Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Lazy Brain Games on February 03, 2011, 07:02:48 am
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Here's some of the pixel art for an upcoming game, titled "Chaos Chimera". There isn't too much yet, but I'll be doing some updates. Since seeing the awesome work on this site, I'm trying to kick it up a notch with some of my own spriting. Although I'm still using the same palette that I've always used for the Lazy Brain games which are these 15 colors...
Palette:
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/lazy_brain_pallette.png)
Here's what I have so far for the player character, obviously he has a problem when switching sides :P Part of the problem is that I need the end of the gun to be along the same circumference to have the bullets come out in a logical way. This will ultimately have more in-betweens, 18 frames for each side if possible, for a better looking range when pointing towards the mouse.
Player Character & Gun Smoke Effect:
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/pc_strip_x.gif)(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/pc_strip_x1.png)
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/gun_smoke.gif) (http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/gun_smoke.png)
Here's a mock-up of a screenshot, with a couple of character ideas. I'm using as much black as possible, since I love the way it looks, plus it keeps things visually open for explosion effects and other cool stuff. This is the beginnings of an alien infested cave teaming with crazy mutants and alien type enemies.
Screenshot:
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/choas-chimera-screenshot-2.png)
Let me know what you think so far :D
-Johnny B.
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The pallet kills my eyes, like pow dead. Playing that for any period of time would give me a miagrain. But the pixeling itself seems pretty good. Making the player character white was a good choice as it allows you to pick him out from the image. Can't wait to see more. :]
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I agree with heyy. You should soften up the background colors a lot. Darken the bright colors to reduce the contrast between background colors. This will have the advantage of making the characters pop-up even more.
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I had no idea there would be such a strong reaction to the palette! I kind of want to defend it to some degree, since I've been using it for a while now. Here's some screenshots and sprites of previous games all of which where producted using the exact same palette...
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/runner_gunner_ss1.png)(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/cyborg_virus_ss.png)(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/crystal_wave_sprites.png)(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/sky_scream_sprites_x.png)
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/factorium_ss5.png)(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/sky_scream_ss_2.png)(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/factorium_sprites.png)](http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/cyborg_virus_sprites.png)
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/screenshot101.png)(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/space_fish_ss6.png)(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/runner_gunner_sprites.png)(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/space_fish_sprites.png)
Admittedly there is a little in-game color blending on some of them, but I never strayed too far from the original palette. Do all of these hurt everyone's eyes and nobody told me? I like to think a color palette is what you make of it, but I suppose I'd be open to a new 16 color palette if anyone wants to make any recommendations :) Of course, I would most likely use that palette for more than one game, so it would have to be pretty versatile, which I thought my existing one was, but apparently not lol!
Thanks for checking it out and letting me know! I look forward to your palette suggestions!
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The reason this one hurts is the high constrast and high detail. With colours so saturated and so much detail it's more difficult to look at for long periods. The other ones you've done in general don't have the same issue or atleast not to the same degree.
The closest example in comparison to detail and saturation is (http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/screenshot101.png) and in that one the black is instead a grey, so it's been softened and reduces contrast, alowing for less eyestrain.
Next closest is (http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/cyborg_virus_ss.png), and in it you've done the same thing you've put the relativly low contrast purple as the majority, which makes the pink easier to handle. Also most of the shapes are represented as large and relativly unbroken so you don't have to focus very much on them to read them which means you've less time to be blinded by colours. :P
By contrast your current project has large quantities of pink, orange and yellow on black. Which is causing alot of the issue. I'm happy for you to continue to use the same pallet as you've obviously had alot of experiance with it. But it is something that would be very dificult to work with mainly due to it's blinding nature. It will be a case of how you use the colours in order to soften those tendencies. It's the same issue the older default ms paint pallets cause (when i was first starting and was a little kid stuffing around, i used to use the windows 95 default pallet and often drew on black. Then being so proud made it the background of the computer only to have my sister later lecture me on the apropriatness of my image as a background due to the pallet since high contrast backgrounds cause eyestrain, specifically her eyestrain xD), and it can be difficult to realise it's an issue because your so used to working with it. :]
But like i said don't let that stop you if your are set on this pallet. It's just the first thing that popped to mind when i was trying to look at the pixeling.
