First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

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Sogona
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First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Sogona »

So this is the first time I've ever actually put any form of effort into making graphics. All I really have that's presentable right now are some maps, and I think they're pretty good, but it seems like a lot more is expected in terms of graphics since the NES's commercial era, so I'd like to hear opinions from someone who isn't myself, and if I should just scrap the whole thing while it's still young.
testscreen1.png
testscreen2.png
tiles.png
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What I have in mind is a bit of a cartoony look to the graphics, but not in too forced of a way; but I'm interested in thoughts, input, changes, and criticisms. Think of the actual level design as a bit of a lorem ipsum, it's mainly just barebones of what I have in mind and is of course still subject to change.
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dougeff
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by dougeff »

My 2 Cents...

Certain corners could be improved... for example, underground, where you see 1 pixel of blue at each corner. You seem to have plenty of tiles left...should be easy to fix.

The clouds aren't great.
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Drag
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Drag »

Try doing some simpler white clouds. You could even try something like Megaman 2's Airman stage, and have large cloudy shapes coming in from the top of the screen.

There's no getting around it, the rounded corners are going to need to take into account what they're "touching". You'll need multiple copies of each corner, or else you'll wind up with the issue where the sky shows through in inappropriate spaces. Try having "square" versions of each corner in addition to the rounded ones, and use each where it looks appropriate. Plug those holes, basically. :P

The lines in the ground look a little odd, you'd almost be better off just leaving the ground as a solid color. To keep it from being boring, you can add large shaded rectangles into the ground, like if regions were popping out towards the screen. You can also paint the entire cliffside with polkadots or a checkerboard or something, that'd look pretty toony too.

Overall, this is pretty good for your first try. :D
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Dwedit »

A path down next to a bottomless pit?
Here come the fortune cookies! Here come the fortune cookies! They're wearing paper hats!
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Drag »

Oh hush, like Mega Man never put down-ladders next to bottomless pits that would've led to safety anyway. :P
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rainwarrior
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by rainwarrior »

It wasn't good when Mega Man did it.
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Sogona
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Sogona »

I'm more concerned right now with how the actual tiles/color choices look, than how the level is put together. The levels are really just mockups, but if level design is really that integral to critique on the tileset, I'll make a new map.
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Drag »

The best way to check if your color-reduction looks good is to try your existing maps but with the color-reduced tiles. That way, you can spot compositional problems that you wouldn't know about by just looking at individual tiles and blocks by themselves.
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Sogona
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Sogona »

Been working on the clouds a little more.
newclouds.png
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I think they have a little more depth now and look puffier, but they still seem kinda stiff. Any suggestions?
I guess too if they're at the top of the screen, the top half won't even be visible, I may keep tweaking them a bit.

I also fixed the blue pixels in underground corners, and it does look a lot better.
fixedcorners.png
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Drag »

The stiffness comes from how it's just one straight, flat, solid cloud log. It's fine for if those clouds are going to be platforms later, but if they're just background decorations, try giving them a little more variation, like in size and position.
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Sogona
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Sogona »

Part of it is, I want the player to be able to exit the room vertically, but only at certain spots. Rather than having vertical exits have a specific address of where to go like the pipes in SMB (I already have an idea with something like this anyway, only with teleportation platforms. Some are 1-way, others are 2-way. I think it'd make an interesting game mechanic. But I digress, ) I was planning on having the clouds be solid, and then in places where the player is allowed to leave the room by exiting up, there'll be a break in the clouds.
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Drag »

Alrighty, then you might want to try making the clouds a bit taller, maybe like the ground where there's a top part, middle part, and bottom part. Also be aware that the top and bottom rows of tiles may be offscreen. For example, my television cuts almost two rows off the top and one row off the bottom. Other TVs may be better or may be worse.
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Sogona »

Different game now :roll:

I'd like to get some feedback on the graphics I've done so far the island adventure game I'm making
player_facings.png
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walking_up.gif
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walking_down.gif
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walking_right.gif
walking_right.gif (496 Bytes) Viewed 8967 times
(Right and left are mirrors of each other btw)
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Sogona
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by Sogona »

Sorry, lots of gifs...
attacking_up.gif
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attacking_down.gif
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attacking_right.gif
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And here are a few screens from the overworld:
somescreens.png
The shitty-looking forest trees are still a work in progress, and I'd love any suggestions as to how I could make them better.
Also, the water is animated in the game
waves.gif
waves.gif (340 Bytes) Viewed 8967 times
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dougeff
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Re: First time ever trying to do graphics on the NES

Post by dougeff »

feedback on the graphics
My main issue, with the sprites, is, they aren't very colorful.
forest trees
I'm more concerned with the shape of the water. Entirely square edges. Try to have at least 1 shared color between different palettes...like the universal background color (3f00), and use that to round the corners a bit.

There is a joke in the Discworld 2 game, where he makes fun of a movie set backdrop that was "apparently painted without reference material". Look at real trees. Research how other games handled trees. (Not Zelda 2...its trees are terrible).
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