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[WackyWildCard]

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[ManicMatt]

I shall presume you put this in the CRITIC'S LOUNGE as you want some criticsm.

Look at Guybrush. He can't be standing upright on a path at that angle.

[WackyWildCard]

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[InCreator]

* On your handdrawn (atleast I presume so) bg's, there's WAY too much white color. Usually, only white you can see in an adventure game background - is either clouds, signs or some white castle or something.
It's quite odd and surprising to see so much white on your bg's. Anyway, lose it. It tires eyes and ruins atmosphere.

* If you're using photos, try to keep them at same quality level. Superblurred (32x32?) image scaled to 320x240 is absolutely awful. Either nice photos or draw something yourself. After all, googleing deeper can't be that hard.

* Try to learn your graphics program (which is not MSPaint I hope) enough to adjust contrast, brightness and saturation on images. Then, go through all your photos at make them match. Little photoparts too, for instance, the contrasty, dark fireplace sticks awfully out from blurry, bland, bright kitchen background. But if you played with contrast and brightness a bit, no-one could even tell that they're separate images.

* Ripping images isn't that bad. But ripping well-known characters from other adventure games is worse than using AGS-default-Roger as player character.

* All this black pixel crap around characters and objects has to go.

* If I'd were you, I'd skip all this graphics-combining waste of time, took a digital camera and a tour to some castle ruins or random European capital. And then photograph some real castles for my game, just how I needed the pictures. The quality remains then same and you have lots of material to choose from.
But I'm afraid there's no castles in Canada

I guess I'm lucky then with my hometown...

P.S. Then again, it just gave me an idea. Why don't you google for pictures of European capitals? Most of them have gorgeous "old town". I'd try Munich, Prague, Warsaw...
Lot's of nice architecture and castles, just as your type of game needs. A bit of photoshop and you can remove Japanese tourists from your castle too

[Ali]

I'm no skilled fantasy artist, but I think I might be able to make a few useful suggestionsthat would help you achieve a consistent and effective style.

Draw all your own backdrops and characters. Try to develop a style that creates the right atmosphere and that you can maintain from bg to bg. Look at Pleurgburg and Duty and Beyond for examples of simple and effective graphics.

Create a template for yourself, so that the bgs have a consistent viewpoint (and characters won't lean back like Guybrush does). Use techniques like one point pespective to make your life easier.

If you don't feel you can create the right atmosphere through your artwork, build it up through music, writing and puzzles. Adventure gamers are good at suspending disbelief.

Use a limited pallete (not necessarily 256). Make a choice about what colours suit your game, or suit particular areas of your game. If you pick a handful of colours that work well together it will mean you can work more quickly and that your bgs will be more consistent.

Use 320 x 200. It would be easier for you to develop a style you can maintain with fewer pixels flying around.

[WackyWildCard]

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[WackyWildCard]

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[nihilyst]

It's just I'm doing so much at the same time: Graphics, Sound, Speech, Music, Characters, Scripting - it's challanging to stretch out in all directions.

It is, and I assume it would be -- in the beginning -- better to do less. You could e.g. forget about speech, take some freeware music and only few sound effects. Then make backgrounds. Draw them. They first ones might be shit, but you'll improve, like we all do, when we are trying and don't stop making bgs, posting them here, asking for advice and use it. Character art and animation is also important, but there are some really good templates that can get you started.

What's also good: Browse the C&C section. Sometimes even older threads are still complete and can give you more ideas on how to backgrounds or character art.

cheers
nihilyst

[WackyWildCard]

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[ManicMatt]

I think you should just ditch the photographs all together. To go from one hand drawn location to a photo breaks the feeling of being in the world and reinforces the idea you are playing a computer game. It's not consistent, and they don't look like they belong together.

Hell yes, remove the guybrush sprite and have a character that is consistent with the
other characters. Unless this is a comedy game, but I don't think it is. Everyone will see Guybrush and think "It's Guybrush!" They will never ever conclude it's someone else.

As for the black pixels, I believe they mean like the outlines of my characters in my signature. If you make them a darker colour of what's inside (Look at most sprites in AGS to see what I mean) it has a more eye-pleasing effect. I know I did it, but I was too far into the game to change it. Next time.

