Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Inside Outbuildings and Some Options

Click all the images to enlarge and enjoy in all their pixelly glory.

I'm happy to say I've completed all the backgrounds for my game! Fifty interiors and exteriors in all. Next is to do the character portraits!

One of the last things I did was the interiors of the outbuildings I've made. I decided to create the interiors nested in the exterior shots, although I'm not sure if it would be better to not have the backgrounds darkened and just have them completely blacked out when a character is inside a building. I could still go either way!

Click all the images to enlarge and enjoy in all their pixelly glory.

There will be instances when the player-character will need to walk behind that boathouse in order to move from left to right across the screen. So I decided to make a wire frame that will show the outline of the house and what's behind it.
Click all the images to enlarge and enjoy in all their pixelly glory.


 Click all the images to enlarge and enjoy in all their pixelly glory.


And here's another outbuilding interior nested in the exterior shot, with the stuff outside darkened up.
 Click all the images to enlarge and enjoy in all their pixelly glory.


Or would it be better to grey out the background like this?
Click all the images to enlarge and enjoy in all their pixelly glory.


Or more dark / completely black background?
Click all the images to enlarge and enjoy in all their pixelly glory.



I'd love to hear your thoughts!

-- Julia
Portfolio site






6 comments:

Steven Don said...

Personally, I like the last option best, making it (almost) black. The darkened one is also nice, though I'm not too sure about the greyscale one. Somehow the black feels more in line with the Sierra games, as they rarely, if ever, kept the outside visible.

Julia Minamata said...

Thanks, Steven! A lot of people prefer the darkened one, but like you said -- the Sierra games tended to black out the surroundings completely. I'm still on the fence!

Anonymous said...

First of alll... awesome art!!! Really. As someone who has tried to do EGA emulated Sierra style background in the past... I know what a pain it can be. Looks Great!

Then, I would go with your very first idea. With the interior as a "cutout" and the background darkened.

Yes, it is not classic Sierra, but since you are not emulating exactly what they did and creating your own game, I do not think that weighs so heavily.

Secondly, you have obviously put in immense amounts of effort and time to create these visuals, so why not get the most out of them by displaying them as much as possible.

Thirdly, the atmosphere is heightened by showind the surroundings of the interiors. AND, you do not lose anything regarding clarity as the backgounds are darkened and the whole of the interior is clearly visible.

Just my 2 cents.

Kind regards,

xellieza

Julia Minamata said...

Thanks for the thoughtful comments, xellieza :).

While I'm definitely inspired by the Sierra-style adventure games, the goal has never been to copy what they've done.

I'm glad I can make something distinctive and also remind folks about the good ol' EGA days!

Unknown said...

Looking great Julia!

Can't wait to see the finished product :)

Julia Minamata said...

Thanks, Craig! I appreciate you following my work for this long. Best wishes!