Adventure Game Studio

Creative Production => Critics' Lounge => Topic started by: JLM on Mon 13/09/2004 15:00:42

Title: New backgrounds
Post by: JLM on Mon 13/09/2004 15:00:42
Here are some pictures to my upcoming game. It maybe I have sometimes far ago posted some of them here, but never mind.

Ps. The GUI in the third picture is not yet completed. The "Inventory" and "Talk" -icons will probably be replaced with better icons in final game.

(http://koti.mbnet.fi/~jlm/risteys-uusi2.jpg)

(http://koti.mbnet.fi/~jlm/tie1-ukko.jpg)

(http://koti.mbnet.fi/~jlm/kayttiskuva3.jpg)

(http://koti.mbnet.fi/~jlm/risteys2.jpg)
Title: Re: New backgrounds
Post by: Albert Cuandero on Mon 13/09/2004 20:10:45
This looks really great! (but I suppose you know that already...)
Title: Re: New backgrounds
Post by: 12431 on Mon 13/09/2004 21:15:36
the backgrounds look okay, but something very wrong with the character's legs
Title: Re: New backgrounds
Post by: Proskrito on Mon 13/09/2004 22:56:44
yeh, very nice backgrounds.
the only thing i'd try is to lower the contrast a bit.
Title: Re: New backgrounds
Post by: Oz on Mon 13/09/2004 23:11:24
The character's legs are way too short put in relation to the rest of the body.
Title: Re: New backgrounds
Post by: Blackthorne on Mon 13/09/2004 23:54:25
Quote from: Oz on Mon 13/09/2004 23:11:24
The character's legs are way too short put in relation to the rest of the body.

Look where his belt is.  They're fine.  He just has a long tunic.  Heh.  This has been said before about JLM's work.

Bt
Title: Re: New backgrounds
Post by: Nhazgul on Tue 14/09/2004 11:24:21
Good work!
I would lower the saturation, the colours are too strong. Also it seem a bit boring wandering around in a regular forest, maybe add some small animals/gnomes/goblins/brownies or some traces of them or their little homes.
Well that's just my fantasy of a forest :)
Title: Re: New backgrounds
Post by: Andail on Tue 14/09/2004 18:02:00
I agree with Nhaz, the backgrounds are simply a bit boring.
I suppose they're pretty influenced by Kings Quest graphics, which, sadly, I also find pretty boring most of the time.

Try varying the viewpoint, or adding interesting details, landmarks and just a-little-of-everything-you-know
Title: Re: New backgrounds
Post by: Sam. on Tue 14/09/2004 18:57:33
first thing i thought when i saw this? " hey lloks some trees and rocks, hey, over there, more trees and rocks!" all of the pictures look the same. no uniqueness. nothing special. also your quy looks like hes had his legs chopped into bits and then only some of the sewn back on. hes stunted.
Title: Re: New backgrounds
Post by: InCreator on Tue 14/09/2004 19:10:53
Yeah, about these backgrounds...
On the weak side, they're simply:

a) boring, as Andail said
and
b) Too colorful.

No, you don't have to dump them.
No, you don't have to redraw them.
They're far too nicely and artistically drawn for that.
I see lots of effort put into them. That's great!

But I'd suggest to overlook your palette use:

* If the game will be about mystery, force everything closer to one tone, like make everything more blue or green

* If the game will be "King's Questy nonsense adventure"-type of game, Maybe decrease contrast(er.. saturation) on most elements of the background.
Something like in later Sierra (and some other publisher's) games where they used actual scanned paintings, which gave this weird-but-nice smooth contrast, good examples are also games "Innocent until caught" and "Igor: Objective Uikokahonia", etc.

I posted an example here: Numbers show how much saturation was decreased on particular part of background:

(http://www.terran-x.com/increator/ymbertehtud.jpg)

...nothing but just a really quick edit... but doesn't hurt eyes so much.
Title: Re: New backgrounds
Post by: JLM on Tue 14/09/2004 23:02:46
Quote from: Andail on Tue 14/09/2004 18:02:00
I agree with Nhaz, the backgrounds are simply a bit boring.
I suppose they're pretty influenced by Kings Quest graphics, which, sadly, I also find pretty boring most of the time.

Try varying the viewpoint, or adding interesting details, landmarks and just a-little-of-everything-you-know

Well, in Quest for Glory games there is always a world that includes a few "special" locations and lot of "filler" screens (especially the desert of QFG2). Actually the world of my game will resemble a little the worlds of QFG-series, even though my game will be pure adventure, not RPG.

None of the backgrounds I have shown here are "special" locations.