Sierra Template Background Contest - CLOSED!

Started by CaesarCub, Wed 28/06/2017 14:24:27

Previous topic - Next topic

Hobo

Concept: 07 - Selmiak
Playability: 06 - Abstauber
Artistic Execution: 01 - Lorenzo

All worthy contenders! I ended up dividing the votes between the three backgrounds I would like to see in the template the most.

Both Lorenzo's backgrounds look gorgeous and have a lovely comic book feel to them, but because of the downscaling and clashing style difference, it would probably not work best with the current sprite.
Same sort of applies to Nixxon's entry, when zoomed in, the excessive anti-aliasing really shows. Otherwise, a very interesting style and a well-crafted environment. I'd like to see the original sized versions of these beauties.
Eri0o's background feels slightly out of scale and is probably artistically less impressive than some others, but I do like the color choices and atmosphere of the piece. Solid work.
I really like Rocchinator's one a lot, that's some great pixelling work you got there, the view from the window looks spetacular. Sadly, it doesn't scale well with old Roger there, he seems kind of out of place.
Abstauber - nice and clean pixel art always rates high in my book. Fits very well with the sprite and has an actual Space Quest feel to it. Good stuff.
And Selmiak's entry is probably my favorite. Awesome concept, looks very inspiring. The space could use some clean-up, though. The color reduction created some odd and sloppy pixel clusters in there.

The overall quality in this competition is super high. I'd be satisfied with any of these.

arj0n

Concept: 03 - Nixxon
Playability: 06 - Abstauber
Artistic Execution: 07 - Selmiak

dactylopus

I normally don't do this, but I will be voting for one background in multiple categories.

Concept: abstauber
Playability: selmiak
Artistic Execution: abstauber

I think abstauber's background is the one best suited for the template.  The rest are all very well done.  If it were up to me rather than a vote, I'd choose abstauber's.

lorenzo:  Both of your backgrounds are wonderful.  I would relish the opportunity to work on something with such an art style.  As others have said, the transition to low resolution did a disservice to the art, and made the backgrounds less suited to the Roger sprite.
Nixxon:  I always love your use of color, but I'm just not a fan of the overly exaggerated cartoony look.  And as much as the scene is interesting, and there is a lot of playability, I just didn't find it to be as suitable for the Roger sprite.
eri0o:  I really like the piece overall, and it could definitely work in a game.  It's a little bare, but the colors and concept are fantastic.  The scale seemed a bit off for the Roger sprite.
Rocchinator:  The concept of a ship's bridge is perfect for the template, and the work has some great colors and details.  I felt the captain's chair was a bit out of place, and the overall image perhaps a bit out of scale, and so less suited to the Roger sprite.
abstauber:  I think that this background is exactly what the contest and sprite needed.  The concept of a ship's bridge is the best, and it looks fantastic.  The colors set a mood, and the simplicity helps.  There are clear exits and things to interact with.  The Roger sprite looks perfectly at home here.
selmiak:  I really enjoyed this background.  Although these islands are floating in space, there is some semblance of gravity evidenced by Roger standing and the water falling.  I love the glowing orb in the center, and the blue cup ship is a nice touch.  I like that you went the extra mile to include exits and pathways, it really made the difference.  This is a background that the Roger sprite looks ready to explore.

lorenzo

So many great entries, it was a hard choice.

Concept: 03 â€" Nixxon. Great art style, fantastic colours; Roger's sprite just fits right in.

Playability: 06 â€" Abstauber. Such a clean, uncluttered background, with clear walkable areas and precise palette. It's really good. I think it would be a great choice for the template.

Artistic Execution: 05 â€" Rocchinator. I just love that view of space! The ship feels a bit big compared to Roger, but I'm sure it can be fixed with a few touch-ups.

Mandle

Concept: Nixxon (The whole city-in-the-sky feel makes me want to explore the rest of it)
Playability: Selmiak (It's very obvious where you can walk and most likely what you can interact with)
Artistic Execution: Lorenzo 01 (This is the game I would want to play if only for the graphics alone)

Tabata

Concept:                 selmiak         - a modern way to represent AGS and leaves enough space to start experiment with the engine
Playability:             Abstauber    - it is easier to start working with clear lines
Artistic Execution: selmiak         - makes me want to explore and manipulate it without being intimidated by the artistic skills needed to do so

A really tough choice since all of the entries are like coming from a game and usable.
Roger sprite can be used everywhere as an explorer coming from space.
Having in mind that it will help to start working with the engine or try something new
I think it should be possible to use it as starting point for an adventure and at the same time
being interesting enough to stay there performing some actions. Also it should represent the engine
but not distract from the task for those using it or even intimidate a beginner.
So that's why I didn't choose the most impressive images to be used here even I really would
love to see them in a game.
phew - hope this makes sense somehow

cat

I don't really like the categories for picking a template background. I'd rather have made a voting "choose your top 3 for the template".

However, here are my votes:

Concept: 07 - Selmiak
Playability: 07 - Selmiak
Artistic Execution: 07 - Selmiak

I picked Selmiak's background for all categories because it is the most interesting, there is a lot of stuff to interact with (of course some elements should be made objects for the template), the pixel art is beautiful and it fits the Roger sprite and theme very well.

CaesarCub

Quote from: cat on Sun 30/07/2017 15:52:11
I don't really like the categories for picking a template background. I'd rather have made a voting "choose your top 3 for the template".

I thought about doing that, but in the end I decided to use the Background Blitz voting system. If we ever do a high-res version of the template, I'll just do the pick top three used in the sprite jam style of voting for the contests.

Abisso

Concept: not as much originality as I hoped for, I have to say. Close call between Lorenzo's first one and Selmiak's. I'll go with Lorenzo 01 cause the several "mismatched" (but well integrated) elements really make your mind wander.
Playability: all did a very good job in this sense. I think Selmiak's opens a lot of possibilities with scaling of the character, and the bg could also serve as some sort of mini-map so: Selmiak.
Artistic Execution: I think the more solid in their own style are Abstauber's and Selmiak's, with Rocchinator's worth mentioning for its grainy old-school vibe. I think overall the most gorgeous and rich is Selmiak's, so I'll go with his one.
Welcome back to the age of the great guilds.

Tycho Magnetic Anomaly

Concept: Selmiak - A really fine piece. Little touches I love like the home sign, ags mug ship. Detailing top notch.
Playability: Nixxon - Lot's of paths to wander, like a central hub background , suits the theme perfectly.
Artistic Execution: Lorenzo (Picture 1) - Amazing detailing, great feeling it being in an alien environment in a far off galaxy somewhere!

I had a very hard time with the Artistic Execution, I had 3 I wanted to vote for.

Great work to everyone, yet another awesome background contest!

dactylopus

Quote from: cat on Sun 30/07/2017 15:52:11
I don't really like the categories for picking a template background. I'd rather have made a voting "choose your top 3 for the template".

I agree.  I found that these categorizations didn't always lead to the best picks for the template.

SinSin

Concept) Lorenzo (1)
Playability) Abstained
Artistic exe) Selmiak

Fantastic work people.
Currently working on a project!

CaesarCub

The voting has ended and the votes are tallied!

Our winner is:

Selmiak
[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/z8i22Q7.png[/imgzoom]

Our runner ups were:

Lorenzo
[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/wYFEpGj.png[/imgzoom]

Nixxon
[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/w3JQ9GN.png[/imgzoom]

All the entries were amazing guys!
So congratulations to all the participants.

dactylopus


selmiak

oh nice! :-D
thank you all for participating, that was fun!
As we need it for the template, here is a version without Roger:
[imgzoom]http://i.imgur.com/hqLe4Tv.png[/imgzoom]

Rocchinator

Amazing Contest glad to be part of it . Congratulation to Nixxon lorenzo and Selmiak well deserved victory

Riaise

Congratulations selmiak! That background really is beautiful. And well done to all of the other entrants, it was a tough job deciding who to vote for!

Hobo

I'd say it was a successful competition, thanks to everyone who took the time to participate and vote. And I'm certainly satisfied with the result.

Creamy

So impressed by all the talents on display 8-0

Congrats Selmiak, you never cease to amaze me.
 

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk