AuthorTopic: Blossom Tales - Wizard Crocus attack animations / walk cycle spritesheet [page3]  (Read 69175 times)

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games
Hi all,
I'm posting today to get some feedback on some sprites that I've been working on for an XBLIG titled Blossom Tales.   So far we are still in the early stages of development but things are coming a long very nicely.    I would love to get any feedback from the users on these boards on how my sprite graphics look.   The one thing that bugs me about my sprites is that I'm not using a small / limited color palette.    The color palette for Blossom Tales is rather large as you can tell from the screen shots.   

Title Screen
http://robertmaherdesign.com/StartScreen1.swf

Intro Scene
http://robertmaherdesign.com/IntroScene2.swf

Wizard casting spell on king
http://robertmaherdesign.com/WizardCastKing1280.swf

Zombie Summon
http://robertmaherdesign.com/big21.swf

Gameplay Video
http://www.youtube.com/embed/tBdL4-Ucpfc



Cover Graphic


















Thanks in advance,
Rob
« Last Edit: September 03, 2012, 03:31:33 pm by RetroRob »

Offline EvilEye

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 501
  • Karma: +1/-0
  • Game Developer Extroaordinaire
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #1 on: March 14, 2011, 11:22:02 pm
First let me say, I like it. It has a cutsy zelda-meets-legoland feel.

You mentioned you had a large palette to work with and frankly, I don't see it. You don't seem to be using any more then a few colors, and in many cases those colors are poorly selected.

For instance the mermaids hair, bright blinding yellow, is barely distinguishable from her skin color making the hairline almost unnoticeable.

Many of the other colors are just too basic and glare out at the viewer. In the mermaid scene the water the bushes the temple all are examples the overuse of basic fluorescent colors. There is nothing to tone down the overly purple tint of the temple, or the dull yellow of the sand or the blue of the water etc.

Looking closer at your work I see you do indeed use many colors, most of which add nothing to the peace, they are hidden beside colors almost identical.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #2 on: March 14, 2011, 11:40:45 pm
Hi EvilEye,
Thanks for the feedback.  I have to agree with you on the mermaids, my girlfriend did that sprite for me a while ago along with the bushes (starfish haha).  I probably shouldn't have posted the beach mocks yet as they really aren't complete at all.    I've considered color to be one of my weaknesses but I try my best.  I'm a big fan of using very bright and saturated colors when possible/appropriate.  I've tried keeping my sprites color limit to 3-4 colors although I don't always stick to that.  I checked your post history and you have an awesome works.  If you have the time I'd really appreciate if you'd do a recoloring of one of my images for an example.

Thanks,
Rob
« Last Edit: March 15, 2011, 12:02:58 am by RetroRob »

Offline adamisgr8

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 25
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #3 on: March 15, 2011, 07:27:44 am
Plus, in the king scene the left wall, it is awfully flat!
But, I think that the idea is clever (even though not too original) and the maps are very well done!
+1

Offline ptoing

  • 0101
  • ****
  • Posts: 3063
  • Karma: +0/-0
  • variegated quadrangle arranger
    • the_ptoing
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/2191.htm
    • View Profile
    • Perpetually inactive website

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #4 on: March 15, 2011, 07:31:52 am
Could you please replace the pictures with something that is at native resolution (as in a pixel is a pixel). We have a zoom feature here, you can simply click on an image to zoom it and I think shift click to zoom back out. Also perhaps without the windows stuff around it. That would help if anyone wants to edit your stuff for critique.
There are no ugly colours, only ugly combinations of colours.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #5 on: March 15, 2011, 12:53:47 pm
Hi ptoing and adamisgr8,
Adamisgr8, I totally agree on the castle.  The windows were more of an after thought and I'm definitely planning on revisiting them when it comes time to build the throne room / interior of the castle :D  ptoing I'll resave the images as soon as I get home tonight.  Most of the sprites above I've blown up to 400% so you can tell what they'll look like in game.

Offline malkomk

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 39
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #6 on: March 16, 2011, 05:10:19 pm
I think I like it. But I have a few questions!
#1: What's with some being very low res and other images high res? Are you planning to have it all high res when it's finished?
#2: What program were you using in the fifth picture where you had a file called tester.tmx? What does it do? How much does it cost?
#3: ... I guess there's no third question :)

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #7 on: March 17, 2011, 02:12:35 pm
Hi malkomk,
1. I just changed them all to 100% zoom.   When inGame the sprites will be blown up 400%.  The game is based on 16x16 tiles.
2. That's Tiled - http://www.mapeditor.org/  It's a great FREE program used for creating tilemaps for games.  You can save out a tilesheet and then use Tiled to assemble them.

« Last Edit: March 17, 2011, 02:17:41 pm by RetroRob »

Offline Lizzrd

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 273
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #8 on: March 17, 2011, 03:13:57 pm
Toyed around with the values slightly, reduced saturation a bit.
Photocopier: the fact that arne can also code so well
Photocopier: is horrificly unfair

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #9 on: March 17, 2011, 03:20:41 pm
Thanks for the example Lizzrd :D Playing with the saturation levels on a lot of my stuff is def on my list of things to do.

Offline StaticSails

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 78
  • Karma: +0/-1
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #10 on: March 17, 2011, 05:28:52 pm


An edit of LIZZRD's edit.

I completely agree the images are over saturated, but just (drastically) dropping the saturation won't work. You've got to also work with the contrast too. Those thatch roofs are essentially one color. I think it reads better with just three distinct colors, add one or two more colors to create that thatch texture.

Those straight lines in the dirt don't do anything for it. I knew it was dirt because of it's color and it's context. My texture is probably better suited for sand but with some extra work could pass for a beaten path of dirt.
Your grass tiles looked quite a bit like lumps of something instead of blades of something. Grass. Again, not a great example for grass but it's just a scribble. Look at some old NES and SNES RPGs to see how they tackled it.

I'm pretty proud of what I did with the three characters. In small dimensions (16x16) I don't really mind using bjorked lines, you might want to try it out. I've noticed a lot people try to render eyes on small scale or at least try to get the eye color in. I don't think that works out very well, not in this case either.

I really have nothing else to say.

OH! Stairs, look at em.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #11 on: March 17, 2011, 05:57:44 pm
Hi StaticSails,
Thanks for the edit!  Those characters look awesome.  I've decided to not go the "bjorked" lines path and keep everything with the hard black outlines.    I also totally agree with you on the dirt pattern.  Most of the images above are still in early mock stages and straight horizontal lines for dirt / sand wouldn't make it into the final.  The grass is also something that has bothered me.  I originally had done the grass much as you have it but to me it just looks to busy.   Those stars are def sweet and I also had done some very similar to them, ingame however as the player was walking over them I felt they were out of scale.

Thanks!
Rob

Offline schmohawk

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 12
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #12 on: March 17, 2011, 11:39:51 pm
Wow Rob! Great work. This looks really promising, I can't wait to play it. Why not put it on XBLIG rather than XBLA? Seems XBLA gets a lot more media attention.

