Adventure Game Studio

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
(https://i.imgur.com/3PT8vbg.png)

WHAM
(https://i.imgur.com/sl9W4co.png)

Alan v.Drake
(https://i.imgur.com/ZgTFWqg.png)

Kastchey
(https://i.ibb.co/b62kQLq/cloister-v3-S.png)

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

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

Blondbraid
(https://i.imgur.com/sRqZoJL.png)

Jack
(http://techtroupe.net/posted/backgroundBlitz_middleAges.jpg)

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Results

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

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! (laugh)

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.

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

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

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!

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

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.

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.

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!  :-D

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

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  ;) ).

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?

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...  ;)

My attempt at a Seussian medieval background...

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

Nice perspective Mandle. That's some hairy clouds  :-D

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

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.

(https://i.imgur.com/sl9W4co.png)

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.

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!

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

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

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

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

- Alan

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

And back with a very nice background.

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)

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

(https://i.ibb.co/b62kQLq/cloister-v3-S.png)

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.

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!

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

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

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

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"!

Here's a quick entry.  :)

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

Based in a Portuguese medieval town.  (nod)

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

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!

@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.  ;)

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

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

Spoiler

(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/97/5c/9c/975c9c937fe8ab69a6b7c4fc44a3f525.png)

(https://grancanariavirtual.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/3a78_9984.jpg)

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

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. (laugh)

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. (laugh)

That's the neighborhood of Vegueta in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria  (https://www.google.com/maps/place/Las+Palmas+de+Gran+Canaria,+Las+Palmas,+Spain/):)

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

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 ;-D

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 I‘ll find some time for making a game like, uh, „The preposterous adventures of Knighty McKnightface“ or something...

Great job WHAM! Just the right amount of detail.

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.

Finally got mine ready, I hope you like crossbeam houses!
(https://i.imgur.com/sRqZoJL.png)

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.

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.  :)

(http://techtroupe.net/posted/backgroundBlitz_middleAges.jpg)

Thanks for the extension!

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


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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 ;) )

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

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.  ;) :-D Now go and make a present for Roger! He's so sad that nobody come to his party.  :~(

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.

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.

RESULTS

(https://i.imgur.com/07M73tv.png)1st place: Alan v.Drake! You win a golden helmet!

(https://i.imgur.com/gelWVUf.png)2nd place: Flugeldufel and Kastchey! You get a silver barbute!

(https://i.imgur.com/LQWixh2.png)3rd place: Mandle and WHAM! You get a bronze great helm!

Thanks for participating, everyone!

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 :)

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.

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


- Alan

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...

Congratulations!  ;-D

Congrats, well deserved win.  (nod)

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! :-D It's a pretty background, too. Enjoy your bronze helm! ;)

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! :-D 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.