Background Blitz: Fan Game Location (voting open through 3/3/2014)

[Snarky]

The BG Blitz has been dead for a while, and I thought it was time to kick it back up again.

Background Blitz: Fan Game Location


Just some of the many things that might make good fan game material.
First row: Obscure Cities (Schuiten & Peeters), Corto Maltese (Pratt), True Detective
Second row: The Wind in the Willows (Grahame), Jeeves & Wooster (Wodehouse), The Secret Agent (Conrad)
Third row: Vermilion Sands(Ballard), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Rear Window

The topic for this round is fan games. Pick something you like â€" a book, a film, a TV show, a comic, an already existing game, whatever â€" and imagine you're making an adventure game based on it. Then make a background for that game. It should be an established or otherwise "authentic" location from the original work (if not extremely well known, you may want to include descriptions or reference pictures in your post), but you should feel free to exercise artistic freedom and adapt it to fit better as an adventure game background.

Additional rules
Entries should be designed as playable backgrounds within an imagined third-person AGS game, so they should have: a walkable area, at least one exit, and at least one hotspot with a useful interaction (which you should indicate either in the text of your post or in a sketch). Any resolution permitted.

Dates
The contest part of the Blitz will run for slightly over two weeks, with submissions due on Saturday, 22 February.
Voting is currently ongoing, until Monday, 3 March. See this post for a list of the entries.

[Eric]

Snarky, have you at some point contemplated making all of those games? Because I'd seriously be excited to play all of them except Buffy.

[Snarky]

Contemplated? Sure, but thought is cheap!

Actually, I haven't really thought seriously about a proper fan game based on any of these, specifically. I worked a little bit on a Heart of Darkness game back in the day, but I never got past the first screen. Same with Ballard's The Drowned World. And I have spent some time thinking about how to make a Wodehousian adventure game, but my idea was to use original characters rather than actually Jeeves & Wooster. I have some other ideas for fan games not included here, though.

Given that you've posted to the thread, I'll expect a submission from you!

[Eric]

This is a complicated sentence, but the storyworld in which the still-slowly-in-progress-among-some-others game from which my avatar comes features some tributes to Wodehouse characters (though they won't appear in the game).

I will strive to make a background!

[Miez]

Ooooooh - NICE theme... I might give this one a go!

[Lasca]

What a great theme!
I'm going to try this one, if I can find the time and make something decent enough.
Oh what fun!

[TGames]

This is a great theme! I just got a drawing tablet so this background should turn out good.

[TGames]

Finished. This is a beach background for a swiss family robinson game. It is my first BG with my drawing tablet

I am proud of it.
If you don't know what the Swiss Family Robinson is about, it is about a family that shipwrecks on an island. This would be the screen that they shipwrecked on. You would exit from all sides except for the bottom. An interaction that would take place here would be getting wood from your life boat. I didn't draw the life boat because it would be a sprite.

[Snarky]

All right, great! For people who don't know the Swiss Family Robinson, could you maybe explain what role this screen plays in the story?

Also, may I remind you of this part of the rules:

Entries should be designed as playable backgrounds within an imagined third-person AGS game, so they should have: a walkable area, at least one exit, and at least one hotspot with a useful interaction (which you should indicate either in the text of your post or in a sketch).

If you could point out the room exits and describe an interaction that would take place on this screen, that would take care of it. (Edit: Thanks!)

[selmiak]

this is a very interesting theme!

[selmiak]

[imgzoom]http://selmiak.bplaced.net/fangamebgblitz.png[/imgzoom]

Whoever guesses from which movie this is, is allowed to post his/her own entry
Can't wait to see more entries!

[Lasca]

Hattori Hanzo... It's Kill Bill! Isn't it? And the inventory holds the pussy wagon keys and the death-list.

[Ghost]

Whoever guesses from which movie this is, is allowed to post his/her own entry.

Kill Bill Vol1. And now PLEASE make it happen! I can't wait to use HYPNOTIC STARE on TOES.

[selmiak]

And now PLEASE make it happen!

But then you want Vol.2 too, this might take at least 2 more days. But it sure is fun making the fight against the crazy 88 into a point and clickhellalot

[Stupot]

Great topic, Snarky.
That's epic, Selmiak.
I might have a go at this.

[Daniel Eakins]

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/JBj4XX4.png[/imgzoom]

The Twelve Tasks of Asterix

[Eric]

Ahhh! Daniel Eakins read my mind and stole my entry! And did a much better job than I would have. That's fantastic.

[Miez]

Wow... that's a very cool BG. Nice!

[Billbis]

That's brilliant, Daniel !

[Daniel Eakins]

Thanks

Eric: Is it the same location? I was hesitating between something from "The Twelve Tasks of Asterix" and "Asterix and Cleopatra" at first.

[Mad]

Long Time No Post...

...but just couldn't let this awesome topic pass me by:

[imgzoom]http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab12/Mad1978/1eyedWillie.png[/imgzoom]

Reference

Great entries from everyone so far, and I hope to see many more!!!

[Armageddon]

Darn you for making me want that game!

[gameboy]

Wow, so many awesome entries!


Here's mine:

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/rUe71qd.png[/imgzoom]

A traffic accident collision investigation scene from Hot Fuzz.

[TGames]

can i redo my entry. I feel like i didn't do much.

[Janos Biro]

Please tell me someone will make that Goonies game!

[Snarky]

can i redo my entry. I feel like i didn't do much.

Yes, you can edit your entry until the deadline.

[Miez]

I'd be more than a little impressed if someone can guess the inspiration for this sketch:



Hint: it's a series of books.

[Janos Biro]

There was a man with a hat there?

[selmiak]

looks like some final fantasy stuff and sure looks great miez.
Are planning to paint this or pixel this?

[Miez]

It's going to be pixeled, and indeed - there was (very briefly) a man with a hat, but that was only for size reference

[Janos Biro]

indeed - there was (very briefly) a man with a hat

I'm glad I was not seeing things. It's a steampunk series?

[Eric]

My guess was The Adventures of Mark Twain, The Adventures of Jules Verne, or The Explorigator. I don't think it's any of those. But as an amateur airship aficionado, I'm eager to find out.

[Miez]

Nope, nope, nope: not steampunk, not Final Fantasy, not Mark Twain, Jules Verne or the Explorigator (?)

[Eric]

Early 20th Century comic strip in the mode of Little Nemo.

I just saw the series of books hint! Hmm....

[Janos Biro]

How many non steampunk series have airships on rails?

[Miez]

How many non steampunk series have airships on rails?

There are some!

[TGames]

i think i am going to just stick with my first entry and not redo it.

[Lasca]

So this is my entry:

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/QjAehdN.png[/imgzoom]

Really wanted and needed to do more work on it, add a GUI and a character like the rest of y'all among other things, but life and my schedule was working against it.
Anyways, I'm pretty happy about it.

So, can anyone tell where it's from? The font's a clue!

Update:
Exits: The door and the ladders down and to the right.
Hotspots: In the bookshelf you'll find a book about sharks and in the desk you'll find both a harmonica and a pen knife.

[Eric]

Welp, I'm giving up on this round. After being beaten to the punch on the 12 Tasks of Asterix, I should probably now scrap my crappy Darjeeling train coach in light of Lasca's amazing view of the Belafonte.

[Lasca]

Thank you Eric! I'd love to see your crappy Darjeeling train coach, so don't scrap it!
And yes! It's a room (do you say room about boats?) from the Belafonte, from Life Aquatic.

[Snarky]

Miez, do you need more time to finish a pixeled version of your entry?

Eh, I'll just extend the deadline to over the weekend regardless, in case anyone else wants to do a last-minute entry!

[Miez]

Yeeeeerzzzz! I do need that. I was going to enter, way past the deadline, anyway. But this is cool! Thanks

[oraxon]

Excellent topic, and great pix everyone!

Updated with more info:
Exits: Downward to return to the taxi, to the right toward the monuments, to the upper-left to try the front of the house.
Hotspots: Tree, Left Support Girder, Right Support Girder, Left Window, Center Window, Right Window, Hillside (under house), Distant Mountains.
Walkthrough: Examine windows. Find Vandamm and Leonard. Overhear them discuss Eve. Wait until Vandamm and Leonard exit and Eve enters. Use coins, one at a time, on Center Window and then Right Window to draw Eve out onto the balcony. Watch out, Leonard comes back! Click on Hillside to hide under the house! "Use" the Right Support Girder to climb up. Your hand is cut during the climb. Use handkerchief to stop the blood. This automatically examines the handkerchief and you comment on the monogram. You can try to Talk to Eve, but unfortunately, she doesn't hear you and walks back inside. You'll have to find some other way to signal her...

[Eric]

I accidentally played the first part of that game as George Kaplan!

[Snarky]

Nice one, oraxon. But let me remind you of the rule that you should indicate (in text or graphically) at least one exit and one hotspot with a useful interaction in the image. (I suppose that goes for Lasca as well.)

[oraxon]

Ha! You got it, Eric!
Thanks for the reminder, Snarky. I updated the entry with far too much info.

[Lasca]

Me to did a update.

[Snarky]

OK, well the weekend is over, and without an ETA on Miez's final version I'm going to have to call it. In any case there are a lot of great entries, so let's get to voting!

(I'll just include the pictures here, not the additional descriptions. Refer to the original posts for more details.)

TGames: Swiss Family Robinson

Spoiler

[imgzoom]http://tomsgamepics.webs.com/photos/undefined/Fan%20Game%20BB.png[/imgzoom]

[close]

selmiak: Kill Bill

Spoiler

[imgzoom]http://selmiak.bplaced.net/fangamebgblitz.png[/imgzoom]

[close]

Daniel Eakins: The Twelve Tasks of Asterix

Spoiler

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/JBj4XX4.png[/imgzoom]

[close]

Mad: Goonies

Spoiler

[imgzoom]http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab12/Mad1978/1eyedWillie.png[/imgzoom]

[close]

gameboy: Hot Fuzz

Spoiler

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/rUe71qd.png[/imgzoom]

[close]

Miez: Jack Vance's Durdane (final version submitted shortly past deadline)

Spoiler

Working version:

[imgzoom]http://www.miez.nl/tmp/fangame_sketch.jpg[/imgzoom]

Final version:

[imgzoom]http://www.miez.nl/tmp/durdane_gui.gif[/imgzoom]

[close]

Lasca: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Spoiler

[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/QjAehdN.png[/imgzoom]

[close]

oraxon: North by Northwest

Spoiler

[imgzoom]http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/054/6/7/fangameversionofexistingip_by_oraxon_by_oraxon-d77r8g7.jpg[/imgzoom]

[close]

The categories for evaluation are as follows. Pick your favorite entry for each category. You're also encouraged to provide additional feedback in any format you like.

Concept
"I wish I'd thought of that!"
Is the idea for the picture a cool, creative response to the contest challenge? Does it adhere to the rules of the Blitz?

Artistic Execution
"Wow, you're a regular pixel/Photoshop Rembrandt!"
How accomplished is the entry on an artistic and technical level? (Things like visual composition, color balance, skill of depiction, personal style, etc.)

Playability
"Oh! I wonder what would happen if I..."
Would the entry work well as a background in an AGS adventure game? And would that screen be an interesting one (gameplay-wise) that you'd like to visit as a player? (Do walkable areas, exits, walkbehinds, hotspots, etc. make sense? Does it seem like it would offer a suitable amount of interaction density? Do you feel the urge to point and click around the scenery?)

Let's say one week for voting, until the end of Monday, 3. March.

[CaptainD]

Wow.  Some amazing entries!

Concept: Mad.  Would make a great game.  Also Daniel Eakins because I think Asterix as an adventure game could be superb.
Artistic Execution: Selmiak and Oraxon - both breathtakingly atmospheric.
Playability: It's got to be Gameboy.  Just how would you use those heads as an inventory item.  Also Daniel Eadkins - I'm already imagining a puzzle to bring that bust down on the receptionist#'s head - and Mad because it looks like you may just have SEVEN playable characters!

[Eric]

I never got farther than this with my aborted Darjeeling Limited attempt. Sharing to show how skilled Lasca is, comparatively, in bringing Wes Anderson to the AGS screen:



Concept: Daniel Eakins. Are we allowed to give credit for GUI in this competition too? I love the idea of playing as Obelix and Dogmatix too! Close second goes to Oraxon.
Artistic Execution: Lasca. This is lovely.
Playability: Mad. I want to play this game.

Such amazing work this round though. I can't believe I didn't vote for Selmiak or Gameboy in any category, for instance. And I still want to know what Miez's is from!

[Miez]

Ah crap... I did finish mine
Serves me right for being too slow, I guess

I will share my work nevertheless (because I really liked the theme of this one. Great job Snarky!)



With some GUI elements:
[imgzoom]http://www.miez.nl/tmp/durdane_gui.gif[/imgzoom]

For those that are scratching their heads and going "what the hell kind of fan game is this?" - I took Jack Vance's "Durdane" for inspiration (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durdane_series). The location pictured is the Brassei Junction way station.

[Miez]

My votes:

Concept - Daniel Eakins, the Asterix comics would make a great fangame base.

Artistic Execution - oraxon, this was a hard one to pick as there are fantastic entries ... but I like the painterly style in this one.

Playability - gameboy, when can I download this game, plz?

[Eric]

OMG that is beautiful, Miez. Shame I already cast my vote!

[cat]

OMG this is jaw-dropping impressive, Miez

[Snarky]

Ah, that's great Miez! Yeah sorry, if you'd asked for another extension I would have held off... but since I listed your WIP among the competing entries, people can still vote for you if they want. (There's a very good chance I'll do so myself!)

Wow.  Some amazing entries!

Concept: Mad.  Would make a great game.  Also Daniel Eakins because I think Asterix as an adventure game could be superb.
Artistic Execution: Selmiak and Oraxon - both breathtakingly atmospheric.
Playability: It's got to be Gameboy.  Just how would you use those heads as an inventory item.  Also Daniel Eadkins - I'm already imagining a puzzle to bring that bust down on the receptionist#'s head - and Mad because it looks like you may just have SEVEN playable characters!

All good choices, CaptainD, but much as they might all deserve to win, you'll have to pick one favorite in each category, or the tallying of the votes won't work.

[Janos Biro]

Concept: selmiak: Kill Bill.

Artistic Execution: Miez: Jack Vance's Durdane.

Playability: Mad: Goonies

[Mad]

Concept: Lasca. Great movie that would make a zany gaming experience.

Artistic execution: oraxon. It's got everything going for it: great composition, excellent colour scheme,  and superb brush work!

Playability: Miez. So much to see, so many hotspots to click, and I want to explore them all!

These were really hard choices to make, 'cause all the other entries were excellent as well.

[Misj']

Concept: Oraxon - Because it's Hitchcock; and there's no competing with Hitchcock

Artistic execution: Miez - I love the fact that it uses a lot of colours without becoming screamish. Plus it has a dynamic feel to it, that I often miss in low-res art these days.

Playability: Miez - Clear walking-areas, lot's of objects to interact with, exits, and a clear goal (get on the balloon-thingy). The other entries depict a scene, this one a story.

[CaptainD]

All good choices, CaptainD, but much as they might all deserve to win, you'll have to pick one favorite in each category, or the tallying of the votes won't work.

Oops sorry.  Okay, now it's even tougher to choose... but...

Concept: Mad.  Would make a great game. 
Artistic Execution: Oraxon - just edges it for my.  Amazing colours and technique.
Playability: It's got to be Gameboy.  Just how would you use those heads as an inventory item.

[Snarky]

I'm really thrilled to see so many great entries. Thanks also to Eric for sharing your wip, which looks like it would have come out very nicely as well. It's tough to decide on the votes, since there are many strong contenders in each category. That said, knife to my throat....

• Concept: Daniel Eakins â€" you had me at Asterix. Also, your screen with all the arrows in all directions suggests a corridor maze, and I'm a sucker for mazes in adventure games. (Runner-up: oraxon, because I can't help but try to imagine N/NW as an adventure game now)
• Artistic Execution: Lasca â€" I really like how you've managed to make a flat, (mostly) outline-less Flash-like style in low-res. It'd be really interesting to see some character sprites on this screen. (Runner-up: selmiak. The cleanness of the pixel art is a perfect fit for the scene, and the colors are gorgeous.)
• Playability: Miez â€" as others have said, it's a screen where you almost can't help yourself wanting to click on everything. Just at a glance I already find myself anticipating puzzles and interactions, and imagining the next-room-over for each exit. (Runner-up: Lasca. Just seems really well constructed, and for whatever reason I'm always excited to see a bookshelf in a game. I've not seen The Life Aquatic, but when I see this screen I imagine the game as a detective mystery.)

Other feedback:
TGames: not bad! I think your technique is getting better, and the palm looks particularly nice the way you've drawn it. I'd recommend looking at some other games that use simple cartoon graphics to see how they do shading; the soft, faint shadows in this screen don't really work well with your style. You might also want to raise the perspective, so that instead of looking down at the beach, you're looking more straight at it, like in the entries by Miez, oraxon, selmiak and gameboy. (The thing to keep in mind is where in the picture the horizon is.) That usually makes for more interesting backgrounds, and also fits better with most character sprites.

Mad: Nice work! Now how long did you spend on the character sprites relative to the background itself?  I think you could maybe do more with the lighting here to make it more dramatic (or cinematic, if you prefer).

gameboy: Haha, I guess I've forgotten most of Hot Fuzz. I wonder whether having so much of the screen be sky is the optimal composition here. Maybe some more stuff in the distance, and perhaps a foreground layer to frame it? I also don't feel like the exit (or exits? I'm not clear on whether I can exit to the right) is ideally constructed: yes, there's a road running off-screen, but I get no sense of what this screen is connecting to, if you see what I mean? I love the scene you've chosen, and it's really nicely rendered, but out of all the entries this feels like the one that might benefit the most from some relatively simple changes in composition, in order to work better both illustration-wise and gameplay-wise.

[dactylopus]

Concept: Mad - Goonies (I love the movie, and the idea of paying as each Goonie is really cool.  Plus, that's a great puzzle that always stuck out to me as perfect for an adventure game.)

Artistic Execution: selmiak - Kill Bill (This was done really well in a classic pixel style.  The color choices are excellent, as is the composition.  Fantastic idea, as well.)

Playability: Miez - Jack Vance's Durdane (Originally thought about this for Artistic Execution, but I think I'll give it Playability.  I do see it having a lot of versatility in a game.)

[Lasca]

Alright, my votes:

Concept: Daniel Eakins. That would make a brilliant game! I loved that movie when I was a kid (and still do).

Artistic Execution: Selmiak. Great use of few colours and great composition. Makes me wish I'd done my background in lower resolution. (If this was a character blitz, I would definitly vote for Mad. Love them!)

Playability: Miez. I want to know what's on that billboard. Who's that purple guy? And where does the baloon go!?



Snarky: Eeh... yeah... It's really not a detective movie... But the game could be!! However, you should watch the movie. I love it! and thanks!

Eric: That Darjeeling Coach isn't crappy! Would have loved to see it finished.

[Daniel Eakins]

Concept: Mad. With all the different characters, The Goonies would definitely make a great adventure!

Artistic Execution: Miez. Woah, this background looks as good as the old classics! The palette, the dithering, the composition... everything looks perfect.

Playability: Miez. This screen is like Last Crusade meets Simon the Sorcerer or something. It looks full of hotspots and I can already imagine a fun, one-maybe-two-room puzzle involving getting past the guard. Seeing the airship move would be an awesome reward for completing the puzzle.

[Monsieur OUXX]

I won't be voting, and here is why :

- at first I wanted to vote for the guys who got less votes, because the level of quality is so high that it wouldn't fair for them not to get any votes just because a handful of backgrounds are slightly better
- then I still wanted to vote for the best ones, because I noticed that the votes were quite balanced, and it wouldn't be fair if the really best ones didn't win.

In the end I thought: they're all so good, in their own way. Let it be, and congratulations to all the competitors, you put some prettiness (and an awful wish to play those games) in our day!

[selmiak]

Concept
Daniel Eakins: The Twelve Tasks of Asterix
I'd love to play that and also great piece of work.

Artistic Execution
oraxon
nice one, and very hard to chose.

Playability
gameboy
"Oh! I wonder what would happen if I..." absolutely fits here. at first I was a bit disappointed that there are no fun interactions with the heads and blood and so on screen already so this is the perfect category for this screen.

[Snarky]

Just a reminder that voting ends tomorrow (along with the AGS Awards voting!), so if you haven't done it yet, don't put it off!

[Snarky]

OK, the voting is over, and after tallying them up, the winner is Miez, with 9 votes. Second place is a three-way tie between Mad, oraxon and Daniel Eakins, with 5 votes each.

Really strong field this time around, and most of the entries could easily have won in any other round of the Blitz. So congratulations to all contestants.

Take it away, Miez!

[Miez]

Whoo! Thanks all! And congratulations to all participants - all entries were pretty damn cool!
I do feel a bit naughty, winning with an entry that was basically too late.

I'll come up with a new BB soon...