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Hi again,

I've uploaded this one at x3 the size of 320x200, Hopefully it works better!



I'm wondering if there are any open-source sprites of people that might fit well into this type of environment that I can modify? Happy to give attribution too.

Thanks everyone! Much appreciated. I'll probably lose the Lucasarts UI and go full screen with the backgrounds.

Thanks @Snarky and @Nahuel- I got Wilfred working just now using the Eden Wraith method! So that's great, thank you.

Hi everyone!

Looking for a simple way to play and test AGS games on my mac (please no 'get a real computer' responses). I don't need to be able to run the editor, but if I make art and assets for someone who is developing a game on a PC, I want to be able to play test the game. Also I want to play some of the existing awesome AGS games!

Thanks so much!
Owen

For the downsampling of the mural artwork which is originally drawn in Adobe Illustrator as vector over the top of a pencil sketch.

I took an exported Jpeg into photoshop and resized to 320x210 (or whatever the Monkey Island BG size is, can't remember off the top of my head). I chose resampling to the nearest neighbour (Hard Edges) to minimise anti aliasing, then went to mode>indexed colour, and dropped to 256 colours with diffusion dithering selected. I think it's generally done a decent job but I'd agree that the dithering on the sky (which was a gradient vector) and the dithering in the water both need retouching at the least.

Any thoughts on a smarter way to downsample would be much appreciated! New to this, and pixel art in general.

In terms of the sprites, you're right on the money Snarky! They're AI generations which I'm using to prototype the characters for the sake of speed, but they need tidying up to be usable. I'm hoping to have something made by mid-November and I've never turned my hand to pixel art before, so the way I see it is, this AI is going to be putting up enough challenges for people in the creative industries like myself, and any way I can work with it (in between shaking my fist at the sky), all the better.

Hi everyone!

I'm looking to make a game for my partner for our 10 year anniversary. We both love adventure games. We run a creative business together and our career started with vector mural designs of local landscapes, so I had the idea of making a little game starring me and her, walking around INSIDE our local landmark murals, and solving little puzzles.

I did a quick test downsampling one of our pieces of Seaton Carew, which is a local seaside resort. I would make all the backgrounds this way for this little game.



Would love to know your thoughts! As this mini game would be just for her, I like the idea of ripping some old sprites from classic lucasarts games and having her meet them within these scenes and have conversations? Perhaps each one could be convinced to give my character a gift to bring to Abby for our Anniversary. My character would be panicking, of course, because he's left it to the last minute and needs all the help he can get.

All the backgrounds would be made by downsampling our illustrations, which can be seen below:
https://abbyandowen.com/shop

My main dilemma is finding someone to help me build this little game, but that's another story!

(PS, the cat in the inventory is our cat, Theo).

(PPS, the characters are crude tests! I know the cat has a weird kink in his tail and my sprite could do with some pixels tidying, but thoughts on general style of them would be awesome too).

Owen

[Background prototypes ready]

Another few points!

Background prototypes ready
For this first game, I essentially have all the backgrounds already. I'm going to downsample mural designs me and Abby have created over the years to 320 by 240 and drop them to 256 colours, so that the characters are inside the murals. I already tried this on a few of them and I think they'll work pretty great.

Paid or Unpaid
I would be interested in getting a quote for support on making this first 'gift' game for Abby, unless there's someone who is interested in working on this as the start of a working collaboration for future games! It's the build of it I need help on.

[Why I Joined AGS]

Hi there!

Owen here! New to the forum but a longtime lover of Adventure Games.

Why I Joined AGS
Me and my partner Abby run a business as self-employed illustrator/designers. We also share a love of Adventure Games. I introduced her to the genre, and it's been a big way we've bonded over the years.

My First Goal
Our ten year anniversary is coming up in Mid-November, and I really love the idea of making a tiny little Point and Click for her to play, starring me, her, and our cat. 
Prototype art style and general concept can be seen here: https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/critics-lounge/vector-murals-to-pixel-art-backgrounds!/


My Longterm Goal
It's been a longheld dream of mine to work on writing and creating art for a LucasArts style adventure, and this little project would be a good jumping off point, perhaps?

Here's the catch: I have a Mac, and I don't think I can build an AGS game with it. Additionally, I don't think I would wrap my head round it. So I'd love to team up with someone who already has that aspect down and would be up for working with me that way.

What I Am Hoping to Bring (To the Right Project/Projects)
I'm keen to write dialog and puzzles. Illustration and design are what I do for a living so I would be eager to apply those skills too. I also make electronic music and have been doing so for a couple years, so would love to experiment with doing sound and music for the games along with the backgrounds, sprite art and perhaps collaborating with someone on the puzzle designs.

Games I Love
I have loved point and click adventure games since I was a 5 years old. Over the past few years, I have introduced my girlfriend of (almost) 10 years to all my favourites, from DOTT, Monkey Island, Simon the Sorcerer, Sam & Max, Broken Sword. We've also played some fabulous new and indie games, The Blackwell Series, Kathy Rain, Unavowed, Thimbleweed Park.

Ramble Over
I'd love to get thoughts on whether a tiny little game is an achievable goal for mid November? (I'd be doing it on the sly so as not to spoil the surprise for Abby!). Do I stand a chance of finding someone willing to help me build it, with the ambition of collaborating on larger future projects too?


-Owen