Background Blitz - A Sorcerer's Dwelling - Ended

Started by Kastchey, Tue 21/04/2009 21:09:39

Previous topic - Next topic

Kastchey

Create a picture of a place where a sorcerer (or a sorceress) lives, studies magick, creates golems, plots to destroy the world or capture a member of the royal family, performs tricks, raises zombies, patronizes the villagers living nearby, does voodoo, casts charms and curses, opens portals to another dimension.. anything you like.

It can be a solitary place or a house in the middle of an habitated settlement, can be merry or dreary, tiny or huge, fantasy, historical or even high-tech sort of place - it's up to you. Just make it obvious (or semi-obvious) that a magic user dwells there.

The magician is not required in the picture, but feel welcome to add them if you like.

Colors&resolution restrictions: I'm gonna quote loominous - resolution and colors should work with AGS.

Good luck and have fun!

Edit: Trophies added.



Kastchey

Buckethead, wow. That's really beautiful. And hofmeier, you know, not matter which entry wins the competition, you do deserve a special prize. You nearly made me fall off my chair laughing with that one.

poc301

Buckethead's pic reminds me of Return to Zork.

Example:


VERY nicely done image.

-Bill

Kastchey

I added trophies to the first post, and I hope there will be at least one more entry so that all the trophies can be claimed :)

neon

Why sending cameras into hell, when all you need is a technomage, a supercomputer and a crystal ball?

Welcome to Woogle Hell, first internet service beyond reality:



Don't judge me too hard, it's my first background at all.

Hudders

Didn't really come out like I wanted but I figured I'd post it anyway. Bored of it now. lol.


Buckethead

yay more entries!  ;D Neon you should not save your images as jpg. Apart from that it's not too bad. Reminds me of Sammy's quest.

btw, I'm not sure if it's a compliment that be compared to Return to zork. It's such an evil game, it's just funny.


loominous

Not as refined as I would've liked, but I ran out of time:



Those things on the right are supposed to be warriors turned into stone.
Looking for a writer

IndieBoy


Well not completely finished, but I'm pretty happy with it. My main goal was to have an entry, since my backgrounds are my weakest point, and I have. So I'm happy ;D.

It's not very magical in the normal sense. Just what makes me think of magic is the impossible, and the wonderful. And I've always seen the wizard as an outsider, yet an obsever and protector of a community. Hence the leaning tower of pisa and the composion of my background.


I hope I'm not too late to enter.
Quote from: Calin Elephantsittingonface on Tue 08/02/2011 09:00:55
The only person in favour of the mobs seems to be IndieBoy.. but he's scottish so we dont listen to him anyway.

Kastchey

IndieBoy, you were not late, I decided to wait until it's past 30th in all places in the world before I announce that the voting has started, which I do now.

Voting categories, I borrowed them from the previous competitions:

Idea - The underlying idea to the background. Doesn't necessarily have to coincide perfectly with the theme of the week, just strike you as interesting/amusing/inspiring; a place you'd really enjoy visiting within a game.

Atmosphere - How well the image manages to evoke a certain feeling or mood.

Design - How well the elements in the image are designed, such as landscapes, buildings, decorations, clouds, doorknobs, etc.

Composition - How well the elements in the image work together/are positioned in relation to each other.

Functionality - How well it would work when adding sprites, including appropriate walking distances, a good angle for character sprites, clever walkway solutions, easily understood exits, etc.

Technique - How well the ideas are executed in form of rendering.

Voting will end around 3rd April.

Aljoho

Idea hofmeier

Atmosphere Loominous

Design Loominous

Composition Loominous

Functionality Hudders

Technique Unsurprisingy, Loominous

And wow loominous - that light and those statues - thats one eerie atmostphere. its probably my favourite piece i've seen of yours. to quote dualnames -
Quote from: DualnamesStop entering sprite jams(or bg blitzes) and make a game. Any game. Even a slideshow with such kind of pictures would get a 5 cup rating. That's really beatiful..
A Tribute to my success -  A wonky ASCII Trophy
                              .__.
                              (|  |)
                               (  )
                              _)(_

Kastchey

One more thing: the most important categories for this competition are Idea and Technique, so votes in these two will count. Votes in other categories and are encouraged, but not necessary.

Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens

Votes in all categories count because that's the way the background blitz is handled :).


Idea - Loominous.  Certainly the most creatively imagined background of the lot, with lots of strange (though muddy) items to look at.  A close second would be Hudders' background, which has a nice view of a library and various other things one might associate with a sorcerer.  The simplicity of Buckethead's and Neon's backgrounds work against themselves here, and while Indieboy's background is colorful and creative it isn't anything that hasn't been seen before (house on a cliff).

Atmosphere - Buckethead.  His background definitely gives a clear sense of being in the presence of something mystical, while Loominous' design is just too muddy/foggy to really derive any sense of foreboding or wonder from.  Likewise, Neon's background doesn't really evoke any kind of specific feeling when I look at it, and Hudders background, while nicely put together, just isn't as visually interesting to me as Buckethead's.  Indieboy's looks like a Smurf's house on a cliff, and there just isn't enough going on to give me a specific feeling about it (playfulness, foreboding,etc).

Design - Buckethead.  The layout of the room lets you know exactly where the entrance is as well as the focal point of the room (the crystal ball).  The grainy look also works in favor of the background, I think, lending it a mid-90's look.  Indieboy's background has a good focus (the tower) but lacks some of the lighting and touches of the former.  Neon's and Hudders' backgrounds suffer the same shortcomings to different degrees, and Loominous' background just seems too poorly-defined and foggy to work as a finished design.

Composition - Indieboy's clean style works to his advantage here, creating a good sense of depth and establishing entrances and exits without obscuring the important parts of the image.  Hudders' background does a good job as well, though the overly-large door obstructs more of the room than necessary and could be turned outward instead.  There just isn't enough going on in Neon's background, and with Buckethead's the crystal ball obscuring the doors works against the overall presentation somewhat.  I found it difficult focusing on anything in Loominous' background due to the blurry/foggy nature of it.

Functionality - I think that the most functional background of the lot belongs to Hudders, with a clear entrance/exit and walkable areas relatively unobstructed from view.  Indieboy's also has a clear sense of where you can go in the image but could only be used for simple things like an introduction or cutscene due to the limited scope.  Neon's has a clear walkable area, though no exits are marked, and Buckethead's seems to have a very small area in which the character could move, particularly with the chairs in the way and the relatively small room size.  Finally, Loominous' design looks more suited as a title screen or a menu screen than an actual, playable background due to all the fogging, blurring, and perspective.

Technique - I was tempted to vote for Loominous in this category, but I've seen him do much better and the overall blurriness and lack of definition really work against the background.  I think that Buckethead is the clear winner because of his attention to detail and clearly defined imagery.  Indieboy and Hudders both show promise in this area, though Neon could stand to be more creative with his design.

Kastchey

QuoteVotes in all categories count because that's the way the background blitz is handled  :)
Okay then, so I'm taking back my previous post - no main categories.

Dualnames

Idea hofmeier

Atmosphere Indieboy

Design Indieboy

Composition Hudder

Functionality Buckethead/Hudder

Technique Hofmeir (apparently not the best but i like it)
Worked on Strangeland, Primordia, Hob's Barrow, The Cat Lady, Mage's Initiation, Until I Have You, Downfall, Hunie Pop, and every game in the Wadjet Eye Games catalogue (porting)

Misj'

Idea: Loominous - Though I think Hofmeier's interpretation of the theme was the most original and unexpected (although not really a background), Loominous created an interesting world that exceeded beyong the borders of this single image. More than the other pieces it feels like it is part of a story. I should add though, that while the world he created is immersive (is that a way one is allowed to use that word?), there is nothing truly original about this dwelling that gives me an indication why this sorcerer is different from all the other sorcerers we've met (apart from the fact that he has the skill to turn people into stone, but don't they all?). So while I feel the piece has a lot of character itself, it doesn't really present the character of the subject of interest: the person living in the house. But then again...maybe the house was decorated by some TV show rather than himself, and they removed all his personal items.

Atmosphere: Loominous - This was a though one and I thought about skipping it, because I felt non of the pieces really outshines any of the other in this category. What I expect for a sorcerers dwelling is something mystical, something clandestine, hidden, secret (in Latin: 'occultus')...there has to be some sort of mystery to it. I don't really care about the place being occult (which is derived from that Latin word as you may have guessed, but is something completely different in modern use), or filled with magical items; the atmosphere itself should 'call out' that it is a magical place, even if none of these props would be present. And to be honest non of the backgrounds give me this atmosphere. So why choose Loominous? - Because it came closest...the atmosphere in the other backgrounds is a bit (too) sterile, while this one give me the feeling that something more might be going on. But Loominous, I expect more from you...particularly on this department.

Design: Buckethead - It's really not my style. I feel it's just too clean and sterile (except for the spider's web). But I will also admit within that style it really does work. There is enough in the background to make it stand out, and not too much as to give a cluttered feel to it. The only things that I would have liked added to the image is either a windows or - and I think that would enhance the image even more - a magical orb that spreads light (and a more interesting shadow) in the room...combine with some dust to allow us to see the light beams, and I think the background would be excel. This might also make it a little less sterile.

Composition: Loominous - Of all the backgrounds, Loominous has the most interesting use of layers, shapes, etc. The trees - and more obvious the mushroom - function as arrows directing towards the house ( though oddly enough the tree above the house rather than the house-area itself...is is the streak of light on the top; so I would expect the sorcerer to (eventually) stand there defending himself). There's clear depth and direction within this 'story'. I do have some comments though: I think the house itself is a little too close to the centre of the image, and should be shifted a little more towards the left. In their current iteration, the stone warrior with the rock and the mushroom take the attention away from the main scene rather than direct it. Despite these flaws, I think it's the one that works best composition-wise. Also...it's an environment rather than a background...which I prefer in a game.

Functionality: Loominous - I see no reason why it wouldn't work with characters (particularly after some refinement). There's a clear path, the walking areas make sense and perspective and layer-wise it should work (if you think in layers, rather than walk-behind-areas). Hudders' background is of course a very Sierra-early-days background (with some variations) and it is obvious (and proven) that it will mix well with characters of the same era...nevertheless, the reason why I did not choose him is exactly that: it's an (over)used style that has to it's advantage that it is proven and doesn't provide the challenges of Loominous' background...but wouldn't provide as much excitement either.

Technique: Hudders - Ok, this might have come to a surprise to everyone, so let's elaborate...I like Loominous' style and technique, but within his style and within his technique it's not even close to the best picture I've seen (from him). I think he tells the story well, but overall the piece (and the incorporation of some of the ideas) is unfinished. I think Buckethead's background shows promise as well, but I feel his technique just hasn't matured enough...without going over the top I would like to see it to be a bit more alive. It currently feels a bit like a stage rather than an actual world. As for Hudders...while it's a style that I'm personally not partial for, I think he managed to incorporate his ideas well within this style. There are two aspects that bother me a bit: the door doesn't seem right, and the black front-layer doesn't really fit the rest of the style...but overall - within the chosen style - it works.

Misj'

Ps. my appologies for the length of this post...as always ;)

stajp

Idea hofmeier  (if the sorcerer is a Matrix program, it probably looks something like that :)

Atmosphere loominous (although it's foggy as ProgZmax said, stone people just creep me out)

Design Hudders (it has everything what's expected in a sorcerer's home, done in a neat and tidy way :)

Composition Hudder (same as Design)

Functionality Hudder (clear exit, nice walkable area, has place for objects (or they already drawn :))

Technique Buckethead (it's just a very nice picture. Normally I would choose loominuos, but quality of this BG is just below his usually work :( - too much fog  )

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk