Messages

Hello everyone... it's been a while since I've decided to work on a game and since an overly ambitious project and real life stalled out my last game idea, I've decided to try something a little simpler.

So far, this little game, consisting of four rooms, is set on a salvage space ship.. the crew is a bit crazy, I'm thinking early Red Dwarf as inspiration... small cast, limited setting, lots of humor.

This is the main character, she's the one that actually goes to collect the scrap.. so she's the one that does all the work. She sort of has an attitude, but is just mostly annoyed at how strange the rest of the crew is.



This is one of the crew, his name is Eric and he's a bit insane... he's also the engineer and is usually floating around the engine room.



Here's a rough version of the hallway that connects the parts of the ship.



Also, a question, since this is a spaceship, what would be the best way to animate in a low to no gravity setting? I'm thinking maybe the main character has magnet boots, but the rest of the cast sort of floats around. Just an idea...

Thanks in advanced for all your help!

If speed is your issue, once you install all updates go ahead and google "XP tweaks" and see the long list of websites that tell you what you can disable and how to do it.

Two websites that I found useful are Tweak XP and Doug's Windows Tweaks

We all know Windows has its junk in it, and if you hate that then either buy a Mac or install Linux, which each has its own set of pros and cons.

Are you on any sort of university network? I know this seems like a silly question, but when I was at college, there was a whole semester where I couldn't go on several websites (mostly RPG or game related) that the dorm firewall deemed to be "sending out viruses". It was annoying, and I ended up reformatting my computer for nothing because the ISP was trying to get rid of viruses a bit too aggressively.

Just a thought though, I've had computers randomly stop wanting to use sites before and a good format helped.

I've got a preliminary walk cycle (just the legs so far)... something is funny about the leg on the right (her left leg) but I can't quite put my finger on it. I can also post the frames if someone were willing to help me smooth out whatever funkiness is going on. If I can't work it out, I might just play up the fact that she's a little girl or (in grand adventure game fashion) just have the character blame the programmer/animator on any bugs or inconsistencies.

Thanks for all of your comments! Yes, her shirt is torn under her arm and on the sleeves (it is based on a real shirt worn by a real little girl). I was going to be ambitious and explain such a thing with an animation but... I think since this is my first go, I should just stick with simple tasks.

I think once I fix her head in side view (something is off about it, but I can't tell what), I am going to just try a walk cycle and forego the shading... I have to keep reminding myself to keep this simple again, thanks for all of your comments!

There is a lot of negative space on the bottom. I think you can really do something cool with a mist effect down there... I also think the texture in the sky can be more... blurry. The closer you get to the horizon the less definition in the clouds. This should open up some space and keep the background from looking flat.

If you can add some shading to the guy's robe, I think that would round him out and match the robe to his helmet. Maybe give some definition to his arms.

It has a good focal point, so I wouldn't move the character, especially if you want us to focus on what he is holding.

It's a good start! Keep working on it!

Thanks Stupot, I think the straight eyes look better. I had a thought that I was going for an off-kilter look, but I don't know how far I could carry that theme in animating it. So simplify! Yeah.

Here is a rough turnaround... I'm still clueless on how to shade her. I've decided that she'll most likely keep the green shirt on the whole game. I didn't want to get ahead of myself trying to animate her taking off and putting on a sweatshirt when the last walk-cycle I animated had me in tears

LOL, well, I didn't think that my post would turn into a bit of a style argument. Yes, I did the art on my avatar, it was for a digital paper doll I did some years ago.

I think I'm going to go with the red hair, as blond makes her look like a deformed Cabbage Patch Kid or a child version of Lavern from DOTT. Then I went and fixed her legs a little. For fun, I kicked out more "anime" face. I'm not so sure if I like it, as that takes away from some of the charm away from the shape of her head.

Hello everyone,

I just recently ran across this website and forum and I decided to try my hand at making a simple game. But it's been a long time since I've done any pixel-jockey work and I think I need a bit of constructive criticism and advice on shading.

This little girl is 6 years old. Her name is Wombat. I can't decide if I like her as a redhead or a blond. The green shirt she is wearing is one she stole from her older brother, it has a pocket on the inside and is how she carries around her inventory.

I know her head is oddly-shaped, but I want to keep a cartoon-ish style, but I can't quite make her hands look any better without redrawing her head.
Here she is with a transparent background.



Here she is on a test background. I know this background will be changed quite a bit as well.

I appreciate any help you guys can give!