The unprintable MAGENTA - updated Nov. 24

Started by Fitz, Mon 08/09/2014 11:09:03

Previous topic - Next topic

Kasander

Hey Fitz, I've played UM several weeks ago but didn't have enough time to write few words back then. Only now I can hail the birth of this uber-cute superheroine! I've enjoyed the demo very much, had a few good laughs, loved the writing, the ideas and character design. Normally I get bored easily whenever superheroes appear to save the day, but Magenta really is one of a kind, her power is very original and she goes against all those stereotypical "wonder women".

... So I wonder is there going to be some complementary supervillain with venomously green eyes that she would have a crush on? You know, someone who would be Catwoman to her Batman... if only to spice things up? :P

Fitz

Andrea: The thing is that the RGB magenta (as seen on your monitor) differs from the magenta ink used in print, in that the latter is warmer in tone. So, it's hard to reproduce pure CGI magenta in print using just the single ink. Hence the "unprintable".

Anas: That's what I was going for :) Not as powerful an effect as it would've been if I used green and red, but yeah, I liked the sharp, cartoon style contrast (Penelope Pitstop comes to mind).

Kasander: I developed Magenta as a parody of the superhero comics. I grew up reading those and the genre is still dear to me, but it's true that a lot of times the supers are the least interesting part of the story - even more so in the movies than the comics. Nolan's Batman, all the recent iterations of Superman and both cinematic incarnations of Spider-Man were terribly bland. So, very often, it's the villains that elevate these stories. Or the secondary characters (J. Jonah Jameson was epic!).
And yes, there is going to be a supervillain to match Magenta! (laugh)

Kasander

Quote from: Fitz on Thu 23/07/2015 16:42:03
Nolan's Batman, all the recent iterations of Superman and both cinematic incarnations of Spider-Man were terribly bland. So, very often, it's the villains that elevate these stories. Or the secondary characters (J. Jonah Jameson was epic!).

Say no more, say no more... I think if they changed the title from "The Dark Knight" to "Joker and That Guy in the Cape", it would be more fitting. I had the same problem playing Batman Arkham Asylum few months ago. If it wasn't for Mark Hamill's Joker and his dialog lines I would throw away the gamepad early in the game. We probably share similar upbringing when it comes to superhero comics, I did like to heavily overdose on TM-Semic's Marvel and DC comics in my youth. Yeah, it really requires a skillful writer to make your regular superhero look human (like Alan Moore did with Batman in Killing Joke). That's why I appreciate non-stereotypical superheroes/heroines like Magenta even more. I think there really is a place for non-conventional superheroes like her in the hearts of players/readers. And possibly on the market (just imagine those Magenta mugs and t-shirts! ;)) BTW, is there a link to that Magenta comic you've mentioned or was it "for her eyes only" kind of thing?

Fitz

Ah, The Killing Joke! When I read it, I wasn't even eleven yet -- but even then, as a kid, I knew this was something special. And that's what they should be making movies of. Yes, we know, Bruce's parents were killed when he was a kid, we don't need to hear the story over and over again in every single Batman flick -- or have a whole tv series now revolving around his teenage years! (wrong) The 90's cartoon did it right, why can't anyone take a clue and give us a tv series instead of a movie. The Arkham games are actually a step in the right direction -- with an ensemble cast of villains all with their own little agendas. Gameplay-wise, they're a mixed bag -- fun fights, but the graphics are so depressively dark. It's so hard to find your way in most of the time -- and it's usually somewhere at the back, and hidden so that you can only see it from a very specific angle. And it seems everyone's got a vat of V at their disposal at any time. I'm an obsessive completionist, so I finished both Asylum and City, but I think that's it for me.
As for the Magenta comic -- yeah, it's my gift to her, and I doubt anyone else would even get most of the humor in it. Plus, it was a rushed thing, I only had a few afternoons to work on it and get it printed. It wouldn't be a bad idea to start a new comic about Magenta when I'm done with the game -- because I have PLENTY ideas, and to think that to make them into a game would take a year EACH is just scary. But who knows, maybe the game will become wildly successful -- and I'll have no other option than to get crackin' (roll)

Fitz

I'm hard at work recording the sound effects. It's tricky when all you use is basic household items and various grunts -- but then again, you'd be amazed at the kind of sounds you can get from a bag of parboiled rice, or a bunch of old papers.

I've also been tweaking that wretched first location -- and it looks like... this one's a keeper! :shocked:



I seriously like the brickwork in this one. And that display window doesn't look like a gaping hole of misery anymore. The place finally feels like it's breathing. Aaand then there's the dynamic character shadow.

AnasAbdin

I like the improvements Fitz ;) And I love how the shadow isn't cast over the letters 8-)

selmiak

Quote from: AnasAbdin on Wed 05/08/2015 15:09:51
And I love how the shadow isn't cast over the letters 8-)
but... but shouldn't it be? Or is it because she is unprintable and doesn't mix well with other colors? Or is magenta some kind of CMYK vampire? Tell us Fitz!

I'm a bit torn with the reflection. Shouldn't it be more like the upwards/backwards view? But then these don't look that interesting most of the time and it looks quite cool this way.

Beautiful choice of colors for that background. This makes me want to play the game even more!
The gaping black hole also looks intriguing, maybe indicate a little bit of depth with even more nicely placed dithering.

Fitz

Oops, my bad -- i actually meant "reflection" rather than "shadow", since it's only visible on the glass surface of the display window. I could've had it cast over the letters, too -- easily -- but thought it looked somehow nicer the way it does. Let's assume these are fluorescent letters, beaming with reflected light, shall we? This reflection is not a very visually complex thing, either: just a darkened version of the original sprite -- but having it follow and mimic Magenta's every move was tricky to script.

And I actually like the back alley being all dark, with no gradients. This location seems to thrive on contrasts -- and so the only light in that part are the two mindows.

Fitz

It's been a month and a half since the last update, so a quick update would be in order. These past six weeks I've spent recording all sound effects myself -- and pestering Problem about the soundtrack. Now, with both almost done, with only a few minor things to add, I'd say Magenta will be out on patrol in a couple of weeks.

I also got permission from my old-time myspace friends Twilite to use their song in the game's outro/credits :cheesy: I'm super happy about it!

And it appears that today is the fifth anniversary of me registering on the forums! 8-0

CrashPL

That's awesome, Fitz. Hoping to play the full version of UM soon. :D

Fitz

Work's been kinda slow -- but we're getting there. Problem's free to work on the music now that the press kits for Rogue State have been sent out.

Me, I've been pondering on the idea of making a regular Magenta comic. For that, however, I need to up my skills as a cartoonist -- and so I decided to practice more. Here's my today's doodlings:



It's my take on Batman's Catwoman -- with less detail to the costume and more of little touches that make her look more like an actual cat: the scratches on her cheels imitating whiskers, the yellow nail polish making her nail look like a claw, and her figure's very slender, the female curves being merely hinted at with the tails.

AnasAbdin

How did I miss this! I love the doodle ;-D very simple and reminds me of old cartoons. I can't wait to see your characters in action!

Fitz

Thanks :) I've actually stuck with my "one doodle a day" challenge. My favorite has to be my own rendition of Harley Quinn.



Part of the challenge is to also stick to the 16 color EGA palette -- and it's a fun experience.

You can check my other Gotham Girls on my DeviantART profile -- 4 so far, and hopefully a new pic every other day.

SilverSpook

That's an awesome Harley there!

I like the whole webcomic concept also.  You've got ideas that seem like they'd make really great dialog.

I'd love to work on some kind of webcomic thing, except I'm not so good at rapidly sketching out characters in poses.  That's actually the worst part for me, getting perspective and proportions right, I end up spending an hour on an index finger's length.

Can't wait for the release of UM!

CrashPL

A "doodle per day" thingy is actually a pretty neat exercise for your art skill, as you will be able to pinpoint the exact moment where you got better at drawing. ;) I remember Twarda doing the same thing (both per day, and a larger work per weekend), and it paid off very handsomely.

I like the overall charm of your doodles. :D Will you be using some of them in the game? (even as a cameo or an easter egg)

Fitz

SilverSpook: I'm still not sure what format would suit a story -- I'm torn between making it an online comic strip OR trying to go commercial with a regular 24-page booklet. I love webcomics, my current one is well past 600 strips right now -- but The Dream was always to go pro, and maybe, just maybe, release something on paper someday. Digital is a more realistic goal -- and there's plenty of fun to have with the format as well. And I yearn to revive my older webcomic (I'm pretty sure I've posted the link before, in this very thread). I think I'm onto something with the style I'm developing for it, because hyper-realism that I achieved towards the end was waaaay too time taking -- I'd spend crazy hours on a single page.
Also, this morning Problem let me know the last few tracks are alllmost there -- so the pink mayhem's impending!(laugh)

Crash: Twarda's art is brilliant, I'm a noob compared to her. I might've regressed a little, too, through the years of drawing my current comic strip, where I make super-simple cartoony doodles and, with no background art in most of them, I don't practice composition much. It's with the games that I really need to plan out the placement of objects and characters on the screen -- and I wish I could transfer that ability and expand it, with more dynamic action, in a superhero comic.
As for these doodles, no, all the game's graphics assets are done and in place -- BUT there will be PLENTY of cameos from DC's and Marvel's superheroes, as well as other cartoon/game characters. The classic Harley is there! (there's a pic somewhere earlier in the thread)

Fitz

It this real life? :shocked:

[embed=720,540]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYfFKQA51w8[/embed]

After a year and four months in production, Magenta is nearing completion. Can you believe it?!

It's actually been pretty much done for quite a while now -- just missing a few crucial bits of audio, without which it wouldn't be complete. But everything came together, eventually. And theeen, when I thought I was ready... I stumbled upon a piece of music that I instantly fell in love with. And saw a story in there that needed to be visualized. So I asked the composer if I could use his tune for the game's intro -- and the rest is history :D

And since Magenta's finally got an epic intro sequence, it's only natural to crank up the awesome in the outro, too. So that's what I'm doing now -- and hoping to make it by November 30! Not gonna be easy! I've spent some 12 hours straight last Saturday on a sequence that's not even a minute long 8-0 So wish me luck!

SilverSpook

Awesome trailer man!  The music and the video totally fit.  That's not all done in AGS is it?  If so that's a lot of good work!

Fitz

It's 100% AGS -- mostly because I never learned to use any video editing software :P But yeah, it WAS a lot of work -- including measuring the lenght of one beat, of the sounds used (all created by yours truly) and then syncing the animation with things appearing on-screen and/or movement. Can't even count the times I listened to this tune. And still loving it!

AnasAbdin

I shall return to you after a few days when I regain my ability to speak 8-0

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk