Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: JinnDEvil on January 24, 2015, 04:57:16 am

Title: [C&C] Moai - A platform indie game project
Post by: JinnDEvil on January 24, 2015, 04:57:16 am
Hi there, it's been a while since my last post.

I've been working on a indie game with a friend for a while. And although we don't have too much for now, here's the overall idea:

(http://i.imgur.com/GrDCDfm.gif)

The game will show the long forgotten history of the Rappa Nui Island, which evolves aliens! treason! magic?! and much more!
All the characters, especially the alien-enemies, will be based of the RongoRongo symbols, which is a forgotten system of glyph-writing discovered in the island by the 19th century. The main character, Moai, will free his people from the oppressive Tangata Manu, a bird-like alien who brain-washed the natives into thinking he's a god, forcing them to build statues (which in truth will work as a teleportation device to kidnap all the ladies in the island for a intergalactic zoo, yeah! deep plot!).

(http://i.imgur.com/eZyAjio.jpg)

As the game progresses, Moai will defeat Tangata Manu's bosses, "destroy" his statues (by sculpting his own face on them) and, maybe, save all the natives!

As you can see, the idea is to keep the storyline funny yet fresh, there are a lot of games that uses moai statues, but we wanted to take a new-ish take on it.

Here are some concepts for the enemies:
(http://i.imgur.com/hxNhJNH.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/kJnwKwS.png)

(here are some RongoRongo plates)

(http://i.imgur.com/NkAJmrM.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/mgQkO34.jpg) (http://i.imgur.com/7xc9WyT.jpg)


Here's the Moai himself:

(http://i.imgur.com/Pz7X0YC.png)

(http://i.imgur.com/2GaIQgt.gif) (http://i.imgur.com/b0kXnOD.gif) (http://i.imgur.com/O51seBu.gif)

And here are some mockups:

(http://i.imgur.com/F0hapPa.png)

(http://i.imgur.com/kNr6K9k.png)


So, yeah, I'm really looking for C&C, ideas, tips, whatever!
Especially for the sprites here and the ones to come!
Title: Re: [C&C] Moai - A platform indie game project
Post by: Decroded on January 24, 2015, 08:34:52 am
I think you should work in some saturated colour e.g. red into the hero somehow.
It could be as small as a feathered neck piece or whatever, just something to identify him against all the other browns.

Looks like intention of run cycle is to be comical?
Still, it seems like he leans back too much.
I'm only viewing this on my phone so I could be wrong but it also seems the animation lacks punch in that the distance things move between frames is too consistent and could benefit from some more "slow in slow out".
That loin cloth looks a bit phallic in the run cycle, it could perhaps flap back a bit more or something to make it seem more like thin material.

I personally find the hero's hair style distracting as the first image I get is that he's an old balding dude with 70's side burns.
Perhaps experiment with some alternatives?
Title: Re: [C&C] Moai - A platform indie game project
Post by: ErekT on January 24, 2015, 12:40:52 pm
This looks awesome :)

I agree with Decroded on anticipation and follow-through. There's lots of room for exaggeration with this style.

The sprite antialiasing and all the little body paint details look great but can make it a pain to animate. It might be a good idea to try some slightly cleaner surfaces? It's amazing how much your subconscious can hold you back when you dread each new frame you have to add or modify.

Here's a rough edit:
(http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz263/ErekT_Pixel/jinnMoaijump_edit_zps5rt8mykz.gif)
Title: Re: [C&C] Moai - A platform indie game project
Post by: Angelonias on January 24, 2015, 02:16:41 pm
Love what you did! :y: The theme of the game awsome!
Title: Re: [C&C] Moai - A platform indie game project
Post by: Gil on January 27, 2015, 01:10:57 am
You should make the graphics in Moai, so you can make your Moai in Moai for your game called Moai :D

http://members.allegro.cc/sirocco/nav_mo.htm
Title: Re: [C&C] Moai - A platform indie game project
Post by: astraldata on January 29, 2015, 10:41:53 pm
Definitely just a bit too over-rendered for animation purposes. No offense, but AA-ing the outline is just overkill.

I love the style and simplicity you're going for -- just be sure to maintain that in everything else! :D