Foreground objects in adventure game scenery

Started by ThreeOhFour, Sat 11/02/2017 08:54:03

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ThreeOhFour

Hello! I've written another blog post about adventure game art, this time about foreground objects in adventure game scenery. :cheesy:

Danvzare

Interesting read as always.
Funnily enough, I think the first (and possibly only) time I properly noticed foreground objects was on Day of the Tentacle as well.
There's just something about the way they were done on that game that made them stand out, yet at the same time were still very nice and blended in the backgrounds well.

Also, those colours in the Willy Beamish screenshot, remind me of the castle level on Jazz Jackrabbit 2.

Misj'

#2
I always find foreground elements difficult to draw. Especially when using black elements for framing. Too often they merely become shapes rather than real objects...let alone objects that are relevant or fitting to the scene.

I find it interesting that in the Indy-background they actually used two backgrounds: one with and one without the foreground (just look at Indy's famous refrigerators that is partially covered by the foreground, but not at all when you see the menu).

ThreeOhFour

While I understand your aversion to "merely shapes", I think there's an inherent usefulness in abstract forms as framing devices, rather than specifically relevant/fitting objects, in that these are often framing devices rather than specific points of interest, and our attention should be directed away from them more than towards them.

Perhaps it's a "lines guy" vs "block forms guy" thing once again. I'm quite happy to throw abstract elements into place while trying to balance a composition in the early/thumbnail stage, and then figure out what the actual object is later. I usually refer to this as "spotting shapes in clouds", where if you look hard enough once a shape balances a composition well the blobs can be a rabbit or a dinosaur, and you can paint them more into form from there.

Misj'

Quote from: ThreeOhFour on Sat 11/02/2017 21:40:22
While I understand your aversion to "merely shapes", I think there's an inherent usefulness in abstract forms as framing devices, rather than specifically relevant/fitting objects, in that these are often framing devices rather than specific points of interest, and our attention should be directed away from them more than towards them.

Perhaps it's a "lines guy" vs "block forms guy" thing once again.
Let me first say that I absolutely agree with their usefulness in framing...which is one of the main reasons why I still use them. I also don't think it's the difference between approaching the piece from lines or block-forms. I actually think this is me. Pure and simple. One could easily argue that I'm simply not good enough in this particular field. When used correctly, the frame is an intrinsic part of the image. But whenever I do it, it kinda feels like a non-well-thought-out after-thought. There are too few images of mine where the foreground elements (at least when I use the pure-black silhouette style) turn out the way I envisioned them. And I always find that a shame. Maybe I don't approach them creatively enough, or maybe I try to over-simplify (or over-complicate) my shapes for these silhouettes. Maybe it's also just me being overly critical about my own work.

When done correctly, foreground-elements - both as a framing device, and as an indicator of the path-of-movement - can elevate the impact of a piece (which probably not every screen in your game needs of course). I just never truly felt I managed to do that. And I often think it is, because I tend to fall back on the same (boring?) shapes: a tree here, a box there, some weirdly shaped blob for good measure.

If you look at your examples, none of the foreground elements are just coincidental shapes. With the exception maybe of DOTT, where the weird foreground elements are (at least partly) used for comedic effect (which incidentally is the most silhouette-only example in your list). And it's that purposefulness that I feel missing whenever I draw foreground elements.

Mandle

Another great read... Thanks!

Any chance of an article on animated elements in backgrounds?

One of my favorites is your own first screen from the final Blackwell game, with the car going by every so often in the background just so briefly. That really made the city feel alive but the particular street feel out of the way and deserted for me.

I would love you read your take on examples of BG animated elements that add to the mood of the scene, and those that just distract from it. It's a fine line and I'd love to hear what your views are.

Either way: Cheers, and looking forward to what comes next!

Buckethead

Nice blog post. I'm actually working on some scenes right now that have foreground objects in them. Your post gives a lot of food for thought. I like the from King's Quest with stone cell. It really feels like someone is watching from a hidden location, spying on the player character.

ThreeOhFour

Misj': Well, one good thing about knowing it is that you can at least do studies to try and work yourself out of it! I agree, though, that it's impressive to see foreground elements that feel in place and part of the setting rather than just abstract framing elements.

Mandle: Thanks mate! Animated backgrounds are definitely one of the things I'm interested in studying more in-depth, but I don't really have a reference library of them at the moment, which means I have to play a bunch of games and make gifs of their background animations in order to talk about them. I was really proud of that car in Epiphany, especially when Dave added the sound and coded it in. Really brought that scene to life.

Buckethead: Cool! King's Quest 6 does this particular kind of thing quite a lot, with different levels of practicality and playability. Here's some more examples that you might find useful:





Uhfgood

Enjoying these posts so far, haven't read the ones about the color palettes just yet, but will in time.

Any chance of doing a post about how to show small spaces, for instance when a room would be smaller than the camera view.  For instance I'm working on a closet for a little thing, and closets are small and narrow, but I'm using a widescreen aspect ratio (16:9).  It wouldn't do to make the closet fill in the whole area of the wide screen, unless I'm zooming in and cutting off half the view somewhere.  Actually that second image from the bottom (the King's Quest 6 room where you have the skeletons on the outside, and the giant wheels inside) is one way of doing it.

ThreeOhFour

Yeah, this is something I've been wondering about myself. I don't know that I've found any decent solutions myself, despite having done a few locations like this.

Anyway, I definitely appreciate the suggestion, and it's something I want to look at more, as soon as I find enough examples of people doing it in interesting ways! :)

Uhfgood

I'm considering doing the closet to the left side, and either, drawing a wall (wood-grain or brick or something) to the right (lower right image below), or, maybe even showing a bit on the other side of the door(lower left).  Haven't decided yet.

Apologies for my sucky sketching-with-mouse-in-gimp ability.

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