AuthorTopic: Platformer mockup WIP  (Read 13048 times)

Offline ndchristie

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Re: Platformer mockup WIP

Reply #20 on: April 24, 2007, 07:34:37 pm
the BG has too much contrast, and the character not enough.  swap value ranges to get insteant better results, then tweek from there
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Offline Ben2theEdge

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Re: Platformer mockup WIP

Reply #21 on: April 26, 2007, 01:27:50 pm
I think the central issue is that there's so much contrast between the far background and the close background without a good justification. There aren't any torches or any other light source in the foreground, so it doesn't make sense that the foreground would be so bright. The only light source i see is the electricity in the far background which suggests that everything should be very dark and back-lit with a blue glow... which would actually look very cool and make the level much more interesting conceptually.
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Offline Sharm

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Re: Platformer mockup WIP

Reply #22 on: April 26, 2007, 06:07:55 pm
Thanks for your help so far, everyone.  Already this would have turned out completely different without it.  I'm sorry I didn't respond before now, it's been a difficult week so far, and I wanted to show some progress first.  And here it is.



Then make him yellow, or add yellow. People will instantly understand.

I don't get it.  Lightning isn't yellow, it's blue or purple.  He's already got a blue aura, I'm not sure how much more of his own light he could have.  Letting him have his own glow would make him much harder to program, wouldn't it?  Varying the outline did him good anyway.  I think most of the problems people have with how he looks will go away once he's animated.  I'm going to stop worrying about him.  He's now a boss (maybe a mid boss, haven't decided), which is why he's not in the shot anymore.  Instead I have his little friend.

Akira:  I wondered if someone was going to point out the black outlines.  I probably won't take out all of them, but I'm in the process of toning it down.

For top I am mean (sorry for my english) - just some up him  :)

 :-[  I still don't get it.  I'm sorry.  And don't apologize for your english, you're trying, and you're much better than I am at any other language besides english.  If I didn't fix it in this version, could you point it out in an edit?

The top of the screen with the columns just looks REALLY strange IMO, I haven't actually seen any architecture like it...in a sewer? I don't know what to say about it, but I would just ditch it.

Who said it was a sewer?   I was going more for an underground aqueduct look.  ;)  Yeah, it's a sewer.  I'm sure I've seen something similar to it in movies or something.  I'm not sure what else I would do with the top if not the arches.  It goes with the architecture of the rest of the building. 

The floor tiles desolve into black far too quickly to be of any interest as well.

And here I thought the fade made it more interesting. :-\  Having it tile all the way off the screen looked boring to me, and I faded the large stone so it would work better with the black.  As for beneath the water area, having it the lighter color made it really stand out in a bad way.  This way it matches the lighting of the rest of the floor.  If you have any suggestions on what to do instead, I'd be happy to try them.

The background bricks need some type of texture. Bricks aren't merely some type of plastic looking material- All shiny and perfect- No. Bricks form cracks and break into pieces after many many years giving them character, making them interesting to look at. Try adding some strains to the bricks and various imperfections.
The layout of the bricks is stale as well, it looks very heavily tiled, you need to make it so one cannot tell if it's beginning or ending.

I will be doing more with the bricks in the background.  I'm just going to have to be careful about how I rough it up.  What I had before was much to busy, and I don't want to make the same mistake again.  I'll do a few variations on the lighter brick shapes to make it less obviously tiled.  (This thing is going to be so many tiles!)

the BG has too much contrast, and the character not enough.  swap value ranges to get insteant better results, then tweek from there

Wow, that really did it!  I'm still need to tweak it, but it looks 100% better.  Thank you.


Ben2theEdge:  I really need to address the lighting issue.  I'll try to have it figured out by the next update.  I'll keep your advice in mind.  You're right, it could make for an interesting place.

Offline Faceless

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Re: Platformer mockup WIP

Reply #23 on: April 26, 2007, 06:42:38 pm
On the topic of lightning enemies, I think your main problem is in your shading.
You have a blue centre, outlined in white, followed by a blue.

Take a look at this picture of real lightning:
http://www.moonraker.com.au/techni/lightning.jpg

The central shaft is by far the brightest part, and a solid white. The branches are much thinner, and eventually fade to blue. The offshoots of the branches, are entirely blue.
Think about how you can apply that to your enemy sprites - arms being branches, and fingers being the further offshoots. You should also refrain from using large round shapes like the head.

I also have a suggestion for the girl. At the moment she looks very out of place, which works nicely with the theme of the game, but I think that could be accented better by adding something to her design to tie her into the environment. I would suggest having her tightly clutching a burning torch in both hands, quite closely to her body - partly to provide light, and partly to make her feel safer.

On to the tiles:
You should lose the dither transition in the bricks above the pillars., as frankly it looks rather messy.
The blue, glowing lines in the wall would probably look better if they traced the gaps in the tiling, rather than have the arbitrary turning points they do now.

Offline Sharm

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Re: Platformer mockup WIP

Reply #24 on: April 26, 2007, 08:30:33 pm
I forgot to ask, which column topper looks better?  I like them both for different reasons, so I'm having troubles deciding.

Offline sharprm

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Re: Platformer mockup WIP

Reply #25 on: April 26, 2007, 11:50:42 pm
Is that water leaking through the walls or 5 or so stick figure water monsters. I would suggest removing those. The bricks up the top look more like metal plates to me
becuase they line up veritcally. It would be better if they line up like normal bricks. Better still make them rounder. The stuff from her feet down looks really good. What about making light source from top right so you could get shadows in your picture?
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Offline mangust

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Re: Platformer mockup WIP

Reply #26 on: April 27, 2007, 02:53:25 pm

For top I am mean (sorry for my english) - just some up him  :)

 :-[  I still don't get it.  I'm sorry.  And don't apologize for your english, you're trying, and you're much better than I am at any other language besides english.  If I didn't fix it in this version, could you point it out in an edit?

If you see closely, you already do what I mean. It's good! ))
Now it's look much better!
Which column? Hmm... I think if you choose any two - and alternation they... will be nice.
But about pattern on arch - I am not sure, maybe you think more on this?

Offline Shoba

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Re: Platformer mockup WIP

Reply #27 on: April 28, 2007, 12:22:59 am
The way the patern on the arches fades to dark seems kinda wrong. I would have solved it kinda like this:


I think this is called a hue shift as far as I know/remember.

Currently, this whole scene kinda reminds me of Zanzarah, with the girl, which seems kinda out of place and that elemental faerie like creature. And I think sharprm is right. Some Shadows might add more depth to the scene. I kinda like the water, but those ... blue things on the wall... are they supposed to be water coming out of the wall?

Offline Zolthorg

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Re: Platformer mockup WIP

Reply #28 on: April 28, 2007, 01:52:00 am
As for the water leaking through the walls, it needs a source.
Water doesn't just leak through randomly without some end of a small pipe or such sticking out of one of the bricks, draining all over the wall. Else there would be so much water on the other side of the walls, they were about to crumble.
Another difficulty comes from the fact the water veins are shaped to the old brick background (now the arches). fitting them to th new and adding source points should help fix them up.