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I started on it two days ago, and I'm about half-way through. Should have something testable by Tuesday, and something releasable by next weekend.

WHAT?! I mean... WHAT?! My, you're fast. Nice minimalistic screenies, too.
Looking forward to it!

Only 4 days left and still no entries in sight. Do you feel the burning shame? No? Well, you should! It's your fault, after all. If you do now - just paint a background and it should go away (unless it's some unrelated secret shame you're feeling). If you still don't - well, you still should.

Pinback, really looking forward to your entry! Hope you're still planning to do it!

I'd say some sort of global goal is always a plus, not only because it gives the palyer some sort of motivation, but also because it helps to understand roughly where you are in the game and provides the sense of closure in the end. This goal doesn't have to be really big or important - getting something or leaving the room is usually good enough.

That said, I think it's possible to make a good game without it, it's just a bit harder. You still have to make the player understand what he needs to do at any given moment, and create some sort of general arc - story-wise or conceptually, just so that the game has some sort of tangible ending.

Apart from the aforementioned Simon's Cat, I would also like to suggest looking at a manga called "Chii's Sweet Home" (wouldn't recommend the anime version, because it's way to saccharine). It's basically about a cat doing "cat things", so it should provide some useful ideas.

Oh, and those concepts are absolutely splendid! Good luck!

[Corner Shop]

This time, you should draw a Corner Shop (or a convenience store/general store)



Interior or exterior, specialized or general, modern day or not - as long as it's some kind of small, simple, low-key store - it's fine. Also, it must be AGS-compatible. Mock-ups with characters are more than welcome.

The voting starts May 12th, good luck and have fun!

[SpacePirateCaine]

And that's it! Thanks a lot to everyone for participating, a lot of nice stuff! I love that frog-Gandalf and the idea itself, ProgZmax!
And those rabbits are indeed creepy as hell!

But, after a long and careful deliberation, I pronounce SpacePirateCaine the winner! Kitties might not be the most original idea in the cuteness department, but here it's done with subtlety, tenderness and grace.
Congratulations! You get a Hello Kitty badge of honour:

Yay! Winning by default - the best kind of winning there is!

I like your background too, oraxon, very nice!

Thanks to everyone who liked my entry! I'll start the new competition asap.

Studio3, that's quite nice, although I really want to punch him for some reason

Hey-hey, people! Only a day left, c'mon, just a few more entries! For the kitties?

It's better, but it's still very flat and solid, it looks more like a man-made structure, rather than a natural one. What it needs is shape, not texture.
It's quite hard to imagine natural shapes in 3d, because they are incredibly complex and irregular, but it's easier to draw them - you should just block out some random shapes, and then start thinking about how the light falls on them.

Also, take a look at some references (like the ones 2ma2 has already posted) - it's important to draw the actual things and not their abstract symbolic equivalents.

Here's a quick edit to suggest one of the ways to go about improving this bg:


And here's a better one, from Sierra's "Quest for Glory"


Hope this helps a bit, good luck!

mode7, better already! I took the liberty and did an edit to bring these backgrounds even closer together:

-Adjusted the colours to better match the second picture
-Made it slightly hazier
-Further sharpened some of the blocks


Feel free to use it, if you like it.

I wanted to enter this one, came up with an idea, but when I started sketching it out, I completely forgot, that it's supposed to be a game background. I realized that only halfway through, so I had to finish it like it was.

There was only one rule, and I've managed to break it! Can we pretend it's for a cutscene with some panning down? Anyway, here it is, maybe I'll cook up a proper entry later:

SpacePirateCaine, this kitty is absolutely adowable! Great realistic technique, too!

Saberteeth, it seems slightly sad. Aww.

Lad, nice! Love the single sock

Alright, nice turnout, people! Now do more!

Even though the second one is unarguably better, I don't see that much of an inconsistency here. Don't forget that the player will be seeing these backgrounds for the first time, and will probably see the picture as a more abstract whole (some beautifully drawn cyan rock walls), and won't notice, that they are a bit different. So sharpening the cracks a bit (with some thin dark lines) and making the walkable part slightly brighter should be enough. Lovely stuff, anyway!

I agree with everyone else that he's a bit stiff, but quite nicely done overall, meshing well with the background, and not being made of plastic. Relaxing one of the legs, as Buckethead suggested, should do the trick.

I would also like to suggest giving his stance a slight curve, by moving his pelvis forward a bit. It usually helps to draw a more natural and relaxed figure, although I'm not sure how well does it work in 3d. Here's an edit to illustrate what i mean, with the original on the left and the 'fix' on the right:

Sughly, that's a cute puppy! I love the wide mouth design, and I like to think that there are lots of huge scary teeth inside.  

TheRoger, all hail Lithuania, huh? Nice chibi ^^

Keep 'em coming, people!

hofmeier, yes, he's an absolute epitome of cuteness. Funny stuff, though!

TheRoger, well, you can always put them in a frame and call it a talk-portrait That's a sprite too, right? Or is it?! I will allow it, anyway

Higher-res sci-fi adventures mostly use prerendered 3d backdrops with 3d characters - like in The Longest Journey, Syberia, Blade Runner(voxel characters here) and many others.

From 2d games I can only remember I have No Mouth and I must Scream - I think it was 640x480, and used a rough dirty/gritty style to mesh characters with backgrounds. It's a slightly disturbed game, though. And by "slightly" I mean - seriously disturbed. But very good.

As for AGS games - the obvious one will be A Second Face - The Eye of Geltz is watching us

So you'll probably have to invent the wheel here, but I'm sure it can be done.

[cute!]

The spring is in it's full swing, so it's time to get cheerful! Draw me something cute!

It has to be AGS-compatible, obviously, and you can submit multiple entries. Ends on April the 27th.

Go on, start spriting already, and don't forget to have fun!

Yay! Thanks! I'll start the new one soon

[Idea]

Idea - Vukul - I don't remember many field hospitals in adventure games, and that's a shame - it's a very emotionally stirring place, and as such - a good idea for a background. Also, I like MASH.
Atmosphere - nihilyst - very moody piece.
Design - oraxon - because it's an awesome style.
Composition - oraxon - very tight composition here, simply nothing to complain about.
Functionality - Vukul - maybe it's because of the mockup, but it really works as an in-game background already.
Technique - oraxon - great job with perspective and details.

[Idea/Originality:]

Idea/Originality: anian
Personality/Character: Mad
Technique: Mad