nice choice of colours.
I'm always a bit surprised by people having such large, single color area in a platformer. I must admit that here it brings a very interesting atmosphere. I'm curious to see how it will look like once completed.
Thanks, and yes i think that to a point it brings a bit of unification, but we dont want to drown out the visibility of each progressive layer of depth by keeping it all one hue. Contrast and saturation will play a natural role of setting those layers apart, but if it looks like its all washed under the same filter of green then the effect will not be as clear (something that i think could currently use adjusting). Will be keeping at it until im quite pleased with it as a whole and the details contained therein.
Dem lights are NPA. 
Hah yes. very true. I am using the ray effect as a test to see how certain lighting effects could enhance the game. I wouldnt argue that it taints the purity of the pixels displayed in the piece, but if nothing else perhaps might interfere with the ability of observers to critique those regions being hit by the effect.
Im hoping that understanding the context of the intent (game mockups) would allow me not to be called out for at least trying it out. in future versions ill post without the lighting effects, will save it for the 'end'.
I am feeling the backgrounds. Very painterly. Quite epic. What I’m not feeling is the character. A spiky haired hipster ninja seems out of place in these backgrounds. It leaves me wanting something more…refined?
The robot intrigues me. It feels like he belongs there more than the ninja.
Agreed - the focus really shifted regarding the character decision. The character's type was something i was pretty solid on from the get-go but the thought process has certainly changed from 'cyborg enhanced human' to 'humanoid robot'. it creates a really interesting contrast between the types of environments i wish to display and the character you are playing. the final design will definitely have to scream a bit of innocence in his character.
This looks amazing! I've been having many ideas for games running through my mind and the technique you use really inspires me. I like the less tiled look, almost makes the game look more cinematic.
I can't wait to see more.
(And you're getting married? Congrats!)
great - thanks very much and i hope to go into some more step by step progress shot of some more focused areas with a bit more steps saved out in case that might be beneficial for people to see. its something im kindof exploring here myself - its nothing new in terms of how one might approach a painting or a concept art piece, but for me its far different than how i have to approach an environment. but then again i usually have some pretty harsh restrictions to keep in mind, this is a lot more free form and as a natural result the process can change. its very fun to explore regardless.