It has been far too long since the restless dead have featured in our sprite jams.
This ends now!
You have until the 12th of March to draw an unholy sprite of something not quite alive but not quite dead either. Wikipedia lists undead as the following:
Revenant
Skeleton
Zombie
Ghoul
Ghost
Wraith
Spectre
Lich
Ghast
Mummy
Vampire
Wight
However, if you have an idea that cleverly interprets the theme without being one of these specific entities, it is certainly allowed (providing you make it clear as to how it fits the theme).
Ghost may not draw a picture of himself. Sorry. Unless it's a picture of himself undead, which would be fine ;D.
You are limited to drawing a sprite that is fully functional for an AGS game - ie, it must fit on screen and must be drawn in a manner which allows animation.
You may begin.
Here's my picture of a wight:
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/wight.jpg)
Sorry... ::) :=
Oh hey, Simon
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/EggHeadCheesyBird/Sprite%20Jam/simon0000.png)
The spectral incarnation of academic shortcomings:
(http://www.richardhofmeier.com/agscomps/zp.png)
300px X 150px -- Holding my fifth grade math final.
(http://www.richardhofmeier.com/agscomps/zed4.png)
Quote from: Ben304 on Fri 27/02/2009 06:21:13
Ghost may not draw a picture of himself. Sorry. Unless it's a picture of himself undead, which would be fine ;D.
Awwww man, so you got me coming *and* going ;)
Will try to enter anyway, space reserved for later haunting.
An undead ghost would be a living person wouldn't it?
Quote from: IndieBoy on Fri 27/02/2009 17:05:07
An undead ghost would be a living person wouldn't it?
If we're going into logic here: Wouldn't anything
Undead be living anyway?
Not exactly. Life and Death are rumoured to be opposites, but Undead and Unalive are a little more complicated.
I favour the shotgun test. If it goes down after one shot, it was undead. If it takes two shots, it was a hellspawn. Undead also never get the introductionary cut-scene. The way the body dissolves into nicely animated bones and up to three brains (depending on patch) OR into glowing red particles is also a clear sig...
Oh wait, I'm in the wrong game again, ain't I?
Oh Eggie, I had forgotten about the Three Happy Zombies.
Takes me back in time, to five years ago!
Simple and classical zombie :) nothing really serious but I kind of like how it turned out
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/zombiee.png)
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/zombiee.png)
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/zombiee.png)
Did I mention, that my next game is full of odd looking zombies ;D
(http://hotlink.myspacecdn.com/images02/34/ab31ee40f1ac450abb23a9b764e60c28/m.png)
(http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/8143/zombiel.png)
i might update this later if i get the time
I don't know whether I will have time to do an actual entry, but I'm playing around with a few ideas, and I just wanted to share the concept of one of them.
Quote from: Ben304 on Fri 27/02/2009 06:21:13However, if you have an idea that cleverly interprets the theme without being one of these specific entities, it is certainly allowed (providing you make it clear as to how it fits the theme).
I particularly found the idea of 'interpreting' the theme interesting; according to wiki
Undead is a collective name for fictional or legendary beings that are deceased yet behave as if alive. So what could be an unexpected (but fitting) twist on the theme? - Well, there's this one guy who died and came back to walk the Earth (and no, he didn't start Christianity about two-thousand years ago):
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Misj_RoboCop_small.png)
...Boddicker executed Murphy with a gunshot to the head. Murphy was transported to the hospital emergency room where he died and his remains were used by OCP in the construction of RoboCop. - wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoboCop_(character)#History). He's deceased yet behaves as if alive. And that makes RoboCop undead. ;)
I don't know if I have time to finish anything, and even if I will I don't know if it's going to be RoboCop, but I just wanted to share this and hopefully motivate people to look beyond the obvious.
Nice theme Ben :)
Well, here's a bit of fun:
(http://ssh.me.uk/img/ghost.png)
The fearsome bandit Redscarf plagued the roads for many years before he was caught. Although he was tortured to the point of having his legs chopped off, he didn't tell where his loot was hidden. Now he's dead, and although the money's no use to him, he's up to his dacoitry again, this time in his phantom form:
(http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4973/undead.gif)
(yeah, it took me 20 bored seconds to come up with that story ;D)
I carry on the zombie theme yet I seem to have copied SpacePaw's Open brain look :(
Static:
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/zommbb333333.gif)
And I had to animate an ARMY:
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/zommbb2222.gif)
didn't quite turn out as intended, but here it is anyways:
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/ghoulie02.png)
It was supposed to be a ghoulish kind of martial arts dude... thing, whatever.
