Background Blitz - A Wonder of the World - (01/01 - 16/01) WINNER ANNOUNCED

Daniel Thomas · Sat 01/01/2011 11:23:05

Topic: A wonder of the world.
Description: Create a background with/inside/on top etc of a wonder of the world. It can be a real wonder, a parody, inspired by, or your own creation.
If you create your own wonder, make a little description of it for our reading pleasure.

Techincal Restriction: AGS compatible

Voting: starts 16th of January, unless someone wants extension.

Have fun!

Mordalles · Sat 08/01/2011 20:48:21

some sort of rough attempt at some sort of hallway in some sort of mayan temple. $:-\$

Misj' · Mon 10/01/2011 23:54:48

I'm still working on it (but some real-life-thingies keep me from investing the time). Anyway, I thought I'd give you a glimpse of what I'm working on and show a bit of my work process.

Since I prefer to work from a story I wrote a little script to accompany the theme. I happen to like stories like the Thief of Baghdad, so I wanted to create something similar. In the script I had a scene where the main character (Ahmed) had to travel to the fabled city of Babylon to find the mythical tree of life since it's fruit is the only thing that can save the princess who has fallen ill due to a spell by the evil wizard (Aswat).

In this scene we'll meet the Gardener the keeper of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. There are three exists: right to a balcony overseeing the gardens, to the back to the great city, and down to the tree. To 'open the door' down one has to fiddle with a machine that controls the waterflow and the waterfalls (the water has to go the right way to be able to down).

So once I decided to go with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon I searched the internet (most of my books are still in boxes) for Babylonian architecture, and started to make some sketches and layout ideas. Click on the image below if you're interested in some of my comments and some of the sketches. A lot of the sketches will not make it into the final piece, but they help me get a grip of the world I try to depict.

-- click images to enlarge them --

EDIT: During development of an environment I try to get a good idea of the background. In this case reading up on some of the myths surrounding the gardens. So they were allegedly build by Nebuchadnezzar II to please (or show his love for) his homesick wife Amytis. In order to make her feel more at home he imported all these plants from Media - her home country - and planted them in the specially designed hanging gardens. There are of course other myths, and one may even doubt whether the gardens have actually ever existed. But the story depicted above just happens to be one of the more interesting. It also gives me the opportunity to add some contrast between the buildings (representing men, Babylon, and straight hard lines) and the plants (representing women, Media/Persia, and soft curves)

cpage · Tue 11/01/2011 06:05:32

Okay I think I need in on this one.

Sughly · Wed 12/01/2011 07:49:02

Just thought I'd pop my head in for moral support...

Mordalles - that looks awesome! Looking at it evokes fears of scaling sprites since I suck at pulling it off well, but in more capable hands it would look great.
Misj' - looking good, looking good. Hopefully we'll see something soon...ish? I'm keen to see it in its finished glory

oraxon · Thu 13/01/2011 00:57:40

Your next mission: assemble a team to infiltrate AG Studios in the Cayman Islands. It's known as the "Seventh Wonder of the Gaming World".

Enter the blast-proof vault and obtain a virus-free copy of "Save The Cow".

Daniel Thomas · Thu 13/01/2011 12:05:10

Really nice ones guys!
Looking forward to see the finished one Misj, great sketches!

tzachs · Fri 14/01/2011 13:50:54

Nice one, oraxon!
However, you shouldn't have revealed you plan upfront, I have now ordered to terminate all existing copies of "Save The Cow"...

oraxon · Sat 15/01/2011 08:00:32

Ha ha!
But perhaps that was what we wanted you to do all along, tzachs?

Great interior, Mordalles. Great sketches, Misj', hope to see more.

cpage · Sat 15/01/2011 14:41:17

I do have an image coming .... trying to hurry

loominous · Sun 16/01/2011 10:37:46

Have an entry cooking as well, will try to get it finished today (just started).

Misj' · Sun 16/01/2011 19:42:20

I'm having some problems with my contractor (who started working early June for a one-month renovation (he's a member of two organizations that give guarantees and assure quality; but you wouldn't guess from the time he's taking or the quality he delivers)). And I'm forced to waste time on other things than drawing (things that include the Dutch law). So I won't be able to finish the piece. Hopefully I'll be able to share some rendering just to show what it might look like though...but there's unfortunately no use waiting for me to finish it.

Really liked the subject though, and it was fun doing the research.

loominous · Sun 16/01/2011 21:54:19

Bit of a stretch, though most kids will use any excuse, how ever far fetched, to avoid cleaning up their rooms.

Dualnames · Sun 16/01/2011 22:08:25

I'm working on something as well, as we speak. If it turns out good, I'll totally post it in the following 1-2 hours.

EDIT: I'm sorry but the result is utter crap. :'(
I haven't practiced doing backgrounds lately and it showed. :'(

EDIT2: Oh, what the heck, here goes anyhow.

In case you can't tell it's supposed to be a huge wall, viewed from a balcony. The balcony is what I don't like mostly here. I think it turned out kind of dark, but that was the purpose. Just not to that extent. Anyhow don't think I'm proud over this, cause its shit imho.

Daniel Thomas · Sun 16/01/2011 23:53:29

Great entries guys!
I haven't got any requests for an extension, so let's start voting people!

Ill keep the voting up for ~24hours.

Categories to vote on:

Idea: Was it an original/creative interpretation of the theme?
Atmosphere: Was an interesting world created? - Did the scene evoke a feeling?
Design: How well the individual elements are designed, from clouds to doorknobs.
Composition: How well the elements are combined to create a pleasing whole, and lead the viewer to the points of interest. This also includes the background's in-game functionality (hotspots, walkable areas, etc.)
Technique: How well it's rendered (within the chosen style!), in no way meaning the more elaborate the better.

Code: ags


[b]Idea[/b] -
[b]Atmosphere[/b] -
[b]Design[/b] -
[b]Composition[/b] -
[b]Technique[/b] -

loominous · Mon 17/01/2011 08:42:13

Whatever happened to the functionality category? Feels kinda important.

Mordalles · Mon 17/01/2011 08:49:25

Idea - Loominous
Atmosphere - Loominous
Design - Loominous
Composition - Loominous
Technique - Loominous

Awesomeness as always, Loominous!
Misj, really looked forward to your result. Loved the concept sketches.

Thanks, Sughly and oraxon! Oraxon, great stuff! Great perspective.

cpage · Mon 17/01/2011 10:39:57

Well since this is over i guess I'll just post what i had. I didn't get a chance to finish.

anyway here is my vote

Idea - Loominous
Atmosphere - Mordalles
Design - Loominous
Composition - Mordalles
Technique - Mordalles

Daniel Thomas · Mon 17/01/2011 11:27:30

@loominous: I have no clue, I have just been kinda lazy and copy and pasting from previous BB's. I dunno when it was changed and it was so long since I entered any BB, so didn't notice it was changed..

I agree, functionality probably is what keeps it from being an ordinary illustration.
Hopefully someone decide to take it in again next round.

loominous · Mon 17/01/2011 12:52:57

Idea - Oraxon
Atmosphere - Mordellas
Design - Mordellas
Composition - Mordellas
Technique - Mordellas
( Functionality - Mordellas )

Good to see your stuff again Mordellas, looks really good, and the crispiness and contrast sure makes mine look bleak and blurry (though it's somewhat intentional).