Offline StaticSails

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 78
  • Karma: +0/-1
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #13 on: March 18, 2011, 12:35:42 am
Wow Rob! Great work. This looks really promising, I can't wait to play it. Why not put it on XBLIG rather than XBLA? Seems XBLA gets a lot more media attention.
I bet it has to do with setup costs. The price to make a game on XBLIG is a fraction of the price of XBLA.
With XBLA you need a Developers kit with is pretty pricey. Also you need to be picked by a publisher, which is no easy task. It requires a very high standard of game (no offense Rob) and something like a 140 point test on you game.
XBLIG is fairly cheap. You need a XNA dev account, an XBOX360, a computer and a XBL subscription. Most of things we already have. I've worked on a few XBLIG games and the standards are oddly low. You just need like certain amount of votes to get you game on there. If you don't get the votes you go back and fix things then try again. There are no publishers and it's essentially just you and maybe a team.

But maybe Rob just wants the indie cred.

@RetroRob: Think we'd get to see some of the spritesheets for some villagers so we can more esily offer critiques? It's kind of a paint to pull things off the map unless we're already editing the map and stuff.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #14 on: March 18, 2011, 01:13:42 pm
Wow Rob! Great work. This looks really promising, I can't wait to play it. Why not put it on XBLIG rather than XBLA? Seems XBLA gets a lot more media attention.
I bet it has to do with setup costs. The price to make a game on XBLIG is a fraction of the price of XBLA.
With XBLA you need a Developers kit with is pretty pricey. Also you need to be picked by a publisher, which is no easy task. It requires a very high standard of game (no offense Rob) and something like a 140 point test on you game.
XBLIG is fairly cheap. You need a XNA dev account, an XBOX360, a computer and a XBL subscription. Most of things we already have. I've worked on a few XBLIG games and the standards are oddly low. You just need like certain amount of votes to get you game on there. If you don't get the votes you go back and fix things then try again. There are no publishers and it's essentially just you and maybe a team.

But maybe Rob just wants the indie cred.

@RetroRob: Think we'd get to see some of the spritesheets for some villagers so we can more esily offer critiques? It's kind of a paint to pull things off the map unless we're already editing the map and stuff.


@schmohawk Yep, that's why we aren't publishing to XBLA... pretty difficult.  Aside from xblig we're aiming for a Steam release too.

@StaticSails I'll def get some sprite sheets up tonight if anyone would like to get some edits in :D

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #15 on: March 25, 2011, 04:22:38 pm
Hey all,
Sorry I haven't posted any sprite sheets yet but I thought I'd post a new mock up that I've been working on.  Right now we're trying to get the first dungeon completed for our DreamBuildPlay demo.  This is a screen of the outside of the fire dungeon.  Again, these sprites are intended to be viewed at 400% magnification.  The img below is at 200%.   Let me know what you think!

The enemies on screen are
:: Lava man :: These guys will leave behind a trail of lava that the player cannot cross, inside the dungeon we plan to use these guys to create moving maze puzzles.  They will not be killable until the water spell is unlocked.  When hit with a water spell they will turn into black Basalt statues (like the one in the middle of the two Lava creatures).   The basalt statues can then be pushed around like push blocks, and placed over depressable buttons to unlock doors/trigger events.

:: Devil Imp :: These guys are sort of the default enemy of the fire level.  When the player is in line of sight they will perform a dash attack or fire a fireball at the player.  These guys pay no attention to the collision grid and can fly / hover where they please.

:: Living Skull :: The living skull is another unkillable creature.  To be destroyed they must be knocked into lava.

:: Flame Creature :: When struck by the player sword the flame goes out and it's coal is left behind,  the coal must be knocked into the lava to destroy the flame creature.  After 3-4 sec pass the coal reignites and the Flame creature springs back into life.

:: Fire Serpent ::  I only want them to be able to attack downwards and be triggered by trip tiles.  Ex. Player is walking up a path and hits the trigger tile - the fire serpent explodes from the lava and starts spewing fireballs at the player - after the player is out of the dragons radius it returns to the lava.








Thanks,
Rob
« Last Edit: March 25, 2011, 04:32:53 pm by RetroRob »

Offline Ichigo Jam

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 57
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #16 on: March 26, 2011, 12:43:48 am

I've probably deviated way too far from what you were going for here and it's kind of messy, but hopefully it will give you some ideas about colours and lighting.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #17 on: March 26, 2011, 03:48:36 pm

I've probably deviated way too far from what you were going for here and it's kind of messy, but hopefully it will give you some ideas about colours and lighting.


Oh man, thanks Ichigo Jam, your edit just put me to shame lol :D

I did a quick edit this morning based on your lighting.  I'm gonna push this a bit further later today or tomorrow.

Offline Jad

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1048
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #18 on: March 27, 2011, 08:00:39 pm
in an environment that's only lit by hot colors like red and yellow it makes no sense to have neutrally gray smoke. It's even impossible given the lighting conditions. Everything would end up red-yellow. Gray is impossible in this environment.
' _ '

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #19 on: March 27, 2011, 10:16:47 pm
in an environment that's only lit by hot colors like red and yellow it makes no sense to have neutrally gray smoke. It's even impossible given the lighting conditions. Everything would end up red-yellow. Gray is impossible in this environment.

Thanks for the comment Jad, I updated the img by saturating the smoke with a red color. 

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #20 on: April 04, 2011, 07:49:37 pm
I've started mocking up the interior to the fire dungeon and thought I'd get peoples impressions on it.   Again, this is only a mock up sort of kicking around ideas. Also, the graphics are meant to be viewed at 400% magnification.  Here's a link to the 400% img - http://robertmaherdesign.com/firedungeonInt400.png



Thanks for any feedback!
« Last Edit: April 04, 2011, 07:51:50 pm by RetroRob »

Offline ZargonX

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 12
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #21 on: April 05, 2011, 03:22:50 am
Love the atmosphere in the fire dungeon; the colors give a great sense of heat without being overbearing. The fire jets look pretty snazzy, but read more as a laser than a jet of fire, perhaps?

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #22 on: April 05, 2011, 01:35:46 pm
Love the atmosphere in the fire dungeon; the colors give a great sense of heat without being overbearing. The fire jets look pretty snazzy, but read more as a laser than a jet of fire, perhaps?

Hi ZargonX,
Thanks for the feedback.  I think the fire jets will feel a bit more readable when they're animated.   They give off little fire particles and smoke and only blast every so often.