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Well, I gotta admit I'm kinda sick of working with that palette anyways lol. It's had a good run, but I'd love to try something else. Here's a new palette, some of the colors are the same, but after working with the old one, I have a better idea of what I really need. It's tough for me since I don't really have time to make a custom palette for each game, there's so much else to do lol. But the more I think about it, I'd love to try out something new, something like this perhaps...
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/new_palette.png)
It's still missing a normal blue and orange, but otherwise a bit more practical.
Here's an updated image using the new palette...
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/mockup_bg_new_palette.png)
I haven't really capitalized on the new palette in this (I could render the gun and other gray objects better), but I think it looks a little better. I'm not sure really sure though, I don't trust my own eyesight anymore lol! The background is a least a tad more muted :P Do you know of any lists or collections of 16 colored palettes are? I might be able with picking a different palette for each game if I could just pull them off of a list or something :P
I hope the defence of the old palette didn't come out wrong, I asked for a critque and I got one lol. I was just a bit surprised by that reaction! Thanks again for letting me know!
-Johnny B.
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You shouldn't rely on pre-existing palettes. You know when I paint I pick a few colors I think would work nicely together then slap it on a canvas. Now I understand things aren't like that with videogames, BUT!!! it's still good to start with a ... starting point.
Is your game set in a grassy knoll?
GET SOME GREENS AND EARTH TONES! Then scatter in some other colors to break it up.
Is you game set in computer?
RIP OFF TRON AND KEEP THINGS MONOTONE!
Ignoring all of that you're kind of using color in the silliest of silly ways.
Your yellow alien freak has THREE (3) colors on the underside details of it's head.
Pink, pink and red.
Drop one of the pinks and smudge that eerily similar red where it once was. You have one shade of blue and three shades of pink. I hope to see more pink marshmallows in this game otherwise I'm disappointed. But I'm not angry.
Your yellows are a straight boring ramp. Couldn't the middle tone be a little more orange or the brightest tone be a little more green or something to tie this dame of a palette to the train tracks together?
Try to get a full spectrum of hue, saturation and value. Please nod your head in agreement as you read these.
Oh, and read up on stuff:
http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=4306.0 (http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=4306.0)
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After reading that linked post, it's becoming more obvious to me how ridiculous my palettes are! I haven't been tailoring the palette for each game, so that's something that can I address pretty easily. Researching the more subtle details of palettes may be more daunting, but I'll just have to study up to get the artwork where it needs to be. I think I can abandon the idea of using the same palette for every game, so that's a least one step in the right direction lol. I'll see what I can come up with that's a little more sane.
Thanks for the reply! I needed more help than I thought!
[EDIT]
I haven't done a ton of research yet, but I can at least eyeball colors that are going to fit the game better. I did a side-by-side to demonstrate the evedent improvement overall. I'm hoping I'm not totally off base here...
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/big_mcokup_new-_palette.png)
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/new_palette_3.png)
I'm just going to start over so I can get a better feel for this palette, unless there's some other glaring problems with this palette that I'm not aware of (which is very possible!).
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/new_new_palette.png)
Thanks again for showing me how fully retarded everything was lol. I might be able to make something less absurd this time around :)
[EDIT]
I'm thinking this is a little better...
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/new_concept.png)(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/new_chaos_chimera.png)
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[bumped!]
It feels like I've gotten somewhere with researching different palettes. This game is still a WIP, but I like to think these look promising, and not done by a blind person lol. Let me know how I'm doing for far and if there's any glaring issues! These are all straight captures from the game, I'll post up the actual sprites a bit later on ;) Thanks for looking!
-Johnny B.
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/cc_x4.png)
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/cc_x3.png)
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/cc_x2.png)
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/cc_x1.png)
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Wow, these are looking really good. The new pallette looks so much better, and I see you've made progress on the game itself!
I'd be really interested in playing this game, reminds me of games like Metroid, Star Gaurd, and Hero Core.
The grahical style is also splendid.
My only qualm is that out of place Mario glove in the second image, but I suspect that's some kind of unlockable crosshair, no?
