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Messages - anasazi

#1
It's hard to judge, without knowing who this guy is supposed to be.   I don't mind the style.  I kind of like the lumpy quality he has to him, but I generally prefer slightly smaller heads.  (And his face doesn't seem nearly as fat as his body - cheekbones usually show on skinny people.) 

That said - picky things:  His stance in the full-on view is weird and unbalanced.  His feet are also way tiny - unless you want them that way, they should be more in proportion.  One arm also appears to be longer than the other.  His shirt looks way tight across the torso - tight enough to see the collar bone (which probably wouldn't be visible on such a hefty guy), but the shirt is loose around the arms.  The shadow on the jeans on the side view is odd - the leg far away would usually be more shaded.  I don't like his lips; they look too thin, and too dark.
#2
Critics' Lounge / Re: A walk-cycle
Mon 08/11/2004 22:41:58
Much better than my feeble attempts . . . still, when has that ever stopped me?

The torso usually twists while walking.  So, rather than a side-on view, we should see some modulation (say, 15 degrees each way) while walking.  And the arms are, indeed, far too short.  As the shoulder swings back, we should see more of that side of the torso (particularly the chest). 

There also seems to be something funky with the area where the jacket meets the pants - in a few frames, there's something decidedly odd going on.  (Perhaps the arm passing through the area which ought to be solid buttock?)
#3
Besides what other people have said (blurriness especially), here's a few other things to think about:

Pic 1:  Your grass is wisping up into your sky.  Not a good thing.  Also, the sky color should be a little more even . . . and the grass should have a little more shape to it. 

Perspective.  Pic 2, with the pretty red lava (?) is really skewed.  The stairs don't look quite right. . . and unless the pentagram was drawn by someone in a hurry, that should be put in perspective, too, so it doesn't look so uneven.  It's also very obvious where the floor and wall meet; which is fine, if you weren't looking for continuity.  If the stone is supposed to go up from the floor to the wall, then that line should be blended in, and in should be clear from shadows, rock textures, etc.

Pic 3.  The Earth.  Is that our Earth?  If so, the continents have done some major drifting.  The ice caps are also too small.  Also, land isn't universally green from space, and there are usually some cloud formations floating around. 

I like your color choices, and the overall watercolorey feel is fine, but a little more dileneation and time will really make a big difference.
#4
Age: 21
Gender: Female

1)   Name three characteristics of a typical adventure game
- Challenges come from puzzles and mental challenges rather than physical coordination
- Plot and or character driven
- A greater focus on "world creation" than average

2)   What makes it easy to identify an adventure game from any other genre?

Well, it isn't.  Not always.  Adventure games seem to be the "leftovers" - the games that aren't defined by other genres.  Some RPGs come awfully close to being adventure games - they aren't because of the unique system in place for experience or combat or whatever.  The closest description I can think of is interactive fiction (which still leaves a lot of wiggle room).
Because they're not easily definable, I think that allows a lot of room for creativity.

3)   What makes you choose a game? (e.g. screenshots, reviews, description etc…)

The plot has to sound interesting or amusing.  Professional games need to convince me that it is, in fact, an adventure game, and not a waste of my money.  Amateur games need to convince me that they've done enough beta-testing for it to work on my machine.

4)   When buying a game what information would you like to see on the product or display?

I'm always made happy when I see innovative material.  I like concept sketches.  I want a teaser of a plot, and enough of a characterization to know that the PC is someone I can identify with on some level.  Pretty graphics are nice, too.

5)   Name three characteristics of a typical super-hero
- S/he has an alter-ego that nobody seems able to guess, despite clues that would make it obvious to a three year old child.
- There's some inner turmoil that the supervillain exploits (knowledgeably or not).  
- There is something (wealth, strength, special powers) that separates them from the common man.

6)   They say an image can speak 1000 words, would you buy a game just because of the images displayed on the box? What type of impact do images give to you?

Yes.  Absolutely.  Pictures give a frame of reference for the game.  If the artwork is done right, you ought to be able to tell immediately what the mood of the game is, something about the personality of the character, and more about the "feelings" you should get while playing the game.  A team of artists (both cover art and internal) can make or break a game.  
#5
The skin tone looks weird to me - a little too blue, maybe?  Also, the shadows are almost weblike.  Unless there's some looming menace, you should either use another gradient for shading or cut back on the shadow detail.  I like the piercing, and the feel of the piece is good.  Nice job.
#6
What, you mean the three novels on my computer, none of which are half-way finished?  Or the short stories that take a year to write?  That promise to drop 20 lbs by swimsuit season?  My master vacation, which will never materialize, because the US government doesn't want to give me a passport?  My paintings/ fan art / online comic / game?

Projects are hard to finish without motivation.  That's especially true for creative projects, because new things come along to take our time and energy.  If I'm not being paid for something, or getting a huge boost out of creation, then it's not going to get finished.  Recently, I've been trying to remind myself that I do stuff mostly *because* of the creating part - getting finished isn't all that fun.  (That's just me, though.)
#7
General Discussion / Re:Gay Adventure
Tue 19/08/2003 19:49:13
Hmm . . . more gay rights . . . $200 dollar laptops . . . anyone else see a connection here?  Why are we objecting?  Hell, maybe if we allow gay marriage, we can get our laptops free!  Free!
I hardly think of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" as being the voice of the GBLT community in the US - anymore than I think of lesbian porn as a weapon of women's lib.

On topic . . . it would be nice to know *who* this group was.  LSL was a success partly because the main character was a mockery of the social life of how the world sees engineers - backwards, awkward, badly dressed . . .
It might be a PR nightmare to create a game that has that same mocking element for a minority population.  (The equivalent of doing a blackface game, if what I'm imagining is correct.)
#8
Critics' Lounge / Re:Lucy Character "Narnia"
Mon 18/08/2003 23:20:46
The combination of the colors of pink is painful, and in the front version, her forehead seems kind of high.  Otherwise, pretty good!
#9
Not a bad start.  Here's some things to try:
The Castle Picture:
The road looks flat and weird.  It should be narrower for the perspective you're trying for.  If anyone goes into the castle, there should be a road inside.  Try adding a few bushes/clumps of grass/flowers/weeds/ivy/rocks/trees/mossy logs/flags to the scenery.  
Historical note:  Most outer walls on castles don't have large picture windows.  It's too easy for people to shoot inside.  Arrow slits meant the defenders could shoot out and the attackers had to resort to other tactics.  Like catapults.  
The . . . Dumpster? . . . Picture:
I'd probably show less ceiling, and make either the walls or the floor (or both!) a different color.  It's hard to read the dumpster, and I'm not sure whether it's like a stockroom in a gaming company (in which case there could be shelves, boxes, cd cases, and whatnot), or something else.  I like the poster.
The Guy's Room Picture:
The bed and the table need to be pulled out of the wall.  Right now they look stuck in it.  The perspective, especially on the table, seems weird, but I'm too lazy to actually draw perspective lines.  The lamp is cute - it looks like one of those oil lamps.  Like the other scenes, it seems a bit bleak.  Not very many rooms look this empty.  Where does he put his clothes?  His shoes?  His collection of comic books?  Does he have a window?  A CD collection?  A computer?  A desk?  A garbage can?  You certainly don't need all these things, but most people add something to their space to make it feel homey.  Look around at your space.
You're certainly not off to a bad start - these are backgrounds you can build off of.
#10
The Rumpus Room / Re:Haiku maybe help?
Fri 15/08/2003 00:49:04
Art, schmart. Organize
your ideas anew.  Behold!
Everything makes sense.
#11
What makes something offensive is usually the manner in which it is presented, rather than the actual subject material.  Sexism, racism, drug use, and politics are part of society.
I'm usually annoyed by games (set in a realistic setting) that completely by-step any possible issue that might offend somebody, because it means that the game designer was more interested in appeasing his demographic, rather than creating a world that characters could be immersed in.
That said, I'm personally not going to play games that handle the issues a thoughtless way.  If the character's goal is to be a pimp and collect prostitutes to support his wild lifestyle, I want some recognition that this is an *issue* for some people, and not just a natural way of life.  If the character is going to assassinate Adolf Hitler, I want reasons and set-up and characterization behind it.  
This doesn't happen in a lot of games for normal issues.  (Why does the hero in Quest for Glory want to be a hero, anyway?)  So it's good to stay away the issues that will offend people unless they will add something to your game or you're able to handle them in a manner that will make people think.  (Gasp!  Wheeze!)
#12
Critics' Lounge / Re:"Sketch" Style Screenshot
Fri 25/07/2003 20:56:35
I like the look, but more as concept art than a final game look.  I think it would be tough to play a game in this style, mostly because it would be hard to get good detail.  It looks to me like the style works best with large areas of shading.  I can't really picture a more detailed scene that wouldn't look kind of weird.  
Still, I think you could modify it to work, and it's certainly interesting to look at.

(And yes, the little white pixels would bug me as long as the outline for the character remains hard and black.  If you softened it some, it would be a)less noticeable and b) more arty.)
#13
That's awesome!  Of course, it's a little too small to see detail, so I can't really tell what the buttons are . . . it reminds me of Commander Keen's wristwatch interface.
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