Messages

[4 frames]

Sorry if this is overkill, but I'm posting these walkcycles for reference. I hope they can help you. Some of these are over a year old, so don't go too hard on me. My goal is to show different framecounts, and the resulting walkcycles. A functional walkcycle doesn't necessarily need a lot of frames to look decent.

4 frames


6 frames


8 frames


10 frames

From my brief glance...

Frame 7 needs some work. His foot needs to land farther out when he takes a step, otherwise it looks like he's snapping his knee inward with every step on his right leg.

[kec]

And... time's up! Wow, it's great to see the contest generated so many entries. So many entries I will have to write two things about. Damn you people.

kec. Don't get near this half-humanoid. That arm/gun attachment must be new, because after shooting his own arm, he's blowing holes in the ground. Perhaps digging a grave the hard way?
THE GOOD. His expression is classic. I dig the whole “I can't cry, I'm a badass, but this hurts like a bitch on crank.”
THE BAD. The shading is too subtle, especially for the harsh black outlines.

_RyRayer_ Here's another guy that seems to have hurt himself. This time it looks like a cut, perhaps a shaving mishap.
THE GOOD. That silky hair. He's like a brunette Fabio.
THE BAD. He's flatter than a Manet painting.

Tuomas This one reminds me of something I found in the vegetable garden the other day. I was lucky I didn't lose a hand. It might be nice to see this one actually firing a cannonball.
THE GOOD. Original idea, I like the non-humanoid twist.
THE BAD. Too many extras. The spear and knife don't seem to match. Those wheels need work, too.

Inkoddi This guy reminds me a movie I saw a while back. They had these glowing sword things. It was a novelty, but it didn't prevent the movie from sucking llama balls.
THE GOOD. He/she/it would be easy to animate.
THE BAD. If you're going for a simple style, maybe get rid of that AA. Also, it has no teeth to be armed to.

Yakspit Definitely a needed entity. Something that will murder annoying Japanese franchise animals.
THE GOOD. Camouflage!
THE BAD. Thick outlines.

Stefano I laugh every time I see this piece. The expression, the size of the weapons, everything about this pic is priceless!
THE GOOD. Oh, man. I wouldn't even know where to start.
THE BAD. Stefano is a raging lesbian.

Fawfulhasfury Reminiscent of a cross between Tom (from Tom and Jerry) and Tails (from that hedgehog game for the SEGA).
THE GOOD. An action pose with foreshortening.
THE BAD. Pillow shading, overly saturated colors. I'm not sure what's in his right paw either. Looks like a medieval helmet with three huge piano keys sticking out of it.

Haddas An alien with weapons. I will have to think about that one. I think it might have been done before in an old game. I'll have to check.
THE GOOD. His hair reminds me of Pib's.
THE BAD. AA on the outside of the border. Sketchy outlines.

King Nipper This one is hilarious! Just the idea of having a soft drink named “Sprite!” Oh man, you should go into business. I'm sure pixel artists everywhere would drink that stuff if you made it.
THE GOOD. Great idea for a soft drink.
THE BAD. I'm not too sure about the arms on the sides of the can. Some people might find it disconcerting to drink from something with arms.

SpacePirateCaine I like the character concept. Looks like something straight out of a Japanese fighting game.
THE GOOD. Badass concept, solid pixel work.
THE BAD. More contrast would be nice. Also, his legs look flat.

ProgZmax This character is sweet. You should totally turn him into a comic book character. I bet you could sell tons of copies worldwide. Especially in France.
THE GOOD. Clean and classic.
THE BAD. Double pixels, inconsistent AA, no black outline on his pants.

Floskfinger Here's another brunette version of Fabio. Albeit a little older, and wearing some armor. It's amazing what sun damage will do to human skin.
THE GOOD. The texturing on the armor makes it look battle worn. Or like stone. And stone armor sure is badass.
THE BAD. You know you've been staring at the monitor too long when you think a sprite just blinked at you.

