[WIP] Ninja Jam platform game mockup

[EyeCraft]

AARRGH!! I want to hug these mockups. They are awesome, so awesome.

The single pixel noise on the big dark objects in the grass level needs to be destroyed, imo. It doesn't really define anything.

The title screen's shading is  looking really junbled as it is. I think emphasis on aerial perspective will absolutely trump any kind of shading you could go for with that piece. What you have now is making a jumble of tones that don't really define the subject all too well.

But I love this mockup collection. I love it. LOOOOOOVE.  

[xhunterko]

HOLY COW WOW! (cough no one liners oops cough)

Although, aside from my initial excitement, the lighting in the title screen really bugs me for some reason. The dome's shading on the left should match the domes shading on the right. That big, blue shape on the central tower. Is that a cloud? If it is, it shouldn't change color at all. Plus the central tower really looks messy and unfinished. It just bugs me as to why you'd leave it like that.

I was gonna say, 'you need an extra flixel programmer?' but forgot you were already making this in flixel. (Siefer Tim's Tutorial had it's source updated for 2.35 btw. It's in the flixel forums somewhere if you need to take a look at it.)

[moket]

Thanks EyeCraft
I think I began the menu too early, it's quite a big piece, I will leave it until I finish the levels in order to get more accustomed to pixel art first.
Xhunterko, the lightning makes no sense, I played with shapes and it didn't end up so well hehe. Thanks for the tip. Flixel is cool.

Begun a new Temple one, recycling some tiles.



and a new demo, mainly to test the parallax effect, really jittery, , no transitions, player controls are not pleasant = lots of things to do ^^.

[xhunterko]

After playing the demo, something stood out to me that was a bit bothersome.

You know those sand 'waterfalls'?

In your mockup, the first one that shows up is below the first levitated platform. I didn't know if that was a something I can stand on or not. I thought it was parr of a hole that I could fall through. Although I'd love to see more areas where there's no ground beneath you and your running it for your life away from something after you. Like the collapsing tower or something. But yeah, a bit messy but still good.

[PypeBros]

and a new demo, mainly to test the parallax effect, really jittery, , no transitions, player controls are not pleasant = lots of things to do ^^.

If I take your "woods" area, you have got 3 different layers, right ? One with the ground, another one with the bushes, and then the hills, right ?
I notice that bush-vs-ground parallax doesn't work: it just make the bushes "flicker" as if they were updated later due to an engine glitch rather than being something parallax.
I'd have had "hills-vs-ground" parallax more pronounced, too, given the respective size of the objects. But that one could be just a matter of taste.

That being said, neat art. Not everything is the way I'd sponsor it, esp. in the "sand zone" where you look less comfortable yourself with your drawing ... but I wouldh't reach 20% of that skill level myself, so I won't try to point out specific "errors".

[EyeCraft]

The biggest issue is the prominence of noisy pixels. They create jagginess and muddle areas without describing a whole lot. Pixel art works best when you keep things clean, with definite shapes of tone. "Pixel clusters" as they are often referred to.

Arachne's edit illustrates this perfectly, but I couldn't resist having a stab at it myself:



I played around with the colours slightly. Mainly that tone used for a lot of the far background objects, it barely contrasts at all with the sky and a lot of your delicious background gets lost to the eye.

Keep your tones in bunches. Single pixels are generally very rare, the only time I ever use them is for some speculars and dithering a line. Also, having your darkest tone hug up against much lighter ones creates super jaggies.

[deadlock]

This really looks awesome !!! It's almost a shame that the little guy you control is SO little
Scenery is brilliant esp. with so few colors. I will keep watching this one, keep it up !

[moket]

xhunterko, there's no level design in the "demo", just build it to see the graphics in game. I picture the gameplay to be more  a run and gun thing. Main reason is the content needed, explorers are too demanding for me.
PypeBros, Yeah the parallax layers are totally off, I will make more of them static I guess. There's 6 layers.
Don't hesitate to point specific errors ! The sand enviro is indeed my biggest challenge
EyeCraft, thanks for the edit ! Now I understand more of that cluster thing. I've read the nice thread started by Helm, really interesting.
It's strange how now the previous versions seems so noisy compared to the new one.

[linx]

If i can't play this within the next year i will cry 
This is really really great work man.

[Mathias]

Great looking game. I see your an accomplished illustrator from your site. You've even carried over your ubiquitous heart symbol into your tiles. Why not. So art principle crit isn't what you need. Good improvement in your pixel art'ing so far.

I know the demo is just a test but I couldn't help notice it's possible to waltz through it mindlessly by holding right arrow key and pressing jump over and over. The wall climbing mechanic makes the player incredibly free. I think it's too powerful. Mind your levels - that they are too easy to blow through.

Don't like the player character. Too plain/generic.

The color scheme is nice. But the novelty wears off after a while. Why not a palette swap for other levels? I for one would appreciate the variety.