AuthorTopic: [WIP] Motherclucker (chicken platformer)  (Read 3687 times)

Offline elderPixark

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[WIP] Motherclucker (chicken platformer)

on: June 28, 2012, 03:33:38 pm
As I continue to work, the original post in this thread will be updated.
(Sorry for the lame title, it's temporary.)

I had an idea for a platformer game that made me chuckle, which involves a chicken escaping from a slaughterhouse and dodging several kinds of deathtraps and processing machines. It would be trial-and-error gameplay in which losing is apparently fun.

Animation Progress
Starting point:


Draft 2:


...

Most recent work:



Notes:
Took a break from animation to reflect on my work. I started working on a tileset and I edited a sprite (mouse) I made for a previous project to include in this one. I adopted Arne's generic 16 color palette for the time being because I am working on a craptop with a washed out screen. And yeah, I know this doesn't look like a meat-processing plant, but I figure that some of the levels with have an outdoor setting.

Currently working on: making new tiles; mostly background details - stars in the sky, scenery, foliage. The grass tile; needs to be unified with style of other tiles.

Frustrations:
The underground/dirt tile didn't turn out quite like I wanted. I started out with dirt pixel clusters that look pretty nice, but the way I completed the tile makes it seem flat.

I made a color ramp for foliage, but I can't fit it to the tree. Adding purple shadows just doesn't look right and I think I need a more subtle green in order to add details.
« Last Edit: July 01, 2012, 06:52:06 pm by elderPixark »

Offline elderPixark

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Re: Walking chicken animation

Reply #1 on: June 29, 2012, 08:26:09 pm
Started from scratch, this time with a 16x16 size restriction. I'm having trouble getting a perfect loop and can't seem to get the legs in sync with the head-cocking animation. In fact, it's turning into a big mess as I continue to develop it.

« Last Edit: July 01, 2012, 06:11:58 pm by elderPixark »

Offline JonasO

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Re: Walking chicken animation

Reply #2 on: June 29, 2012, 11:06:53 pm
Phew... That's a hard one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7M3WbIemi4

Now the basic idea seems to be: while putting the foot forward, the head goes backwards; Then when the body moves forward, the head moves forward even more. It might be that the movement of the head counters the movement of the foot in order to maintain balance. But I'm not 100% sure my observation is right.

PS: Your feet look kinda good right now, but it's more of a human moonwalk and less of a "abrupt chicken walk".

Offline elderPixark

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Re: Walking chicken animation

Reply #3 on: July 01, 2012, 06:44:50 pm
Thanks for the breakdown of the chicken-strut. I'm probably going to have to do something basic like that if I want to keep a low frame limit... however, the more and more I watch reference videos, the more random the head-cocking seems. However, my goal is not to be realistic. Once I have the basic motions down, I want to develop the animation into something silly and laughable. Maybe even a retarded chicken who barely (an obliviously) manages to dodge his fate by a mere feather.

I agree, the more I continue to develop the animation, the more it begins to look like a human. I tried to make it more abrupt by erasing some frames, but it turns into a big mess. I decided to take a break from that and focus on other things. I did add some details to the sprite after choosing a palette to start with.

Check out this funny marching chicken video for a few laughs!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXhuzw_03EU&feature=related
« Last Edit: July 01, 2012, 06:52:48 pm by elderPixark »

Offline JonasO

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Re: Walking chicken animation

Reply #4 on: July 03, 2012, 12:30:05 am
Once I have the basic motions down, I want to develop the animation into something silly and laughable.

How will you do that when you aren't yet able to create the realistic motion? The animation needs to work, then it can be silly. Otherwise it will just look strange and erratic, and not laughable at all.