Krysis It looks like Jason grew a belly as the result of his cupcake addiction. After  joining a gay pride parade, painted his mask orange and upgraded his machete to a shotgun and a missile.
THE GOOD. A cute version of Jason. Awwww.
THE BAD. You know you need to wrap it up when another sprite starts blinking at you.

To make a long story short, Stefano's guinea pig murders all the other entries, with ammo left over. Congratulations, Stefano, you're a killer. Hope you're happy. Please make the next competition way cooler than this one.

The end.

Then again, Dave is a college football player. The qb at that level would be buff. Even a kicker has the similar mandatory weight training programs. But yeah, the "working out to open the garage door" puzzle is definitely a "filler" one (ridiculous and unecessary).

I think it's a pity this thread was dredged up again. I get the impression everyone ignored the experts' advice (like Helm and Loominous). Sure other people's advice may only require changing a few pixels, but one needs to approach the project from a different angle. Sometimes it's not easy to assume an open mindset.

Misj' had an excellent point; it's difficult (and often pointless) to imitate a style outside the boundaries of that game's exigence. The DOTT style was made specifically for DOTT, not MM, or any other game. Rather than force fitting a style, one must evaluate their own project, and decide on something that best suits its needs or goals.

Loved this "test" to pieces. A few things to note:

- When I looked at the 12th floor card when it was on the counter, Jack walked around then THROUGH the counter and ended up directly behind the receptionist before chattering off his description.

- Also, before I discovered the intended way to unlink the two characters (an awesome feature, btw), I figured out that I could trap one guy in the bathroom by using the door after the second man walked into the room.

- When I set off the fire alarm the first time, the bathroom door was open. Regardless of this fact, the receptionist stood in the (open) doorway and told the characters that she was about to enter. It didn't really make sense if the door was open and she was already looking into the bathroom.

- Shouldn't there be a toilet stall in the bathroom, too?

[Armed to the Teeth]

Hey cats and kittens! Sorry to leave you waiting for a whole day without a Sprite Jam to enter! I feel so guilty about it that I'm practically crying. That's the truth. And if you don't think so, PM me and I'll mail you the soggy tissues. Isn't that just vile, folks?

Without any more chatter, I am proud to present the latest Jam:

Armed to the Teeth

As dutiful AGSers, it is your job to pixel me sprites of entities (like space captains, intelligent alien asparagus, or detective dogs. Those kinds of entities) that are carrying one or more weapons! Keep the images no larger than 120x120 and no more than 32 colors for your masterpieces.

Version for those that dislike words
Draw:
- A living thing
- weapon(s) included
- 120x120 max size
- 32 colors max

After the week is through, I will say something nice and something bad about every piece! That should be incentive enough to enter this contest!Ã,  Until then, I'm off!
(Ian climbs into his hover-limo and heads towards the Kickstand)

My point was not to show you three statements that could be improved. I randomly chose three statements out of the script. Three out of countless more.

Arguing over words like "good" or "great" or the differences betrween "rock" and "rock n' roll" isn't going to improve your script. That's akin to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

[critique]

My intention was not to be mean, but to critique your script. In fact, the forum you posted in is called the “Critic's Lounge” for this express purpose. From the past few threads you posted in this section, it seems like you are resilient of any major criticisms.

When a movie script is made from a game, the writers take huge liberties with the dialogue. Often, the connection is so loose the script could be defined as “inspired” by the game, rather than a strict adherence.

First of all, by trying to create a script for MM, you're setting a very difficult goal. You're trying to condense a long game (definitely over 3 hours of gameplay) into 90 to 120 minutes. In addition, the writing in MM was generally very high quality, so people will expect a lot from a script using the MM name. It would be far easier if you attempted an original project, rather than a fan one.

Your dialogue is a case in point (unless of course, you're appealing to an audience of FOBs). Allow me to pull a few examples from your text:

Mats' Broken English: Yeah, those are really great stuff. I really like music, especially Rock and Rock and Roll. I want to start a band but the problem is that I've hard time finding band-members and have the feeling of that we won't get any play-contract.

Natural English: Yeah, that's good stuff. I'm really into music, especially rock n' roll. I want to start a band, but I'm having trouble finding members. And then it'd be hard to get a record deal.