Offline edu1337

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 13
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #23 on: April 05, 2011, 02:03:58 pm
a flamethrower is actually just a source of gas with a flame on it, when you release gas, it spreads



in your fire jet gas does not spread from the source, it actually becomes narrower

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #24 on: April 05, 2011, 03:09:13 pm
a flamethrower is actually just a source of gas with a flame on it, when you release gas, it spreads



in your fire jet gas does not spread from the source, it actually becomes narrower

Righttt, I'm going for more of a butane torch deal :D




You do have a point though, I'm probably def gonna revist these flame jets before they go into the final.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2011, 03:35:33 pm by RetroRob »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG

Reply #25 on: April 10, 2011, 12:59:43 am
Ok here's an updated pic of the fire dungeon.
 In this mock up you can see:
1.  What we're planning to use as currency on the left side - Purple, blue, and yellow seeds. 
2.  The glowing blue object is a save point. 
3. The crumbling tiles below the wall.


Some smoke animations I've been working on.




Ground Spike animation


Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG : Player walk cycle

Reply #26 on: May 06, 2011, 03:35:09 am
           


the timing is a bit off in the gifs

« Last Edit: May 06, 2011, 02:51:33 pm by RetroRob »

Offline zez

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 97
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG : Player walk cycle

Reply #27 on: May 06, 2011, 06:47:22 am
This isnt really a critique on your sprite work, but I think you should probably render the sword last (so it appears ontop of the other sprites) it going under things looks wonky.
If you really wanted to get fancy with it, you could also sort the render order of sprites by the y axis (sprite_array.sort(heightsort); function heightsort(sprite1:whatever class you use, sprite2:ditto):number{if(sprite1.y < sprite2.y){return 1}else if(sprite1.y > sprite2.y){return -1} else {return 0}} or something...)

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG : Player walk cycle

Reply #28 on: May 06, 2011, 02:32:01 pm
This isnt really a critique on your sprite work, but I think you should probably render the sword last (so it appears ontop of the other sprites) it going under things looks wonky.
If you really wanted to get fancy with it, you could also sort the render order of sprites by the y axis (sprite_array.sort(heightsort); function heightsort(sprite1:whatever class you use, sprite2:ditto):number{if(sprite1.y < sprite2.y){return 1}else if(sprite1.y > sprite2.y){return -1} else {return 0}} or something...)

Hi zez,
Those gameplay vids are super old.  We now have implemented a lot of great things like depth sorting certain game objects.   We're planning to get a new demo vid out this month or early next month as we prepare for DreamBuildPlay :D
« Last Edit: May 06, 2011, 02:36:03 pm by RetroRob »

Offline pistachio

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 639
  • Karma: +4/-0
  • Mostly lurking
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/125138.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG : Player walk cycle

Reply #29 on: May 06, 2011, 10:27:02 pm
It's really hard to critique this stuff what with all the non pixel-art effects you have stacked on top of it. Mostly, though, I hope you know what banding is because there's quite a bit of it on the player sprite as far as I can see. That's not all. It's in a lot of places really. A few of the sprites aren't readable as well, such as the caped/winged demons (?) running throughout the fire-dungeon.

Also, about the "butane torch" thing, that's not really how it looks. Note that the whole thing isn't actually straight, rounding off at the end. I think that gives me the impression it's like a laser. It's more like a very long ellipse with most of the "light" of the flame at the center/source of the torch. Since you have transparency with all your fancy-schmancy newfangled tools and I don't... I'll just make a basic silhouette to give you an idea.



(Yours on the left, mine on the right. Yeah... Sorry if I over-anti-aliased, but I guess it's to convey amounts of transparency. And it's at least it's a bit better, no?)

However I'm fairly sure those things (butane torches) are pretty small, and unless your knight is about the size and/or height of one of those little plastic figures on top of my PC tower and you're doing this for a sense of scale, I recommend leaning towards the traditional flamethrower look.
« Last Edit: May 18, 2011, 04:45:59 am by pistachio »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Critique my sprites for XBLIG : Player walk cycle

Reply #30 on: May 09, 2011, 02:26:08 pm


It's really hard to critique this stuff what with all the non pixel-art effects you have stacked on top of it. Mostly, though, I hope you know what banding is because there's quite a bit of it on the player sprite as far as I can see. That's not all. It's in a lot of places really. A few of the sprites aren't readable as well, such as the caped/winged demons (?) running throughout the fire-dungeon.




Also, about the "butane torch" thing, that's not really how it looks. Note that the whole thing isn't actually straight, rounding off at the end. I think that gives me the impression it's like a laser. It's more like a very long eclipse with most of the "light" of the flame at the center/source of the torch. Since you have transparency with all your fancy-schmancy newfangled tools and I don't... I'll just make a basic silhouette to give you an idea.



(Yours on the left, mine on the right. Yeah... Sorry if I over-anti-aliased, but I guess it's to convey amounts of transparency. And it's at least it's a bit better, no?)

However I'm fairly sure those things (butane torches) are pretty small, and unless your knight is about the size and/or height of one of those little plastic figures on top of my PC tower and you're doing this for a sense of scale, I recommend leaning towards the traditional flamethrower look.


Thanks for the feedback Pistatchio.  Can you show me what you mean by banding in the player sprite?  And is banding a bad thing?  I'm pretty happy with how the player looks and so is the developer.  I'm not sure if I'd really be able to change anything major in it as I already have a giant sprite sheet of animations for the knight done.    Hopefully the little red demon will be more readable when you can see him in motion instead of static image.  He's one of our fav characters :D   I tried doing up a more flame thrower type of fire emitter but my dev is in love with the current butane type ones.   I did do an edit to the torch since I last posted which looks more like the edit you posted with a tapered tip to it.   Hopefully in the next couple of days I'll be able to post up some of the newer pieces for the fire dungeon..   

Thanks again!
-Rob

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Player RUN Cycle

Reply #31 on: May 11, 2011, 03:35:56 am






First attempt at a 8 frame run cycle.

Offline PypeBros

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1220
  • Karma: +2/-0
  • Pixel Padawan
    • PypeBros
    • View Profile
    • Bilou Homebrew's Blog.

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Player RUN Cycle

Reply #32 on: May 11, 2011, 08:22:23 am






First attempt at a 8 frame run cycle.


Imho, all that black kills the readability. Ever considered to have only the *outline* in black and colored art line for what's whithin the silouhetto ?

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Player RUN Cycle

Reply #33 on: May 12, 2011, 02:02:04 pm






First attempt at a 8 frame run cycle.


Imho, all that black kills the readability. Ever considered to have only the *outline* in black and colored art line for what's whithin the silouhetto ?

Thanks for the input.  I think the readability on the sprite is just fine.  I'm keeping the blackout lines though to keep it consistant with the rest of my graphics.  Plus if you were to take out all the black lines and just leave the color it becomes WAY unreadable.

Offline pistachio

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 639
  • Karma: +4/-0
  • Mostly lurking
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/125138.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Player RUN Cycle

Reply #34 on: May 13, 2011, 03:18:48 am
Thanks for the input.  I think the readability on the sprite is just fine.  I'm keeping the blackout lines though to keep it consistent with the rest of my graphics.  Plus if you were to take out all the black lines and just leave the color it becomes WAY unreadable.

