Re: [Adonthell-artwork] Visual style

[Kai Sterker]

On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 12:58 AM, James Nash <address@hidden> wrote:

> On 2 Aug 2010, at 22:46, Ingo Ruhnke wrote:
>
>> The biggest problem is that from my experince pixel art just doesn't
>> work for higher resolution, either it ends up looking weirdly
>> over-sharp and artificial or you end up with very tiny sprites. I
>> couldn't name you a single game where you have both high-res and good
>> pixel-art.
>
> Personally, I would like us to re-capture some of that retro charm of the 
> pixel graphics. I'm more of a console gamer, so I guess my taste is 
> influenced by the cutesy, manga-like graphics found in many of the Japanese 
> games. I agree that proper pixel graphics are probably not the way to go - I 
> do think it would be nice to create a similar feel though.

I'm being pragmatic here. Basically the same suggestion that James
brings up, has also been raised by arikel just a week or two ago. I
think that whoever is contributing should decide (up to a certain
point) how that contribution looks like. It's part of the motivation
and so far we didn't fare bad with that.

I've already seen arikel redo a few of the graphics as pure pixel art.
They did feel a bit more artificial/less natural than the original
graphics or the ones upscaled by Ingo. I think this could be avoided
by allowing for more colors, even when sticking to a few shades of
each color only. More practice should also help.

I also tend to agree when you say that the current gfx lack a distinct
artistic style -- just remember you made them that way ;-). They are
pretty much standard fare. Quite nice for sure, but not "arty". If I
think about your more recent broccoli bushes, then I'd call those
quite distinct and unique in style.

So yes, in principle, I am open for a bit of a gfx conversion project.
What I would like to avoid however, is starting to redo the graphics
now and and progressing no further than Waste's Edge. To start
building Dun Barethsol, we'll need quite a few additional graphics.
But if you think that can be accomplished, and if you guys really want
to go that route, then better start doing so now :-).


>> So I would aim for something that retains a drawing/painting look, but
>> doesn't try to be pixel-perfect:

Well, I can understand when arikel says that the current graphics are
lacking a bit of detail. Of course, that's something that could be
added without making them true pixel art. Add more tile variations, or
more details to existing images. And maybe that's also a way to go.
Try to make small adjustments to the existing stuff, then make the new
stuff closer to your ideal. And maybe later adjust or replace ye olde
Waste's Edge look completely. But there's the danger that it looks
patchy (at first).

Anyway, my 2cents. As said before, I'd rather leave that stuff in the
hands of the artists and concentrate on the code. With Josh and Tyler
busy, I'll have to do extra shifts to keep up ;-).

Kai