Mats' Broken English: It's been that way ever since Dr. Fred found a meteor that crashed at the front yard and took it into the lab. I've heard about that he and the meteor have plans on taking over the world by sucking out the brains of people, especially teenagers.

Natural English: It's been that way since Dr. Fred found the meteor that crashed in our front yard. He took it into his lab. I heard that he and the meteor plan to take over the world. Something about sucking out teenager's brains or something.Ã, 

Mats' Broken English: That is Nurse Edna Edison. She is Dr. Fred's wife. Sure, she is a little bit crazy and she have things for men and teenage guys.

Natural English: That's Nurse Edna, Fred's wife. She's a bit crazy, like she has a thing for teenage guys. (you could use the word penchant instead of “thing” if you wanted to clarify)

It's painfully obvious which lines you wrote and which ones you borrowed.

Read Strunk and White's “Elements of Style.” It's a great reference for improving your grasp of English grammar and strengthening your writing.

EDIT: I also recommend Janet Burroway's "Writing Fiction." Excellent and comprehensive, it's a must-have for any writer.

[Cyber Musketeer!]

Allow me to present: Cyber Musketeer!

He kills spyware and viruses inside your computer. And is especially good against that damn Google 302 redirect.

His superpower is his cyber rapier (so sharp it can split bytes).

60x60 (2x zoom), 6 colors

I doesn't seem to be in screen play format. Like the scenes aren't broken into shots, and it uses terms like viewer's point of view (doesn't make sense from a movie standpoint). As for the dialogue, most of it is straight from the game. So, what's the point of transcribing (most) of it and putting your name at the top???

No, no. I would just have to be able to visit the World of Fish for this NOT to be a walking dead (to get the bucket of fish to save Max). And I have the Ball of Twine on the map after talking to the moleman. Although I don't remember the old man mentioning the World of Fish....hmmmmm. I will have to try.

http://www2.evansville.edu/studiochalkboard/draw.html

This website really helped me work through perspective troubles I encountered.

My advice would be to start the room with your vanishing point(s) and create everything else based on it/them.

Ummm.... I'm still stunned by the above post. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with Sam and Max, but it's quite cryptic.

Scummbuddy.... yes, yes, of course it's Hit the Road. I don't know why I wrote Freelance Police. The walking dead is not something your average player would run into. But because it's possible, it signifies a failure on the design side of things.

If you refer to the definitions of "look" and "inspect", I think "look" implies more of a cursory glance than "inspect" does. If anything, "inspect" is more of a perusal, and it would make more sense if that action brought up a detailed description of a hotspot.

If you really must keep both, I would suggest you switch the functions. But I must side with Jason on this point. It's a big hassle if you can't automatically see the hotspot name by moving your cursor over it.

I may have found a design flaw in Freelance Police.

(SPOILER WARNING)

I solved a bunch of puzzles in the beginning, went through the Tunnel of Love, and got the crowbar from the moleman. However, I avoided riding the Cone of Tragedy. I broke into Trixie's trailer and found the Gator Golf clue. I visited Gator Golf, where Bumpus uses Max as a golf ball.

Here's the catch:
Max is trapped inside the dunking booth. To free him, I need to the bucket of fish (to align the alligators into a bridge) from the World of Fish. To visit the World of Fish, I need the fish magnet from the lost and found tent at the carnival. To get that magnet, I need to have lost my inventory on the Cone of Tragedy. And (due to lazy animators, I think), Sam refuses to ride the Cone without Max. As a result, I can wander around and never win.

Looks like a mistake on the part of the designers (or testers). Oops.

Think about it from a different angle... Pib's job is not to solve the problems of everyone he meets. His job is to solve his own problems (or at least those of his Master's). Put yourself in Pib's shoes. Why would you want to give away an item unless you knew you could something in return?

If you think about the situation, Ollie is guarding the gate to the mansion, and has sole control over it.  You need a reason to go through that gate. Perhaps you can find out something more about the mansion by talking to other people around.

I think the backlash to the traditional beauty promoted by runway shoes and fashion magazines is becoming mainstream. For instance, look at the latest Dove campaign for its moisturizer: www.campaignforrealbeauty.com. Or the recent Nike print campaign celebrating women's big butts, thunder thighs, wide hips, and tomboy knees (and 2 other body parts that I forget, maybe shoulders and something else).

I have to say that using non-professional models in advertising is a step in the right direction, as far as promoting self-esteem among women and curbing self-image complexes.

In addition, it's a solid marketing approach. 90% of any female product is used by women of average looks. Maybe 2% or fewer are users that look like the women the ads depict. The remaining 8% could be men who are closely in touch with their innate femininity, but that's a whole other topic.

I think getting an office away from home is a step in the right direction. Sure it costs, but it benefits you in two ways:
1. Gives you motivation to produce (because of the impending rent)
2. Gives you a psychological edge by having a physical place where you only work on your games. As opposed to your home, where you eat, sleep, etc.

For a company to succed you need to offer (i) something of quality.
Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã, (ii) something original
Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã,  Ã, (iii) lot's of internet trafic.

I would disagree. The most important thing you need is A CUSTOMER BASE. Without that, it doesn't matter how original or high-quality your product is if you don't have anyone who wants to buy it.

As far as originality goes, that's not what publishers are looking for. They want a low-risk, cliched but proven game concept. While these games don't make enormous profits, they are stable and that's what the accountants look for.

This article about creative genius and demigod Tim Schafer will give you a good idea about the climate of game making today.
http://www.gamespy.com/articles/585/585524p1.html

There's no question your game designing skills are improving! I remember playing NIAR and I thought it was only above average (decent graphics, but missing interactions). I definitely enjoyed myself playing Chick Chaser. It's a solid game that really evoked a sense of nostalgia for me. Sorry to come off as critical or unappreciative of your efforts. I just want to stress that I loved the game!

I don't completely agree with your comment about Mahatma. The only thing you may figure out from that conversation is that Theresa wants to pass, but not that you have to steal an exam paper for her. You only get to know that for sure once you exhaust the second dialog with her.

After talking to Mahatma (who says the only thing she wants to do is pass that class or whatever), I looked through the window in the lecture room door (near Theresa) and I saw a "stack of exam papers." As an experienced adventurer, I jumped to the conclusion that I needed to steal the exam for her. This was before I saw any hints, so I don't think I'm the only one to figure out what I needed to do before the player character did.

I'm not asking you to go back and fix anything with the game, I'm just pointing out things that confused me.

I really liked the depth of the game, dialogue heavy and interaction rich. Four things bothered me though. (warning: some spoilers below)

1. Interaction dialogue in the solarium seemed rushed and inconsistent when compared to the rest of the rooms.

2. I tried talking to the geek at first, but it told me I wouldn't. So I talked to Theresa, then to Mahatma. I learned about her exam troubles from him, so I spent about half an hour fiddling around with the ladder (from the inside, it says the first story windows don't open, but from the outside, it says those windows are locked from the inside. And later, in the dean's office, the window DOES open. Oops.).

When I read the walkthrough, it said I had to talk to the geek, then Theresa again before it would let me climb the ladder. This didn't make much sense from the game's standpoint, since it never really gives me a reason to talk to the geek and if I already know about the test from Mahatma, I should be able to climb the ladder.

3. There's a misundertanding between a "death" and an "ending". I guess technically, a death IS an ending, but that would mean that FOA had like 50 billion endings. It would be cool if some things took a little longer to catch up to you.

4. I had trouble understanding the player character. Apparently, he dislikes meatheads and sometimes refuses to talk to them because they are "too stupid". But on the same note, he is a shallow, uneducated slob. Like from some scenes, he shows himself as barely literate (strange for a non-athlete university student) and basically an all around fuck-tard. Look at his conversations with Carmen and Theresa, for instance. Also, who takes a trophy, overlooking the fact it's crowned with a statuette of a female figure skater???

I know it's tongue and cheek, it's just seems like that dialogue fits a lounge lizard like Larry Laffer better than it fits a college student.

Besides these flaws, I enjoyed playing your game.