Maximillian Sprite for a potential new game

[ManicMatt]

I'm having a stab at a lower resolution than any game I've made prior, and I'm quite happy with it but I know there is always room for improvement. I'm trying not to add too many colours or details for the sake of making it easier when it comes to animating. I'm welcome to any suggestions for posture, body shape, colours used, etc. I originally went with a black coat as this sprite is based on my music artist alter ego, but it's hard to see the different shades of black when working on it, so I thought I'd try a brown coat instead. Likewise, his hat was black. And taller.

I would like an honest opinion on if this sprite is at a level anywhere near to that of say, LucasArts or any popular commercial low res adventure game.



Non-Scaled up image incase anyone would like to edit it for improvements, although I already updated the above sprite as someone pointed out I should shade the arms!:



Thanks in advance!

[lorenzo]

Hi, ManicMatt.
I'm in no way an expert on low-res sprites, but here's my take.

I like your sprite, but I think it could use some refinement.
The legs seem to be detached from the rest of the body: they're centred differently from the jacket, and the separation between the jacket and the legs feels too abrupt.
In general, the upper and lower body don't look like they belong together.

The right arm doesn't look natural. The darker patch of pixels separating it from the chest doesn't feel right either. It's too big and too strong. Maybe you could try reducing it a bit.

The sprite needs more contrast or maybe different colours for the clothes. It's all very brown at the moment. For example, you can barely notice the hands over the coat.

I can't understand what the white pixels on the hat represent. A bow? Glasses? A decoration on the brim? You could try to make it bigger so that it reads better.


You asked for comparisons to LucasArts and other commercial games.
At the moment, I think that the sprite lacks a bit of personality if compared to, say, characters from Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.

If you look at this image, you can easily understand the character's personality from their pose: Indiana Jones is confident and tough; Sophie is feminine, but cool and detached at the same time.

In comparison, your character is just standing there, as if he's waiting for the bus. It's not an uncommon thing in many commercial adventure games, both old and new, to see the protagonist in a similar pose. It's perfectly ok, if a bit boring, in my opinion. I like when sprites convey the character's personality, as in the above example.
Anyway, that's just a personal preference.


All in all, you've made a very good sprite that just needs a bit of work to be great.

Unfortunately, I don't have a deep knowledge of pixel art, so I can't really say much about the more technical aspects.

[ManicMatt]

Hey, thank you for your input!

I think I've decided to abandon making another game, I never was very good at making backgrounds, and right now I just really struggled with it. I'm at a crossroads right now where I'm not sure where I should go next in my life. The game in my signature failed to take off so it feels somewhat pointless anyway.

Right, well anyway I made some tweaks and then gave him a backdrop so it's just a piece of pixel art now. aand I messed up his trousers shading when I made his leg wider. Doh! Just noticed that now.

[Laura Hunt]

I think I've decided to abandon making another game, I never was very good at making backgrounds, and right now I just really struggled with it. I'm at a crossroads right now where I'm not sure where I should go next in my life. The game in my signature failed to take off so it feels somewhat pointless anyway.

It makes me really sad to read that  (maybe because I also know that "and what's it all for anyway" feeling too well). Have you considered giving other engines or types of games a try? When I finished my first AGS game a couple of months ago the Bitsy engine caught my eye, I made a little "game" on it as a palate cleanser of sorts and it turned out to be a very nice experience. There's something about its simplicity, cuteness and lack of a learning curve that I find really inspiring... And of course this is just an example, maybe you'll find fantasy consoles more appealing, or you might feel like trying your hand at writing a visual novel with Twine... Who knows, sometimes a simple change of tool can kickstart your inspiration and give you a new and refreshing perspective on game making!

(Disclaimer: Dear mods, please don't ban me. I love AGS very much and I would never use another engine for my "serious" projects  )

[ManicMatt]

Yeah I suppose that's worth considering, thanks. Bitsy looks a bit too simplistic but yeah I suppose I felt like it was AGS traditional games or nothing for some reason.

I shall think on this.

[Retro Wolf]

Take a break and do other stuff for a while. I didn't release anything for a long time. The thing I find most tedious is animation, drawing so many similar frames frustrates me. So for my last project I eliminated animation altogether. That might be a bit controversial to some but it got me releasing something.

Don't draw anything that is boring and necessary for a game, draw something that is fun, like an alien or something. Who knows it might inspire you to keep going.
Also don't feel bad about your game not going anywhere, there's too many people making games nowadays.

[ManicMatt]

My biggest hurdle is backgrounds!

Thanks Retro Wolf. I didn't know what to say back but I thought you should know I did read your reply and appreciate your advice.