Barbarian sprite with NES specs [WIP][C+C]

[fskn]

Quick and dirty parry test:



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Parrying while crouching...



...and an update on the run animation I did some time ago:

[fskn]

Changed the wolves a bit. Made them more cartoony so they read better (I guess..?)

[Cherno]

I love all these sprites, a lot of iconic barbarian foes in there (Apemen, Picts, Death Dealers...). Keep going! Hopefully they will appear in some hack 'n' slash game in the future

[fskn]

Thanks, Cherno!
I do hope so too, though progress has been slow.

[fskn]

So while pondering about changing the size of his sprite...



... and basically doubling the amount of sprites on screen, potentially giving my future self twice or more the same amount of work I had so far... I took that big sprite and shrunk it down to see how it would look if I had used the same proportions on my main guy and... I kind of like it.


Sprites C, D and E are tests. Started with D, then E, then C.
I didn't do much of a clean up, it's mostly just Photoshop doing its thing.

Still undecided if I'm going to throw everything I've made so far in the trash bin. I mean, archive it.

[fskn]

Testing, testing.
I'm thinking the game is going to be something similar to Sword Master.

[Faceless]

It's sad how dead this place is.
Keep at it though!

As for your most recent sprite, it looks like he's slapping his enemies with the flat of his blade.
If you want to animate a horizontal slash like that, rotate the blade after the smear frames so it looks like he's actually cutting with the edge.

I'd also recommend animating the legs. If this is a standing attack, then have him adjust his feet a bit, maybe crouch ever so slightly, to signify some footwork. If he can attack while moving, then I'd recommend animating him stepping forward.

[fskn]

Thanks for the feedback, Faceless.

I agree and tried what you suggested, but it seemed like the blade simply got thinner. What I *think* I need to do is to try to make the start of the animation look like he's chopping, moving the sword in a vertical arc going forward, not in a horizontal/diagonal motion. And the smear should describe that too. OR make his torso turn a little bit more and the sword continue that motion.
I might keep this for a parry, though, maybe.

With the legs I want to make him step forward with his right leg with a couple of frames. I have to try to be economic in regards to animation frames and reuse bits as much as possible.

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EDIT: Changed my mind about stepping forward with the right leg, but the chopping action I was talking about would be something like this (still a bit rough):

[Faceless]

Big improvement.
That's the reason most games go with an overhead attack like that or a thrust, as they read better.

I'd remove the smear when returning the weapon to the starting position though.
It doesn't really make sense for it to be there as it's not the movement you're trying to emphasise/sell.

[fskn]

Working on upscaling the enemies.
Started with the silhouettes, now bringing out the lights.

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Some context:



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A little bit more of progress on that...