The graphical challenge strikes yet again...

[LRH]

Hey all.
I am concerned.
You see, I fear my graphical style is so sub-par that nobody will want to play my game. The game I'm working on will have very good gameplay. I'm confident enough to say that. I'm confident in my story and immersion capability as well. If I can promise AND deliver a good game (I've been working very hard on it and have no plans to stop doing such, it has been going great so far, as far as programming etc. goes) would anyone be willing to play it? It's just very discouraging when I've seen some games completely ignored due to their lack of graphical goodness.
I like oldschool looks. Iono..
A link to the WIP thread on my game (with pictures and such included) is in my signature.
EDIT: Okay for one reason or another it isn't showing up. Here's the link : http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=37395.0

[IndieBoy]

Personally if I see some graphics that don't look like there is any effort put in them it makes me think "what else have they couldn't be bothered working on?", which leads to me ignoring the game. But I am a fair guy and I am attracted to more things than just the graphics, but 9/10 when I play a weak presented game I am disappointed.
If you want to do a serious shot at a good game, and want a lot of people to play it I would suggest either working on the graphics or getting someone else involved.
Although if it is a really good game, story and gameplay-wise, once one person plays it they might tell 2 friends to play it and then his two friends could tell another two friends etc.. It is true that good games do get lost in the AGS awards sense, but not in the community. So I say continue to make your game, but if you want a serious shot at making any impact or a name for yourself I would go about looking for some help with the graphics. 

[LRH]

Well, you see, it isn't that I haven't worked on the graphics, sad part is, I've actually worked fairly hard on them, I just don't have a whole lot of talent when it comes to drawing and pixel art.
I do appreciate the advice though. If I get too much negative feedback on the artwork I'll attempt to find help I suppose.

[Snake]

Dom, I personally like your graphics and I had looked at your thread before (sorry I never posted).

The only thing that turns me off is when people make 640x400 res BGs, but yet use 320x200 cursors and characters. It's not enough to make me not download it and play it, but it's just one thing I cannot stand.

So I would suggest, graphics-wise, make your character in 640x400 res with the rest of your game (same thing with cursors).

--EDIT--
And of course you can always post for help with graphics in the critics lounge or ask some one to completely take over the graphics for you.

[LRH]

Dom, I personally like your graphics and I had looked at your thread before (sorry I never posted).

The only thing that turns me off is when people make 640x400 res BGs, but yet use 320x200 cursors and characters. It's not enough to make me not download it and play it, but it's just one thing I cannot stand.

So I would suggest, graphics-wise, make your character in 640x400 res with the rest of your game (same thing with cursors).

--EDIT--
And of course you can always post for help with graphics in the critics lounge or ask some one to completely take over the graphics for you.

Ohhhhhhh. I very much appreciate the advice about changing my sprites to 640x480. I noticed something was amiss between my character and his environment, this explains a lot T_T. I'm going to change this (if someone can help me with character sprites, I would love the help! I can't animate to save my life ) I'm also really glad to hear you like my style, it's very encouraging!

[Khris]

Looking at the screenshots, I'd redraw the background in 320x240 and rework the really low-res, stretched-looking character to fit that res, too.

[LRH]

Looking at the screenshots, I'd redraw the background in 320x240 and rework the really low-res, stretched-looking character to fit that res, too.

I appreciate the suggestion, but I would prefer to mod the character to match the background rather than the other way around.

[Andail]

But is there a point in having lots of pixels if you don't use them?
320x200 would be so much easier for you, not having to fill all that space with weird pixels and awkward textures.

[Stupot]

I kind of like your style. It's simple, sure, but it gets the job done.

However, if you really believe you have the makings of a great game with a solid story that deserves to be played by a lot of people then it would be a shame to lose potential "customers" just because the graphics aren't amazing.

Maybe it would be worth getting someone in to redo the graphics.  I'm sure there are plenty of people round here who would love to help you out... not me though, I suck at art.

[Dualnames]

Just work a little more with your mind on your backgrounds. Nobody minds if a box doesn't seem like one exactly. I think some of your bgs are empty, but for no reason has this stopped me from posting about your game, I just didn't notice it. That's all.

[m0ds]

That's right - you can do it put your back in to it. I can do it put your ass in to it.

I did look at your thread in the GiP lounge before you created this thread and if you want brutal honesty the graphics didn't appeal so much to me, and the following thread where you almost begged us to believe the story will be so non-linear we'll poo ourselves & stuff did seem a bit over the top. If it's your first game just let it fly, see what happens. Make it for yourself and not for everyone else. I'm not proud of my artistic skills which is why, err, there are no games with my art in them anywhere. If you really think there's a problem, look into some 3D programs perhaps, or just ask around nicely some people who are good at art. I'm not saying your game will suck, but you asked if the graphics put people off - yes it put me off. I can handle the MS paint look - we've all been there, but the oversized stretched character makes it a bit hard to handle. You could always try something unique & off-the-wall if you're worried about art. Good luck

[Akatosh]

The main problem with these backgrounds is a blatant disregard for perspective and a (seeming) lack of effort. The "wasted space" doesn't help much either. To show you what I mean, here's a real quick re-draw of your office background, keeping (mostly) the same objects and coloring (which could use some work too), but with one-point perspective, cleaner lines and half the resolution:



Still not pretty. But it's a little better, and making it took me all of 10 minutes.

[LRH]

Wow lots of good info here. I really appreciate all the responses and constructive criticism. I think what I'll do is ask for help, but I'm not so sure where to start. (I.E. Where to ask) Scale down to the lower resolution seems like the better idea, but I'm not sure how this will affect what has already been put into the game, I suppose I'll have to re-do hotspots, regions, etc. This isn't my first game, which I DID make for myself and put it up for download anyways...because I'm an idiot >.>
But I really do believe I have something going for me here and if I can get graphical help, I wouldn't mind putting in a lot of coding work, etc.
If anyone has any advice on this I'd love to hear it. I really like how much this community helps each other out

[Stupot]

Hey Dom.
This is where to start if you wanna put out an official request for help.

It sounds like you're pretty excited about the story and the gameplay so I hope you find someone willing and able to give it that polish it deserves.

Good luck man.