AuthorTopic: Skeletroids dump - Update: You've got friends!  (Read 56630 times)

Offline Ben2theEdge

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Re: Skeletroids dump

Reply #80 on: June 29, 2008, 01:05:42 pm
Zero, after going back and forth a little bit I decided that the bigger artistic "sin" would be chrome that looks flat. Although I could always add a few lines of code to change those colors depending on what area he is in.
I mild from suffer dislexia.

Offline Antago

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Re: Skeletroids dump

Reply #81 on: June 29, 2008, 06:12:31 pm
I really love the red ambient lighting. Instead of pretending it's stupid, why not put him in a level where there are red lights on the floor? It completely fits the setting.

Moreover, I really like your blue HUD, and as a graduate in Video Game Design, do not listen to these nay-sayers and nit-pickers. Go with your gut instinct. The blue is fantastic and who is anyone else to tell you what style you should go for? It's yours and you know what's best

Offline Xion

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Re: Skeletroids dump

Reply #82 on: June 29, 2008, 06:38:33 pm
I like the new hud, only thing is I can't read "Ammo" that well. Everything else's real cool though.

Offline AdamAtomic

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Re: Skeletroids dump

Reply #83 on: June 29, 2008, 07:28:50 pm
Def an improvement, and the pink light on the chumchum rocks hard.  Also, I want a chum chum toy.  Like yesterday.  I still feel like the HUD is too low-contrast, its got about half the range of values that even the level art has.

Offline Conzeit

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Re: Skeletroids dump

Reply #84 on: June 29, 2008, 11:26:41 pm
HOLY SHIT! I think I know now why I like your stuff so much, you are one hell of a fan of MegamanX4...you must be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6Tbmgg7bhU&feature=related

I mean, the reasemblance in the mockup to this is...astounding O_o
Ummm, may I ask...do you know the theme of your level? it just seems like a generic sci-fi space level...maybe you should sketch out what the general look of the tile, think of them as building block for rooms. MMX4 usually just made a generic wall and repeated it, I think it's better if you think of something that matches the level design.
I'm saying this because I think if you did know you could have some more interesting design, if I may reccomend a tiling style somewhat like EWJ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lScqDSLyOfw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHLW7vcmFj8&feature=related The perspective is vucked up, but who cares? this crazy scientist level still looks great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT4V12Bv7AU&feature=related this underwater level has some stuff you could use too.

You know the other refferences....MetalSlug....GunstarHeroes...Anything that displays a bit more design behind the space, not just generic wallpaper...like MmX4 did (as much as I like the sprites...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnp6P7Kgeoo StarOceanBlue again...

wait for the thing to load and watch the last quarter...might be I'm too obsessed with that game but there are some incredible ideas in there.



EDITING.....
« Last Edit: June 30, 2008, 12:46:58 am by Conceit »

Offline Ben2theEdge

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Re: Skeletroids dump

Reply #85 on: June 29, 2008, 11:40:27 pm
Haha yep, I've beaten that game more times than I can count... I didn't specifically reference that area though... I guess it's just burned into my psyche.
I mild from suffer dislexia.

Offline Mike

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Re: Skeletroids dump

Reply #86 on: June 30, 2008, 12:57:39 pm
Oh I like the new HUD much better this time around if only for the change in size.  Also
I really love the red ambient lighting. Instead of pretending it's stupid, why not put him in a level where there are red lights on the floor? It completely fits the setting.

Moreover, I really like your blue HUD, and as a graduate in Video Game Design, do not listen to these nay-sayers and nit-pickers. Go with your gut instinct. The blue is fantastic and who is anyone else to tell you what style you should go for? It's yours and you know what's best

I also agree with Antago it is your game don't let the critique completely change it.  Gotta know when to go with what you want.

One more thing Ben2theEdge, Do you have a technique that makes detailing all the sprites for your animations easier, quicker, and/or more streamlined?  What I mean is from stick figure frames to final frames.  I currently have many animations that need to be finalized but the workload is a pain.  I'm pretty new at this so if there is anything that would help lift that load I would be extremely grateful if you let me know.  Thanks and it is very exciting to see your progress.

