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AppGameKit Classic Chat / The Simplest Art That Is Still Expressive & Interesting

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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 28th Jul 2018 05:42 Edited at: 28th Jul 2018 05:46
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Returned to this again to knock out the main sprites.

To make this faster I reduced the screen size down to 256x144. Everything will be scaled up in the images themselves before loading since most people probably prefer HD art and such and not scaling up the graphics in the program.

Enemy bullets will need to be bright colors I think or at least flash or something to be sure they stand out.

I also changed the backdrop brightness and contrast slightly again just to make the foreground stand out better.

I think the characters need a bit more color so everything is easier to read. Here the player is dark blue and the enemy dark red.
The player is jumping down to the platform while shooting.
This is just a mock-up made in Paint Shop Pro. I generally make mock-ups first.
Anyway, next time I work on this I can get to the programming and at least get the stage loading, collision zones auto-defined and player control added.

TI/994a (BASIC) -> C64 (BASIC/PASCAL/ASM/Others) -> Amiga (AMOS/BLITZ/ASM/C/Gamesmith) -> DOS (C/C++/Allegro) -> Windows (C++/C#/Monkey X/GL Basic/Unity/Others)
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Richard_6
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Posted: 28th Jul 2018 10:42
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Super cool. I haven't seen the walls on your collision mask. How are you planning to detect? Or you're going to split in 2 collision mask files?
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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 28th Jul 2018 16:26
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Those aren't walls. I originaly had different colors on vertical and horizontal. The platforms are the only active elements characters and items can land on. The vertical are just beams holding up the platforms purely "for looks". I will make those lighter and tinted a bit towards the backdrop colors.

Out to breakfast at the local truck stop now but when I get home later I am looking forward to starting on the programming. I guess I should make a new thread for this because a platformer example project has nothing to do with this thread beyond once again attempting to make minimalist visuals.

It's a good point in project to break it off into a new thread. Will do that later as well.
TI/994a (BASIC) -> C64 (BASIC/PASCAL/ASM/Others) -> Amiga (AMOS/BLITZ/ASM/C/Gamesmith) -> DOS (C/C++/Allegro) -> Windows (C++/C#/Monkey X/GL Basic/Unity/Others)
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Cliff Mellangard 3DEGS
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Posted: 28th Jul 2018 18:18
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Yes benjy hi have alot planned i havent put in so far
But i dont want to hog your thread
Looks good with your Project
My space on goggle play ... https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Play8Bitar+Osterlen
Play8Bitars channel ... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_TbzZmDzj0axBZsbfRnDCQ
Think i know it channel ... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEJY7tJ5_HBQxi06BGsnoQg
SlideDb space ... http://www.slidedb.com/members/play8bitars-osterlen
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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 29th Jul 2018 02:48 Edited at: 29th Jul 2018 02:48
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No problem Cliff!
I appreciated you sharing the screenshot and videos of your game. The low res pixel art kind of fit in with the theme of this thread.

I just created the thread for the App Game Kit Single Screen Platformer Game Example. From now on I will post updates on that project over there.


TI/994a (BASIC) -> C64 (BASIC/PASCAL/ASM/Others) -> Amiga (AMOS/BLITZ/ASM/C/Gamesmith) -> DOS (C/C++/Allegro) -> Windows (C++/C#/Monkey X/GL Basic/Unity/Others)
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fubarpk
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Posted: 29th Jul 2018 09:25 Edited at: 29th Jul 2018 09:27
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I have been taking note of your simplistic approach to art and been working on a 2d maze thingy where the bad guy gets
you consuming the green dots on map you leave behind not sure if i prefer this bad guy in game shot

or this bad guy
fubar
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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 29th Jul 2018 21:58 Edited at: 29th Jul 2018 22:04
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Here are a couple more examples of games with cool minimalist / simplistic visuals.

GoNNER


Imperil
TI/994a (BASIC) -> C64 (BASIC/PASCAL/ASM/Others) -> Amiga (AMOS/BLITZ/ASM/C/Gamesmith) -> DOS (C/C++/Allegro) -> Windows (C++/C#/Monkey X/GL Basic/Unity/Others)
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puzzler2018
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Posted: 29th Jul 2018 22:30
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Wheelie



Dizzy



Rockman - my old time fav



Outrun



Jet Set Willy





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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 29th Jul 2018 23:01 Edited at: 29th Jul 2018 23:08
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Wheelie, Dizzy and Rockman look very nice. Outrun looks terrible at least to me. Good for the tech at the time but doesn't hold up well at all. Wheelie, Dizzy and Rockman could be Indie titles selling well on Steam right now in 2018. I mean add some subtle modern fx... tiny bit of motion trail etc.

I've checked out a lot of spectrum games on YT and other sites. Some are quite nice looking indeed. I never had one. I had a C64. I don't think they even sold the Spectrum over here at least I never saw it anywhere or heard of anyone having one.
TI/994a (BASIC) -> C64 (BASIC/PASCAL/ASM/Others) -> Amiga (AMOS/BLITZ/ASM/C/Gamesmith) -> DOS (C/C++/Allegro) -> Windows (C++/C#/Monkey X/GL Basic/Unity/Others)
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puzzler2018
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Posted: 29th Jul 2018 23:05
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I love the dizzy family too - well done who ever made them
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puzzler2018
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Posted: 29th Jul 2018 23:11 Edited at: 29th Jul 2018 23:12
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My next venture though after minecraft will have to be Rockman 3D
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blink0k
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Posted: 30th Jul 2018 00:19 Edited at: 30th Jul 2018 00:22
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Doing the rounds right now. Could not be simpler. The thing about them i think is that thy are held up by their animation
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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 30th Jul 2018 01:38 Edited at: 30th Jul 2018 03:23
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blink0k That is very nice. I agree. The subtle animations and flash for an impact definitely are a big part of it but all of the motion as "all hell breaks loose" so to speak with all of the balls flying around are just as important. It all works together. It's basically "fun" / interesting to watch and the excellent sound FX and music ties it all together and "completes" it.
TI/994a (BASIC) -> C64 (BASIC/PASCAL/ASM/Others) -> Amiga (AMOS/BLITZ/ASM/C/Gamesmith) -> DOS (C/C++/Allegro) -> Windows (C++/C#/Monkey X/GL Basic/Unity/Others)
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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 31st Jul 2018 17:26 Edited at: 31st Jul 2018 17:35
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Here is a game with some of the most interesting simplistic / minimalist visuals I've found so far...

Woah Dave!


The color choices are excellent and the bits of polish help a lot too.
TI/994a (BASIC) -> C64 (BASIC/PASCAL/ASM/Others) -> Amiga (AMOS/BLITZ/ASM/C/Gamesmith) -> DOS (C/C++/Allegro) -> Windows (C++/C#/Monkey X/GL Basic/Unity/Others)
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blink0k
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Posted: 1st Aug 2018 04:41
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There is a game jam that has just started over at itcho

What you do is pic a famicon case (Mockups for unmade games i think) and then make a game which you think the cover represents.

Even if you don't enter the jam the covers are inspirational by themselves.

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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 1st Aug 2018 15:40 Edited at: 1st Aug 2018 18:10
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Hey thanks for sharing that blink0k! I've seen this mentioned in previous years on other forums. I've always wanted to participate in a game jam and every time one comes along I am either already working on something or am taking a break because I am burned out on it. Or it is ludum dare or other 2 to 3 day event and I am not spending my entire weekend on such a thing. Work all week looking forward to Friday afternoon to be FREEEEEEEEE! ha ha

I might just focus on wrapping up the platformer example project as quickly as possible then take a few days or week off and then take a look. I think this kind of jam is very interesting to reimagine a game based on our interpretation of the box art.

Might be something cool to do here sometime too. Even if someone picked the game that everybody was to reimagine every entry would likely be quite different. A platform game may be reimagined into a shmup or vice-versa. Or even into a tiny rts / tower defense game.
TI/994a (BASIC) -> C64 (BASIC/PASCAL/ASM/Others) -> Amiga (AMOS/BLITZ/ASM/C/Gamesmith) -> DOS (C/C++/Allegro) -> Windows (C++/C#/Monkey X/GL Basic/Unity/Others)
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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 6th Aug 2018 18:26 Edited at: 6th Aug 2018 18:31
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25 days left on that game jam. If I can finish the platformer example project by end of this weekend then take 3 to 5 days off (because I will be a little burned out by then I think) I might be able to start on it the following weekend with about 2 weeks to create something. Will see how it goes. I *might* do it.

Time passes so quickly. Tonight will be 12 days already since I first started on the platformer example project by knocking out the stage graphics.
TI/994a (BASIC) -> C64 (BASIC/PASCAL/ASM/Others) -> Amiga (AMOS/BLITZ/ASM/C/Gamesmith) -> DOS (C/C++/Allegro) -> Windows (C++/C#/Monkey X/GL Basic/Unity/Others)
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blink0k
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Posted: 6th Aug 2018 23:19 Edited at: 6th Aug 2018 23:44
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I spent a little time on and idea based on this mockup.



We could do a glowy tower defense, not too complex, just the one theme, maybe 4-5 towers upgrade-able maybe 3 times. Looking something like this;


We could do anything really. Let me know and we'll see how we go. If you have something else you like then no problems

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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 7th Aug 2018 04:05 Edited at: 7th Aug 2018 04:07
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Those are some very cool looking units. Never made a tower defense but it'd probably be easy to make one.
I already have that motion / path designer and system I knocked out for the shmup template so that would make it it easy to draw the paths and have the enemies follow them.

Are you talking about teaming up for the game jam with you creating all of the graphics? These look like they are 3D models so I guess you'd render the out like 8 or 16 images for each of them to rotate?

I've not had much luck teaming up with people the few times I gave it a go in the past (one time it worked out well and produced a completed game) but I am not against the idea. Just that I need to wrap up the platformer example project first.
TI/994a (BASIC) -> C64 (BASIC/PASCAL/ASM/Others) -> Amiga (AMOS/BLITZ/ASM/C/Gamesmith) -> DOS (C/C++/Allegro) -> Windows (C++/C#/Monkey X/GL Basic/Unity/Others)
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blink0k
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Posted: 7th Aug 2018 07:04
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Quote: "Are you talking about teaming up for the game jam with you creating all of the graphics?"

Yes. I thought that is what you were saying in the previous post. Sorry if i assumed too much

Quote: "These look like they are 3D models so I guess you'd render the out like 8 or 16 images for each of them to rotate?"

Yeah. I think they might be 32 frames. Can't remember.

Most importantly (if you would like to give it a go) is you need to be enthusiastic about it. I have found that if the programmer is not 10000% excited about the idea it won't happen.
My example is just that, an example. If you have something you would really like to do, some game you have played or game idea you really wanted to create then we'll do that no problem at all.

Take your time with your platformer and if you come out the other side enthusiastic for something else then we'll see what we can do ok? If not no problem at all
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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 7th Aug 2018 14:15 Edited at: 7th Aug 2018 17:07
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I understand what you are saying but I never get 10000% excited & enthusiastic about anything these days. Well winning a lottery jackpot sure. Lol I just work on stuff while it is fun and when it starts to feel like a second job I switch focus to wrapping things up so I can complete it.

A lot of it depends on pacing. Basically just keep things fun & relaxed and not rush rush stress nonsense. I have that already from my day job. Lol

If I did something solo for the jam I'd go with an ultra low resolution like 80x72 and a simple palette of a few colors possibly even monochrome style of shades of green, etc. Teaming up all of the graphics workload would be off my plate so I could just focus on other stuff.

Anyway we should take this conversation elsewhere because it has nothing to do with the thread topic. I will message you on here when the platformer game is done and let you know if I am eager to tackle this. I'll probably take 3 to 4 days break after platformer project is complete just to get my mind clear.
TI/994a (BASIC) -> C64 (BASIC/PASCAL/ASM/Others) -> Amiga (AMOS/BLITZ/ASM/C/Gamesmith) -> DOS (C/C++/Allegro) -> Windows (C++/C#/Monkey X/GL Basic/Unity/Others)
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blink0k
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Posted: 7th Aug 2018 22:45
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ok. no worries
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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 11th Sep 2018 16:12 Edited at: 11th Sep 2018 16:45
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I came across an awesome looking ultra low rez Indie game this morning... Duck Souls. Recently released on Steam and although it isn't my kind of game (Rage games are not my idea of fun lol) it seems to be extremely well done and looks to be selling well for a solo unknown Indie developer.

Thought you might especially find this interesting Cliff...




It's worth mentioning this developer has another Steam game released last year which has much more minimalist yet interesting visuals... Pinkman (and seems to have sold very well for an unknown solo Indie developer!)
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[Simple Sprite Shaders Example] [Old School Style 3D FPS]
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Zappo
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Posted: 18th Sep 2018 11:33 Edited at: 18th Sep 2018 11:34
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I wanted to go for a very simplified silhouette style for my last released game - "Somnus - Dream Walker". The dark atmosphere I think adds to the mysterious dream world I was going for. I also experimented with the simplest control method possible for any game. A single touch anywhere on the screen makes your character jump. That is all the control you need. It is available on Google Play if you wanted to try it out or see a video of it in action:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.worldbydesign.somnus&hl=en_GB








Chart data provided with kind permission from ELSPA

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GarBenjamin
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Posted: 18th Sep 2018 16:04 Edited at: 18th Sep 2018 16:06
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Zappo I think that is a great aesthetic looks very good! I like the spinning wall jump mechanic too. This looks like something you could build on adding more stuff to and see where it goes.

Stickman World uses a somewhat similar style with the addition of exaggerated lighting & shadows which can make a game look more interesting. The main focus is on the gameplay & interaction of course.
My Projects Most With Full Source...
[Attack of the Crows] [Christmas Command 2016]
[Simple Sprite Shaders Example] [Old School Style 3D FPS]
[Playable 2D Shmup Template] [2D Single Screen Platformer]
[FixSpriteToSprite System & Demo]
[Mutant Invaders 3D Shmup] [Unity - Atlantic Crisis]
[Unity - Treasures of Ali-Gar] [My YouTube Videos] [Twitter]
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JLMoondog
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Posted: 12th Jun 2019 12:31 Edited at: 12th Jun 2019 12:33
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[mod edit....myself]

It took two mods, but figured out the issue and now the thread is unlocked.
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blink0k
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Posted: 13th Jun 2019 00:38
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Very simple use of shapes, colours and some nice particle effects
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Xaby
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Posted: 3rd Jul 2019 09:50
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@blink0k, I guess with the Kenney Assets and or your simple kart physics, this could be also a tiny game projects.
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blink0k
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Posted: 3rd Jul 2019 21:51
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I agree. Very simple concept and it looks great
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