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I really like the oldschool look. IMO the opacities (as seen in the last screenshot) don't fit, though. Without the opacity you could think it's a game running on an old console/homecomputer, whereas WITH opacity it gives it away as a game for a modern system.
I recommend leaving them out. When you really need them I'd use the "Flicker-Style" of old Amiga and Arcade games, i.e. switching visible and invisible each frame to achieve the effect of opacity.
But I know that's just nitpicking, I like it nonetheless :).
EDIT: Possible readability-Problems of the crosshair in the last screenshot. I suggest making it smaller, then solid red with lighter (white?) outline. This would fit the icons in the lower right.
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Thanks for the replies guys ;) I haven't been too active with the artwork on this, as I'm still trying to nail down the gameplay. The screenshots above are a bit dated, here's a more recent one. I am pretty happy with the rock & ice. Most of my time spend on art has been consumed by the new HUD and gameplay system. An alpha build will be coming soon!
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/cc_x11.png)
@Grinner
You're the first to note that indeed it is a mario glove lol. The readability on that glove is awesome, but it does look a bit out of place. I'm still working on that aspect :P This game has become sort of a mashup of Gradius, Contra, Street Fighter 2010, Megaman, Final Fantasy, and Burai Warrior. Quite a few different influences! The basic gameplay is very similar to an earlier game, Factorium:
http://lazybraingames.wordpress.com/factorium/ (http://lazybraingames.wordpress.com/factorium/)
@Konrad
The flicker/opacity issue is something of much internal debate. For this game, I'm "cheating" like hell. The most retro-faithful game I've ever done was Cyborg Virus:
http://lazybraingames.wordpress.com/cyborg-virus/ (http://lazybraingames.wordpress.com/cyborg-virus/)
I may work in some of the scanline/flicker stuff you brought up, as I do love the look of it too ;)
Thanks for looking!
-Johnny B.
[EDIT]
I just uploaded a video of the game on youtube. This will help you see how all of it fits together ;)
http://bit.ly/dQltOX
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Whoops! I meant to do an edit! Not double post! Sorry mods!
Thanks for the replies guys ;) I haven't been too active with the artwork on this, as I'm still trying to nail down the gameplay. The screenshots above are a bit dated, here's a more recent one. I am pretty happy with the rock & ice. Most of my time spend on art has been consumed by the new HUD and gameplay system. An alpha build will be coming soon!
(http://lazybraingames.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/cc_x11.png)
@Grinner
You're the first to note that indeed it is a mario glove lol. The readability on that glove is awesome, but it does look a bit out of place. I'm still working on that aspect :P This game has become sort of a mashup of Gradius, Contra, Street Fighter 2010, Megaman, Final Fantasy, and Burai Warrior. Quite a few different influences! The basic gameplay is very similar to an earlier game, Factorium:
http://lazybraingames.wordpress.com/factorium/ (http://lazybraingames.wordpress.com/factorium/)
@Konrad
The flicker/opacity issue is something of much internal debate. For this game, I'm "cheating" like hell. The most retro-faithful game I've ever done was Cyborg Virus:
http://lazybraingames.wordpress.com/cyborg-virus/ (http://lazybraingames.wordpress.com/cyborg-virus/)
I may work in some of the scanline/flicker stuff you brought up, as I do love the look of it too ;)
Thanks for looking!
-Johnny B.
[EDIT]
I just uploaded a video of the game on youtube. This will help you see how all of it fits together ;)
http://bit.ly/dQltOX
[EDIT]
Here's a playable demo of the game, let me know how it looks!
http://bit.ly/fI6kH7
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Oh, so is that glove just a sort of placeholder? Because In previous screenies the red crosshair is used instead of the glove, is this just you experimenting with more readable pointers? Because I think I might lose track of the red crosshair if I played with it :3
The new hud looks much nicer, and I see where you're going with it.
I also see a lot of Contra in the game like you mentioned, and a bit of Bangai-O. Would the game happen to be a bullet hell?
I'm currently downloading Factorium and the demo you just posted, they both look like great games :D
This's probably been mentioned somewhere - but - what program are you using to build the game? Game Maker?
Keep up the good work :3