Background Blitz - "Ancient Games" - Ends August 5th

[cuestaluis]

Ancient Games

Ags Compatible

Have Fun

*The Ancient part can also be the actual time period seen 2000 years in the future, or something, no creative limits there!

[Misj']

In ancient times the land was ruled by the evil (yet surprisingly good looking) sorceress: Queen Shalwae. The young hero Gerwin sets out to free the people from her evil clutches but when he tries to sneak into her castle he is quickly captured and thrown in the dungeon (apparently he's not that good at the whole sneaking thing). The queen then forces him to partake in the Gladiator games in her throne room (he's the one laying on the floor next to the magical sword; with his head being chopped of any second now)...however, to make a long story short: he and the queen fall in love, merry, and rule the land together from that moment on.

The Throne-Room:

(and the location of the gladiator games)

For those interested to see the flats:


An in-game mockup (includes sprites)


And because nowadays everything has to be in 3D...
for the really cool people among us who are in the possession of blue-red-3D-glasses


Progress-sequence



As you can seen I'm still experimenting a bit with style (and particularly with the rendering of the image). Because of the setting I wanted to add large black areas (remember Conan?) while at the same time reducing the strength of the line-art. At the same time I wanted to keep it upbeat and not too dreamy or painterly. This is what I ended up with. I could have added some additional objects in the back, but I didn't see how it would add to the scenery.

[Ghost]

Somewhere in the primordial soup, many years BC.
There already was a GAME going on- Namco just added a score counter.

[Takyon]

Joey Racoon plays hide and seek in old Arizona desert

[cosmicr]

Sunrise at the first olympic games
(lame, I know)

[nihilyst]

Aeons ago, there only was one way to prove your strength and courage: to master the journey to the top of Crwth Mountain.

2x

[Ryan Timothy B]

Nice entry, nihilyst.  I like the fog look.  Although from the brush strokes, I'd say you're right handed.

[cuestaluis]

Great job everyone!
I'm loving all entries so far, keep 'em coming!!

[Geratuza]

Legend says that there is a magic place, where a dying mammoth goes to to unite with its ancestors. But, if a real warrior is at its side in its moment of death, its spirit will unite with him and give him all his strength.
Of course, you - as a young tribesman - want to be the one who gains those powers as the first living person. But it's a long journey where you encounter many dangers like sawtooth-tigers, cannibal-tribes and snow-storms in the mountains.
While in the beginning it's all a selfish thing, the young man understands the mammoth more and more. In its last minutes on earth, they stay silently together in an uneven friendship. blabla (i've recently seen 10.000 bc )

[Matti]

(i've recently seen 10.000 bc )

Such a crappy movie, but I really like your BG. Well done.

The longer I look at it, the more I want to see a game in that style and with the exact background + sprite you posted..

[cuestaluis]

Well, it's wednesday already.
Let the voting begin!

I'll hace to vote later due to internet issues (can't see the pics)

[Peder 🚀]

And because nowadays everything has to be in 3D...
for the really cool people among us who are in the possession of blue-red-3D-glasses

I've just bought a pack of 3D glasses from USA just so I can watch your awesome background in 3D!

How do you do this anyway?? I have been very interested in trying to make a 3D website just for the fun of it!

[Misj']

Let the voting begin!

(using the standard categories)

Idea: Ghost - Both ancient and games are implemented in an original way...and while the background without the sprites is a bit unclear and boring, it does fit within the chosen setting of the primordial soup
Atmosphere: Geratuza - It was a difficult choice between Nihilist and Geratuza...but decided for the monotonous atmosphere of the ice-age. The monotonous blue adds nicely both to the setting (snow/ice) as well as the vastness of the world.
Design: Nihilist - The rocks, the clouds, the grass...there are a lot of nice details in there (although I do miss some rocks and stuff on the foreground layer).
Composition: Nihilist - It just works.
Functionality: Cosmicr - There's a nice 'contained' area with a good amount of walkable area. Nihilist and Geratuza sacrificed functionality for composition (and good compositions at that). Nihilist's background has only a small walkable area, and Geratuza's background might require a lot of scaling (or has an equally small area to walk). It could work very well in a game, but I preferred Cosmicr's for this category.
Technique: Nihilyst - It's the clouds that made my decision for me.

