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Wow, Jayel's animation is awesome! In my opinion, it is leaps and bounds better than the other walkcycles posted in this thread. Very simple, but effective (and oozing with personality). I'm amazed at how much detail you were able to put into it.

Did you draw this by scanning in sketches, or did you use a program like Flash or MOHO?

I beg you to use that animation for the game.

To get rid of the "limp", there must be an even number of frames, with each foot's movement (from front to back) symmetrical in distance.

EX: 4 frames left foot taking a step (while right is going back) + 4 frames right foot taking a step (while left is going back).

I wish I could illustrate my examples here, but alas, I cannot save as animated gif...

Ok, I guess actions speak louder than words.

Your original, low-contrast sprite features a whopping 63 colors, even after your reduction. I took the liberty (and a half-hour, so bear with any minor mistakes) of redrawing the same character. My version sports only 12 colors, which I use very efficiently to render into a high-contrast sprite.

2x zoom


See if you can spot the differences.

I think you're using far too many colors to draw him. For backgrounds, it's ok to use gradual changes in the value of colors to shade, but with characters (especially ones you plan on animating) it's much more efficient to reduce the number of colors to a point where you can make him look crisp and sharp.

You should avoid using airbrush, dodge, burn, soften, and smudge when working with pixel art. I guarantee you that a sprite with hand picked colors will look much more distinguished.

P.S. Did you paint over Boston Low from The Dig?

I'm not sure I quite understand. Are we using the AGS Forums for posting homework now???

By "need to find out: target audience", do you mean you're trying to figure out who this paper should be written to? If that's the case, it might be more helpful to figure that out BEFORE you wrote anything.

Maybe try making his shirt lighter to heighten the contrast. I think some cops wear short sleeve white shirts and black slacks.

I would use no more than 2 shades of green on the grass tiles. Maybe 3 shades for extra long grass, but I wouldn't have too much of that in the picture. Otherwise, it just looks too scintillating and distracts the viewer's attention from the house.

It might help your picture if you decided on a light source and shaded accordingly.

Did anyone have trouble with the Apprentice 2 interface besides the Inventory reviewers?

Where can you find the results???
If there's a list somewhere on the MAGS site, I can't find it.

I would give it more depth by making the foreground objects more detailed than those in the background. Also, I would make the foreground darker.

I scanned your story and a have a few comments.

- Try to make your story 70% description instead of mostly being dialogue.

- When you do use dialogue, try to avoid trite lines. To skip them you can always switch back to a descriptive voice (ex. "Phil greeted Bob" or "the twins contested the ownership of the bedraggled kitten").

A few comments on the game (in no particular order) -

It would be nice to be able to set up a routine system: at the start of a day you can decide to free play it or you can schedule it ahead of time so you won't have to micromanage. It would make those boring, working months go quicker.

As it is, it takes FREAKING FOREVER to gain increases in the primary stats (intelligence and strength) except for charisma (thanks, Freudbot). My character went to the gym for an hour and 15 minutes a day for three months and her strength only went up ONE FREAKING POINT! (Health and nutrition was full). I found the same problem with knowledge, self-esteem, etc.

It might be nice if the characters on board had pre-established (randomly chosen or not) sexual preferences instead of being blank slates. Also, it would look better if they walked around, too, buying items for each other (and maybe you for a change) and borrowing library books. Maybe they could initiate conversation with you for a change. It might be nice if you could visit other NPC's rooms, so the residential decks serve more then just an intro-level job for the security grunts.

Overall, I would like to see more events happen. I volunteered my character for the exploratory mission, which ends in a game glitch. My character overpowers the guard and leaves the room, but the room doesn't change, I can still move my cursor, and interact with Gloria. There goes several hours of my game time down the drain. I'm especially frustrated since I'd spent the 30,000 to max out my room and achieved a full popularity bar (every indivual loved me) as well as a first lieutenant post.

Anyways, it's nice idea for an alternate use of AGS. Playing it kind of makes me want to make my own life simulator, with polished graphics and dynamic events...

If this paragraph is composed of spoken lines, I'd suggest shortening the sentence length. Maybe something like this (I'm trying not to stray too far from the original):

Look, I'm not a bad guy. Sometimes good guys make mistakes -- and they turn into big mistakes. I believed what my friends said. Now I'm stuck here in bumfuck catching snot-nose kids shoplifting. And my boss wants to see me. Probably the usual shit. I just think about drinking beer when my shift's up.

Try reading it out loud. It sounds more like something someone would actually say.

I really like your screenshots and the fonts you're using. The title, Utopia Prime reminds me of that old show, Transformers. Or was that Optimus Prime?

[Total Christmas Score: $12,272.50]

Well, poop, I know you've got a lot of response from your gifts, but I think I have you beat here.
Here's my Christmas score:

1 (one) Japanese woodblock calender, street value $15 (all $ are USD)
2 (two) Sculpey figurines made by my 12 yo bro, estimated value $5,340 (each)
1 (one) garage door, valued at $1,500
1 (one) Hungry Hungry Hippos board game, garage sale edition, $45
1 (one) autographed biography of Don Knotts, $32.50 (receipt included by accident)

Total Christmas Score: $12,272.50

Anyways, even if you just glanced over this list quickly, you'll find that I did have a more successful Christmas than you, poop. Better luck next year, sucka!

If I were you, I'd try posting your poems on a poetry forum (or one that specifically deals with poetry) for feedback. Any constructive criticism they can give you will be much more helpful than what we can offer.
Since these forums don't deal with poetry, it's really not fair to get mad at any comments the members here post.

Maybe I'm just the only artist who would rather work on a AGS game than a "short film" made in AGS. I don't know, my opinion does not represent that of an artistic community.

In consideration of several recent threads, my annoyance was directed at Alec. The  assumption "nobody reads the ACR thread anymore" is no excuse to ignore forum rules and courtesy. When he continued to ask for talented artists to help him complete a script he didn't write, I became annoyed. I don't think a member of the AGS community should start a project unless he/she plans to play a large role in its development. From written appearance, Alec is committing the typical newbie foible: asking for talented people to complete a project for him.
When Pussy jumped in to defend the whole "short film" thing, I manifested my annoyance at Alec by attacking the logic of Pussy's retort. Sorry if I have come off as rude, but I would really like to see these forums used to benchmark the progress of creative, talented people like in the good old days.
/rant

Yea, MOJO or Flash animation would really suit that cartoon style you're looking for. It would make the animator's job easier, especially when you're dealing with such large sprites. As traditional cel painted frames (a la Curse of MI) are impractical, vector animation presents a nice alternative, allowing you to make large, smoothly moving loops.

By "balls" do you mean "Christmas tree decorations" or "Christmas lights"? As "balls" means something entirely different where I'm from, your statements confuse me.