Offline Ben2theEdge

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Re: Skeletroids dump

Reply #87 on: June 30, 2008, 01:37:35 pm
Thanks again guys for your feedback. I'm pretty dead set on going in this direction with the HUD - it fits the direction I'm aiming for with the game overall, and it's got a good balance of function/attitude. But I think most of the critique has been valid and I can apply it without changing the overall design.

Conceit
, I replied to your comment before you edited it, I think... those Earthworm Jim refs are great! (I love that game, never really paid that much attention to the scenery though). The level is a space station and I haven't quite hammered out what I want it to look like yet. I know I want different areas like a Bio-dome and a ship hangar and stuff, because I agree the Megaman levels are pretty "generic techno-looking place".

Mike, if you don't have one yet, get a WACOM tablet. The cheapest models run for around 100 US dollars I think... it's a lot of money if you're a student but it is an investment you will never regret. Rock stars have guitars, and pixel artists should have tablets. It took me a little while to adjust to using a tablet with enough precision to place a pixel precisely where I wanted it, but once I did it made me about 10 times faster and I was able to get a lot of nice organic curves and shapes that I couldn't pull off with a mouse.

Also, I keep myself on a pretty tight leash with colors; you'll notice I never use more than like 3 shades of a color on the smaller characters. This isn't because of memory restrictions or because it's the "pixel art style"... it's just much easier to manage! Fewer colors also means less AAing, which is easily the most time-consuming element of pixel art (outlines come in second place). And if you look with a critical eye you may notice that on quick frames or when there's a lot of motion I don't even do much AA :o
« Last Edit: June 30, 2008, 01:44:09 pm by Ben2theEdge »
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Offline Ben2theEdge

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Re: Skeletroids dump

Reply #88 on: July 03, 2008, 01:07:15 pm
Just a wee little update...
Started drawing some of the supporting characters... kind of like in Metal Gear Solid, you've got a support team back on your mothership. Although this game will have much more streamlined dialogue than Metal Gear  ::) One thing I hate is when it takes a half-hour of reading text to get to the actual game.

From left to right:
Hacker, Weapons expert, Mission commander, Science Officer.

I'm already reconsidering some of these designs... the commander looks uncomfortably similar to Jill Valentine and the science officer is probably gonna bleach her hair.
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Offline PypeBros

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Re: Skeletroids dump - Update: You've got friends!

Reply #89 on: July 03, 2008, 02:10:02 pm
Quote
the commander looks uncomfortably similar to Jill Valentine and the science officer is probably gonna bleach her hair
well, jill is simply the stereotype of woman-in-arms if you ask me. She looks like Lara Croft in G.I. outfits :P
now, given that your #3 is the "mission commander", i guess you could just drop her beret, give her something that looks more like an officer suit and a more rigorous hairstyle (/me think of Cpt Catherine Janeway in Voyager, for instance).

Quote
One thing I hate is when it takes a half-hour of reading text to get to the actual game.
::) i know what you mean. Your teaser video somehow suffers from this. ~15 seconds of text to learn that your mates are trapped in a closet and that "those creatures" that haven't been seen yet in the game are everywhere ... Just a "mayday" call interrupted and a bleep on a "scanner" device of the HUD would give the player a good feeling of why he's moving ahead (imho), and having your commander saying "beware, those things are everywhere" would be more fun *after* you had a good fight with the things ;)

but well, it's a pixel forum, so .. maybe just make the Science Officer being smaller or taller than the Mission commander and changing her hair colour would break that similarity they have right now.
<edit> Oh, and i showed your sword slash anims to a friend of mine who practice escrime, and he found virtual nothing to criticize on your sword moves (which means, trust me, that you did a stunning job,knowing the guy) but he pointed out that your characters had surprisingly short neck and that the head is moved forwards. For the commander girl, you might give her a more "martial" look by just making her stand straight, insisting on her neck that separate her from her troops.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2008, 06:30:56 pm by PypeBros »