycle01.gif)
Title: Re: [WIP] Game Character
Post by: sharprm on February 22, 2007, 12:11:05 pm
I like the new lighting on the cap.

With the run anim, even though its just rough i thought some crits might help. Firstly, are his legs supposed to be so long and his waist so high up? From the idle picture he looks very human but the anim suggests an alien type creature.

Atm there is no vertical movement of the body and there seems to be some frames where the legs switch. Maybe its because the legs are the same except one is shifted over. Perhaps making
them different would help. edit: if when the left foot just hit the ground if it was angled up:  \            not \             it might not get confused with right foot slidng back.
                                                                                                                                      \/                \_       
The view is on an angle but the legs look completely side on. That makes it look a bit strange in my opinion. Fix that with shading at least. I also think that the body should rotate a bit as
his arms swing.
Title: Re: [WIP] Game Character
Post by: Shoba on February 22, 2007, 01:35:21 pm
Alien Thing o_O. You're right, and thats not really, how he/she/it is supposed to look. I'll never sprite again when I'm to sleepy...

(http://shoba.at/newton/nameless_hero_walkcycle02.gif)

And here my first try at a background for the game
(http://shoba.at/newton/bg_test01.png)
For some reason the name "Chopper Hills" popped into my mind for that Tileset...
Title: Re: [WIP] Game Character
Post by: Shoba on February 27, 2007, 12:19:06 am
This is supposed to be a mugshot for this whole game...thing.

(http://shoba.at/newton/mugshot_katarr.gif)

I thought I was allready at 16 Colours, but according to Photoshops Colour Reducing Dialog when Saving as Gif it only contains 14. So I suppose I use 2 more colours for AA. or for a nicer BG.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Wakka on February 27, 2007, 03:00:47 am
Looks good. I like it.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Stwelin on February 27, 2007, 03:42:28 am
Seems to be some inconsistency... antenae become ears, black void becomes feline face, hat becomes bandana. Mad mad world!
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Shoba on February 27, 2007, 09:19:29 am
That is not the Main Character :3. Its one of my NPC Priate Kittens. Every Game should have one of those. I startet with one of those, since the mugshot of the player will be most likely pretty much black :3. With some green.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Vertigo-zero on February 27, 2007, 07:20:04 pm
make the head go one or two pixels up and down in the animation.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Lee N on March 03, 2007, 09:12:34 am
The main character reminds me of Orko.

(http://www.platypuscomix.net/people/Orko_01.jpg)
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Shoba on April 12, 2007, 08:49:41 am
My genetically modified killer Robot (yeah I know, that makes no sense on several levels :3) looks nowhere like Orko... or anyone of the MotU Cast.

Anyway, I'm having some troubles to find the right color setting for the background. I wanted to create something like some blue ambient light, emitted from the glowing Mushrooms...
(http://shoba.at/newton/newton001.png)
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Xion on April 12, 2007, 07:23:48 pm
If you want the shrooms to be the lightsource/atmospheric setting-ers, I think you should make them nice and bright and add a blue tint to the rest of the scene.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Sharm on April 12, 2007, 07:45:07 pm
Since the mushrooms are on the ground, you're going to have to switch the light source on a few things, mainly that building.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Helm on April 12, 2007, 07:49:36 pm
Since the mushrooms are on the ground, you're going to have to switch the light source on a few things, mainly that building.

It's a videogame, I don't think that's too needed. Just give the mushrooms a pleasant blue halo.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Sharm on April 12, 2007, 07:53:27 pm
I guess that's true, if he's going to be using these building on levels with different lighting.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Shoba on April 17, 2007, 09:09:48 am
Thanks for the hints. I gave the whole Background a new colour Setting. I suppose I'll have to reshade the Buildings as well, but maybe I simply scrap them and start with new one... Something more original.

(http://shoba.at/newton/newton002.png)

Btw, those are not stars in the Background, the whole Shroom Level is supposed to be within a Cave. The Lights on the Background are supposed to be some crystals on the ceiling of the cave, which emit some light.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Zenobia on April 17, 2007, 12:32:17 pm
I was about to comment 'AWESOME stars' haha
Eventhough they are supposed to be diamonds, I think these would work wonderful as constellations. Many thanks for the inspiration.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: sharprm on April 18, 2007, 01:16:31 am
I reckon that having light sources that point directly down is not good becuase they won't be able to light up the level. Could the top of the mushroom glow as well. Or maybe just the
inside glow, but make the top of the mushroom partially transparent, so they glow bright red. Or have crystals in the foreground. The chains and blds look pretty good on the last screen, same with those two enemies. Tree in a cave is odd.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Shoba on April 18, 2007, 10:15:08 am
You're right, a Tree in a Cave IS odd, but then again grass is odd as well. THEN again this whole mess takes place in a universe I created back at the end of the 90s, which is called "Strange Universe". After all, "Strange Universe" is a universe, where the technology to built airtight Spaceships was lost during some really long war some aeons ago, so the ancient (since every universe got some ancients :3) had to fill the universe with oxygen.