Not really. Some more contrast in the shading... Better palette (but the overall color schemes look nice), maybe just lightening up the outlines inside, and there's your answer. Well, sort of. You've seen successful sprites without outlines, haven't you?

But I see your point--redoing every sprite in the game would be a pain and it'd probably leave you way over your planned release date.

But not that it'd be interesting to see, and would improve your skill in future games. I mean, you don't actually have to do it for the real game, more just for practice.
« Last Edit: May 13, 2011, 04:55:20 am by pistachio »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Player RUN Cycle

Reply #35 on: May 15, 2011, 06:45:56 pm
Thanks for the input.  I think the readability on the sprite is just fine.  I'm keeping the blackout lines though to keep it consistent with the rest of my graphics.  Plus if you were to take out all the black lines and just leave the color it becomes WAY unreadable.

Not really. Some more contrast in the shading... Better palette (but the overall color schemes look nice), maybe just lightening up the outlines inside, and there's your answer. Well, sort of. You've seen successful sprites without outlines, haven't you?

But I see your point--redoing every sprite in the game would be a pain and it'd probably leave you way over your planned release date.

But not that it'd be interesting to see, and would improve your skill in future games. I mean, you don't actually have to do it for the real game, more just for practice.

Yeah I know what you mean Pistachio.  If I were to start all over again I would def consider taking the lightened outline look.  I had thought about doing it but there's just to much already to go back through and edit.  Here's a little edit I did awhile ago with using lightened outlines.



With some of the newer sprites I've been doing I've been trying to lighten the outlines as much as possible without it being SUPER noticable.




Anyways, here are some of the new sprites I've been working on.




   Angel - for the death animation of the knight
Big Chest
Little Chest - looks a little wonkey due to the gif
Flame Enemy
Jets :: Revised, they look better in game.  frame rates a bit off in the gif
  Skull :: You can run into these guys and talk to them for clues to the dungeon puzzles / riddles
« Last Edit: May 15, 2011, 07:09:57 pm by RetroRob »

Offline pistachio

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 639
  • Karma: +4/-0
  • Mostly lurking
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/125138.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : New Fire Dungeon Sprites

Reply #36 on: May 15, 2011, 07:22:23 pm
Nicely done. The lightened outlines are certainly better. Not that I'd actually recommend you do it for the whole game, of course, as stated before. Now the only thing else I can see could be improved, though, is the palette--it's mostly just a straight ramp, lacking hue-shifting. Making darker colors lean towards blue, and likewise, lighter colors towards yellow could suffice for an RPG like this.

But you have to wonder how the knight manages to squeeze his/her head into that helmet. It's pretty wide..

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : New Fire Dungeon Sprites

Reply #37 on: May 17, 2011, 04:57:32 pm
Nicely done. The lightened outlines are certainly better. Not that I'd actually recommend you do it for the whole game, of course, as stated before. Now the only thing else I can see could be improved, though, is the palette--it's mostly just a straight ramp, lacking hue-shifting. Making darker colors lean towards blue, and likewise, lighter colors towards yellow could suffice for an RPG like this.

But you have to wonder how the knight manages to squeeze his/her head into that helmet. It's pretty wide..


Thanks gain for the feedback pistachio.  Could you elaborate on what you mean by "Making darker colors lean towards blue, and likewise, lighter colors towards yellow could suffice for an RPG like this.".  I think I get what you're saying but would like some clarification.  Good eye, yes the head is about 2 pix to big to fit into the helmet but whatever.

Here's one of the first rooms for the interior fire dungeon :



Again, users will be viewing the sprites at 400%. We're just doing the very base of the maps and adding in things like wall/ground torches, enemies, blocking pillars ect through a game editor that my programmer did up.  Areas blocked off by lava will only be accessible after you've unlocked the water spell which will allow the player to cool lava tiles amongst other things.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2011, 06:19:16 pm by RetroRob »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: [WIP]Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : First fire dungeon room

Reply #38 on: May 18, 2011, 01:54:26 pm
Hi all,
Apart from getting crits on my boss door, I wanted to share with everyone a technique I've been using for some of my sprites.  I haven't seen this info anywhere else so I thought I'd share it here as a thank you to all the awesome people that troll this board  ;D

So I start out with a 3d model done in any of the 3d software ( I use blender ).



Then toss it into a photoshop mock up of the scene where the object is going to live and get it to a size that I want (Make sure Edit > Preferences > Interpolation drop down box is set to 'Preserve hard edges' before you scale it.



After this I copy the newly scaled object into another document where I do a 'Save for Web', Choose GIF as image type.  Set the # of colors to whatever looks good then screen shot it (When I'm doing the colors I usually scale it up so I can see what I'm doing, before I take the screenshot I set the zoom level back to 100).



I then paste it back into the mock scene and do the colors and whatever other edits I think need to be done.


« Last Edit: May 18, 2011, 05:41:00 pm by RetroRob »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Boss door open animation

Reply #39 on: May 19, 2011, 02:05:40 pm

Offline Stratto

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 52
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
You might want to clean up the outlines on the gates.
Do you have any lava animations yet? i can't really picture the current tiles as lava yet, they look more like red rocks.
everything else seems pretty good.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games
You might want to clean up the outlines on the gates.
Do you have any lava animations yet? i can't really picture the current tiles as lava yet, they look more like red rocks.
everything else seems pretty good.


Yeahhh I'm def gonna clean up that outline on the door (Use a photoshop outterglow for the outside black outline), I'll repost it laters with an edit. 

Here's a pic of the twin dragon statues that I'm going to have in the boss room would love any feed back on them :D  Right now the color isn't totally in stone yet and I jus thave them sitting ontop of a bunch of stuff in my mock dungeon.   Do you guys think these look to detailed to put in the dungeon?   Used 8 colors on em.

Offline Cyangmou

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 929
  • Karma: +3/-0
    • cyangmou
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/32234.htm
    • cyangmou
    • View Profile
    • Pixwerk Homepage

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Twin Dragons

Reply #42 on: May 20, 2011, 03:29:52 pm
The lines are jaggy, I guess you should clear it up.
"Because the beauty of the human body is that it hasn't a single muscle which doesn't serve its purpose; that there's not a line wasted; that every detail of it fits one idea, the idea of a man and the life of a man."

Dev-Art
Twitter

Offline Greger

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 84
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : New Fire Dungeon Sprites

Reply #43 on: May 20, 2011, 05:32:27 pm
Nicely done. The lightened outlines are certainly better. Not that I'd actually recommend you do it for the whole game, of course, as stated before. Now the only thing else I can see could be improved, though, is the palette--it's mostly just a straight ramp, lacking hue-shifting. Making darker colors lean towards blue, and likewise, lighter colors towards yellow could suffice for an RPG like this.

But you have to wonder how the knight manages to squeeze his/her head into that helmet. It's pretty wide..