Peder, I used method outlined in this PDF. But a search of things like anaglyph, displacement map, photoshop will give you a number of different sites. You might also want to include terms like 'layer' although my example didn't use it...it might be better though (I don't know...don't have any experience with it; just wanted to create a 3D image for fun )

[Ghost]

Idea - nihilyst
This was a close one between Geratuza and nihilyst, but I like the overall generic idea of just offering... a journey and let the image do the talking.

Atmosphere - Geratuza
Shit, yeah. I just love the colours, they create a really great mood.

Design - Misj
It really is the most "standard" game background, indoor location and all, and it's very nicely set up. I like the small tilt of the room that emphasized the throne.

Composition - nihilyst
Sweeping, dramatic strokes. Yes, I think even the most content man would happily allow these waves to swallow his soul.

Functionality - Misj
Clear walkable areas, even lighting would be easy to do.

Technique - Geratuza
Everything shouts retro classic adventure here, and I like that. Close shave though with nihilyst's entry.

[Geratuza]

Idea: Ghost
I had to lol several times for that idea. Also, the sea itself as the cradle of life is a very ancient topic

Atmosphere: nihilyst
Interesting choice of colours that gives the scene a unique mood.

Technique: nihilyst
The right part of the screen looks awesome, although two techniques have been used (few colors and sharply distinguished areas for the clouds, many scattered colors for the gras). Also, the mountains in the back could need some AA. However, it's good, sharp pixelart.

Design: nihilyst, because of the weird mountains.

Composition: Misj'
Good overview of everything, the eye is lead to the important scene. nihilyst's entry is not bad as well, but there's those four quarters/squares (mountains, clouds, wind, platform) that seem to symmetrical, even if they meed somewhere around the golden ratio.

Functionality: Misj'
Enough exits and space for objects and characters.

[Matti]

Idea: Ghost

I had to lol several times for that idea.

Atmosphere: Geratuza
The blue- and greyish palette, the sunset, the lighting... it's the most atmospheric BG I've seen in a while.

Technique: Geratuza
Amazing photorealism in pixelform..

Design: nihilyst
Nice mix of styles, see below..

Composition: nihilyst
The smooth wind, the cottonlike clouds, the platform and the spikey mountains create a nice ensemble.

Functionality: cosmicr
A lot of space, but a rather filled background. Could work well for diverse scenes..

[nihilyst]

IDEA: Geratuza
ATMOSPHERE: Geratuza
TECHNIQUE: Geratuza
DESIGN: Misj'
COMPOSITION: Misj'
FUNCTIONALITY: cosmicr

[rharpe]

I've just bought a pack of 3D glasses from USA just so I can watch your awesome background in 3D!

How do you do this anyway?? I have been very interested in trying to make a 3D website just for the fun of it!

Here is an image I made of myself in 3D:

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

IDEA: Ghost.  Turning micro-organisms into a game of Pac-Man is brilliant.
ATMOSPHERE: Nihilyst.  I love the way you brought in the clouds from the right and used fog along the bottom of the mountains to keep the image from feeling empty.  It also gives the mountain a very 'adventurous' feel.
TECHNIQUE: Misj.  Good line work and a colorful presentation.
DESIGN: Nihilyst.  While it wouldn't serve well as more than a cutscene (or title scene) it really sucks you in.
COMPOSITION: Geratuza.  In terms of the general layout of the mountains, the valley with the mammoth and the hero, it wouldn't be difficult at all to tell what's going on in the game.  It's also very quality work.
FUNCTIONALITY: cosmicr.  Like the others, this background is realistically the most useable as an in-game background beyond cutscenes/title screens.  There's plenty of room for characters to move around and do things, and with some added content (like actual events) it would fill up nicely.  This background would also work well as a scrolling room.


Overall there were a lot of quality entries this time around so the voting looks like it will be close.


Rharpe!  Stop looking at my text!

[Gudforby]

A quick breakdown of my votes:

Idea: Ghost
Atmosphere: Geratuza
Technique: Misj
Design: Nihilyst
Composition: Geratuza
Functionality: Misj