Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: MR21 on May 10, 2008, 08:47:41 pm
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S.Q.U.I.R.E is a game project I, Dex/MR21, have been working on in the past month I guess. I need spriters to help, and maybe a few level designers and a programmer or two, if anyone wishes to help. I spent a long time fumbling this stuff around my desktop until I pieced in together into a storyline:
The Intro, read by Dex's mentor at the beginning of the game:
The year is 2037. The world has become a desolate place of destruction and war. Death encircles our planet, hopelessly ravaged by the S.Q.U.I.R.E. army, led by their vicious leader, Nero Stormcross. It all began in 2032, however. Years earlier, a gargantuan asteroid was spotted looming somewhere in space, in a line straight towards earth some years later. At first, people thought nothing about it, like it was but a minor threat and that it would pass by unnoticed. They were wrong.
The asteroid was indicated to be traveling towards earth in a direct impact line in 2025, and scientists all around the world began working together to try and stop the disastrous asteroid from harming the world. Scientist Nero Stormcross then arose from the picture and introduced his invention, his "lovechild", called the Noxis, to be launched into space. His theory was that the Noxis would create a sort of "vortex" effect, and, in a principle similar to how a black hole works, would destroy the asteroid and suck up the pieces in order to keep earth same from the aftermath of the explosion.
And it worked. The asteroid was destroyed, and earth was saved. Nero won all sorts of prizes and awards, and his fame skyrocketed off the charts, becoming known as "The Man who Saved the World." But his fame was shortlived. Nero's power and fame corrupted his smart, heroic mind, and he then began to think that everyone should be like him, that everyone should be a heroic genius.
That was when his idea for a one world order came into play- the S.Q.U.I.R.E., or the Sononeuclionic Quindonic Urerthrum Ionic Robotic Entities. These words, made for the therum Nero had created the Noxis, became used more powerfully, along with the tons of new scientific advancements that had been created.
Then, in a scary turn of events, thousands of humans, innocently, were killed in an attempt to show the world what Nero wanted- humans dead, or S.Q.U.I.R.E. alive. Millions submitted to his new world order, thinking they could use an upgrade to the "inferior minds" that they now possesed. But Nero's S.Q.U.I.R.E. design wasn't just a mere brain-enhancer, it was a whole new body for the person who possesed it.
Then, The Resistance was formed. Dex, our hero, had been living peacefully until Nero's outbreak, and they had went into hiding and joined The Resistance. The Resistance fought back for a few years, when Dex was young, still in hiding underground. But the safety encampment of the Resistance was found and destroyed by the S.Q.U.I.R.E. And Dex saw it all- his parents transformed, his brother slaughtered, and his best friend fighting by his side. The end was near, however, and the battle was almost won by the S.Q.U.I.R.E. A lazer from an oncoming Sweeper robot caught Dex offguard and he was brought to the ground, only hearing his best friend's voice saying, "You'll be safe..."
This is where our story begins.
DEX
(http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/3517/mr21isawesomelu7.gif)
All of Dex's moves in one set.
(http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/4827/dexsquiregc0.gif)
Squire Suit Dex
(http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1050/mr21idlene0.gif)
Idle
(http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/6757/mr21runningeditsa7.gif)
Running
(http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/7231/mr21twohairzz1.gif)
Walking (too fast btw)
(http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/7718/mr21jumpreduxrj6.gif)
Jumping
(http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/8538/paaawnchod0.gif)
Punch
(http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/4549/mr21hurtiw9.gif)
Hit/Hurt
Screenshot of the tiles so far.
(http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/5007/screenie2ts4.png)
Baddies
(http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/4943/sweeperoc5.png)
Yeah, this is a lot. :D
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There is a lot of stuff here so I will pick just one part that annoys me to no end.
The punching animation is pretty bad especially with the left arm. Looks more like hes doing some sort of exercise.
You're probably going to get a lot of grief about the tiles and how they don't blend together smoothly ( so brace yourself ).
Still, there is some nice stuff here and I applaud you for your effort ( which I can tell was a lot ).
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Thanks, EvilEye. A punch edit would be nice though.
Anyone willing to help out on this project, just ask!
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Wow, that's really great and it would make for a great game.
The character looks fat with the outlines but in the mock-up the edges blends into the background so he looks surprisingly more agile which is a good thing.
Since the sprites reads really well it atleast shouldn't be a problem.
The punch has at least one frame too much of anticipation and one frame too much of throwing the arm. As EvilEye says, it looks like an exercise.