Alas, it ended up looking rather camp!
I drew the ninjas for a previous Sprite Jam, and I thought I'd make some zombies for them to fight. Then I ended up making a bunch of other enemies too. :D
(http://www.harryday.com/images/ninja_enemies.png)
1,2 - Ninjas
3,4 - Punks
5 - Skeleton
6 - Zombie
7 - Crappy Frankenstein
8 - Samurai / TMNT Shredder
9 - Pirate
10 - Chainsaw Serial Killer
11 - Alien
12 - Mad Scientist
13 - Robot
14 - Super Space Robot
15 - Crocodile
16 - Manbearpig
17 - Big Daddy
18 - Gorilla / D.K.
Who said the undead couldn't be cute, cuddly and, well.....elephant-ish - in a 'oh crap! run for your life!' kind of way.
I present to you:
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Undead_Sprite_Jam2_Aljoho.png)
This typical mummy haunts visitors of the museum that miss the end of the opening hours:
(http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/4460/mumie.png) (http://img17.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mumie.png)
(http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/4460/mumie.png) (http://img17.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mumie.png) x2
I always have my sketchbook (or some other paper I can draw on) by my side, so despite my lack of time I managed to make some doodles that eventually evolved into an adequate character and concept-sheet:
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Sisyphus-Concept.png) (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Sisyphus-Concept_big.png)
-- click for larger version --
Ok, so I didn't want to go with zombies, ghosts, or chickens (the latter of whom may not be undead, but you can never be too careful). Instead I tried to come up with a more outside-of-the-box concept, and ended up with Sisyphus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus). So why do I believe that guy famous for pushing a rock against a hill fits within the undead-theme? - Well, the thing is: there are - in Greek mythology - only a few people who have managed to escape Hades after they died; according to the myth Sisyphus is one of them. Well, if you (temporarily) manage to cheat Death even after you've died, I think you fit within the undead theme.
As for the sprite:
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Misj_Sisyphus.png) (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Misj_Sisyphus_Big.png)
-- click sprite for larger version --
To make him more compatible for a low resolution (and a little easier to animate) I simplified the design a little when compared to the original concept art. I gave him a slightly feminine pose (albeit a heroic-feminine pose) to tap into that Southern-European macho attitude...I figured that a man who considered himself to be smarter than Zeus might be at least a little macho. This heroism and machismo is also reflected in a concept walk-cycle (I made to practice/learn some animation skills):
from left to right:
1. Walk-test from basic structures
2. Walk Outlines only
3. Walk Coloured
4. I wanted to show how easy it it so animate a glowing character (like Loominous's below):
5. Glow on a dark background
6. The advantage of using a palette is of course that with a minimal amount of clicks the character can be changed to a more common-zombie-like (or ghost-like) appearance.
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/sisyphus_walk_test.gif) (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Sisyphus_walk_lines.gif) (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Sisyphus_walk_final.gif) (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Sisyphus_walk_final_glow.gif) (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Sisyphus_walk_glow.gif) (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Sisyphus_walk_final_zombie.gif)
There's a small 'hold' that occurred during the conversion to .gif. The full-size animation (below) is therefore slightly smoother.
Walk Animation final size:
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Sisyphus_walk_normal.GIF)
Ps. Decided not to do RoboCop...Sisyphus was more interesting to design.
Edit: It turns out I forgot to fill up his eye, which now appears coloured rather than the intended white. Please click here (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Misj_Sisyphus.png) to open the original sized sprite in a separate browser-tab/window.
Edit2: While I'm not entirely happy with the walk, I had to try and animate him.
Edit3: Playing around with outlines...
(http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Sisyphus-Colour.png) (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Misj_Sisyphus.png) (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Sisyphus-Outlined.png) (http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/Sisyphus-Outlined2.png)
The most-right version is a little too 'stamped on' for my taste.
Pps. Yes I know, this is post is starting to become a little too elaborate. :)
(http://marcus.krupa.se/AGS/sj_090312.jpg)
Got a bit carried away with the background, the intention was simply to put them against something dark/textured to make the transparency/glow visible, but it turned into a semi finished background.
The glow thing is really easy to make and animate, and requires minimal additional effort - provided you have the proper software.
If you can make a game that looks like that then I will EAT THE UNIVERSE in appreciation.
BIG DADDY RULEZ!
Quote from: loominous on Mon 09/03/2009 18:24:56
Got a bit carried away with the background, the intention was simply to put them against something dark/textured to make the transparency/glow visible, but it turned into a semi finished background.
The glow thing is really easy to make and animate, and requires minimal additional effort - provided you have the proper software.
Stop entering sprite jams and make a game. Any game. Even a slideshow with such kind of pictures would get a 5 cup rating. That's really beatiful..
Misj, absolutly loving the design. The animation is pretty kick ass as well. One small little thing, the hands looks somewhat goofy in the unanimated side view.
Loomy, beautiful as always. Love the design, love the glow effect, and the simple high contrast shading works brilliantly.
Quote from: Layabout on Wed 11/03/2009 14:44:05Misj, absolutly loving the design. The animation is pretty kick ass as well.
Thanks :)
QuoteOne small little thing, the hands looks somewhat goofy in the unanimated side view.
Yeah, I'm used to drawing a more comic (four finger) type of hand, but decided to go take a more realistic (five finger) approach here...unfortunately adding an extra digit doesn't always work out the way it's intended. His right hand (in front of him) more or less worked out the way I wanted. But if this were a real project I would indeed have to redraw his left hand and right foot...
I know its not a valid entry but I just thought I'd share with you my recent brush with undeath...
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f289/unclemum/me.png)
Your time is up, folks!
Unfortunately, we can't all just sit down and say "Hurrah we drew pictures", I must now decide a winner. The excellent standard of entries here has made it very hard to pick one out, but I have chosen. Before I get onto that, let's look at all the entries:
SSH: Yes, yes, very clever ;). I was pleased to see you entered something more serious later down the thread with your ectoplasm and eyeballs. Thanks for entering :).
Eggie: Very nicely overstated pose and expression! I also like the eyes in particular. Nice job!
Hofmeier: You used a brave palette and an interesting idea, and I really like this sprite. The face is very reminiscent of Frankenstein's monster, which I like, and the whole concept is nice too.
SpacePaw: Very functional for a sprite and very clear as to what the creature is. The brain sticking out is a really cool touch :).
Helme: That is... a very strange zombie. But I like it. Because I like strange things! The unconventional approach to design and anatomy is very refreshing, and the character still retains a feel of unlife. Nicely drawn!
Bog: Simple, clear and well executed. I like the whole unsaturated look you have here, and it's a very functional illustration for game purposes :).
Babar: Nice use of blue gives it a very ethereal feel! I like the concept of a rowdy bandit ghost, and you managed to make his image reflect his character well. If I were scoring with points, you'd get a bonus 3 for using the word 'dacoitry' ;).
Indie: Another very clear and functional sprite (which you demonstrated well with your nice animation!). I particularly like this character's eyes, I feel they really add to the sprite and give the style a unique touch. Lovely!
Mad: I really dig this style of colouring, and the whole form of the sprite is excellent as well! Beautiful use of your palette and very nice drawn :).
Evil: A very cute design idea and it works quite well. I'd enjoy playing a game in this style I think, and the zombie and skeleton sprite work particularly well here, I feel!
Aljoho: I did not expect a zombie elephant, but it's nice to see people having fun with their entry ideas! It's an interesting idea and nicely drawn, plus I'd certainly be a bit freaked if I saw that in a game :).
Cat: I really like the anatomy of this character, the large round head and pose are drawn in a very appealing way! I also like the fact that the eyes are showing, and it would clearly work very well in a game. Nice!
Misj': Your Robocop idea and your Sisyphus ideas are both very nice interpretations of the theme, excellent! The amount of time you have spent here is quite apparent, and I'm quite sad that I'm only taking into account your static sprite (although I must comment here that your walk cycle is very nice and smooth, fantastic work!). The strong facial lines are something I am unused to, and I definitely get a very Greek Mythological feel from it. If you tweaked that right foot a bit, I'd say you have a perfect sprite!
Loominous: A very haunting and interesting idea, which instantly gets me curious about the nature of these characters. Technique is as stunning as usual, but I have to say that the contrast between these two characters is really what makes them special for me.
Uncle-Mum: Great! Even though it isn't an entry ;).
Ok folks, I can't let this continue forever, so I have to tell you who now gets to host the next jam. As I indicated earlier, this was a very hard decision to make, and there were a number of different sprites that were vying for my attention here. However, I declare the host of the next jam to be Loominous, and thank you all for entering and making this such a magnificent activity to host. I hope you all had fun!
QuoteI declare the host of the next jam to be Loominous, and thank you all for entering and making this such a magnificent activity to host.
Congrats Loominous...a nice win!
Thanks for the kind comments!
I'll get a new one up asap.