Background Blitz: Middle Ages - RESULTS

lorenzo · Wed 09/10/2019 16:59:45

MIDDLE AGES

IMAGES FROM

Bernardo Bellotto, Piazza della Signoria a Firenze; Giuseppe Zocchi, Il Bargello.

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Your job is to create a background set during medieval times. The subject doesn't matter, as long as it's recognizable as medieval. It could be a house, a castle, the town hall, an alley, or something else!

Deadline: 24th of October 2019

Voting:

Concept: your background should tell us something about the place you have depicted.
Playability: does it have clearly defined walkable areas, things to interact with, etc?
Artistic Execution: does the image convey the wanted atmosphere? What's the feeling of the place?

Good luck!

--

Entries:

Spoiler

Mandle

WHAM

Alan v.Drake

Kastchey

Flugeldufel
[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/rLMhO7w.png[/imgzoom]

Cassiebsg
[imgzoom]http://ags.pics/crHj.png[/imgzoom]

Blondbraid

Jack

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Results

1st place: Alan v.Drake
2nd place: Flugeldufel and Kastchey
3rd place: Mandle and WHAM

lorenzo · Wed 16/10/2019 20:14:27

Only eight days left!

Is anyone working on an entry? Or everybody here dislikes the Middle Ages?

I hope I haven't chosen a bad theme!

cat · Wed 16/10/2019 20:47:24

Quote from: lorenzo on Wed 16/10/2019 20:14:27
Or everybody here dislikes the Middle Ages?

I somewhat do. I think it's because of that overused and boring medieval fantasy setting.

Jack · Wed 16/10/2019 21:18:30

I had an idea but forgot about this. Hopefully will have time to make it.

Kastchey · Wed 16/10/2019 21:30:12

I like the theme and I have an idea, now I'm just trying to find time to whip something up.

lorenzo · Wed 16/10/2019 21:57:25

Cat: sorry you didn't like the theme! It's understandable, though. I'm not a fan of fantasy literature and films myself.
But in my opinion, the "real" Middle Ages have little to do with the fantasy representation of them. It's mostly superficial similarities (castles, swords, and dresses?).

Jack and Kastchey: if you need more time, let me know and I'll extend the deadline!

Cassiebsg · Wed 16/10/2019 22:36:15

I love the middle ages!
Only problem is I currently have no time for this. $:-\$
Hope someone has the time and submits something.

WHAM · Thu 17/10/2019 12:40:25

I haven't done pixel art backgrounds in ages, and this intrigues me as an idea, so I might try to craft something small tonight.

VampireWombat · Thu 17/10/2019 14:47:39

The theme is fine to me. But my creative energy has been low this month. What little I have had has gone into working on MAGS. I will see if I can come up with anything, though.

lorenzo · Thu 17/10/2019 20:18:56

Cassiebsg: that's a shame! I would've loved to see one of your renderings, or a pixellated background (the mountain one was quite good!).

WHAM: great! Happy drawing!

VampireWombat: don't worry, finishing a game in a month is hard enough. Best of luck with MAGS!

Cassiebsg · Fri 18/10/2019 00:36:07

I some times join MAGS or a game I'm working on, and do a BG for it (if I can make it fit the theme, of course

).

Reiter · Sat 19/10/2019 09:16:59

Now, this challenge does seem quite intriguing, but there is something that I would like to ask.

Does the picture need to be 'real' and historically sound, or would a fairy-tale picture suffice?

Cassiebsg · Sat 19/10/2019 15:21:21

fairy-tale is fine

just as long as it fits the theme "a background that could be found in the middle ages"... not likely you'll be able to make a cyberpunk or a modern city with skyscrapers and cars... unless you are an awesome storyteller that could fit all that in the middle ages...

Mandle · Sat 19/10/2019 17:31:48

My attempt at a Seussian medieval background...

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/3PT8vbg.png[/imgzoom]

Creamy · Sat 19/10/2019 23:51:38

Nice perspective Mandle. That's some hairy clouds

Like VampireWombat, I keep my spare time for a MAGS project but I like the theme.

lorenzo · Sun 20/10/2019 09:59:22

Quote from: Reiter on Sat 19/10/2019 09:16:59
Does the picture need to be 'real' and historically sound, or would a fairy-tale picture suffice?

