AuthorTopic: CRAZY BUS - animation dump.  (Read 4164 times)

Offline baccaman21

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CRAZY BUS - animation dump.

on: September 20, 2007, 01:07:17 pm
I've got a tale about how I managed to create the first GBA gfx before nintendo had even dreamed up the idea...? How... well it goes like this.

Back in 1997, we got approach by a russian programmer who wanted us to develop some GFX for him for his latest game he called CRAZY BUS... it was a strange idea, based on the notion that the earth had become infested with 'martian potatoes' - in essence it was an excuse for a vertically scrolling 'puzzle' game where one matched femal martian potatoes to male martian potatoes, by launching them (the females that is) from 'the crazy bus'... The hook being that there were two types of martian potatoes, REDs and BLUES, and you had to match like for like...

anyway... the games was weird... sort of ok... and we did the work which involved creating shedloads of animations of these 'martian potatoes' - the only spec/breif given that they were supposed to be "happy and stupid"...  :B :0' :noob:

Thing is, as far as I know, the game never saw light of day... it was on PC, no color limitations, no frame limitations and I just went mental with frames and colors and so on... so, it never saw light of day...

...
...

Until the GBA was released about 4 years later... and lo and behold... there's the CRAZY BUS, pretty much part of the launch line up... only renamed to HOT POTATO... and there's my animations... (as well as a bunch of other ones done by someone else... [and funnily enough I wasn't even credited for any of them?!? ho hum])

So here are some of them - in all their glory...  enjoy.


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Offline The B.O.B.

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Re: CRAZY BUS - animation dump.

Reply #1 on: September 20, 2007, 03:17:34 pm
   Being an animation whore myself, I love these. However, I do think that some of them tend to be over animated. For example, the first sprite's animation seems like it's blinking is slower than normal. Ussually, it's a keep overlap of the eyes(one frame, I believe), and the slower portion comes when they open(at least 2 frames, to accentuate the action). I also noticed the little grayish dots on each of the sprites. Place holders, I'm guessing to make sure each frame is line with the previous one? They're great, it's just that too many frames makes the action seem slower than they're supposed to be, and a bit harder for beginners like myself to determine the difference between your key frames, and 'tweens.
   But I'm pretty sure you already knew this, as I've seen your other works, as well as Adam T's(not to mention, you have several games under your belt, so what do I know...fat bastard  :P ). I'm guessing the client really wanted some over animated sprites, eh?
my back hurts...

Offline Ben2theEdge

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Re: CRAZY BUS - animation dump.

Reply #2 on: September 20, 2007, 03:37:12 pm
It seems like very 1930s style animation - complete freezes on certain keyframes with extremely smooth, steady inbetweens. Normally I don't go for that style but it kind of makes sense here.
I mild from suffer dislexia.

Offline baccaman21

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Re: CRAZY BUS - animation dump.

Reply #3 on: September 20, 2007, 03:54:35 pm
@ bob... you're bang on there bob... it IS extremely wasteful as far as frame economics are concerned... something I was quite perturbed about myself when I did them... but, that's what the client wanted, and, the fact it was on PC, meant that he felt that there needn't be any limitations framewise... and even when I did do some - more - economically sensible attempts he wasn't happy with them.... he wanted MORE FRAMES... he was a pain in the a$$ to work for TBH... The little dot was there for him to line up the sprites... heaven knows how he cut them out as there was no definitive consistent size... as far as the actual frame rate is concerned... they are actually playing too slowly on this forum for some weird reason... they should be about a third faster.

@Ben2theEdge - You're bang on with the 1930's connection... at the time I had been reading the Preston Blair animator books and had been inspired by studying Art Babbit's material too... my techniques and understand has subsquently developed since working with an ex disney animator who was an apprentice of Richard Williams... If I was to do these again they'd be a LOT different that's for sure.
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Offline Feron

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Re: CRAZY BUS - animation dump.

Reply #4 on: September 20, 2007, 04:17:04 pm
If I was to do these again they'd be a LOT different that's for sure.

you should know not to say that on this forum, because we're all gonna be waiting for a remake of one or two to see how much you've improved and we can compare them...

*waits*

Offline baccaman21

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Re: CRAZY BUS - animation dump.

Reply #5 on: September 20, 2007, 04:46:09 pm
watch this space ... ;)



Pallette's not right... n I've gone a bit overboard on colors... but not bad for an hours doodle...
« Last Edit: September 20, 2007, 04:59:49 pm by baccaman21 »
Buy the book - The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams

www.burnzombieburn.com