[OuchMyTentacle79]

Here's just an idea,if you're gonna use Digital Photos for backgrounds,why not just take a digital photo of yourself(or friend)up against a white wall.go into PS and magic wand yourself out of the photo.If you do it this way"TAKE ALL PHOTOS OF ANIMATION FROM SAME PERSPECTIVE"(in other words,don't move the camera and stay in the same spot,do all the movements walking,talking,pooping,picking up items,whatevea,you have to remember how animation is,"Slight movements that add up to the overall animations of your character,experiment with this.)then you could resize them all to fit in the game.I have to agree with Maniac Matt(graphics like that on a digital photo is just sour to the eyeballs.ditch the guybrush,it's guybrush,remember,try to be original,you'll feel better about your creativity and just being original,everyone else who will play your game will appreciate it and be more intrested too,(well IMO).heck,you could even use friends,mom,dad,brother,sister for other characters. I myself,prefer handrawn(Cartoonish stuff) backgrounds(take a look at some of the other threads..people's doing some AMAZING stuff with Wacom Tablets).but that's just me,everyone has different opinions.Hope this helps in some way.

[WackyWildCard]

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[WackyWildCard]

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[Ali]

I'm delighted to see that you've chosen to work on your skills rather than look for others to work for you.

My suggestion would be that you conciously limit yourself in the production of these images: Choose a limited palette of colours that you feel suit the world and stick to it. Limit yourself to either photo-montage or pixel work. Try using the Camelot image for reference without necessarily incorporating it into your work.

Don't feel that your images have to be realistic or terribly detailed to be effective or aesthetically pleasing. Backgrounds that use simplistic or representative elements worked well in Duty And Beyond and Super Jazz Man.

I also think 'Shield Search' lacks a ring to it. Try the 'Shield of X' or the 'X Shield'. The formula has been overused, but it is a good formula.

Finally, I would supplant a 'C' for the castle's K and a 't' for its 'rag'. But maybe that's just my taste...

[WackyWildCard]

Thanks for your moral support!

I will seriously consider your suggestions and consult with my game design partners regarding them.

In the mean time, I'm focusing more attention and effeort to the story and character development, however, I'm relying on more of MY creativity on illustrations, backgrounds and character designs.

I'm hoping that things will fall in place like a Jig Saw Puzzle once I get the story completed in detail.

Please make sure to check the PDF Story ebook that I update regularly.

You can download it on my blog or on my game in production release thread.

[Khris]

I'm surprised that in the second picture the pixels don't clash heavily with the photo background, although I wouldn't use that technique myself.

However, the horizon is a good deal below the castle, while the castle is drawn as if looked at from above.
Plus it's way too big in relation to the mountains.

In a photo like the one you've used, the castle wouldn't be bigger than ~ 1 inch at most.

My advice: search for a photo of a castle on a mountainside, zoom/crop until the picture is 320x200 and the castle as big as the one you've drawn. Then put it behind your pixelled castle and paint over it.
Like this:


Original pic: http://www.whoosh.org/issue98/graphics/castle.jpg

[WackyWildCard]

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[Ghost]

Let me add that your characters look very well. I like the female sorceress-type best, but they all look really good. Is that concept art that'll be simplified, or are you going to use these actual sprites? (Speech portraits, maybe?)

[WackyWildCard]

 

I'm so glad you asked!

The female sorceress-like character, is the wise and couragous Queen Llixy. She became sole ruler of a larger portion of The Divided Land, after her treacherous son, Prince Charles I (the warrior prince with the blonde hair and goute and purple cape) assasinated her warrior-king husband, King Malcum after a victorious battle with the barbarians of Morgal. (Prince Charles I and his mutinous knights made it look like his father died in battle)

The Black cloaked, gold-helmeted character, is the sinister, deformed tyrant, Lord Draklor. Formerly a respected Lord and member of Queen Llixy's Court, he scarred himself horribly both mentally and physically in a Alchemy experiment. He wears a mask to cover his horrible face. He rules in Morgal over legions of Barbarians. He plans to invade the rest of Ameropesia in the future, and take the Queen as his bride.

More info on these characters and much more can be found in my blog and free PDF Story ebook download that is updated regularly. Check the Blog on my link below.


And yes, these character designs will be used as character animations, as soon as I get better with Script Designing.

Thanks for your kind words.

[Dualnames]

Ok.
For the rest that know when they hear about a good game..
I'm playing this WackyWildCard this. Even if your characters don't look that good(By the way the bad guy in his throne looks way cool).I hope the story is good. And from what I've read this game could really take down Tale of Two Kingdoms if the sprite artists were better. You've put a lot of effort this and I'm not the typical guy who'll say oh the game looks awful...and such.
your game looks 5/10
I've played Maniac Mansion 3 months ago. And it was one of the best gaming experiences I had. The graphics were and still are awful. But all these B-movie in game jokes and the very nice puzzles made me say it's worth a look.