Thanks gain for the feedback pistachio.  Could you elaborate on what you mean by "Making darker colors lean towards blue, and likewise, lighter colors towards yellow could suffice for an RPG like this.".  I think I get what you're saying but would like some clarification.  Good eye, yes the head is about 2 pix to big to fit into the helmet but whatever.

Here's one of the first rooms for the interior fire dungeon :

<picture>

Again, users will be viewing the sprites at 400%. We're just doing the very base of the maps and adding in things like wall/ground torches, enemies, blocking pillars ect through a game editor that my programmer did up.  Areas blocked off by lava will only be accessible after you've unlocked the water spell which will allow the player to cool lava tiles amongst other things.
I just realized that the perspective is all kinds of fucked upp, you're mixing the old view that so many old fantasy RPGs has with watching directly from above, and it's really, really bugging me out. Make up your mind, it looks like you've just thrown in one perspective into another and then adding another perspective.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : New Fire Dungeon Sprites

Reply #44 on: May 20, 2011, 05:51:33 pm
Nicely done. The lightened outlines are certainly better. Not that I'd actually recommend you do it for the whole game, of course, as stated before. Now the only thing else I can see could be improved, though, is the palette--it's mostly just a straight ramp, lacking hue-shifting. Making darker colors lean towards blue, and likewise, lighter colors towards yellow could suffice for an RPG like this.

But you have to wonder how the knight manages to squeeze his/her head into that helmet. It's pretty wide..


Thanks gain for the feedback pistachio.  Could you elaborate on what you mean by "Making darker colors lean towards blue, and likewise, lighter colors towards yellow could suffice for an RPG like this.".  I think I get what you're saying but would like some clarification.  Good eye, yes the head is about 2 pix to big to fit into the helmet but whatever.

Here's one of the first rooms for the interior fire dungeon :

<picture>

Again, users will be viewing the sprites at 400%. We're just doing the very base of the maps and adding in things like wall/ground torches, enemies, blocking pillars ect through a game editor that my programmer did up.  Areas blocked off by lava will only be accessible after you've unlocked the water spell which will allow the player to cool lava tiles amongst other things.
I just realized that the perspective is all kinds of fucked upp, you're mixing the old view that so many old fantasy RPGs has with watching directly from above, and it's really, really bugging me out. Make up your mind, it looks like you've just thrown in one perspective into another and then adding another perspective.


Yes Greger,
This game is modeled after the legend of zelda games where the rules of perspective are thrown out the window.  Outside views :: Everything is at about a 45 degree top down view.  Inside :: The walls are as if you're viewing them from a 90 degree top down view while all the objects contained within are at the outside perspective of 45 degree.   The difference between the Zelda games and oldschool RPGs is that the RPGs keep the 45 degree top down view regardless of being inside/outside.   

Outside


Inside
« Last Edit: May 20, 2011, 05:57:21 pm by RetroRob »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Twin Dragons

Reply #45 on: May 24, 2011, 03:51:16 am
Lava fall.

Thoughts?



Programmers going to add in a little particle emitter at the bottom of the fall to make it look like little embers floating off it.
« Last Edit: May 24, 2011, 03:59:52 am by RetroRob »

Offline Mathias

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1797
  • Karma: +2/-0
  • Goodbye.
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/9542.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Lavafall

Reply #46 on: May 24, 2011, 06:36:32 am
The particle effects will add a lot of life.

The flat top of the lava fall and the lava pool being the same tile feels a little recycle-ish. And logically, the dried cracked desert mud-esque lava tiles, used for the flat top of fall and lava pool, get that way due to stagnation - little plates and shapes form from partially dried chunks with hotter more liquidy veins in between.
The moving/flowing flat top of the lava fall would benefit from a tile indicating some forward motion, like the vertical lava falling tiles.
Tried transparency for the vertical falling lava tiles?

Would be nifty/kewwl if the lava fall was redesigned so the dragon sculptures were disgorging the lava from their mouths.

Offline pistachio

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 639
  • Karma: +4/-0
  • Mostly lurking
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/125138.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Lavafall

Reply #47 on: May 24, 2011, 06:53:54 am
Lava waterfall looks cool as it is, but personally, I'd like to see a hint of orange, perhaps bits of yellow in places, using more general warm tones and not just red. You know, like real lava. It would also help to really pronounce its... Dangerous... Fieryness.

What Mathias also said about the top and bottom waterfall tiles being one and the same is rather true, actually. Doesn't really make the vertical movement, that is to say the flow from horizontal to vertical that obvious. While lava is, of course, not as fluid as water, it's still fluid. Upon further reflection, just where is the lava-fall coming from? The wall? Doesn't make much sense, but I suppose this is all just a placeholder position.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Lavafall

Reply #48 on: May 24, 2011, 01:33:13 pm
Thanks for the awesome feedback guys!


The particle effects will add a lot of life.  
(We have this effect on the Flame balls from the exterior / interior mocks they look really Cool)

The flat top of the lava fall and the lava pool being the same tile feels a little recycle-ish. And logically, the dried cracked desert mud-esque lava tiles, used for the flat top of fall and lava pool, get that way due to stagnation - little plates and shapes form from partially dried chunks with hotter more liquidy veins in between.
(Right, I tried doing this at first with cooler solidified black plates on top but I just didn't like the way it looked, I wanted it to look like hotter liquid lava).

The moving/flowing flat top of the lava fall would benefit from a tile indicating some forward motion, like the vertical lava falling tiles.
The reason for it seeming recycle-ish and using this tile for the top and bottom is that I wanted to be able to hook pools of lava together, all the lava in the game is going to have a downward motion.  This way I can have multiple lava pools and hook all of them together with lava falls.

Tried transparency for the vertical falling lava tiles?
Not yet!! But def going to

Would be nifty/kewwl if the lava fall was redesigned so the dragon sculptures were disgorging the lava from their mouths.
Heck yeah, I have a thinner strip of falling lava that you can see in the img with the knight walking into the dragons mouth at the top.  If there's time I'm going to look into something like this



Lava waterfall looks cool as it is, but personally, I'd like to see a hint of orange, perhaps bits of yellow in places, using more general warm tones and not just red. You know, like real lava. It would also help to really pronounce its... Dangerous... Fieryness.
Every now and again I've been doing this and I just can't get it to where I'm happy with it with the orange.  I like it this red too though.

What Mathias also said about the top and bottom waterfall tiles being one and the same is rather true, actually. Doesn't really make the vertical movement, that is to say the flow from horizontal to vertical that obvious. While lava is, of course, not as fluid as water, it's still fluid.
Just did this to be able to hook lava pools together.  Also as of now the fall is in 3 sprites.   One is the animated tile at the top, second the fall, and the third is the edge highlight of the fall to sort of buffer the transition from horizontal to vertical.   Here's another version of the top tile.



Upon further reflection, just where is the lava-fall coming from? The wall? Doesn't make much sense, but I suppose this is all just a placeholder position.
Yep, I'll probably use door frames in the walls to give it a starting point or as Mathias said have it originate from the snake mouths

Thanks again!
« Last Edit: May 24, 2011, 01:40:56 pm by RetroRob »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Video

Reply #49 on: June 17, 2011, 03:34:18 am
Hi all!
We submitted Blossom Tales : The Sleeping King to Dream Build Play competition last Tuesday.  I just wanted to give big thanks to everyone on these boards who gave me all the great feedback and critiques.   In the coming week I'll be posting more sprite work as production continues.  Probably going to start working more on the Dark Wood area.   Anyways here's a link to the youtube video that shows off some of the graphics and gameplay..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afD44SgH55w

Thanks again!

Offline pistachio

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 639
  • Karma: +4/-0
  • Mostly lurking
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/125138.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Video

Reply #50 on: June 17, 2011, 04:05:23 am
Hi all!
We submitted Blossom Tales : The Sleeping King to Dream Build Play competition last Tuesday.  I just wanted to give big thanks to everyone on these boards who gave me all the great feedback and critiques.   In the coming week I'll be posting more sprite work as production continues.  Probably going to start working more on the Dark Wood area.   Anyways here's a link to the youtube video that shows off some of the graphics and gameplay..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afD44SgH55w

Thanks again!

The gameplay looks promising; pretty good, actually, but only now do I realize how much the graphics seem to lag behind (for example, the rock to the right of the screen near the gateway's entrance looks nothing like a rock). I can live with it, but it's just me, being a pixel artist and perhaps (not to come off as bragging) being able to produce better-quality work than this. But considering the deadline, they're fine. But I think a collaboration between you and a bit of critiquing, or the graphics just being improved basically, would benefit the game.

Then again this is just personal opinion, and if I knew how I could probably whip up some sort of graphics-redo-pack, with a lot of time and effort, however.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Game Video

Reply #51 on: June 20, 2011, 09:49:07 pm
Thanks for the input pistachio.  I've been doing a lot of work on doing some of the graphics and color palettes I've posted earlier but things are starting to come together.

Here's an update of a town that I did this weekend...  would love any feedback on it.



Used the NES color palette for it.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Town

Reply #52 on: June 20, 2011, 09:49:23 pm
doh hit the qoute buttong by accident when I was editing the title.  Can a mod delete this reply?

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Town environment

Reply #53 on: June 22, 2011, 11:11:39 pm

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Gypsy Caravans

Reply #54 on: July 01, 2011, 01:35:23 pm


New screenshot of the golem fight.    For this boss we've decided to implement a camera system that we can zoom out / zoom in.   This will allow us to do big fights like this instead of locking the camera in at 400%.  The zoom level for this boss fight is probably going to end up being about 200% zoom.     Any thoughts or comments on how the boss looks and what can be approved would be hugely appreciated :D

Offline Yuri

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 17
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Giant Golem Boss Battle

Reply #55 on: July 02, 2011, 01:11:12 am
Considering this is an XBLIG release, the graphics in-game aren't as important as the preview material and I think you've made good choice on setting priorities.  Video, title screen and game cover pic looks fine to me. The still screenshots aren't as good as the animation with overlaid photoshop/particle effects. Overall the style is homogen which is a highpoint but I also think there's room for improvement in the graphics department that wouldn't require too much reworking, especially color palette tweak. Toning down the bright pinks, yellow, purple and green would make the scenes more harmonious to me.
« Last Edit: July 02, 2011, 01:22:21 am by Yuri »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Giant Golem Boss Battle

Reply #56 on: July 14, 2011, 02:05:42 pm
Considering this is an XBLIG release, the graphics in-game aren't as important as the preview material and I think you've made good choice on setting priorities.  Video, title screen and game cover pic looks fine to me. The still screenshots aren't as good as the animation with overlaid photoshop/particle effects. Overall the style is homogen which is a highpoint but I also think there's room for improvement in the graphics department that wouldn't require too much reworking, especially color palette tweak. Toning down the bright pinks, yellow, purple and green would make the scenes more harmonious to me.

Thanks Yuri!  I'm workingn on the palette, trying to shift everything towards the NES Palette as much as possible.   

Here's a ss of the wasteland.  Any feedback always welcome.

Offline pistachio

  • 0011
  • **
  • Posts: 639
  • Karma: +4/-0
  • Mostly lurking
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/125138.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Giant Golem Boss Battle

Reply #57 on: July 14, 2011, 02:13:29 pm
The rain effects are... alright, but the bright and saturated blue just seems a bit too distracting. Consider it making it gray/transparent, maybe even with a hint of purple to fit the scenery?

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Giant Golem Boss Battle

Reply #58 on: July 14, 2011, 02:40:24 pm
The rain effects are... alright, but the bright and saturated blue just seems a bit too distracting. Consider it making it gray/transparent, maybe even with a hint of purple to fit the scenery?

Totally agreed the screenshot doesn't really do the rain justice,  I'm planning on doing a sprite for the rain drops that have the diagonal line the bottom of it being about 90-95% opacity and then fade that to 0% at the top, when it hits the ground there will be a little droplet mark. .  Once we get it in game I'm def gonna try playing with a bunch of colors to get it right, but like you said, possibily pull in some of the lightning purple.

Offline phyerboss

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 8
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Wasteland mock up

Reply #59 on: July 22, 2011, 07:42:00 pm
Hey is this game out on XLIG?

I didnt see it.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Wasteland mock up

Reply #60 on: July 28, 2011, 01:22:33 pm
Blossom Tales isn't up on XBLIG yet !  Still in development.

Below is a mock up for the Mire that Lily travels through on her way to the northern part of the map.   As always, all crits welcome :D :D :D


Here is a link to the mire scene with some rain and lighting effects,  right click and select show all to zoom in -- http://robertmaherdesign.com/Rain.swf


Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crit Blossom Tales Sprites : Misty Mire / Statue mock up

Reply #61 on: July 29, 2011, 08:02:16 pm


« Last Edit: July 30, 2011, 03:48:55 am by RetroRob »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games




« Last Edit: August 08, 2011, 06:26:04 pm by RetroRob »

Offline Ichigo Jam

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 57
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
On the snowy scene, your blue is really saturated, and using such a saturated colour for outlines doesn't really work - it makes the outline compete for your attention.

I tried a quick palette edit, which also has some hue-shift and makes all the outlines non-black (black outlines are very harsh, especially against such bright colours)


I'd suggest trying some hue shifting on the swampy location too - currently there's an awful lot of that same green hue!

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games
On the snowy scene, your blue is really saturated, and using such a saturated colour for outlines doesn't really work - it makes the outline compete for your attention.

I tried a quick palette edit, which also has some hue-shift and makes all the outlines non-black (black outlines are very harsh, especially against such bright colours)


I'd suggest trying some hue shifting on the swampy location too - currently there's an awful lot of that same green hue!


Hey Ichigo Jam,
Thanks for the feedback.  After reviewing your edit I'd have to agree it does look better with the black outlines toned down.  I'm going to mess around with trying some different outline colors on the sprites for the snow area.  I'm trying as much as possible not to deviate from the NES palette which is why the mire has that same green everywhere in it.

Offline Ichigo Jam

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 57
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
I'm trying as much as possible not to deviate from the NES palette which is why the mire has that same green everywhere in it.
Sorry if I misunderstand, but you've got like 10 shades of green on some of your mire tiles; the NES palette only has 4 shades of each hue, so you already not following it.

And even if you were rigidly following the NES palette, it still has several green hues available so you could use e.g. the yellow-green for highlights and get a bit of hue shifting in there.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games
I'm trying as much as possible not to deviate from the NES palette which is why the mire has that same green everywhere in it.
Sorry if I misunderstand, but you've got like 10 shades of green on some of your mire tiles; the NES palette only has 4 shades of each hue, so you already not following it.

And even if you were rigidly following the NES palette, it still has several green hues available so you could use e.g. the yellow-green for highlights and get a bit of hue shifting in there.



Yes some of the tiles - like the ones with the grass on them have an alpha transparency black outline which adds to the amount of shades on that tile. Sometimes I will darken the the original NES colors as needed - like the dirt / grass top tiles.  I didn't say I was rigidly following the NES palette, I just use it as the base.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crits Needed - Blossom Tales Sprites : Snow Town / Mire Update

Reply #67 on: August 12, 2011, 06:37:35 pm



The rain is in there just for mock purposes.
« Last Edit: August 16, 2011, 01:29:36 am by RetroRob »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crits Needed - Blossom Tales Sprites : Dark Wizard Castle

Reply #68 on: August 16, 2011, 01:31:32 am

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Crits Needed - Blossom Tales Sprites : Wizard Attack

Reply #69 on: September 14, 2011, 05:15:17 pm
This is a scene from when the Knights of the Rose (the order of Knights in Blossom) confront Crocus (the wizard).   As you can see it doesn't go very well for the poor knights.





link to 400% - http://www.robertmaherdesign.com/blastMock.png

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games
« Last Edit: October 16, 2011, 03:55:05 am by RetroRob »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games
updated above post

Offline redballoon

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 51
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
I think it!s coming along nicely, though looking more SNES than NES. You may have answered already bit why are the clouds and smoke as well as some lighting effects not pixelated too? Just wondering, see.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games
Anything that's soft I'll put anti-aliasing as long as it looks good - clouds / snow / smoke.  But that's about it.  If I had to pick I'd say it was more SNES than anything, although I've been using an NES color palette for the base of pretty much everything.   

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games
I've been working on the northern mountains this week.   Any thoughts / suggestions welcome as always :D

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games
Which one do you like better of the two?




This one is my pick out of the two.






The one below is my favorite.
The one above is a vibrating effect and this one I like because of the yellow / black flashes that give it a electrified feeling and is much more powerful than the simple virbate.  Also the bones are better.
« Last Edit: November 26, 2011, 10:32:48 pm by RetroRob »

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Castle Mess Hall

Reply #77 on: December 02, 2011, 05:26:05 am

Offline Mathias

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1797
  • Karma: +2/-0
  • Goodbye.
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/9542.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Blossom Tales - Castle Mess Hall

Reply #78 on: December 02, 2011, 05:46:24 am
Wow still trucking along. You are unstoppable.

As for the anims above - the one with black outlines blinking white is, I like the other. Both shock anims are good, they look like different degrees of damage being done - the top being a light shock and the second one a stronger ZAP.

I like the LTTP lookin' interior you just posted. What gfx program do you work in?

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Castle Mess Hall

Reply #79 on: December 02, 2011, 02:17:51 pm
Hey Mathias,
Thanks for the input.  The final animation for the stun won't have the white blinking.   I just didn't know if people would read the X eyes properly.   I think we will probably end up using both shock animations as you suggested for different levels of damage.   I use photoshop for all my spriting.  I really love photoshop for spriting, although my major complaint with it is that there's no way to do nested animations as far as I'm aware. 


Thx!

Offline Mathias

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1797
  • Karma: +2/-0
  • Goodbye.
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/9542.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Blossom Tales - Castle Mess Hall

Reply #80 on: December 02, 2011, 03:47:00 pm
Yeah the X eyes don't come across very well.

I wasn't really suggesting  using both shocks, that's just how they feel to me - in other words they're not totally interchangeable, they seem to suggest different things.

Photoshop for sprites but what about your mockups, what do you use for tiles? Surely you don't use PS for them, too.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Castle Mess Hall

Reply #81 on: December 02, 2011, 04:48:54 pm
Hey Mathias,
Thanks for the input on the eyes, my programmer and I haven't been seeing eye to eye on them.

Right for my mock ups, I'll break the tileset out in photoshop using smart objects (if you're unfamilair with photoshop smartobjects are just linked objects), and then use a program called Tiled :: http://www.mapeditor.org/ :: for creating the actual tilemaps.   Tiled is really awesome tilemapping program. It's not the best out there (DAME is what I would like to be using) but tiled works great with XNA games and it's what my programmer wanted to use so we went with that.   A nice feature that tiled does have is to save the map out as an image which I can then load up in photoshop to do my mocks.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Sleep Chamber

Reply #82 on: December 04, 2011, 03:51:22 am

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Library

Reply #83 on: December 09, 2011, 06:30:08 pm

Offline milleja46

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 34
  • Karma: +0/-1
    • View Profile

Re: Blossom Tales - Library

Reply #84 on: December 09, 2011, 07:03:20 pm
The top of the doors shouldn't be so dark lighten them up a bit so that the doors actually look like they fit their door frames but still have the shadow on there just lighter...

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Library

Reply #85 on: December 09, 2011, 07:19:28 pm
that's not a shadow on the top of the doors it's to make them look rounded.

Offline Mathias

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1797
  • Karma: +2/-0
  • Goodbye.
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/9542.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Blossom Tales - Library

Reply #86 on: December 09, 2011, 10:45:51 pm
Then I think the squared off stone frames around the rounded wood doors should also be rounded. They need to match, whether both are squared or rounded.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Library

Reply #87 on: December 10, 2011, 12:26:46 am
Here's an edit with the rounded corner on the doors.

Offline Mathias

  • 0100
  • ***
  • Posts: 1797
  • Karma: +2/-0
  • Goodbye.
    • http://pixeljoint.com/p/9542.htm
    • View Profile

Re: Blossom Tales - Library

Reply #88 on: December 10, 2011, 05:15:08 am
I'd say you've fixed it.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Secret Wizard Room

Reply #89 on: December 10, 2011, 05:54:30 am

Offline Atnas

  • Moderator
  • 0100
  • *
  • Posts: 1074
  • Karma: +2/-0
  • very daijōbs
    • paintbread
    • paintbread
    • View Profile

Re: Blossom Tales - Hidden Wizard Chamber

Reply #90 on: December 10, 2011, 02:16:34 pm
Haha, ropers. I like this screenshot a lot.

