wanted zx-style graphics / remake in the works

manicAlien

well, I`m not so sure where to put this, it is to summon people here at wos to join me at the graphics side of my project, a remake of one of the most loving classics (to be named later ... :S )

So please mods move if I´m wrong

I don´t want to try to do so in a pixelart or similar forum because wanna keep at maximum the fidelity to the original, in an effort to honor the original.
So it is important to have the Spectrum-related abilities and so on
Besides, with all these skilled people, where to find an artist to be better than the ones here?

Einar Saukas

You are basically looking for people willing to do "something" for you for free, but you are not willing to reveal what "something" means. How many volunteers do you think you will get? :)

andrewvanbeck

ZXart... seriously I'll bet theres a lot of people there who would love to contribute to a real game...
zxart.ee/eng/mainpage/

Timmy

Einar Saukas wrote: »

You are basically looking for people willing to do "something" for you for free, but you are not willing to reveal what "something" means. How many volunteers do you think you will get? :)

It's always hard to ask for graphics if you are at the beginning of a game. Usually you don't know what it will be or how it looks like, and you end up with lots of work being done that won't be used. And there is also a chance your game won't be completed.

In reverse, if you ask in the end of your game, you know a lot of your game, and then most graphics won't fit into your code. Too large, too small, too many frames, too few frames... :)

So, asking an artist to help you is hard, much harder than asking a musician. And, there is no good time to ask for an artist too.

For now, I make graphics myself because I don't want to disappoint other people. But if people want to send me graphics, I don't mind but I just can't promise anything. :)

joefish

I'd suggest showing a bit of working code first, to give an idea of (a) what graphics you need and (b) that any effort by someone else isn't going to go to waste.

Einar Saukas

Sure, it's never easy. However it's much harder without providing any information about the project.

At a minimum, this kind of request must provide the following details:

* The game. Artists will be more likely to get excited and offer to help if it's the kind of game they particularly like. Also you will have a better chance to find an artist whose art style is more appropriate for your game.

* The platform. Are you planning a Windows version of an Speccy game, or a Speccy remake of an existing game?

* The concept. What exactly do you have in mind for this game? How do you plan to improve upon the original version? What graphic style are you looking for? If you were planning a remake identical to the original you wouldn't need an artist, it would be enough to simply copy the original graphics...

* Your background. Why should people believe you will be able to complete this project so their effort won't be wasted? Have you already released other games? Is there anything you can show to demonstrate you have the necessary technical skills to make it work?

Timmy

joefish wrote: »

I'd suggest showing a bit of working code first, to give an idea of (a) what graphics you need and (b) that any effort by someone else isn't going to go to waste.

Agreed.

What I also tried to say, is, that the OP is asking too early in his game. At this moment there is too much chance a lot of graphics won't be used.

EDIT: Also that this kind of requests show that the person needs more programming experience before he should ask for graphics.

andrewvanbeck

Yeah, get as much done using coder art and stolen sprites - have something to show the gameplay and the basics of what you'd want an artist to do. In my experience, just asking an artist to draw something ends up in something you won't use - anything you can send them will help and nobody likes to waste time. The quality of the coder art doesn't matter, arguably the ugliest coder art will inspire the best work so long as the gameplay is solid. I mean, its like housework - tidying up a reasonably neat area doesn't have a high reward, but tackling a complete tip of a garage or shed does - it's like the ultimate OCD high. I say spend very little time on the coder art, don't even try to make it look good, make it purely functional instead.

At least its Spectrum themed, rather than being for the actual spectrum - so it probably won't be a big issue to increase the number of animation frames here and there for example, compared to a real Speccy, where you have a memory allocation minefield to navigate instead.

manicAlien

andrewvanbeck wrote: »

ZXart... seriously I'll bet theres a lot of people there who would love to contribute to a real game...
zxart.ee/eng/mainpage/

thanks1 I was thinking about register there so I could contact any of them. Wonderful people!.

joefish wrote: »

I'd suggest showing a bit of working code first, to give an idea of (a) what graphics you need and (b) that any effort by someone else isn't going to go to waste.

Thanks for your two hints joefish, I think I can release a little demo, in fact, music is ready

Timmy you are totally right, so thanks for your hints; in fact, it's in the very early stage of development, and also there is the need for more programming experience, but more on the new platform I'm getting used to. I thought to be good idea to ask now rather than to wait too much and miss the schedule.

And, to be a little more specific, this is not a great deal of work. In fact, I'll show some related art of myself, to ask if it need improvements.
The game: please be patient
The platform: Windows version, HTML 5 planned
The concept: To improve only very slightly, specially in the music side. The graphic style? I think it has to be very respectful over original
The background: after so many years working with C/C++ and having coded so many incomplete and a few complete games (and even an art editor) I thought to be good idea to honor one of my childhood titles.

Cheers!

4throck

The simplest way is to create sprite sheets yourself while developing, using existing art as a mock-up.
That way the artist can work from those knowing what sprites/tiles are needed, how many, the dimensions, animation frames, etc.