BACKGROUND BLITZ: The Afterlife (Winner announced)

Danvzare · Tue 07/02/2017 09:09:12

The Afterlife
7th February â€" 23rd February

No one was starting up the next round, so I thought I'd do it.

Ok, you've died. I know it's a real bummer. But don't fret, it's not that bad, because surprisingly enough you've just discovered that there is in fact life after death. But what does this place look like?

Is it Heaven, Hell, Hades, or the local post office?
Show us what the afterlife looks like!

Deadline is 23rd February, 2017. Good luck everyone.

Trophies:

DBoyWheeler · Tue 07/02/2017 21:08:10

Neat how you included the Realm of the Dead from KQ6. I might have to consider this contest...

[Update]

I have decided to enter... and got a little creative for this entry too:

This is the location of Aaru, the "heaven" of ancient Egypt.

A little confused? Well, here's the Wikipedia article about it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaru

Let's see if, at the very least, it scores some points for originality--most of the time people look at medieval Christian lore or Greco-Roman myth... but rarely are other mythologies tapped into.

Danvzare · Wed 08/02/2017 15:15:59

Ooh, I like that background.
Funnily enough, I've never heard of Aaru. I've heard a lot about Egyptian mythology and how they have to go through those trials to reach the afterlife, but I've never heard anything about their afterlife (basically what happens after the trials). And I've never noticed that until now.

Also, I've just added trophies.
Because clearly our entrants are going to need some gravestones what with them being dead and all .

Blondbraid · Sat 11/02/2017 10:53:45

Nice entry, DBoyWheeler, lovely colours!

Quote from: Danvzare on Wed 08/02/2017 15:15:59
Ooh, I like that background.
Funnily enough, I've never heard of Aaru. I've heard a lot about Egyptian mythology and how they have to go through those trials to reach the afterlife, but I've never heard anything about their afterlife (basically what happens after the trials). And I've never noticed that until now.

Second that! It's also great to see that you picked a different theme.

I'm hoping to make my own entry soon enough.

Hobo · Sun 12/02/2017 17:18:33

In the absence of proof, I remain a sceptic

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/Dodwxbv.png[/imgzoom]
I actually have another entry in mind, but considering my drawing speed, it might not get finished by the deadline.

EDIT: Explored the EGA palette for this one. It was a pretty difficult set of colors to work with and compared to other limited palettes that I've used, it certainly felt more challenging and frustrating. Also, dithering is something that I don't really enjoy much or understand very well.

Here's the full thing:

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/7BFCqb7.png[/imgzoom]

And a version without characters:

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/Wy0skjl.png[/imgzoom]

Danvzare · Fri 17/02/2017 16:10:53

WHOA!!!

That's incredibly good work there Hobo!
I'm glad you managed to finish it.

Three great entries, and only six days left.
Anyone else want to participate?
If anyone needs an extension, just ask.

DBoyWheeler · Fri 17/02/2017 17:04:12

Neat, Hobo! What lore is that afterlife scene from?!

selmiak · Fri 17/02/2017 17:25:19

this is cool hobo and your dither is also very fitting. My only critique or suggestion is to use the 'negative dither raster' for either red or blue where the two contrasting colors meet in the middle to mix these colors.

Hobo · Fri 17/02/2017 22:53:00

Quote from: DBoyWheeler on Fri 17/02/2017 17:04:12
What lore is that afterlife scene from?!

No lore, only an image of my imagination dictated by the limitations of the palette and my pixeling skills.

I didn't really base it on any single existing concept of afterlife, at least not knowingly. It's probably a mixture of different media and various ideas that I've consumed over the years. But now that I think of it, then I guess the Blackwell series had somewhat of a similar concept (a portal, outer space etc.).

Quote from: selmiak on Fri 17/02/2017 17:25:19
'negative dither raster'

I have to admit that I have absolutely no idea what this means.

DBoyWheeler · Sat 18/02/2017 14:22:36

Well, it's still cool, Hobo. Almost reminds me of Loom. Almost.

selmiak · Sat 18/02/2017 23:59:44

Quote from: Hobo on Fri 17/02/2017 22:53:00
Quote from: selmiak on Fri 17/02/2017 17:25:19
'negative dither raster'
I have to admit that I have absolutely no idea what this means.

I mean, for example on the red dithered part make the black pixels red and the red pixels black. switch the pixel chessboard colors. I hope that gets the idea across

Blondbraid · Tue 21/02/2017 22:05:09

To a heavy metal enthusiast this place must be pure heaven...

DBoyWheeler · Tue 21/02/2017 23:48:00

Wow, Blondbraid! It makes me think of Scorpion's lair in the Mortal Kombat series... or at least part of Hades in God of War.

Danvzare · Thu 23/02/2017 17:03:10

Hello everyone and welcome back from your brief stint of being dead.
Much like any adventure game protagonist, all you had to do was load a previous save game.

TIME TO VOTE

Here are all of the entries, all of which are brilliant.

1. Aaru By DBoyWheeler
2. Error 404 By Hobo
3. EGA Afterlife By Hobo
4. Heavy Metal Heaven By Blondbraid

VOTE IN THE CATEGORIES:

CONCEPT
PLAYABILITY
ARTISTIC EXECUTION

Voting will end on the 4th of March

So go on then, get voting!

selmiak · Thu 23/02/2017 20:14:45

CONCEPT: EGA Afterlife-Hobo
what mysterious afterlife. Though error 404 is also an interesting concept for atheists, so this is a close runner up.
PLAYABILITY: Heavy Metal Heaven-Blondbraid
walkable areas to some interesting characters. that's fun
ARTISTIC EXECUTION: EGA Afterlife-Hobo
I'm a sucker for pixelart and this is a really cool example for this

DBoyWheeler · Thu 23/02/2017 20:19:34

For my vote, all three go to Hobo's EGA Afterlife.

Concept: Very interesting place, and makes me curious which of the two gates lead to where.
Playability: Can imagine the dialogue to each of the guardians, and what puzzles each entail.
Artistic Execution: For some reason, it just gives me the "Loom" vibes.

So again, all three votes go to the EGA Afterlife by Hobo.

Riaise · Sun 26/02/2017 14:16:13

CONCEPT: Error 404 by Hobo - Great idea. I would never have thought of something like that.
PLAYABILITY: EGA Afterlife by Hobo - As DBoyWheeler said, I can imagine the character walking around the room, trying to get past the guardians.
ARTISTIC EXECUTION: EGA Afterlife by Hobo - The flames seem so alive, and the detail of the stars in the background is fantastic. Blondbraid is a very close second for me, though.

Gurok · Sun 26/02/2017 14:34:09

Concept: Aaru by DBoyWheeler - I can see that a lot of thought went into this and I appreciate a non-clichÃ© interpretation of the afterlife.
Playability: Heavy Metal Heaven by Blondbraid - The thing is basically already set up with a nice walkable area.
Artistic Execution: EGA Afterlife by Hobo - Hands down, this is just magnificent. Beautiful work.

Hobo · Sun 26/02/2017 18:33:57

Concept: Aaru by DBoyWheeler - I'd heard about Aaru before, but didn't really know much about it, so I was happy to learn some more.
Playability: Heavy Metal Heaven by Blondbraid - I can easily identify the walkable area and exit point. Also, plenty of opportunites for puzzles and interaction.
Artistic Execution: Heavy Metal Heaven by Blondbraid - Love the colors and composition and that demon looks especially good.

Quote from: selmiak on Sat 18/02/2017 23:59:44
I hope that gets the idea across

I think I more or less got it, seems like an useful dithering trick for adding some extra colors and blending. Thanks for the tip.

Blondbraid · Sun 26/02/2017 21:46:31

Concept: Aaru by Dboywheeler - I liked the idea of a different afterlife than the usual heaven/hell
playability: EGA afterlife by Hobo - I can imagine being forced to choose which gate to enter
Artistic execution: EGA afterlife by Hobo - Just lovely color palette and symmetry, as well as some nice pixel-art