Adventure Game Studio

Topic:

POST- APOCALYPTIC DINER  


Guidelines:
At least once in the career of a background artist he or she is asked to paint a scene from after the great disaster, war or whatever. This can be an urban or rural scene, but there have to signs of something post-catastrophic. Obviously, there must also be featured some sort of diner.

Resolution: 320x200
Palette: Unlimited.

Voting:
Give one vote in each of the following categories:

* Best Idea - The underlying idea to the background. Doesn't neccesserily have to coincide perfectly with the theme of the week, just strike you as interesting/amusing/inspiring; a place you'd really enjoy visiting within a game.

* Best Design - The style of the picture, architectural, landscape design, best mood, most evocative etc.

* Best Functionality - How well it would work when adding sprites, including appropriate walking distances, good angle for character sprites, clever walkway solutions, easily understood exits etc.

* Best Technique - How well the ideas are executed in form of rendering.

ummm andail, what do those numbers mean? I'm sure there dates but could you make it more clear WHAT they mean? my guess is November 30th to december 13, but its annoying trying to decipher.

My little entry, about half an hour, if anyone is interested.

And those dates make perfect sense to me..
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/nucleardiner.png)

I love the sky. Great picture!

Could you pull back the deadline to the 7th of December, so that it's just one week? It would be great if you extended the deadline only if the first week wasn't fruitful. Because I'm gonna skip this one. I'm not inspired by the topic at all and the resolution restriction is kinda low. Also, I've got other things to do this week. But don't get disgruntled on my account. I think it's perfect that the topics and guidelines change, an uninspiring topic to me may be mind-blowing to someone else. And usually if one is uninspiring, the next one is great.

Quote from: lo_res_man on Wed 30/11/2005 20:33:00
ummm andail, what do those numbers mean? I'm sure there dates but could you make it more clear WHAT they mean? my guess is November 30th to december 13, but its annoying trying to decipher.

No, no, we're talking month 30, year 13, around noon in the age of the donkey.
Seriously though, I now added 20 before the year, so I hope that will clarify for everybody.

Zooty; that was quick, good job mate.

Ildu; No, sorry. It seems one week has been too short so far, and instead of just postponing the deadline, I'll set it firmly now. Sorry that you don't like the theme, but it's not really reason enough to ask to sort of get over with it sooner.

Eh.. pardon my ignorance, but what exactly is a diner?

uh, yeah? is a diner some sort of american restaurant?

noooo, its a building similar to a crematorium

die-in-here
die-n-er
diner

http://images.google.com/images?q=diner&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images
or
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=diner


Now that we have sorted out all of these obscure, cryptic date formats and food establishment synonyms, can we try to move on with the activity itself? Thank you.

My entry:

A post-nuclear war diner
1x
(http://www.ninamorgenstern.de/AGS/diner.gif)
2x
(http://www.ninamorgenstern.de/AGS/diner.gif)

Diner: as seen on US movies. Got it.  ;)

ooh i like this, ill have a go after monday (college deadline).  ;D

I decided this was too tasty to pass on ...

I had to post, "The Four Horsemen", that's a good one.  Thumbs up mandarb.

Good backgrounds so far!
It could be a good idea to add a blown up version of your bg.
Use
[img width=640 height=400]url[/img]
and it'll be represented as twice as big.

Some nice bgs :) i like the 'four horsemen' idea.

(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/futurediner1.png)
The year is 2099 and all mankind has been destinct as a couse of nuclear wars. Now the AI rule the world... Or what's left of it.

320x240
256 colours

here's without the silly droids:
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/futurediner3.png)
it's not finished so maybe I'll update before the voting.

darth that is one spiffy diner.  nice.  i think i may get in on this one as well.

Flosk, looks great and the idea rocks as well.

Here's my 5 minute entry:

(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/diner1.gif)

Done in MSPaint. Rushed :P

(http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/803/donniesdiner5pd.png)

BJORN!!!!  You're still alive!!!  (nice BG too!)

1st try at bg. just trying to practise.
(http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4572/diner5fz.gif) (http://imageshack.us)

edit: oh, btw, those r burning planets in the background.

Wow Mordalles, that looks really nice, what did you create it in?  Surely not MSPaint.

thx, akumayo. actually it's photoshop.

I thought something like that, the gradients do not look hand drawn... dead givaway.

Brilliant, Neil, but shouldn't the horizon be a straight line, and not curved?

Heh, I think the whole style is kinda curved anyway, so that shouldn't really matter. :P

Btw, Zor: You did that in 5 minutes? In MsPaint? Now there's something I won't easily believe!

Those are great backgrounds. I love Neil's Bigfoot/Godzilla idea, and that Venus fit a cockroach into hers.

(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/apocalyptic_diner.jpg)

2x:
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/apocalyptic_diner.jpg)

And another 'post apocalyptic diner' ('scuse my bad taste, and the fact that this isn't an entry...):
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/post_apoca_diner.gif)

That is... beautiful... Let's see what loominous and andail come up with!

Ditto.

Great work, Rel! Hats off to Darth, Flosk and Mordalles too.

Quote from: Darth Mandarb on Thu 08/12/2005 00:01:47
BJORN!!!!  You're still alive!!!  (nice BG too!)

Thanks, I know! Feels great! I was swallowed by real life for a while, and feel bad about not letting you know. That being said, the game (AOK) looks better than ever, great job :)

Quote from: Zorshouldn't the horizon be a straight line, and not curved?

That's a very common mistake, most often made before the famous theories of Aristotle, Eratosthanes and some others...

Quote from: Haddas on Fri 09/12/2005 14:10:58
That is... beautiful... Let's see what loominous and andail come up with!

I'm hosting this particular session, so I won't really be able to participate.

But then again, I guess I could make an entry just for the heck of it, even though I won't take part of the competition itself.

There have been really good contributions so far, I'm very proud!

Quote from: Pablo on Thu 08/12/2005 05:40:41
Btw, Zor: You did that in 5 minutes? In MsPaint? Now there's something I won't easily believe!

More like 10 =). What I meant was it was rushed.

Just whipped up a "guest" entry. As inspiration I guess, I don't know really :)

(http://www.esseb.com/andail/aerodiner.png)
x2
(http://www.esseb.com/andail/aerodiner.png)

2 hours, photoshop with pen tablet.

You have to imagine the "Aerodiner" sign, because I don't have the time to make it.
Also, excuse my crappy plane. I have no technical insight in the structure of an airplane :)

Considering the winner is chosen by voting, why exactly can't your entry be considered?

Quote from: Redwall on Sat 10/12/2005 16:54:54
Considering the winner is chosen by voting, why exactly can't your entry be considered?

Because the host of the contest can cheat that way and also it would be pretty annoying if the same guy kept winning and hosting the competitions, because he made good backgrounds. I think it's a very good rule that the host's entry isn't entered.

great backgrounds, rel and andail.

i wish i had a tablet.  :'(

(http://www.steporg.com/step/ags/comp/dinersaur.jpg)
Photoshop, tablet, 4 hours :(

Quote from: SteveMcCrea on Sat 10/12/2005 22:55:48
Photoshop, tablet, 4 hours :(

Hey, It's the best dinersaurus i've ever seen in my life!

haha, thats brilliant, stevemccrea!

I decided to go isometric on your asses in the spirit of 'fallout'
(http://home.att.net/~zolgnar/falloutcafe5.png)
hopefully the enlargement works this time Oo
(http://home.att.net/~zolgnar/falloutcafe5.png)

That's a beautiful piece! The colors, shadows, and compesition are great... even if it's iso. :)

Oh, there are so many lovely entries this time!

It's a real pity I have so much school work that I won't be able to finish my entry, no chance. Sigh. And such an inspirating theme (the apocalypseÃ,  ;)) and I have already progressed a lot with the background.

Guess I'll just have to post it on the critics lounge when it's finished (which could be anything from Christmas to JanuaryÃ,  :'()

Okay well this is my first Photoshop attempt in the history of my life and although it's really scruffy I'd have to kill myself if I didn't enter considering the amount of time I just put into it.
Don't forget to look at the weirdest mushroom cloud ever drawn.  ;)

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/gaddit/BobsDiner2.jpg)

~Billy

Ps. I need a tablet.

Time is up. Please refer to the instructions before voting.

* Best Idea - SteveMcCrea

* Best Design - Neil Dnuma

* Best Functionality - Floskfinger

* Best Technique - Rel

Best idea - SteveMcCrea

Best Design, Functionality, Technique - Rel

Best abscense of this comp - Loominous (for once he wasn't here, thus he didn't win!) I would like to see what he could come up with this marvelous idea.

Best idea - Darth. Very post-apocalyptic.
Best design - Neil Dnuma. Great style!
Best functionality - Floskfinger. Perhaps it's just that seeing is believing - putting those robots in there really helped!
Best technique - Rel. The buildings in the background are fantastic. I'd love to see what else you've done - do you have a gallery on-line somewhere?

Great competition idea, Andail. You elicited a lot of good entries! I don't know what ildu was thinking really...

Our votes:

Best idea - SteveMcCrea ( original indeed )
Best design - Neil Dnuma ( hahaha Godzila footsteps rules )
Best tehnique - Zooty ( we love the sky )
Best functionality - Darth mandarb ( imagine Foster and his Joey here )

Andail congrats on theme for comp.

Quote from: SteveMcCrea on Wed 14/12/2005 01:29:38Great competition idea, Andail. You elicited a lot of good entries! I don't know what ildu was thinking really...

I know :). This turned out to be a much more successful than I expected. But I did say it wasn't for me and it would probably appeal more to other people. Anyways, one of the best blitz's I've seen. I'll vote later. I'm busy right now.

My Votes:

Best Idea - Neil Dnuma
Love the idea behind the image ... the footsteps approach and you can clearly tell what has happened.  It's not the way my brain thinks of appolcolypse, but still, a great image!

Best Design - Rel
Gotta agree with Steve on this one ... the skyline in the background is incredible!  Very Half Life 2 feeling.

Best Functionality - Floskfinger
Seems like the one with the clearest "areas" on it.  You can tell where to walk off (or where you'd come in) from.  Seems very functional as a background.

Best Technique - Neutron
This gets my vote cause I'm a sucker for iso!  And this is great work!

Hey LJUBI ... did you guys decide you only wanted to vote in two categories?  Why didn't you vote all?

Quote from: Andail on Wed 30/11/2005 19:33:09
Voting:
Give one vote in each of the following categories:

Now we voted like we should do it first time :-\(see our first post).

Best Idea - Venus.  I really fell in love with it :) Steve McCrea made me laugh, and having a meal at "The Four Horsemen" is an intriguing idea.
Best Design - Rel wins here. Very immersing through excellent use of lighting, and of course the mist.  Great walls, wires and whatnot.
Best Functionality - Darth Mandarb. Being a very strong contender in all four categories, he deserves at least one, and there's no doubt this BG would suit a game perfectly.
Best Technique - Rel again! Excellent brushing. Hard to believe this is 320x200.


This was a great Blitz, largely thanks to Andail's theme. All contributions are really good! I must mention his out-of-competition BG too, as it would have been a tough competitor.

Best Idea - Flosk - I was thinking of entering but became disheartened when every idea I had for it was done better by somebody else already.  Flosk's was a new spin I hadn't had in mind.

Best Design - Rel - Great detail and quality, but more importantly, great planning and implementation.

Best Functionality - Neutron.  Drooled over the Fallout-esque BG for awhile.  Could be used quite easily, for regular sprites or isometric ones.

Best Technique - Darth - Solid background using some admirable technique to make texturing look like tiny details but still keeping the color count low.  Having a low count with a sky and environment that gorgeous shows the best technique IMO.

* Best Idea - This goes to Mordalles. It was a really difficult pick for me, since all of the entries seemed different and interesting in their own ways. But I thought Mordalles had the most descriptive premise. Although that explosion there couldn't be static, I would love to visit this diner. It has that great feeling and style of astrojunk, and I would love to see this in some wacky space adventure. Special notations to flosk and darth.

* Best Design - A definate win to Rel. This was also a difficult one for me, because suprisingly many images were so impressive visually. Rel's image expresses the theme really well, and style is impeccable. It truly looks like a post-apocalyptic world and the realistic style adds to the effect. Special mentions to Neil Dnuma's wacky stylings, andail's beautiful plane and Neutron's iso.

* Best Functionality - The winner here is definately Floskfinger. In addition to being fun and pretty, the image really would work the best as a background. The sprites are already there so I guess they help. The composition would also work really well. There is one clear exit, the bar is emphasized and there's room to wander about close to the carwreck and the seats. I sure would love to order a Xenoth-5B from that robot, or in pre-apocalyptic tongue, a margharita.

* Best Technique - I'm gonna say Neil Dnuma. I was going to vote for Rel, but I just loved the colors and pixel details on Neil's background so much that I went with his. It reminds me of the classics.

To Andail: Could it be possible to list the amount of votes for each contestant when you declare the winner? Or if that's too harsh, how about listing the votecounts for the three best contestants? I'd just like to see by how much the winner wins and whatnot.

Best idea - SteveMcCrea

Best Design - Rel

Best Functionality - Darth

Best Technique - Rel

Ooh so many beautiful backgrounds.
Venus - I really love your work (I tend to lurk in the bg blitz/sprite jam threads), this one didn't seem as good as your other stuff though.

* Best Idea - SteveMcCrea. One word- Dinersaurus;) Followed by Neil Dnuma's crushed diner.

* Best Design - Rel. It left me in awe for quite a while, really fitting the atmosphere of a post-apocalypse time. Andail's was great too, but he isn't entering anyway.

* Best Functionality - Floskfinger. The AI droids/robots sold me:).

* Best Technique - Neil Dnuma. Darth Mandarb and Floskfinger had great ones too.

You people are so damn good! :)

Best idea - Venus
Heh, skulls&coachroashes. Cool.
Best Design - Darth
Me likes!
Best Functionality - Floskfinger
Robotz!
Best Technique - Rel
I love it!

Short and simple:

8) Best idea: Floskfinger (Original, and not too crazy.)

:D Best Design: Rel (Nice!)

:P Best Functionality: Darth (I could imagine this in a game.)

;) Best Technique: Neil Dnuma (It's a sharp, and clean technique.)

Here are the results:

Best idea: Steve McCrea
Best design: Rel
Best functionality: Floskfinger
Best Technique: Rel

And the winner of this round of Background Blitz: Rel

* fanfare *

Thank you so much for all your contributions, this was a lovely blitz, you all did a great job!

Since I wrote out these comments before realising that voting had ended, I figure I may as well still post them. There were so many inventive and high quality entries, and it's great to see such a large number of participants.

Idea: SteveMcCrea â€" I loved the word play, and enjoyed your very creative take on the theme. There are so many movies that deal with futuristic, human apocalypses that I'd forgotten the world was already post-apocalyptic.

Design: Neutron â€" it immediately made me feel like I was playing an 'infiltrate the war camp' game. The colours really contribute to the mood. (As a side note, your pixel skills are insanely good).

Functionality: Floskfinger â€" great choice of object sizes and layout. I know it's an ironic thing to say, but your image had a real 'human scale' to it ;)

Technique: Neil Dnuma â€" your art style is charming and vibrant, and the idea is expressed so clearly. I can imagine coming down a hill in a game to find this amusing scene.

---

Steve: My art website's been down for over a year unfortunately. If you like I can PM you when I get my act together & upload it (which will hopefully be before I restart uni).

Thanks for the comments everyone (and to Andail for the interesting topic). I'll make sure I post a new comp soon.

I believe that this proves that we all have a thing for the post-apocalyptic.
We adventure gamers, we.
:)

Hey rel let's have party (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/smile5.png)

Amazing overall quality, stunning entries. Everyone's become an artist, and it rocks!

:o

congrats Rel, your entry rocked! Congrats for everyone entering, you are all worthy!