Pixelation

Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: Gingermuffins on February 08, 2006, 05:26:45 am

Title: Need advice on 320x200 adventure game sprite(s)
Post by: Gingermuffins on February 08, 2006, 05:26:45 am
(If the letter "D" is missing anywhere in this post, it is because my keyboar is getting old.)

I've been working on a concept for an action adventure game since around the beginning of last year's June. I've come much closer to visualizing what I want to make in my mind.

But I've been spending too much time alone, isolated from human contact and criticism.

The game revolves around a servant who decides to steal his former master's magic, kill rich people, and restore balance within the country between the masses and the landlords. He eventually learns that violence is not the solution to all the world's problems. It causes more problems, and he finds that every Crown soldier, bounty hunter, assassin, thugster, scullion, jackawhackle, hooker with a knife, tipsy linkboy, pimp, seamstress, baby, and riley farmer wants his head on a spear for the reward money. He escapes to foreign lands and falls into a neurotic, downward spiral of anguish and pain.

It's a comedy.

Anyways, I've been working on the story scenarios and graphics (it could technically work as a book or a webcomic---that's what I'll probably do if this doesn't work out), but I don't really know where to go with the graphics now.

This is the main character "Ray" at the present moment. I don't have all directions because this is a recent edit. It all needs to be updated.
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/Gingermuffins/CurrentRay.png)

Some older work...
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/Gingermuffins/otherrays.png)

I guess my main concern is that this may not be the best way to do it. I'm losing a sense of direction. Maybe I've been sitting in front of the computer too long. Radiation, electrons, etc.

Any comments, good or bad, would be greatly appreciated. Do they look okay? Do they hurt your eyes? Could you see yourself playing a game with these characters? Did I go too far? Did I not do enough? Do they look like ripoffs? AM I A HACK!? ARG

Thanks for your time!

EDIT: These are some old(er) sketches and ideas for the monsters, and some movement ideas for the main character. I don't know why I'm sharing them. My original idea was that they were supposed to violently shove the main characters around and taunt them.

(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d9/Gingermuffins/oldermonetsrsetc.png)

EDIT #2: I'm dropping the project and shifting my focus to cartooning and fiction. I've put too many hours into this every day for almost a year, and I've gotten very little out of it. I could have read a bazillion books instead :D

I admire the work that gets posted here. I wish you all the best of luck! Good bye!
Title: Re: Need advice on 320x200 adventure game sprite(s)
Post by: garsh on February 08, 2006, 09:28:30 pm
First of all, what are you talking about in that thread title? That huge 320 x 200 resolution is what made me click. In retrospect I assume you were referring to an intended screen resolution and not the sprites themselves. :)

Your sprites are vaguely similar to the style used in Illusion of Gaia for SNES (if you know what that is). But it most resembles the secondary characters and NPCs, meaning they were the ones that got the least attention. So yes, in answer to one of your direct questions, I would say you haven't done enough.

Then again, you've presented a number of sprites here. Perhaps you're just spreading yourself a bit thin on experiments and trying to find a style before you invest so much into it. I'm guilty of this myself.

From what you have here, your best work seems to be the far left figure under "Septembre '05". I like it better than your current Ray. The colors are a bit muted, which is just a personal preference of mine, but also you seemed to be shedding (or at least disguising) the so-called "pillow shading" at that point.

Pillow shading isn't necessarily bad, mind you, it just tends to make most "real" pixel artists cringe. If it's a style you're going for, though, then don't let anyone tell you different.

Generally, all the characters seem a bit dull to me and could benefit from some style. Considering the nature of your game plan it sounds like it will be all or mostly humans, which is fine, but if there are no interesting monsters to leer at it strikes me that it might be a good idea to pump some style into the humans.

Exaggerate a bit, you know? Barrel chests or pot-bellys, and whatever other cartoon anotomical features, might go along way to making it feel more like a visual feast. Good luck trying to achieve that with such small sprites, though.

You're on the right track with your most recent Ray -- his hair definitely has style!
Title: Re: Need advice on 320x200 adventure game sprite(s)
Post by: Crazy Asian Gamer on February 09, 2006, 02:18:14 am
I am: Extremely partial to September  05 - February 06's bottom right "Ray" (Mostly because I am also biased towards black outlined sprites and colors schemes with black in them. I dunno why, but I think it's a personal thing)
Besides so, making a game requires: EXTREME amounts of work. Which is why it's a job nowadays, of course.
These game sprites are generally of very sound quality (except for your early ones. But it's reallly cool to see the progress you've made)
I sure can envision myself playing an RPG with those sprites.
MMMmmmm... SNExiness.
Besides that, listen to garsh. :D