I'm not sure the jump will look good with the run/walk if he has to go to idle before the jump but that and the rest I'd have to see a prototype that uses these sprites to comment on if they work or not.
The tiles however I can tell right now that they make no sense. How do you distinguish what you can stand on and stuff in the background?
Also, everything is as flat as a wall of cardboard cut outs but there are several great threads here where you can get the lowdown on tiles.
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One thing about your tiles:
The log you can stand on is darker than those in the background, which is quite fine IF you make all foreground objects as dark, however, the background appears to have a higher contrast. Things with high contrast will appear as foreground component. You need to think about how this works in real. Close objects are dark, have high contrast - far away objects have lower contrast, are probably a bit lighter and fade towards 128,128,128 grey so they are dull as well.
Use inbetween steps, maybe even having a foreground layer of objects that are more or less shilouettes in front of the actual playing field. Shortly said: make clear distinction betweenl layers of tiles.
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I'm a Java/C++ programmer and I'm very interested in helping you to finish your game. Can you send me an e-mail so we can chat about it? My e-mail is schifers@hotmail.com. Can you put S.Q.U.I.R.E. on the subject of the e-mail too?
Thanks in advance...
Bruno.
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(http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1050/mr21idlene0.gif)
Idle
This is the one that bugged me the most. His face seemingly moves independently of his head and hair. Reduce the lateral facial feature movement, or increase the motion of the hair. Since it's an idle stance, it's probably a good idea to keep it a little less busy (unless of course you're going for the fast paced techno-beat thing, if that makes any sense)
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Hey guys, thanks for the comments.
@Corsair, thanks, I know about the idle and I've fixed it on the sheet I have but not the animation. I actually fixed it a long time ago after someone said something.
@Trev, thanks again, helps a lot!
@EvilEye, also thanks, but the punch looks fine in game and I've been through a LOT to get it even that far, trust me. :D
Also,
(http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/6669/tiles2oy9.png)
Started over.
:P
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MUCH better tiles! :D
Just a few minor critiques:
-The black in the leaves is too dark.
-The contrast on the trees in the background pulls too much focus. I'd suggest you lower it. Also very blue....
-Beneath the grass, the soil transitions from dark to light, but I think it would make more sense the other way around.
Hope you find any of that helpful. :)
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Hey, thanks for the critique. I'll fix the leaves soon and lessen the contrast on the trees. However, on the ground tiles, the huge grass casts a shadow that darkens it. It is dark there, but further down AFTER the light hits it, it'll get dark again, if that makes any sense. Will update either tommorow or Sunday, it's late here.
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It is dark there, but further down AFTER the light hits it, it'll get dark again, if that makes any sense.
Hmm, okay. That makes sense if you show it get darker again, but right now the transition looks like it goes in one direction. In any case, I think the shadow cast by the grass should be shorter.
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By the way, I've been getting some comments that my Dex so far is a little chubby. I might revamp him, here's what I got so far:
(http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/9079/newdexmh7.png)
(http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/3286/newdexef5.gif)
Not saying this is final or anything, I just want opinions.
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I think Dex looks better 'chubby.' And in the running animation of 'skinny' Dex, he leans forward too much. He looks like he's about to trip.
Also, I absolutely hate the laser thing, looks way too much like a gradient. It completely ruins everything around it >:(
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I think your chubby Dex has more personality, but it may just be the angle of his head and that surly slouch he's got goin' on.
One thing that jumps out at me; his right fist moves in front of his face for one frame in both versions of the run cycle, and it looks a bit like he's punching himself in the nose. Try extending the arm a little farther forward in the chubby version, or in the thin version you could just slide the head back a bit and that would fix the leaning problem at the same time.
Something else that's bugging me just a little is the Squire helmet. It seems like it sits a bit too far forward on the head. It's clear if you look at his silhouette...
(http://anotherdimension.pyoko.org/squirelumpyhead.gif)
"I am not an animal!"
His hair already leans to the front so with the helmet sitting on top it makes his head look unbalanced. Here's a quick edit:
(http://anotherdimension.pyoko.org/squireedit.gif)
Make sure your helmet fits snugly and securely. Safety first!
There, I think he looks a bit more comfortable now. Remember that a helmet sits on top of the skull, not on top of the hair! Also I might just be misinterpreting the shape of the helmet but the little "ear" thing on the side looks like it should be covering his actual ear. I didn't bother putting that in my edit though, since it's more of a stylistic thing.
Keep it up!