Messages

Just finished it! As usual, pretty cool stuff! The illustrations work really well, adding a lot to the ambience and scope. The puzzles are good and aplenty, even too much for me, perhaps (I have a special intolerance for the puzzles where you have to turn all the buttons on/off - i suck at them badly).

I liked how the debriefing felt interactive and slightly intense, even though it probably doesn't affect anything. The story progresses nicely, and it's great that you always bring new things to the table (and i don't mean the soggy food from the dispenser). I also enjoyed how you provided the details about the setting in many different and inventive ways. Terminals are awesome, basically.

Oh, and best of luck with going commercial, I'm sure you can succeed!

I prefer the 3rd one, his design is a bit more understated and mature. The first one is very nice too, but he seems a bit too cute (adorkable?) and not sophisticated enough to me.  Good stuff, anyway!

Impressive indeed! Now those picky folks at Steam are just bound to take it, right? It is a great game, though, so - well deserved.

The main problem here, as I see it, is that the perspective foreshortening on the floor tiles is almost non-existent (or even reversed). It kinda looks good like that, it gives the picture more of an individual style, but if you want to render it slightly more realistically, then you need to doo something like this (it's a bit messy, but I hope you'll get my point)

Other than that - it's a great atmospheric background, and the victorian vibe is there aplenty.

Holy cow! What a cute turtle! The graphics are awesome too, I guess, but that turtle...

Nice! Like the colour choices and the new crisp-but-wonky style. And yay for working on a game!

Hipster chicks, neon signs and graffiti? Colour me excited!

I agree with theo on the beauty of gits scenery, but have to say I find the backdrops in The Place Promised in Our Early Days and 5 Centimeters Per Second even better again. The colours are stunning!

Agreed, Makoto Shinkai's films are absolutely stunningly gorgeous, his high-contrast work with light is nothing short of amazing, shame that I can't say the same about his stories, or rather, a story. Not that it's bad, just not on par with his spectacular visuals.

Also just remembered - The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - a thoroughly charming and enjoyable sci-fi time-travel movie about a girl who leapt through time. Duh.

I'll have to agree with the others - it usually does look cheap, and it's not much fun to explore photographic backgrounds. They instantly feel uninteractive somehow.
Also, I don't have any fond memories of playing a game with photo-backgrounds.

I think it's possible to pull it off with some original use of collage techniques and good photography skills (and a good SLR-camera), but only if it fits with the game's concept. For example, a game set in the alternative-history world of the early 20th century can make good use of old photographs with the characters seamlessly photoshoped in.

It's more complicated with cartoon characters, though - it'll take some careful designing to create a style that works, escpecially with animation. I love the idea of cartoons with realistic backgrounds, I've even tried it a few times (like here and here ), but to do it well will probably take even more effort, than with the cartoony ones. Also, your cartoon backgrounds look great.

As for the lack of motivation - everyone suffers from that, you just have to try and be better than us

[Mushishi]

I hate anime. Well, no, I actually love it, but having plowed through tons of different series, I found very few to really like. It's the same with everything, really, be it western movies and TV-shows or music or games, but with anime it's more frustrating for me, for some reason. Probably because the potential capabilities of the genre are immense, and the quantity and technical quality is very high too. But there are real gems in these stacks of brightly-coloured rocks, so I'll recommend some of my favourites:

Mushishi - beautiful gloomy meditative supernatural series with strong Shintoistic undertones. Very poetic and understated anime, with gorgeous, but not in a usual way, visuals.

nihilyst have already mentioned Monster - I haven't watched the series, but the original manga is brilliant, as everything by Naoki Urasawa is (I'd especially recommend his Tezuka reimagining Pluto). And the anime has a David Sylvian song in the ending, so it must be good.

Welcome to NHK is a great example of mature slice of life anime, and has been rightfully recommended many times already. Also, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is a great anime in a similar vein, although it's much more ramshackled.

