Pixel Joint Forum: Game Art Direction Help

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CuriousBeefJerky
Commander

Joined: 23 April 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 132

Topic: Game Art Direction Help
Posted: 25 July 2018 at 5:07pm

Hi, I'm looking for feedback on the art direction of a game.

Some basic info first:

Name:

Tetrassault

General Description:

A 2D Action Platformer with stages that shift, attack, and can be destroyed. Fight through 10 Cyber Dragons and uncover the culprit behind this attack on a infant Cyberspace.

Theme:

Cyberspace; an unnatural, unsettling, but somewhat familiar digital world. The mood of each stage may vary, but overall I'm trying to make the player feel like they are in a strange and computery world.

To keep it simple, I'm trying to find answers to a few key questions:

1) Do the background, foreground, and sprite pieces fit the theme? Do they fit with each other?
2) Does the color palette suit the theme? Does it need work?

3) Do the foreground pieces stand out enough from the background?

4) Any opinions, observations, or critiques? Quality? Feelings?

Gel Bots:

Turt Bots:

Wisp and Bat Bot

Char 1: Mega Bit, general animations

Boss 2: Cyber Wyrm; Hover, Dash Attack, Breath Attack

General Art Guide:

I'd like to get a direction set before I start making everything, so any feedback or critique is welcome and appreciated.

*edit: As a side note, each block that the stage is made up of is destructible, so the "blocky" look is necessary.

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Theo-Theo
Midshipman

Joined: 25 July 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 11

Posted: 26 July 2018 at 8:38am

First of all, I love what you did with the background - letters and numbers forming a picture instantly made me think of cyberspace even before I actually read the post. However, maybe instead of both letters and numbers, you could only use numbers? Or keep the letters but add more numbers to the mix to balance things out?

The color scheme seems pretty spot-on, lots of cold blues is a good call as far as digital world goes. I'm not sure about the light browns, though - they don't look bad and they work well but they're certainly a more organic and less technological in their feel.

I'm not too fond of the shape of the nametags (?), though. If you're going for a technological theme, maybe something like this would be a better choice?

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CuriousBeefJerky
Commander

Joined: 23 April 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 132

Posted: 26 July 2018 at 10:23pm

Thank you Theo-Theo! I'll reply in order.

First, I've been debating whether or not to use letters and numbers, zeroes and ones, all numbers, or hex(0-9, A-F). Should I use all of these in different stages to set the stages apart? Or, pick one and use that on all the stages for consistency?

For the color palette, I reworked the foreground colors to better stand out, and maybe feel less natural. I'm trying to achieve an unnatural feeling by leaving green out of the palette, since green is the most natural color. I forgot browns were the second most common natural color. I also feel bright green grids is what people usually think when they think of cyberspace, but solid green and black doesn't appeal to me for this, and grids get boring. I also like the combative, opposing feel of Blue v Red/Orange, which I think fits the Action Platformer genre. Also, it reminds me of Tron now that I think on it.

Rambling aside, these are the changes in the image below:

A) Original Palette

B) Increased Saturation of all FG colors

-C and D use the colors from B

-C, D, and E use the same redone Red and Blue ramps

C) Red ramp moved more towards red

D) Blue ramp moved more towards blue

E) Red and Blue ramps redone.

Lastly, that's the HP bar lol. I'm trying to keep a minimal HUD. I agree it doesn't look very techy like that, so I've done some different versions. Which is your favorite?

The rises and dips help indicate where different points on the HP bar are, so you can tell about how much HP you have at a glance.

Much appreciation for the feedback. I'm still at the point where I can change most of this around, so any opinions are welcome.

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Theo-Theo
Midshipman

Joined: 25 July 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 11

Posted: 27 July 2018 at 3:25am

For some reason, the original color scheme (A) appeals to me the most but D is also good.

As far as HUD goes, either C or D looks the best.

As for the letters and numbers in the background, I like the idea of using different sets of them to differentiate the levels.

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yrizoud
Commander

Joined: 03 May 2021
Location: France
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 343

Posted: 27 July 2018 at 5:03am

I noticed that you rely a lot on dark lines to separate body parts or indicate details, such as the dragon scales or bat-bot wing segments. Just be aware that this darkens the overall sprite, and often makes it look more thin / skinny. It may betray your original design.
The phenomenon is stronger on small elements : a 1-pixel line on a 10x10 shape doesn't affect it much, but a 1-pixel line on a 4-pixel-wide shape reduces it by 25%.
If you want some characters to look more stocky ("buff") and closer to the viewer, you had better not rely on this habit.
Note that you have the possiblity of using the middle color when you wan to draw a dark separation on a body part that is of the lightest color.