Hi, Reiter! Feel free to interpret the theme as you like! Don't worry too much. As long as the background is recognizable as set during the Middle Ages, you can do whatever you want, and draw whatever subject you prefer.
Basically, what Cassiebsg said.

Quote from: Mandle on Sat 19/10/2019 17:31:48
My attempt at a Seussian medieval background...

Mandle: that's a lovely background! Nice, clean lines and I just love those curly clouds! I think the style would work really well for an adventure game.

WHAM · Sun 20/10/2019 14:55:42

An attempt was made! A shady fortress monastery in the dark of night.
I began to feel like I could keep adding detail and polish for days on end, but if I went on with that I'd just end up burning myself out and probably run well past the deadline, so I'll call it done here.

lorenzo · Sun 20/10/2019 18:46:01

Great background, WHAM! I like the angle you've chosen and the nocturnal colours. It's very atmospheric!

Quote from: WHAM on Sun 20/10/2019 14:55:42
I began to feel like I could keep adding detail and polish for days on end, but if I went on with that I'd just end up burning myself out and probably run well past the deadline, so I'll call it done here.

I can certainly relate!

Mandle · Mon 21/10/2019 18:15:19

I can totally see an "Alone In The Dark" 3D character wandering around that background, Wham!

Alan v.Drake · Mon 21/10/2019 23:53:21

Will you manage to steal the middle-aged merchant's gold?

I'm glad to see that the background blitzes are still alive.

- Alan

cat · Tue 22/10/2019 08:07:02

@Alan v.Drake: I'm glad to see you are still alive.

And back with a very nice background.

lorenzo · Tue 22/10/2019 17:37:27

I love your background, Alan v.Drake! It makes me want to explore the rest of the town (and steal the merchant's gold, of course). Great use of the fog, too.

--

Only two days left! (more or less)

Kastchey · Tue 22/10/2019 19:30:59

I'm struggling to find enough time to finish my entry so I will just leave it here:

My idea was to draw a medieval cloister. If I manage to finish or at least progress past sketch and shadows, I will edit my post.

Lovely entries everyone!
Nice to see you back, Alan v.Drake. The foggy distant background objects are amazing.

lorenzo · Tue 22/10/2019 23:05:14

That's a beautiful image, Kastchey, even in its current unfinished state.
If you need I can close the competition some days later than the current deadline. It would be a shame to leave your background unfinished!

Kastchey · Wed 23/10/2019 08:18:19

I'm swamped so it might not help much... Thanks though, that's kind of you to offer!

Flugeldufel · Thu 24/10/2019 11:49:27

Late as usual, here's my entry.
Ladies and Gentlemen, start your datassettes!

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/rLMhO7w.png[/imgzoom]

lorenzo · Thu 24/10/2019 12:05:08

That's great Flugeldufel! It looks like an early LucasArts game. Lovely entry. There's only one problem: I want to play it!
"Use dragon poo with well"!

Cassiebsg · Thu 24/10/2019 20:40:15

Here's a quick entry.

[imgzoom]http://ags.pics/crHj.png[/imgzoom]

Based in a Portuguese medieval town.

Blondbraid · Fri 25/10/2019 07:40:56

I've started on a background, could it be possible to extend the deadline one day?

lorenzo · Fri 25/10/2019 07:52:53

Happy you made it, Cassiebsg! I would love to visit that town, both in real life and in the game. It looks lovely!

Blondbraid: sure! Let's say that I wanted to close the competition today, but I completely forgot to do it.

Happy drawing!

Cassiebsg · Fri 25/10/2019 07:55:17

@lorenzo: It's Elvas in Portugal. "Listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, Elvas is the biggest fortified city in Portugal and Europe." And also my mom's home town.

Laura Hunt · Fri 25/10/2019 08:12:17

Cassie, that reminds me so much of my own hometown's old quarter

(images under tag so as not to interrupt the thread)

Spoiler

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The architecture here is 15th-16th century colonial rather than medieval, but there's definitely some resemblance!

lorenzo · Fri 25/10/2019 08:47:39

Cassie: I looked up some photos of Elvas, it's a beautiful town. I think I've also found the square you've used as inspiration!

Laura Hunt: That place looks lovely, what's the name of it? Maybe we should make a "Post your town/city" thread.

Laura Hunt · Fri 25/10/2019 09:05:07

Quote from: lorenzo on Fri 25/10/2019 08:47:39
Cassie: I looked up some photos of Elvas, it's a beautiful town. I think I've also found the square you've used as inspiration!

Laura Hunt: That place looks lovely, what's the name of it? Maybe we should make a "Post your town/city" thread.

That's the neighborhood of Vegueta in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Kastchey · Fri 25/10/2019 11:54:39

I was in Las Palmas early this year! Lovely place. You could sit by the shore and stare at the waves for hours.

Laura Hunt · Fri 25/10/2019 12:26:37

Quote from: Kastchey on Fri 25/10/2019 11:54:39
I was in Las Palmas early this year! Lovely place. You could sit by the shore and stare at the waves for hours.

Aw nice! Tenerife tends to get a lot more tourism, so it always makes me happy when people choose to visit Gran Canaria despite being a bit less popular

Flugeldufel · Fri 25/10/2019 15:07:52

Quote from: lorenzo on Thu 24/10/2019 12:05:08
That's great Flugeldufel! It looks like an early LucasArts game. Lovely entry. There's only one problem: I want to play it!
"Use dragon poo with well"!

Yeah, maybe someday Iâ€˜ll find some time for making a game like, uh, â€žThe preposterous adventures of Knighty McKnightfaceâ€œ or something...

garyhenson1 · Fri 25/10/2019 17:41:42

Great job WHAM! Just the right amount of detail.

Jack · Sat 26/10/2019 03:42:07

I started a background last night, been busy with my game. Didn't get to finish but I will later today, if there's time.

Blondbraid · Sat 26/10/2019 09:27:41

Finally got mine ready, I hope you like crossbeam houses!

lorenzo · Sat 26/10/2019 11:00:30

Jack: I'll close the competition tomorrow morning. Hopefully, that should give you enough time to finish your entry!

Blondbraid: I love your colour choices, they give the image a great autumnal feeling! Such a nice background.

Blondbraid · Sat 26/10/2019 11:02:54

Quote from: lorenzo on Sat 26/10/2019 11:00:30
Blondbraid: I love your colour choices, they give the image a great autumnal feeling! Such a nice background.

Thank you so much! I figured the colors would fit the season.

Jack · Sun 27/10/2019 00:50:05

Thanks for the extension!

lorenzo · Sun 27/10/2019 09:15:23

Lovely background, Jack! It was well worth the wait.

TIME TO VOTE!

Entries

Mandle

WHAM

Alan v.Drake

Kastchey

Flugeldufel
[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/rLMhO7w.png[/imgzoom]

Cassiebsg
[imgzoom]http://ags.pics/crHj.png[/imgzoom]

Blondbraid

Jack

Voting categories:

Concept: your background should tell us something about the place you have depicted.
Playability: does it have clearly defined walkable areas, things to interact with, etc?
Artistic Execution: does the image convey the wanted atmosphere? What's the feeling of the place?

Voting ends on the 2nd of November 2019.

Jack · Sun 27/10/2019 11:20:23

Concept: Mandle
Playability: Flugeldufel
Artistic Execution: Alan v.Drake

Creamy · Wed 30/10/2019 15:45:07

Concept: Flugeldufel Looks like a lost gem.
Playability: WHAM. We clearly need to get in.
Artistic Execution: Alan v.Drake. The washed out colors remind me of Guard Duty by Chicky.

Nice sceneries overall.

In Cassie's pic, the perspective of the gate doesn't match the pediment IMO.

cat · Wed 30/10/2019 20:29:38

Concept: Kastchey Beautiful composition and not the usual boring and stereotypical scenery
Playability: Flugeldufel Lots of exits and stuff to interact with, easy perspective the does not require much character scaling
Artistic Execution: Blondbraid Great atmosphere and colors

Kastchey · Wed 30/10/2019 22:53:31

Concept: Mandle because Seussian art is cool.
Playability: Flugeldufel because it simply doesn't get more playable than this.
Artistic execution: That was a REALLY tough one but I decided to go for Blondbraid because of the lovely colours. Jack and Alan v.Drake were both close runner-ups.

Choices made, I must say I love every single entry in this edition and the variety of techniques.

cat · Thu 31/10/2019 20:32:16

Can I suggest a change in voting categories for the next competition?

I think
Artistic Execution: does the image convey the wanted atmosphere? What's the feeling of the place?
should be split into two categories:

Atmosphere: Does the image convey the wanted atmosphere? What's the feeling of the place?
Artistic Execution: How well is the background done within the chosen style?

The first one is the immediate impression I get from a background (colors, composition, overall feeling), the second one is the beauty I see on closer inspection (brushstrokes, pixel placement, attention to detail)

(an additional category would also allow for honouring one more game

)

Blondbraid · Thu 31/10/2019 21:23:31

It was a hard choice, but:

Concept: Mandle I just love the swirly clouds
Playability: Alan v.Drake I see so many things I'd want to interact with
Artistic Execution: Alan v.Drake great colors, atmosphere and lots of details

Cassiebsg · Fri 01/11/2019 00:10:06

Concept: Kastchey
Playability: Wham
Artistic Execution: Jack (with Alan v.Drake a millisecond behind)

@Creamy, I know.

I was trying to fix the picture distortion (I used a pic as base) and then run out of both time and patience... in the end I figured it didn't matter anyway, since it was just for the fun of participating.

Now go and make a present for Roger! He's so sad that nobody come to his party.

Mandle · Fri 01/11/2019 14:01:57

Concept: Kastchey So different and so much potential!
Playability: WHAM. My 3D character walking around this 2.5D background demanded this vote!
Artistic Execution: Alan v. Drake The fog is just too lovely.

Flugeldufel · Fri 01/11/2019 15:28:12

Concept: Kastchey - I'd love to see this finished.
Playability: Alan v.Drake - I want to play it right now!
Artistic Execution: Alan v.Drake - It's lovely, the style, atmosphere, details, everything.

Unfortunately I can only pick three, they're all great.

lorenzo · Sun 03/11/2019 15:23:56

RESULTS

1st place: Alan v.Drake! You win a golden helmet!

2nd place: Flugeldufel and Kastchey! You get a silver barbute!

3rd place: Mandle and WHAM! You get a bronze great helm!

Thanks for participating, everyone!

Kastchey · Mon 04/11/2019 07:40:46

Congrats Alan!

@cat,
I think it's a good idea, atmosphere deserves its own category. We used to run 5 categories at some point in the past anyway

Flugeldufel · Mon 04/11/2019 09:18:58

Congratulations to everyone!

I also like the cat's idea. There are too many good entries and too little categories. It's very hard to choose.

Alan v.Drake · Tue 05/11/2019 14:30:36

Thanks guys,
I'll come up with a new theme for the next blitz soon.

- Alan

Mandle · Tue 05/11/2019 16:31:33

Yay!!! I only really drew my background and entered because lorenzo's theme seemed to be garnering little interest at the time and drew my entry in about an hour in an attempt to support the contest... But pleased to tie for 3rd place nonetheless...

A well-deserved win for Alan v.Drake as well... That fog in the archway effect is a lesson in itself on how to do that...

Blondbraid · Tue 05/11/2019 18:29:01

Congratulations!

Cassiebsg · Tue 05/11/2019 18:43:13

Congrats, well deserved win.

lorenzo · Wed 06/11/2019 09:47:34

Quote from: Mandle on Tue 05/11/2019 16:31:33
Yay!!! I only really drew my background and entered because lorenzo's theme seemed to be garnering little interest at the time and drew my entry in about an hour in an attempt to support the contest...

Thanks for the support, mate!

It's a pretty background, too. Enjoy your bronze helm!

Mandle · Wed 06/11/2019 14:43:47

Quote from: lorenzo on Wed 06/11/2019 09:47:34
Quote from: Mandle on Tue 05/11/2019 16:31:33
Yay!!! I only really drew my background and entered because lorenzo's theme seemed to be garnering little interest at the time and drew my entry in about an hour in an attempt to support the contest...
Thanks for the support, mate! It's a pretty background, too. Enjoy your bronze helm!

Thanks, I ike the clouds and arches I drew once I realized it was gonna be sparse but saw a Seussian possibility in it.