And I can't pass the opportunity to mention my favourite anime ever: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - hilarious post-modern satirical series that's quite hard to get into, due to it's crazy off-the-wall tongue-in-cheek style, but it's totally worth it if you do.

And though you said you're not really into all this "cute girls with big eyes" stuff, I think you have to try Azumanga Daioh and Lucky Star - just to be sure. They both are really funny and delightful in a very special way.

I also have to add that I still haven't understood the greatness of FLCL, although I've tried to watch it many times. It's just weird. And I usually like weird. Grrrrr... Oh, well, can't be helped.

Well, it was five years ago, so I doubt that anyone will go "What? Again?!"
As for entering this one - so far I haven't got any bright ideas, but I'll try to think of something.

He's on a diplomatic mission to Earth, but for some reason everyone is running around screaming. This will be a tough day at work for Mr. Monstry.

[Idea]

Okay, it's time to wrap it up! But first - my votes (I'm allowed to vote, right?)

Idea - oraxon - I love your choices of locations
Atmosphere - Mad - it's neon-lit city at night, after all
Design - joelphilippage - great colour design here
Composition - SookieSock - the composition here may not be very complicated, but it's precise and easy to read
Functionality - joelphilippage - lots of stuff to look at, it feels like a proper game background even without characters
Technique - oraxon - your rough, yet detailed style suits the selected setting perfectly. And it's perfectly rendered.

And now, I'll count the votes... Oh, God, there's a lot of them... Just a little bit more... Done!

It was a tough one, with only two votes between the winner and the runner-up: in the second place is oraxon, with 24 votes, and the winner is Mad with 26 votes!

Thanks to everyone, who participated - great entries all round; congratulations to the winner, and better luck next time to oraxon, it's always great to see your entries! Take it away, Mad!

[Idea:]

SookieSock, that's quite epic! And dark! Great entry, anyway.

Snath3000, it's really nice, even though slightly raw and way too dark. If you want some more in-depth critisism and advice on how to improve it - you can post it in the Critics Lounge, as SookieSock has already suggested. Oh, and welcome to the forums, hope you'll have a nice stay.

O-kay! So, the voting starts right... now!
Here are the categories, with the good ol' functionality back in:

Idea: Was it an original/creative interpretation of the theme?
Atmosphere: Was an interesting world created? - Did the scene evoke a feeling?
Design: How well the individual elements are designed, from clouds to doorknobs.
Composition: How well the elements are combined to create a pleasing whole, and lead the viewer to the points of interest.
Functionality: How well it would work as a background, with clearly defined entries and walkable areas, as well as a good viewing angle (this also includes introductionary shots of an area as long as a player character can be present in the scene).
Technique: How well it's rendered (within the chosen style!), in no way meaning the more elaborate the better.

Code: ags

[b]Idea[/b] -
[b]Atmosphere[/b] -
[b]Design[/b] -
[b]Composition[/b] -
[b]Functionality[/b] -
[b]Technique[/b] - 

Sure thing! You have the whole weekend then. Voting starts Sunday, 20th at 23:59, Greenwich time.

Just a day left, if anyone is working on something and/or would like an extension - now is the time to ask.
Join in, i want to see more awesome backgrounds! MORE!

Oh my god! Neon lights and early 20th century architecture?! Those are the few of my favourite things! Great works, Mad and oraxon, I really like them both! And I think you are both making quite some progress with every new Background Blitz, keep it up!

joelphilippage, sweet! I like those slightly weird colors, and the view outside the window gives this exactly the kind of urban ambience I was hoping to see here. Nicely done.

[City Life]

The theme for this Background Blitz is City Life:



You should create a scene that represents some aspect of the life in a big city.

It can be a busy street, a graffiti-filled ghetto, a simple flat, a shopping mall, a small cafe, a flea market, or anything else you can think of. The only restriction - it should be relatively modern, somewhere inbetween the 19th and the 22nd centuries.

The voting starts on March the 18th, unless someone asks for extension.

Good luck and have fun!

Wow, weird, thanks! I will try to start a new one asap.