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CuriousBeefJerky
Commander

Joined: 23 April 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 132

Posted: 29 July 2018 at 9:08am

@Theo-Theo

Thank you for the feedback. I do like the darker blues of D and E, still not sure about the red ramp.

@yrizoud

I appreciate the advice, and thank you for the feedback.

I know it's against general pixel guidelines, but I think the darker lines in the sprites are better for this case, for a few reasons.

First, the way I'm drawing the sprites leaves them with dark inner lines, and I'd have to change it on every sprite I create, and any time I can save without reducing quality needs to be saved.

Aside from that, I think the more thin look for the characters is fitting, since they are humanoids (because we as humans relate to that, and I believe if cyberspace existed, we would use humanoid forms as our avatars for the most part), but also they are digital beings, so having them look a bit alien is fitting since it helps suggest the theme of familiar but unnatural.

Lastly, I could change the inner lines to a lighter color, but that would break some rules I've set for the art style. I'm trying to stick to 4 colors or less per sprite(excepting some larger sprites and background), and adding a middle color to each one would increase this. Also, changing the inner lines only on the small sprites would make them stand out as different. I believe it's better to look consistently bad over having some bad and good parts, because at least it looks consistent and like it was done as a stylistic choice.

I appreciate the advice though. I hadn't really put to words that darker inner lines make sprites look thinner, but I do believe it fits the theme.

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CuriousBeefJerky
Commander

Joined: 23 April 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 132

Posted: 01 August 2018 at 12:47pm

Test of character movement speeds and movement actions. Does this feel "right"? To fast? To slow? Feedback is appreciated.

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eishiya
Commander

Joined: 04 August 2022
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1109

Posted: 01 August 2018 at 9:21pm

The walking and sliding feel too slow, the jumping looks good. The walking also has the look of sliding on ice because the footsteps in the animation don't match the movement speed.

The wall-slide feels very "meh" right now, but it might just be the lack of particles and animation, the speed is fine.

The dash feels very slow and very long. I think covering the same distance in a shorter time would feel better.

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CuriousBeefJerky
Commander

Joined: 23 April 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 132

Posted: 02 August 2018 at 8:47pm

@eishiya

I've reworked the animations for the walk cycle, and changed the move speed of the slide and dash. The first in each set is the original speed for reference. Which do you think is best, if any? Getting the animations to feel right is important, so I am willing to change it until it is right. I plan to add particle effects to the slide and wall slide, and either add a particle or after image effect to the dash.

Aside from that, if you were talking about the movement speed of the character in addition to the animation, I am against changing it because the other two characters in the game for the most part are alt versions of this character, and both move faster. Also, some precision platforming will be in the game, so I want the characters to be manageable.

Thank you for the feedback! I have trouble seeing these small details since I'm close to the project, so I appreciate the outside view on it.

Walk spd 1.0

Walk spd 1.25

Walk spd 1.5

Dash1

Dash2

Dash 3

Dash 4

Slide 1

Slide 2

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eishiya
Commander

Joined: 04 August 2022
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1109

Posted: 03 August 2018 at 8:42am

Dash 4 and Slide 2 definitely feel the best to me. With some particle effects to punctuate them, they should feel pretty good! The first slide could also work, if it's not meant to be a very fast/strong move. Without any punchy signifier of the motion starting and stopping (e.g. particles), it's hard to tell what looks good.

All the walks still feel off. If you watch the character's feet, you'll see them slide along the surface. Instead of trying to adjust the player's speed for the animation, figure out the speed that's best for gameplay, and then adjust the animation to fit that speed. Some sliding is inevitable if the animation's framerate is lower than the game's framerate, but a lot of it can be avoided.

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CuriousBeefJerky
Commander

Joined: 23 April 2015
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 132

Posted: 03 August 2018 at 10:24pm

I changed around the walk animation a little, and made most of the slide occur when the character has his feet out. It still has a good bit of slide, but it's also getting to the point of moving to fast to keep track of. Feedback appreciated on all of these. I'll add particles soon. Think it's better? Closer at least?

Additionally, I've added an air dive/kick to help decend faster, and help land from an air dash, since the landing from it can make you slide off of small platforms. Any opinions?

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WIP (Work In Progress)
Pixel Joint Forum : Pixel Art : WIP (Work In Progress)

Author	Message
CuriousBeefJerky Commander Joined: 23 April 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 132	Topic: Game Art Direction Help Posted: 25 July 2018 at 5:07pm
	Hi, I'm looking for feedback on the art direction of a game. Some basic info first: Name: Tetrassault General Description: A 2D Action Platformer with stages that shift, attack, and can be destroyed. Fight through 10 Cyber Dragons and uncover the culprit behind this attack on a infant Cyberspace. Theme: Cyberspace; an unnatural, unsettling, but somewhat familiar digital world. The mood of each stage may vary, but overall I'm trying to make the player feel like they are in a strange and computery world. To keep it simple, I'm trying to find answers to a few key questions: 1) Do the background, foreground, and sprite pieces fit the theme? Do they fit with each other? 2) Does the color palette suit the theme? Does it need work? 3) Do the foreground pieces stand out enough from the background? 4) Any opinions, observations, or critiques? Quality? Feelings? Gel Bots: Turt Bots: Wisp and Bat Bot Char 1: Mega Bit, general animations Boss 2: Cyber Wyrm; Hover, Dash Attack, Breath Attack General Art Guide: I'd like to get a direction set before I start making everything, so any feedback or critique is welcome and appreciated. *edit: As a side note, each block that the stage is made up of is destructible, so the "blocky" look is necessary.
	IP Logged

Theo-Theo Midshipman Joined: 25 July 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Posted: 26 July 2018 at 8:38am
	First of all, I love what you did with the background - letters and numbers forming a picture instantly made me think of cyberspace even before I actually read the post. However, maybe instead of both letters and numbers, you could only use numbers? Or keep the letters but add more numbers to the mix to balance things out? The color scheme seems pretty spot-on, lots of cold blues is a good call as far as digital world goes. I'm not sure about the light browns, though - they don't look bad and they work well but they're certainly a more organic and less technological in their feel. I'm not too fond of the shape of the nametags (?), though. If you're going for a technological theme, maybe something like this would be a better choice?
	IP Logged

CuriousBeefJerky Commander Joined: 23 April 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 132	Posted: 26 July 2018 at 10:23pm
	Thank you Theo-Theo! I'll reply in order. First, I've been debating whether or not to use letters and numbers, zeroes and ones, all numbers, or hex(0-9, A-F). Should I use all of these in different stages to set the stages apart? Or, pick one and use that on all the stages for consistency? For the color palette, I reworked the foreground colors to better stand out, and maybe feel less natural. I'm trying to achieve an unnatural feeling by leaving green out of the palette, since green is the most natural color. I forgot browns were the second most common natural color. I also feel bright green grids is what people usually think when they think of cyberspace, but solid green and black doesn't appeal to me for this, and grids get boring. I also like the combative, opposing feel of Blue v Red/Orange, which I think fits the Action Platformer genre. Also, it reminds me of Tron now that I think on it. Rambling aside, these are the changes in the image below: A) Original Palette B) Increased Saturation of all FG colors -C and D use the colors from B -C, D, and E use the same redone Red and Blue ramps C) Red ramp moved more towards red D) Blue ramp moved more towards blue E) Red and Blue ramps redone. Lastly, that's the HP bar lol. I'm trying to keep a minimal HUD. I agree it doesn't look very techy like that, so I've done some different versions. Which is your favorite? The rises and dips help indicate where different points on the HP bar are, so you can tell about how much HP you have at a glance. Much appreciation for the feedback. I'm still at the point where I can change most of this around, so any opinions are welcome.
	IP Logged

Theo-Theo Midshipman Joined: 25 July 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Posted: 27 July 2018 at 3:25am
	For some reason, the original color scheme (A) appeals to me the most but D is also good. As far as HUD goes, either C or D looks the best. As for the letters and numbers in the background, I like the idea of using different sets of them to differentiate the levels.
	IP Logged

yrizoud Commander Joined: 03 May 2021 Location: France Online Status: Offline Posts: 343	Posted: 27 July 2018 at 5:03am
	I noticed that you rely a lot on dark lines to separate body parts or indicate details, such as the dragon scales or bat-bot wing segments. Just be aware that this darkens the overall sprite, and often makes it look more thin / skinny. It may betray your original design. The phenomenon is stronger on small elements : a 1-pixel line on a 10x10 shape doesn't affect it much, but a 1-pixel line on a 4-pixel-wide shape reduces it by 25%. If you want some characters to look more stocky ("buff") and closer to the viewer, you had better not rely on this habit. Note that you have the possiblity of using the middle color when you wan to draw a dark separation on a body part that is of the lightest color.
	IP Logged

CuriousBeefJerky Commander Joined: 23 April 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 132	Posted: 29 July 2018 at 9:08am
	@Theo-Theo Thank you for the feedback. I do like the darker blues of D and E, still not sure about the red ramp. @yrizoud I appreciate the advice, and thank you for the feedback. I know it's against general pixel guidelines, but I think the darker lines in the sprites are better for this case, for a few reasons. First, the way I'm drawing the sprites leaves them with dark inner lines, and I'd have to change it on every sprite I create, and any time I can save without reducing quality needs to be saved. Aside from that, I think the more thin look for the characters is fitting, since they are humanoids (because we as humans relate to that, and I believe if cyberspace existed, we would use humanoid forms as our avatars for the most part), but also they are digital beings, so having them look a bit alien is fitting since it helps suggest the theme of familiar but unnatural. Lastly, I could change the inner lines to a lighter color, but that would break some rules I've set for the art style. I'm trying to stick to 4 colors or less per sprite(excepting some larger sprites and background), and adding a middle color to each one would increase this. Also, changing the inner lines only on the small sprites would make them stand out as different. I believe it's better to look consistently bad over having some bad and good parts, because at least it looks consistent and like it was done as a stylistic choice. I appreciate the advice though. I hadn't really put to words that darker inner lines make sprites look thinner, but I do believe it fits the theme.
	IP Logged

CuriousBeefJerky Commander Joined: 23 April 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 132	Posted: 01 August 2018 at 12:47pm
	Test of character movement speeds and movement actions. Does this feel "right"? To fast? To slow? Feedback is appreciated.
	IP Logged

eishiya Commander Joined: 04 August 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1109	Posted: 01 August 2018 at 9:21pm
	The walking and sliding feel too slow, the jumping looks good. The walking also has the look of sliding on ice because the footsteps in the animation don't match the movement speed. The wall-slide feels very "meh" right now, but it might just be the lack of particles and animation, the speed is fine. The dash feels very slow and very long. I think covering the same distance in a shorter time would feel better.
	IP Logged

CuriousBeefJerky Commander Joined: 23 April 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 132	Posted: 02 August 2018 at 8:47pm
	@eishiya I've reworked the animations for the walk cycle, and changed the move speed of the slide and dash. The first in each set is the original speed for reference. Which do you think is best, if any? Getting the animations to feel right is important, so I am willing to change it until it is right. I plan to add particle effects to the slide and wall slide, and either add a particle or after image effect to the dash. Aside from that, if you were talking about the movement speed of the character in addition to the animation, I am against changing it because the other two characters in the game for the most part are alt versions of this character, and both move faster. Also, some precision platforming will be in the game, so I want the characters to be manageable. Thank you for the feedback! I have trouble seeing these small details since I'm close to the project, so I appreciate the outside view on it. Walk spd 1.0 Walk spd 1.25 Walk spd 1.5 Dash1 Dash2 Dash 3 Dash 4 Slide 1 Slide 2
	IP Logged

eishiya Commander Joined: 04 August 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1109	Posted: 03 August 2018 at 8:42am
	Dash 4 and Slide 2 definitely feel the best to me. With some particle effects to punctuate them, they should feel pretty good! The first slide could also work, if it's not meant to be a very fast/strong move. Without any punchy signifier of the motion starting and stopping (e.g. particles), it's hard to tell what looks good. All the walks still feel off. If you watch the character's feet, you'll see them slide along the surface. Instead of trying to adjust the player's speed for the animation, figure out the speed that's best for gameplay, and then adjust the animation to fit that speed. Some sliding is inevitable if the animation's framerate is lower than the game's framerate, but a lot of it can be avoided.
	IP Logged

CuriousBeefJerky Commander Joined: 23 April 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 132	Posted: 03 August 2018 at 10:24pm
	I changed around the walk animation a little, and made most of the slide occur when the character has his feet out. It still has a good bit of slide, but it's also getting to the point of moving to fast to keep track of. Feedback appreciated on all of these. I'll add particles soon. Think it's better? Closer at least? Additionally, I've added an air dive/kick to help decend faster, and help land from an air dash, since the landing from it can make you slide off of small platforms. Any opinions?
	IP Logged