Pixel Joint Forum: CHALLENGE 1/13/2014: Weird Pixels

Message

   CHALLENGE: Weird Pixels
This week, your task is to create a Cthulhu  Mythos related game mockup. For example, A space shooter featuring  Yog-Sothoth or a dungeon crawler featuring the Old Ones under "the  mountains of madness".

Canvas Size - Max 320 (width) x 200 (height).

Colours - Max 16.

Transparency - No.

Animation - No.
CHALLENGE RULES
Participants have until this upcoming Sunday at midnight (12AM Pacific) to submit their entry (strict). Don't forget to check the 'Submit to weekly challenge' checkbox.
Only new pixels allowed.
Open to all members.
Posting WIPs in this thread or in new threads in the WIP section is highly encouraged, but ONLY SUBMIT YOUR FINAL ART.
CHALLENGE JUDGING
Every Sunday at midnight (12AM Pacific) the previous week's entries are judged.
Every week a new voting poll will be posted for previous week's entries.
Winner announced the following week.

CHALLENGE PRIZES/GOODIES
Top three finishers will receive an award displayed in your PJ gallery profile for all to see and envy.
Top finisher gets to call the following week's challenge...sweet.
'Participation' ribbons will be given for all who enter.
No matter what happens you get challenged :)
CHALLENGE VOTING
Vote now for your favorite pixelart in this week's challenge!
CHALLENGE AWARDS
The Weird Pixels pixel art challenge is complete and we have three new champions. This week's challenge awards go to the following pieces:

Annoying World: Realm Of Nyogtha by a3um
Weird Chthonian Tales episode 1 by Mrmo Tarius
Exploring the depths by Muxaun

Thanks so much to all who took the time to vote and participate in the challenge! 

Cthulhu by marat
R'lyeh by Chroso
Shoggoth Shuffle!! by Dewclaw
boss by UndeadKnight
Confronting Rhogog by Mino
Innsmouth by Shinobody
CultCraft by CrimsonPixel
Return to the Mountains of Madness by Arkan85
Neo Squid Seasoning by Kaishido

Author	Message
administrator Admiral Joined: 03 March 2005 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Topic: CHALLENGE 1/13/2014: Weird Pixels Posted: 13 January 2014 at 12:01am
	CHALLENGE: Weird Pixels This week, your task is to create a Cthulhu Mythos related game mockup. For example, A space shooter featuring Yog-Sothoth or a dungeon crawler featuring the Old Ones under "the mountains of madness". Canvas Size - Max 320 (width) x 200 (height). Colours - Max 16. Transparency - No. Animation - No. CHALLENGE RULES Participants have until this upcoming Sunday at midnight (12AM Pacific) to submit their entry (strict). Don't forget to check the 'Submit to weekly challenge' checkbox. Only new pixels allowed. Open to all members. Posting WIPs in this thread or in new threads in the WIP section is highly encouraged, but ONLY SUBMIT YOUR FINAL ART. CHALLENGE JUDGING Every Sunday at midnight (12AM Pacific) the previous week's entries are judged. Every week a new voting poll will be posted for previous week's entries. Winner announced the following week. CHALLENGE PRIZES/GOODIES Top three finishers will receive an award displayed in your PJ gallery profile for all to see and envy. Top finisher gets to call the following week's challenge...sweet. 'Participation' ribbons will be given for all who enter. No matter what happens you get challenged :) CHALLENGE VOTING Vote now for your favorite pixelart in this week's challenge! CHALLENGE AWARDS The Weird Pixels pixel art challenge is complete and we have three new champions. This week's challenge awards go to the following pieces: Annoying World: Realm Of Nyogtha by a3um Weird Chthonian Tales episode 1 by Mrmo Tarius Exploring the depths by Muxaun Thanks so much to all who took the time to vote and participate in the challenge! Cthulhu by marat R'lyeh by Chroso Shoggoth Shuffle!! by Dewclaw boss by UndeadKnight Confronting Rhogog by Mino Innsmouth by Shinobody CultCraft by CrimsonPixel Return to the Mountains of Madness by Arkan85 Neo Squid Seasoning by Kaishido
	IP Logged

