Indigo:Hope you're able to make use of it.
big brother: Eating cheetos. Thanks - it's not nearly as hard as it looks...
Dusty, WM: Yup, you're right. That first was just a first pass...

Much better, I think.
Thoughts?

Conceit: Yeah, it's waaay prettier the original way.

Dusty: I will definitely cop to being inspired by mirrors edge - it's such a very pretty game, it's hard not to be inspired by it. As for Dragonball Z...I've never seen it - and I dislike most anime, so I can't account for any similarities. And yeah, the explosion timing needs work - that's just a first run to get the particle systems worked out.
Indigo: Yeah, no problem. It's a series of 3dsMax particle effects, with some procedural materials applied - that's actually true of all these scenes and models - there's only one bitmap used, the flag, in the whole lot. If you're really interested in the specifics, and can get your hands on the trial version of 3DS, then I'd be happy to make the file available if you'd like.

Jad, good call. So I've altered the texture on the leaves, as well as done a first run on more detail on the ground...

But there's still something bothering me - I realized that the camera angle was a bit too high - like happymonster said, it looked like the character would have more room to move around than a straight line...

I also played with the translucent material on the leaves a bit more, and I'm much happier with it now...I realize that they're very lush - but that's part of the whimsy.
I dunno - that looks pretty good. The only thing I see myself now changing is the horizontal angle of the camera - right now you'd be looking at the back of the oncoming enemies, and the front of your character. I think I might need to reverse that.
Thoughts?

...and I cannot resist its call. This all started when a co-worker of mine sent me this link: http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x9ol42 - it's a pretty neat animation, with a really nice art style. I watched and instantly thought: "This would make an awesome side-scroller/platformer.."
I kinda forgot about it for a while, then started doodling on my new laptop - you know, just to try it out.
I came up with this: using 3DSMax 2009, and some camera tricks to come up with the orthographic, angled camera. It sparked my interest, and I continued to mess about, till I got this: Then I sent that over to the co-worker who originally sent the video. She liked it, but declared that it needed more "whimsy". I instantly agreed and started adding things to the scene in my mind - trees, planter boxes, skylights, flapping flags, more pipes, a lot more greenery, etc.
After an evening of work, it transformed into this:

And I'm really liking it! I'm sharing here to ask for more ideas, suggestions, whatever. I have no idea what this will transform into, or if I'll even get *part* of an actual game out of it. It might just turn into a gloriously long mock up.
I still have the foreground/background layers to do, and I have some awesome ideas on where to take them...but I'd love any suggestions from you guys.