Return of the NINJA!

[Ryona]

Okay, so I recently got back at this old project of mine. Some of you might remember it. Some might not. Either way, It's a project I developed some time ago to make a Gameboy-style game.
Inspired by the Gameboy classic Ninja Gaiden Shadow, I wanted to create my own ninja-style game.
I got real creative with the main character and gave her an "eye-candy" appearance.

Just finished making the new forth scene image, and created some more enemy sprites. Let me hear your thoughts and suggestions.




Oh, and here's an animated manuver which allows you to get up over high platforms.

[Ben2theEdge]

The thugs are amazing. They have a great kinetic quality to them and a sense of weight and personality even when they're not moving - these kinds of characters are an animator's dream to work with, they practically animate themselves. You get 5 1up mushrooms for this.

The main character seems a lot more straightforward and archetypal... I guess that's not a bad thing but she's not really as interesting to me as the bad guys, so far. I would try to give her the same great curviness that you gave to the gangsters. Her ducking pose isn't too bad but her standing pose is just plain-jane. The bad guys are all enthusiastic about killing her and she seems kind of bored with being a ninja. Such a juxtaposition should not exist unless you're playing it for laughs - ie, "Haha she's a bored ninja!"

[Conzeit]

Dont make your animations by placing the frames in even spaces of time.

Living creatures neve move at regular speeds, and this is most demerital of the animation if you have few frames.

Specifically in your grasp-to-standing animation, make her simply tense up while hanging, and next frame have her up in the air past the midpoint of the leap.

She also doesnt balance her body properly, is that intentional? cause the way she sticks out her butt it seems like it's your idea of sexy. If you have problems with balance, imagine that there's a line crossing the character vertically, and try to have as much weight one one side of the line as there is on the other. In the case of this animation at the beggining the line would have do be drawn diagonally, from the feet, and later from the hands as she leaps up....finally it should be drawn vertically from feet once she's standing.

here's my quick stab at it
Ghost in the shell has good examples of few-frames action animations of high production values (except for the opening part, that is smoothness hell)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bK9irr2k4g&feature=related (good stuff starts at the middle of this clip)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64IHRtSvreo&feature=related here it starts a little earlier....

That's some nice peep-show u got for the player in each chapter starter...heheheh  ...dunno about the symetrical diamond atop her crotch in the new one tho.

[Corsair]

symetrical diamond atop her crotch in the new one tho.

I think it's supposed to tbe the sword. I had to look at it for a sec to be sure.

there's probably a way to make it more...i guess swordlike but i wouldn't be able to say how exactly.

[Dusty]

Prince of Persia is a great reference for climbing and such. Very smooth stuff.

I believe you can even find the original videos used by the artist for reference of someone(his brother) running around on youtube.

[Souly]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=r3OqORyk0PQ&feature=related
Flashback had a nice pull up animation.
Although he didn't quite move like a ninja...
Just skip to 0:45 there's a lame gun fight at the beginning.

[michael]

i definitely agree that youve got some swell thugs and that your ladys pose needs some jazz. but my main critique is that i see two different games. now i know i dont know what the story is or what the rest of the art will be like, but it seems like the gangsters don't match your lady. i'll see if i can come up with a thug that i feel is more fitting and a pose that is more expressive. youve got a really hot ninja and she should flaunt her pixels 

when i first saw this is thought some one was making a game with pamila 

[Ryona]

Thanks for the comments and help, guys.

Yeah, the sword is hard to read, so I fixed it a little. Hope it helps.

Also, I changed her neutral stance to something more dynamic. Let me know if it's looking better.



And finally, thanks for the critiquing on the pull-up animation. I've givin it some thought on what I could maybe do to improve it.
Thing is I want it to look like she has the strength to just litterally throw her body up over the edge, which is why she's just using her arms to pull herself over and landing on her feet.

By the way, those smooth animations in that Flashback game reminds me of games like Nosferatu and BlackThorne, both for the SNES. Those games totally impressed me with how realistic the characters moved.

And ouch, you're comparing my character to a flake like Pamela Anderson, michael?

[ortodoxx]

I like what i see

But dont blame michael, all i can see in scene 4 is her GIGANTIC ASS!... i mean..... wow.

[Souly]

Not sure if this helps at all...