skittle Commander Joined: 20 July 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 350	Posted: 13 January 2014 at 7:22am
	Quick question, if someone is doing a space shooter could they flip the width with the height?
	IP Logged

skamocore Admiral Joined: 07 April 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3866	Posted: 13 January 2014 at 8:12am
	Nope, just W x H. BTW, check out Stargunner for some inspiration (it's free on GOG).
	IP Logged

Mrmo Tarius Commander Joined: 12 February 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 367	Posted: 13 January 2014 at 9:05am
	Very early tileset testing thing with 100% placeholder colouring ;D
	IP Logged

skittle Commander Joined: 20 July 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 350	Posted: 13 January 2014 at 9:08am
	Wtf? How did you make those so quickly?
	IP Logged

Mrmo Tarius Commander Joined: 12 February 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 367	Posted: 13 January 2014 at 11:44am
	Step 1: be lazy Step 2: make tiles Step 3: combine tiles :D
	IP Logged

inphy Commander Joined: 24 June 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 116	Posted: 13 January 2014 at 12:09pm
	An pointy clicky thingy idea with EGA palette: The middle of the hud is a sanity meter, making mistakes during the game gradually breaks the mask (decreases sanity) and when you go over the edge it's game over. Rated H for happy end! --- edit: Sketching out the idea a bit. Don't copy that floppy! Edited by inphy - 13 January 2014 at 5:03pm
	IP Logged

xinoivsionix Seaman Joined: 18 October 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9	Posted: 13 January 2014 at 1:00pm
	(WIPLineArt) (Udapte1.0) (Udapte1.1) [/IMG] Edited by xinoivsionix - 17 January 2014 at 1:42pm
	IP Logged

CELS Commander Joined: 23 September 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 758	Posted: 14 January 2014 at 1:44am
	Nice work, guys. inphy, I love what you have so far. Though I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of Lovecraftian elements you put in the background.
	IP Logged

Mrmo Tarius Commander Joined: 12 February 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 367	Posted: 14 January 2014 at 5:03am
	Update :) now has fish guys. And what looks like small Cthulhu :) Edited by Mrmo Tarius - 14 January 2014 at 5:05am
	IP Logged

Muxaun Commander Joined: 25 November 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 105	Posted: 14 January 2014 at 1:42pm
	this is not even a sketch. this is just an attempt to get used to tiling. I have not yet decided with the style and colors. Edited by Muxaun - 14 January 2014 at 3:28pm
	IP Logged

Velrio Midshipman Joined: 14 January 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 60	Posted: 14 January 2014 at 8:43pm
	Something about feeding an elder god questionable chemicals to make it evolve into more terrifying forms. And like you have to pray to call it back from the depths.
	IP Logged

CELS Commander Joined: 23 September 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 758	Posted: 15 January 2014 at 3:24am
	So much cool stuff. My favourite idea so far is the "sanity meter". That's too funny! Mrmo Tarius, why did you remove the fog of war effect? I rather liked it! Not sure what's going on with the sleeping mobs there. Does Cthulhu wake them from their slumber?
	IP Logged

Mrmo Tarius Commander Joined: 12 February 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 367	Posted: 15 January 2014 at 4:14am
	I still have the fog "resources", I'm just afraid it will take away from the precious little screen space I have available :D I'll see if I can make it work somehow :) Also not sure if I want the mobs to be sleeping or, you know, dead :D the large Z kind of looks strange :D update Edited by Mrmo Tarius - 15 January 2014 at 8:21am
	IP Logged