In fact, having the walls without bright highlights is very attractive. I think your other wall tiles might benefit as well. The library scene for instance loses a lot of visual priority to the walls, which isn't something you often want.

The scene with the king on the altar is also very nice because of the muted walls. Changing the black for a dark grey might help as well.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Explosion

Reply #91 on: December 28, 2011, 03:19:42 pm
« Last Edit: December 28, 2011, 03:24:00 pm by RetroRob »

Offline Sharm

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 243
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Blossom Tales - What explosion do you like best?

Reply #92 on: December 28, 2011, 03:43:32 pm
I like the animation better in the anti aliased one but I like the solid edges of the other better.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - What explosion do you like best?

Reply #93 on: December 28, 2011, 04:20:43 pm
I like the animation better in the anti aliased one but I like the solid edges of the other better.

Me too.  It feels much cleaner than the other and matches the rest of the graphics better in my opinion.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - What explosion do you like best?

Reply #94 on: December 28, 2011, 05:37:58 pm
I just updated that flash file with a new green pot explosion.  Variation of the red pot explosion.

Offline fortunato

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 86
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Blossom Tales - What explosion do you like best?

Reply #95 on: December 29, 2011, 04:30:21 am
the new green pot explosion is absolutely fabulous. that gets my vote out of the three.

though i do like the anti-aliased animation... you're right in that it doesn't match the graphics too well, though it is interesting. but then again, the "solid-edged" pure white ones i think give it a bit of an awesome vintage feel.. sorry, i'm rambling. haha. i think go with the green pot explosion.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Captain Chambers / Tower Cell / Lily's Room

Reply #96 on: January 03, 2012, 07:46:56 pm



These mocks are a little outdated.  I've replaced the doors to look like the ones below.







I tried to match the basic layout of links house from LTTP for this one

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Captain Chambers / Tower Cell / Lily's Room

Reply #97 on: January 23, 2012, 12:16:35 am

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Blossom Tales - Water Cave

Reply #98 on: February 23, 2012, 01:40:51 am

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Graveyard

Reply #99 on: April 16, 2012, 12:55:55 pm

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Graveyard

Reply #100 on: July 29, 2012, 11:30:00 pm
Hi guys,
Below are some reboots of my main character / boss sprites.   Any feedback would be much appreciated!

http://www.robertmaherdesign.com/lily3.swf
http://www.robertmaherdesign.com/LilyDeath.swf


http://www.robertmaherdesign.com/crocus.html

Offline JonasO

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 34
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Blossom Tales - Main Character / Enemy Sprites

Reply #101 on: July 31, 2012, 06:53:43 pm
Hi!

I think this has been said before but many of your colors are too close together. As a very strong example take your rocks (used, eg, with the mermaid pictures).

The same thing applies to your light sources: It destroys the effect of the rest of the picture and makes it look flat.

A similar problem is within your levels, i.e. the lava levels, where everything is red, yellow, or black - it makes your level look pretty monochrome.

Another thing I noticed is that your effects (like fog, lightning, ...) seem to have a very high resolution because you're using a lot of anti-aliasing and round shapes with them, something you don't do with the rest of the graphics. Those things look out of place.

One more thing you could try to do is to give the brain more information about your sprites. As an example, take the tombstones in the graveyard scene. If you'd put some of them in a different angle to the viewer, you'd be able to convey the thickness of those tombstones much more easily. Also it'd add some variation and make the overall picture more interesting.

Offline Grimsane

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 423
  • Karma: +2/-0
    • View Profile

Re: Blossom Tales - Main Character / Enemy Sprites

Reply #102 on: August 01, 2012, 10:36:12 am
might be a bit outdated relative to your latest version  :-\ , I can  see what you are trying to do with a retro palette, but I think you've already deviated enough and to decent effect that you shouldn't stick too strictly to it, I think the cool grass isn't the best, zelda had a very warm palette, and with the autumn trees it is the most obvious and jarring in my opinion, took the liberty of doing some colour adjustments to show you what I'd suggest, and it doesn't change the mood just make it warmer which might even reinforce the mood you intend.



the light tones having low saturation looks a bit dull, suggestion, also attempted to make your Nes/Nes-like base palette more distinct and optimized (main reason I uploaded 2 versions was the colour count due to your lighting decreasing the subtlety and accuracy of the gif (limited to 256 colour)



here is a real quick adjustment and a png and the parapets/ramparts seem a bit too thin


looks quite decent overall, gameplay looks solid too, new character update is a definite improvement and has a more distinct style, the legs look too dark and hard to distinguish at glance,
some suggestions on possible ways of making the legs work better

how close to release is the game btw?


Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Main Character / Enemy Sprites

Reply #103 on: August 02, 2012, 12:30:00 am
Hey thanks for the great feedback guys.  Most of the stuff you commented on, the trees and Mermaid scene (made by my girlfriend) aren't making it into the game.   We're hoping to get blossom tales out the door by the end of this year :D   

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Main Character / Enemy Sprites

Reply #104 on: August 21, 2012, 01:10:47 pm


blackSmith

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games

Re: Blossom Tales - Blacksmith house

Reply #105 on: September 03, 2012, 03:30:50 pm









Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games
Some new stuff and some reworks.   Any feedback is always greatly appreciated. 

http://www.robertmaherdesign.com/lily3.swf












Offline Lachie Dazdarian

  • 0010
  • *
  • Posts: 141
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • The Maker Of Stuff
I think you are overdoing it a bit with the lighting effects, which in general, don't merge well with your style of pixel art. I'm not saying you should abandon these effects. The fog seems nice and effective, for example. But those fireplaces feel quite weird. Just try to make is more subtle and where doable, do the lighting with pixeling directly.

Offline Vakinox

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 65
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
Agreeing with Lachie Dazdarian here. There are some tones that are wayyy too bright and clash with the overall picture.
You can really see it in the second image that posted. The bright pink/yellow/blue all clash with the grey floor tiles, especially together and makes it a little painful to look at.
The darker parts of the pallet like the shades of black in the last image, or the tones in the second to last image around the fog work extremely well.
It's really only the normal/bright colors that are a bit troubling for the eyes.

Your style and ability to make large landscapes make you an awesome artist worth noting though.
Excellent job mate, and hope everything comes along really well.

Offline RetroRob

  • 0001
  • *
  • Posts: 81
  • Karma: +0/-0
    • View Profile
    • 2Headed Games
Thanks for the great feedback guys.   All the lighting effects are just for mock purposes.  I do realize that some of them are overwhelming in these screens.   In game though I'll be able to fine tune the lighting, giving them effects like fading in/out between certain ranges of opactiy ect.   I've been putting a good amount of time in on the starting town.  I've done a number of big changes.   The wall has been upgraded with new bricks and windows.   The gate on the bottom I've changed a lot.   I've also added a new ground tile that i mocked up here -