Frustrated with project...

[Hollister Man]

I hope this gets a few reads.  I am a little ticked.  At myself and my project, for the most part.  I loved the Sierra adventures.  I have been wanting and trying to start a good AGS game for several years now, since before Chris would even consider porting to windows.  

I have a good amount of talent, I can sketch a good scene, write, script, and animate fairly well.  My grammar is usually excellent. ( Heck, I even punctuate my posts here. )I have placed my offer in the official "Help me" list, both to assist and to get assistance.  My main falling point is that I am a prefectionist.  I see others work (like Amberfish) and say *wow,* but I see my own, even the stuff some people think is good, and just can't accept it.  I liked Pleurghburg, despite the graphics, but I can't accept that from myself.  I have played with backgrounds for months on end, and finally left them abandoned, named something like "Untitled142.psp," sitting in the back of my hard drive.

This is my desperate offer.  I would love to help anyone who would take me.  Sierra is my style, although I can cartoon and Anime fairly well.  I can script, or dig up a way to make a script work.  I can write a good story.  I can craft a good puzzle, and I=if I feel obligated to a project I won't let you down.  I am a graphics artist by trade, so I can even make you a slick logo, or produce your cover art if you go commercial.  

This is my plea.  I have started a project in the Sierra style, but am having trouble making the backgrounds "good enough."  I can't really start the scripting and such until I have the backgrounds, beyond the basics.  I also have a (IMO) beautiful storyline for a sequel, but need to finish the first.  Unless I have some support, I have a tendency to wax and wane in my enthusiasm.  I would be happy to toss you the skeleton of a game I have if you'd like to see it.  

If any of you take pity on me, please feel free to reply, or send an e-mail to Allanmenef@juno.com or allmen@rocketmail.com

[tamper]

It's interesting that you're a graphic artist by trade, yet it's the backgrounds you're having most trouble with.

Out of interest, what do you consider 'good enough'? Comparable to commercial releases perhaps, or maybe comparable to the better AGS game graphics (e.g. Apprentice, KQVGA)?

t

[Kweepa]

Here's my recommendation.
Forget about polishing the graphics for now.
Use temporary graphics for a game.
When you have a game strung together and nearly complete, that will give you the incentive to polish the graphics.
And if you're having trouble, post some backdrops to Critics' Lounge.
There are a bunch of people there who can give you suggestions.

Don't give up!
Sounds like you really want to produce a masterpiece, and I'd sure like to play that!

Steve

[Nacho]

I had the same problem, I never know when to finish a background... Where is enough of shadows, brights, details...?

My advise... use time limits, One background per week is ok  

[juncmodule]

Okay, I'll make a game with you!!!

You do the graphics, write the script, draw the animations, and program!

I'll take care of the rest.

Email me when you're done.








...seriously though, just say screw it and make a 10 or 20 room crap game. What have you already made? Anything? If not then you REALLY have to break through that barrier.

I made about a 30 room game, I drew decent backgrounds, animations (traced them all really...), and I scripted a bunch and it was lots of fun. In the end I learned that I can't write good puzzles to save my life.  

Basically, the point is, I made a game that really sucked. But it felt really good and this community is so damn supportive. They lie and tell you it's a good game and stuff. So don't worry about perfection. You've been around long enough to know that nobody cares about perfection here.

later,
-junc

[remixor]

Okay, I'll make a game with you!!!

You do the graphics, write the script, draw the animations, and program!

I'll take care of the rest.

Email me when you're done.

Don't forget to credit me as "project manager."

[Hollister Man]

Tamper:  That's the problem.  I can never see to get them to the "good enough" point.  I think King's Quest 6 or Tierra's remakes might be a kind of goal in terms of detail, but even then, I think I'd just keep at it.

I have posted things to the CL before.  It does help some, but I usually got "That one is great," over and over.  That is cool that it is "good enough" for you guys, but the problem is I want advice on how to improve it.  NOTE: This is not ALWAYS the case, just sometimes.

I tried making a cheep crap game, but I got too "into" it and it ended up orphaned somewhere on an old computer.  I guess I just want too much from myself.

I'm not really feeling so bad about it right now.  I was thinking of doing my background sketches for the scenes, scanning them, and using them without touchup.  That and maybe just jusing a single frame for the character, since that is one of my annoyances too.  I can't decide how tall I want the SOB to be!  

I think that is the best plan (thanks SteveMcCrea) I will TRY to just do the main plot and script simply, then when I have a playable but ugly demo, I can see what everyone thinks.  I was reading from one of the guys who made the last Monkey Island, and he said the animators were CONSTANTLY waiting for him to finish the backgrounds.  I've seen when they animate before they get the backgrounds finished, and it really does look bad.  Have you ever seen a cartoon where they have a hall full of lockers and the ONE that is animated opens on the wrong side?  I think it is kinda funny.  

Maybe I'll get back into this soon.  I had a playable demo once, but I backtracked.

[Haddas]

I think you need a boss to yell at you, complaining how everything you do sucks and then tells you exactly how to do things.

[Gemmalah]

when I get stuck with backgrounds I get someone else to draw an outline on paper then i scan it in and edit.

The scanned image usually looks so rubbish that anything I make looks a little good even if it doesn't have any resembleance to the original.

but don't be so hard on yourself, I always expect more from myself, but i know when to down tools (mouse in this case) and say I have done enough.

Either that or get a friend to have a look, if they say wow when you open it you may have a winner!

[Raven_Gray]

     I have the same problem. I am a novice programmer, but expert gamer and I loose patience and my attention span with the game i am currently working on very quickly. Its mostly because I realize how much I don't know and how huge my task is, ergo =  I get overwhelmed. I keep thinking that if only I was working with one or two other people, I could keep on task and the possibility of making a better game becomes more realistic and less of a fantasy. Sadly, I have not be able to find anyone willing to work on such a project (maybe I'm looking in the wrong places?) with a person who isn't a AGS expert yet. (a.k.a. "me").

    My suggestion is that you think of your project like a sketch of a person. First you must define the form and basic structure with lines. It won't be perfect, but it doesn't have to be. Then, start to flesh out the stick figure in pencil. You do not need to put everything down exactly where you want it to end up. Then, you paint and add color, filling in all the final little details. Is it such an inconceivable idea that you could start putting everything together right now and then maybe fix something with  a background a little later on?  Because, like it or not, if you add all the perfect details in now, you'll end up painting them over later.

    Good luck to you, I hope you keep with it.