Muxaun Commander Joined: 25 November 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 105	Posted: 15 January 2014 at 12:59pm
	Still playing with how it might look. The overall idea is an exploratory game with no active enemies - you just collect artifacts from the city while avoiding dangers. It is hard as hell to make it obvious what is on the foreground(interactive) and what is on the background(just a decoration). I predict I will not be able to enter cuz I didn't yet decide what to do.
	IP Logged

Kaishido Midshipman Joined: 30 April 2025 Online Status: Offline Posts: 30	Posted: 15 January 2014 at 2:10pm
	Quick line art of what I've got in mind. Update: Still need to work on my shading, color choice and all that stuff, but I'm getting there slowly ! Edited by Kaishido - 16 January 2014 at 5:46am
	IP Logged

CELS Commander Joined: 23 September 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 758	Posted: 15 January 2014 at 2:17pm
	Nice, Kaishido :) @Mrmo Tarius: I much prefer the Cthulhu monsters in your last version, and the way you've illustrated that a monster has spotted the player. I don't quite understand how that game would work, but it looks very pretty. @ Muxaun: That looks awesome. Loving the light rays in the background. I hope you do finish it. The only thing I'm not thrilled about is the sub. It just doesn't have the horror vibe I would expect from a Lovecraftian game. Personally, I would go for something like this. Or a modern equivalent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Cousteau#Legacy Edited by CELS - 15 January 2014 at 2:21pm
	IP Logged

a3um Commander Joined: 25 June 2022 Location: Russian Federation Online Status: Offline Posts: 244	Posted: 16 January 2014 at 3:18am
	more Annoying World mockups:)
	IP Logged

Muxaun Commander Joined: 25 November 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 105	Posted: 16 January 2014 at 3:25pm
	I was doing backgroud sprites. And apparently they don't play well when they are put together. 16 colors is not enough (
	IP Logged

Kaishido Midshipman Joined: 30 April 2025 Online Status: Offline Posts: 30	Posted: 16 January 2014 at 5:41pm
	I removed some of my useless colors, to put more shades... still a lot of work to put in it. Update: Added some details. Edited by Kaishido - 16 January 2014 at 8:55pm
	IP Logged

CELS Commander Joined: 23 September 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 758	Posted: 16 January 2014 at 10:41pm
	Looking good :) @Kaishido: A few thoughts: - Is the player character firing a lemon? Just checking. - The ground texture is very noisy. Try to make the grass leaves bigger, more pronounced. And of course, you're cheating a bit by having the boots the same colours as the grass, yet off the ground :) - Your player character seems to have a distinct lack of bones! His legs look like they're made of rubber, they're very bendy and they don't have normal proportions. He also has massive ankles with tiny feet. - This piece would benefit massively from more realistic mountain shapes, I think. Or very weird mountain shapes, but with more detail.
	IP Logged

a3um Commander Joined: 25 June 2022 Location: Russian Federation Online Status: Offline Posts: 244	Posted: 17 January 2014 at 12:58am
	@Muxaun - regarding the color count issue - you probably have to reconsider your palette. Currently, your background has very high contrast (and probably too dark) and the whole environment uses too many colors. I'd drop the contrast on everything except sprites and go for about 6-8 colors for the environment:) - the rest goes for sprites/HUD. Also I think you should separate sprites from the environment and each other by shifting their hue. Keep it up! This has a lot of potential:) Also, I really recommend you to study some of the vierbit's mockups They have great details and exceptional color usage (also very low color count) Edited by a3um - 17 January 2014 at 1:05am
	IP Logged

Shinobody Seaman Joined: 13 March 2023 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Posted: 17 January 2014 at 2:50am
	So I guess this is my first post here... For the theme, I decided to go with a a)"cinematic platformer" in vein of Flashback, Another World or Blackthorne because main characters in them are usually quite fragile, which nicely fits with Lovecraft's view that humanity is frail and insignificant; b) Shadow over Innsmouth as Lovecraftian basis because it's easy to adapt as videogame and c)one handed African American hobo with dreadlocks, Colt and a saber, "Jebediah Brown", as a protagonist because why not. Progress: sketch + player character sprite. Palette used is DawnBringer's 16 colors. (wait, is it allowed to use other people's palettes in Weekly Challenges? I'm new here so I have no idea... I hope it's okay.)
	IP Logged

CELS Commander Joined: 23 September 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 758	Posted: 17 January 2014 at 3:01am
	@Shinobody: Fantastic idea, very well hatched. Looking forward to seeing how you do the locals. Yeah, you can use the DB palette, or any other palette.
	IP Logged

Kaishido Midshipman Joined: 30 April 2025 Online Status: Offline Posts: 30	Posted: 17 January 2014 at 5:19am
	@CELS: Thank you for the advice :) Gonna work on it some more! (and yeah, they're lemons xD ) update Still not there yet, but some progress. I suck at textures, it's crazy. Any advice on those? Edited by Kaishido - 17 January 2014 at 9:17am
	IP Logged

Muxaun Commander Joined: 25 November 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 105	Posted: 17 January 2014 at 1:48pm
	*Originally posted by a3um* @Muxaun - regarding the color count issue - you probably have to reconsider your palette. Currently, your background has very high contrast (and probably too dark) and the whole environment uses too many colors. I'd drop the contrast on everything except sprites and go for about 6-8 colors for the environment:) - the rest goes for sprites/HUD. Also I think you should separate sprites from the environment and each other by shifting their hue. Keep it up! This has a lot of potential:) Also, I really recommend you to study some of the vierbit's mockups They have great details and exceptional color usage (also very low color count) Yeah I have been studying verbit's pieces a lot, but I don't get how he does it. For me it is like magic. WIP3: I am mostly trying to optimize the palette. Time is running out and I am not yet pleased with how it looks. Edited by Muxaun - 17 January 2014 at 1:49pm
	IP Logged

skittle Commander Joined: 20 July 2021 Online Status: Offline Posts: 350	Posted: 17 January 2014 at 4:02pm
	@Muxaun everything looks great, especially the backround. The only think that doesn't look right is the sand. But man... that backround is pretty sweet.
	IP Logged

CELS Commander Joined: 23 September 2022 Online Status: Offline Posts: 758	Posted: 17 January 2014 at 5:01pm
	@ Kaishido: My advice would be to look at other mockups on PixelJoint and see how they did the grass. Most people paint the ground like a thick layer of dirt covered by a thin blanket of grass, seen from a strict side view, like in the SEGA game Sonic the Hedgehog. Right now we're seeing a broad field of grass from above, which is possible, but you may have more difficulties finding a good reference that you can learn from. Nice work on the legs though. @Muxaun: Your color RGB 69, 134,132 can probably be replaced by your 68, 140, 122. Or vice versa. I don't think the background suffers much if they are merged. That puts you at 12 colors, with 4 colors to make the submarine stand out and fashion a simple HUD. Easy. The new sub is great too, btw.
	IP Logged

Muxaun Commander Joined: 25 November 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 105	Posted: 18 January 2014 at 11:01am
	@ADrawingMan, CELS, a3um: thanks guys for your feedback. So I redid the sand - made some modular decorations. Regarding colors: I wanted the layers to look distinct. That's why I used greener color for second layer. I went even further and made BG more blueish. Here's current state. I guess I'll have to make more objects, add some tentacles, add HUD.
	IP Logged

Dewclaw Seaman Joined: 22 February 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 21	Posted: 18 January 2014 at 12:31pm
	Just got this done. :D Shoggoth Shuffle!!
	IP Logged

Mino Seaman Joined: 18 July 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 17	Posted: 19 January 2014 at 10:08pm
	yet another last minute entry - . -;
	IP Logged

Collaborations/Challenges
Pixel Joint Forum : Pixel Art : Collaborations/Challenges