I think I'll simply add some more plants as light sources... maybe Sunflowers :3. With smiley faces. My first thought was to make the tree glow as well, but then the tree would be hard to differ if its fore or background.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Shoba on April 24, 2007, 11:52:18 am
I made some more light sources. I think I'll make the flower some sort of enemy.

(http://shoba.at/newton/lightsource_01.png)
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Sharm on April 24, 2007, 04:57:03 pm
I love the flower, but is there a reason he's got the same coloring scheme as the mushroom?
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Shoba on April 26, 2007, 12:09:55 pm
The Flower is female :3. The Giant Shroom is male (and maybe a relative of Stalin or Super Mario). I gave her the same colour because I thought it might be a nice Idea if all the glowing Plants/Shrooms in this Cave got the same Colours.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Sharm on April 26, 2007, 05:49:17 pm
I don't care for them being the same color, but that's an artistic choice, not a right or wrong one.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Adrian on April 29, 2007, 07:32:16 am
I love the surreal environment.. keep that up. As for the flower being an enemy.. reminds me of Super Mario World 2. Very good mock up =)
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Shoba on May 10, 2007, 12:59:50 pm
Those sun flowers turned out to be some killer flowers from hell, since I gave them some homing attack where they fire leaves at the player kinda like the leave shield from Megaman. Here is their current Idle animation.
(http://shoba.at/newton/flower_idle.gif)

And here some more NPC's:
(http://shoba.at/newton/katar_mug.gif) (http://shoba.at/newton/obsti_mug.gif)
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: candiru on May 10, 2007, 10:14:55 pm
I like the sprite very much. I don't see it as a cat though, and I don't like the portraits as much. They're very nice by themselves but I think they're too bright/happy, not creepy enough to fit the mood and style of the settin, which is awesome - the mushrooms, the buildings, the darkness and the stars... If I were you I'd go for creepy and magical all the way, and get rid of the gun.

I liked the sprite so I did my own version in a different color scheme.
(http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w79/ashjshn/edit-6.gif)




Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Noveroth on May 10, 2007, 10:46:35 pm
I'm not a big fan of that Cat portrait, a little too much going on in it in comparison to the portrait beside it.

On a side note, are you Shoba from bob and george?
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Stwelin on May 11, 2007, 01:47:50 am
The flower animation is awesome, but you should rectify the pausing of the stem movement, have it sway back and forth and such, try to keep from having similar frames. the mouth pauses too. It could just be subtly moved in the next frame, and it would look so much more fluid. great job with it.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Shoba on May 11, 2007, 09:09:35 am
@candiru:
Nah, the Cat Pirate and the Wanabe Captain Nemo stay. The Mushroom Hills and the Crystal Cave are only two of (hopefully) more settings I'll create. The Guns will stay as well. This whole Project Started after a way to long session of Cave Story. And since the whole game is a dark Future Setting, Guns are the right thing to use (even though there will be one or two close Combat Weapons within the game).

@Noveroth:
Hmm... maybe I should use the more simple style of the Wanabe Captain Nemo for all Character Portraits.
[Sarcasm]And no, I'm not Shoba from BNG, im his Evil Twin ShinShoba. But, hey, this stays between you... and me ... and this forum.[/Sarcasm]

@Stwelin:
...I'm not a 100% sure if I know what you mean...
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: 9_6 on May 11, 2007, 11:47:10 am
I don't like the cat portrait at all.
It has broken outlines and just looks too... wannabe-anime-ish if you know what I mean.
You should make the eyes smaller.
It's not that I don't like anime but eyes that take up 50% of the head is just. too. much. imo.
And get rid of those dark red pixels on the ears.
Me thinks the dark red vs the brighter red or even the orange is just too much of a contrast, maybe reduce that a bit or add a midtone to soften that.
I'm also not sure if the character portraits should have that background...

Everyhing else looks good and creates a nice gloomy athmosphere.
So this is your new project, eh?
No more eternal night then? =(
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Shoba on May 14, 2007, 08:43:53 am
Nah, Eternal Night is still out there, but the project is way to big to finish it all alone. I'll have to wait till I manage to create something like a team. This yet unnamed Cave exploring game is much shorter and simpler compared to EN:Dee, since I finally want to finish at least one game.
Title: Re: [WIP] Platform Exploring Game
Post by: Draco9898 on May 14, 2007, 12:37:53 pm
The portraits seem really grainy if you know what I mean, and are sort of hard to read...
Your implied anti-aliasing (just erasing the stair parts and keeping dark and hard pixels) and pallete make them harsh to look at....
The cat portrait is kind scary, as I made a portrait of a rabbit semi-like it, and can post it if you want to see what I mean about keeping everything looking 'clean'...


Everything else is cool though. :y: