Adventure Game Studio

Welcome to another Background Blitz competition! In it, you have three weeks to draw a splendid background for a room in an adventure game. Then, we shall vote, and decide which one is the best. The winner will have both glory and the task to run the next leg of the Background Blitz. The picture will be judged according to concept, playability and artistic execution.

This time, you shall build me a monument.


What sort of monument is your character visiting? An overgrown cenotaph in the countryside? A broken statue of a forgotten king in a forgotten land? An obelisk, shrouded in sand and the ages? A war memorial in the beating heart of a sprawling city? A memorial wall to all the Roger Egos who have died in the line of duty?

Go forth and draw! Then, upload and post the image in this thread.

You have until the 29th of March to submit your entry, but this date is open for negotiation if you require some more time. The more the merrier! Then, we will vote.

We are now VOTING! Until 10th of April! All can participate in the vote, and you will be casting your lots in these categories:


Concept: What is your background about? What sort of mood does it spark? What is, as it were, the big idea?
Playability: What is its opportunity for gameplay like? Walkable areas, hot-spots, and so forth?
Artistic Execution: How well does the picture convey an atmosphere? How well is it executed?

Here are the entries:

[imgzoom]https://i.postimg.cc/ZKZNyTXQ/FJB.png[/imgzoom]

stylez75's monument - and a grand and topical monument it is!

(https://archive.org/download/background-blitz-memorial/BackgroundBlitz--Memorial.png)

DBoyWheeler's lone mountain monument of lost lore of yore!

(https://i.imgur.com/w9fNhSA.png)

newwaveburrito's classical monument standing tall in dear old Ditherton!

[imgzoom]https://i.postimg.cc/02fZjKL3/background.png[/imgzoom]

ElvisTanner's splendid space memorial to his imperial squiddishness!

Go forth and vote below!

This piqued my interested.  After seeing this theme, I penciled my idea, and will work on it in GIMP as soon as I can.

I hope I can get something in before the deadline.

All for Fun and Laughs

[imgzoom]https://i.postimg.cc/ZKZNyTXQ/FJB.png[/imgzoom]

First, @stylez75... Oh no you didn't!  XD

Second, here's my entry.

Spoiler

(https://archive.org/download/background-blitz-memorial/BackgroundBlitz--Memorial.png)
Went for a memorial to a long gone hero.  Maybe the player character needs to find certain relics or otherwise do other quests at the behest of the spirit of the warrior, and then afterwards you gain the sword.  Similar to Zelda: Link to the Past, yet at the same time, different.

[close]

This is a fun theme.  I'll try to come up with something in the next few days.

@DBoyWheeler big 10-4 on that!

(https://i.imgur.com/w9fNhSA.png)

Here's my hat in the ring.  It was fun to make and I'm happy with how it turned out although I must give it low marks for playability since it only really works if the character is right up front looking on or one of those three pixel little guys.

(https://i.imgur.com/hiuWeok.png)

Here it is with a character.

Very cool newwaveburritos.

Yeah, looks really fun! I wanna play that already :). Myself, I don't think I'll have time to participate this time, but let's see.

Here's my contribution...

[imgzoom]https://i.postimg.cc/02fZjKL3/background.png[/imgzoom]

...and how it could look like in a game.

[imgzoom]https://i.postimg.cc/K88fMvbY/ingame.png[/imgzoom]

My word! Some fantastic entries thus far! Very well done, a monumental display! Four splendid works awaiting the vote. This will be splendid.

Two days remaining until the voting begins. Keep those trovels moving, chaps!

@Elvis Tanner Why do I have the sudden feeling of "Ya Avoozl!" upon seeing that monument?
(Kudos to anyone who can guess which game I made reference to.)

Anyway, neat work.

Nice work Elvis. I'm digging it!

Very well done, everyone! An marvellous collection of monuments! Now, I do believe it is time to get the voting started. You will be voting in these categories:


Concept: What is your background about? What sort of mood does it spark? What is, as it were, the big idea?
Playability: What is its opportunity for gameplay like? Walkable areas, hot-spots, and so forth?
Artistic Execution: How well does the picture convey an atmosphere? How well is it executed?

Here are the entries:

[imgzoom]https://i.postimg.cc/ZKZNyTXQ/FJB.png[/imgzoom]

stylez75's monument - and a grand and topical monument it is!

(https://archive.org/download/background-blitz-memorial/BackgroundBlitz--Memorial.png)

DBoyWheeler's lone mountain monument of lost lore of yore!

(https://i.imgur.com/w9fNhSA.png)

newwaveburrito's classical monument standing tall in dear old Ditherton!

[imgzoom]https://i.postimg.cc/02fZjKL3/background.png[/imgzoom]

ElvisTanner's splendid space memorial to his imperial squiddishness!

Splendid work, all around! It will be most difficult to choose, but choose you must!

You have until 10th of April to cast your votes, ladies and gentlemen! Pick, choose and post!

Nice entries!

It's a bit difficult to decide on playability this time around, because the basiy composition is more or less the same for three of the entries, and only slightly different for the fourth (DBoy's). We have a frontal view of a scene with the monument right in the middle. In newwave's entry, it could be just an element of the background as a whole, while for Elvis's and stylez's it's clearly the center of attention and the only reason for the background's existence.

In general, I like them all, but, in detail:

stylez: Very sinister looking. I especially like the background of the background with the destroyed skyscrapers. Intentionally or not, one of them looks a bit like a giant monster, which adds nicely to the whole scene. Technicall, I think the guards around the monument would be characters, not part of the background, but that's a minor nitpick. I do seem to miss something though - I lack the knowledge what "FJB" stands for right now, or is it just random letters? No idea, but nice sinister atmosphere.

DBoyWheeler: You're the minimalistic type! There's not a whole lot to see in the background and the monument itself seems a bit out of perspective, as well as lacking an inscription. The only part that seems finished to me is the sky (at least, compared to the rest). A good start to work with, though.

newwaveburrito: Love the style, love the details, don't exactly love the colours. They fit the style, of course, but the turquoise of the sky is a bit much, especially for the darker red houses. But you do add an amazing amount of depth through the plastic houses and the mountains further back. The monument itself is maybe a bit generic (that's critizising on a high level). I can't really tell what it stands for.

Elvis Tanner: I could see this in a game. There seems to be a story to tell, with the ring planet on one side and earth (clearly recognizable through the shapes of the landmasses - kudos!) on the other, the humanoid alien in the middle. I could see this monument as a integral part of the storytelling of a game. I don't like (again, minor detail) that the alien's head is cut off. It gives the player a sense of the monument's height, but it also leaves the player wondering if the in-game character sees more. This works as the part of the background one can interact with, but it seems like it should at least be introduced scrolling downwards.


All righty, votes:

Concept: Elvis Tanner
Playability: Elvis Tanner
Artistic Execution: newwaveburrito

Concept: Elvis Tanner
Playability: stylez75
Artistic Execution: newwaveburrito

Concept: Elvis Tanner
Playability: Elvis Tanner
Artistic Execution: newwaveburrito

Concept: stylez75
Playability: ElvisTanner
Artistic Execution: newwaveburrito

Concept: ElvisTanner. I love this! I would totally visit a monument dedicated to, I assume, Overlord Cthulhu.
Playability: ElvisTanner. Seeing the background come to life with Zak MCKracken -like visuals clinches the deal for me. I'm ready to play - gimme gimme!
Artistic Execution: newwaveburrito. That is just a beautiful style you have there - really polished and atmospheric! The colors and dithering give it a unique look, and I can already see it in a proper game.

Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for all your votes and thoughts! I have now tallied them, and I can now declare a winner!

A splendid job, all of you. Monuments of all sorts, and of different styles. I am very happy with this competition's haul, and they were truly something extraordinary. It has been a privilege.

However, there can be but one, and the winner is

Elvis Tanner

for his splendid statue of our glorious spacetacular overlord, Tendrilses XXVIII. It has a very tight style and gameplay efficiency to it, while also being a nice piece in its own right. It was also well worth including a picture of how it would look in game. Well done!

[imgzoom]https://i.postimg.cc/02fZjKL3/background.png[/imgzoom]

Elvis Tanner, the mantle of the next competition is now yours!

Here is a link to the master list of previous background blitzes. It is worth a lock for inspiration.

https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=57783.msg636616011#msg636616011

Good luck!

It was excellent to see so many different styles in place, and so many different monuments. From Ditherton to the high mountains to the ruins of B City. You have all done very well! Thank you, and best of luck in the next competition.

Ladies and gentlemen... Thank you very much!  :grin:

For a second, I thought that there is a new rule to present two images: the background itself and with a character in it :)

Nicely done everybody, I wish I could draw like you!

Great job, everybody! And Congrats, Elvis!  This one was a lot of fun to participate in and I have a somewhat useable background for something or other so great success all around.