[C&C] 8-Bit Mockups

[StevenM]

So I'm working on a small-time game, a SHMUP that currently allows four modes of play with the ultimate intent of having eight unlockable characters. The game uses the GBC palette restrictions, including tile manipulation, but the screen uses a custom resolution (320*240 as opposed to 160*144). I'd like some feedback on the themes aimed for in these mockups (e.g. what iconography could be implemented/embellished) as well as the colour balance (which combinations work well, which could be improved/replaced/saturated/etc). If you'd like more information on the project, whether that will help inform your opinion or simply for curiosity's sake, feel free to ask.

Each stage mockup features a different playable character and [non-playable anatagonist].



From left to right: ancient ruins [skeleton ninja], moonlit city [dragon knight], abandoned warehouse [botched superhero experiment], sea bridge [mobile ferris wheel]

[jams0988]

These all look pretty awesome. The second one is the hardest to read for me. I'm assuming he's on top of a tall building, and that's a city in the background, but the second one is definitely most like your average GBC game, in that it makes me say "what is that, exactly?" The first one is by far the best for me. Really inspired looking. =)
Great work, overall. Looks like a pro game.

[Fickludd]

Hell yeah!

This is super inspiring stuff for sure, feedback:

ancient ruins:
Totally rad background and chars, very readable, great sand dunes and little skulls.

moonlit city:
I agree with jams that this much harder to read, took a while before i got what I was actually looking at. This might be because most of the bg is just the stripped floor, where the eye gets lost and doesn't remember the perspective. The two enemies are also very confusing and seem to defy the perspective, I don't get the at all. Nice antagonist and player with giant claws =).

abandoned warehouse:
Really nice bg, cool concrete render. Awesome explosions! I wish I could do explosions like that! Player looks good but need color for readability. Antagonist has really wierd anatomy - are the giant boobs intended?

sea bridge:
Good colors, good bg. Is the yellow thing the player? I'm also having issues with having shadow on both sides of the lower bridge. Should be only 1 px wide on one side I think.

That's my 4 cents, looking forward to seeing more!

[StevenM]

moonlit city:
I agree with jams that this much harder to read, took a while before i got what I was actually looking at. This might be because most of the bg is just the stripped floor, where the eye gets lost and doesn't remember the perspective. The two enemies are also very confusing and seem to defy the perspective, I don't get the at all. Nice antagonist and player with giant claws =).

The bright yellow tiles may be muddying the readability of the floor. Perhaps if the pattern was more muted or changed altogether, then it wouldn't clash so much with the active objects on-screen. I'm going to go recheck these images in gray-scale format to be sure. The two enemies are simply exaggerated laser attacks, and I'll probably change their design as well - I wanted the knight's attacks to have a skull theme, but it has to read well and not feel 'off' in terms of perspective. A nice combination of normal and paranormal attacks is in order.

Is the city background behind the knight alright or does the juxtaposition hurt the image? I think the knight himself might need a bright palette. I should probably edit the brick wall he's standing on as well - looking at it again it seems to resemble a cake full of Smarties.

abandoned warehouse:
Really nice bg, cool concrete render. Awesome explosions! I wish I could do explosions like that! Player looks good but need color for readability. Antagonist has really wierd anatomy - are the giant boobs intended?

The player here is supposed to be the white/gray-themed character of the cast, and I liked the idea of a character clad all in white - it seemed stylish at the time - but I'll experiment with colour combinations to see if they play off the levels better, perhaps trying out a snappy dark grey suit. As a (botched) experimented-upon person the boss here has a deformed body - exaggerated limbs and torso to contrast with her normal-sized head - visually emphasizing the mutation. The boobs are intentional.

sea bridge:
Good colors, good bg. Is the yellow thing the player? I'm also having issues with having shadow on both sides of the lower bridge. Should be only 1 px wide on one side I think.

The yellow thing is my attempt at drawing a car - DeLorean to be exact - for the blonde of the group. It could probably do with being redrawn to resemble a more generic model (with actual windows and sunroof). Good eye on the bridge also, I'll fix that.

[Fickludd]

Is the city background behind the knight alright or does the juxtaposition hurt the image? I think the knight himself might need a bright palette. I should probably edit the brick wall he's standing on as well - looking at it again it seems to resemble a cake full of Smarties.

I think the city backdrop and everything is good, it's just the floor that messes things up. Mmm, smarties =)

As a (botched) experimented-upon person the boss here has a deformed body - exaggerated limbs and torso to contrast with her normal-sized head - visually emphasizing the mutation. The boobs are intentional.

Aha! I dunno, if she's a mutant with deformed body I would imagine her as being more asymetric (warhammer chaos spawns anyone?)

The yellow thing is my attempt at drawing a car - DeLorean to be exact - for the blonde of the group. It could probably do with being redrawn to resemble a more generic model (with actual windows and sunroof). Good eye on the bridge also, I'll fix that.

Oh I get it. How about this:

[StevenM]

I think the city backdrop and everything is good, it's just the floor that messes things up. Mmm, smarties =)

Any better?

Aha! I dunno, if she's a mutant with deformed body I would imagine her as being more asymetric (warhammer chaos spawns anyone?)

Fair point, though I'd imagined her being more Hulk-like than Warhammer... maybe Space Marine-like?

Oh I get it. How about this:

Any better?

[jams0988]

If you ever sell this game, be sure to let me know. Any game where I need to dodge babies being tossed at me by a callous boss is a day-one buy for me. =D
The car is reading much more like a car now, though it still feels a little ambiguous. A more generic car might be best, like you said.

[Fickludd]

The darker floor is better => feels more like night time. I still miss some object to the left to help define the floor. Quick edit:



I like the left most car the best.. dunno why =)

[anoxic]

 
The car is to small for any of the characters. Also: aren't De Loreans longer that that?

[sharif sultan]

yeah the car are too small than any others and tank size is very big than it usually car small than tank but there car is really small