PicoShooter

[Sohashu]

TIGS told me to buckle down and make a game, so i made a fair amount of sprites that would serve me well, but ran out of inspiration/time on the coding thing.  Nonetheless I have a mockup here, and an eagerness to learn.

http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/7643/mockup.png Here is basically a mock level that shows no real concept of level design, and various poses and sprites.
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/vv227/Cosmic_Daniel/Digital%20Art/MS%20Paint/Mockup2.png?t=1245072977 Here I am trying out various graphical effects, as well as implementing some game related visuals.

Now thats all probably not gonna make sense when i read it upon waking, but hopefully my intention is clear enough.

[xhunterko]

Your images should show correctly now. Don't forget the image tab when posting updates. People are lazy and don't like to click things.

Some of the objects on the lower end of the level don't seem to read that well. The one gripe I have about the characters is that glaring white outline. Try and make it less harsh or add a color or two.

[Sohashu]

I posted it as a URL because it may be a screen stretcher, but i suppose you may have a point.

As far as I know I didn't use a white outline on any of the characters.  They are lighter shades of blue and red for the respective teams.  And I'd much rather not add colours to the characters, the simplicity means theres a higher chance of completion plus hopefully readability at the smaller size of the characters. 

[Don risotto]

I know it's just a mockup, but that looks fun! i agree the characters could use some work though. They don't seem to really fit into the environment all that well.

I know it looks pretty terrible, but I think it's a decent example. soldat's players blend into the background most of the time, with usually just a chain or hat to make them stand out. it's the motion that really identifies them. of course you might be going for a particular aesthetic, which is cool too.

[Sohashu]

In Soldat, when using the Barrett for example, that blending acts as a tactical advantage.  In this, I am trying to make the characters more visible, while give them the chance to use cover.  While in hindsight it is a terrible design decision, the thinner walls can be used for cover, but you can walk through them at any time (provided an enemy isn't taking cover behind it).

At this point I'm finding the style of the game and the weapons involved aren't probably suited to such gameplay, especially in this map where the cover is really only centred in the bases (poor level design on my part).  However, I am set on the idea of using cover in a 2D plane, but I'm just thinking perhaps this isnt the right project to attempt it on. 

Tangents aside, I think you may have a valid point about their congruency with their surroundings.  I initially thought the outlines would help improve readability, but it may not be needed in the end.

I'll report back to this shortly, hopefully with the beginnings of a new level and a fresh start.

[tocky]

characters aren't readable as characters for me, the guns are obvious, but i thought they were just weapon drops, in an empty level - this wouldn't be a gameplay problem, I guess it'll be clear with them moving around shooting things, but it's kind of a shame in any case. i'd suggest drop the outline on the character and outline the gun only, also, make them characters less blocky:

[soldat]

i love it. please keep me updated to this project and finish it!

i see large graphical potential in this simple and neat style.