Juan J. Sánchez
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Well, the white backgrounds are basically a fancy windowskin. If I change the windowskin, I also change the backgrounds. Any ideas on what would look better? Blue. Scanlines. Gray. Texturized. Out of the top of my head.
The Screenshot Thread
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rey meustrus
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Well, the traditional approach would be slightly transparent black. Slightly more interesting might be a slightly transparent gradient between black and some dark, more saturated color. Texturized might be interesting, but I can't think of any texture that would fit with the sort of futuristic font in a fantasy setting.
Now that the menu's are kind of out of the way, I'd like to point out that I think the RTP ghost? in front of the fruit stall clashes horribly with the tile set. But I have a feeling you're going to replace it.
Other then that, it looks nice, but as detailed as your characters are, your fruit isn't. But I like your style
Other then that, it looks nice, but as detailed as your characters are, your fruit isn't. But I like your style
Juan J. Sánchez
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The RTP ghost was sort of a placeholder, but we definitely can do something about the fruit.
Perihelion
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Mike, I wrote an article on title screens a while back. In retrospect the tone is regrettably antagonistic, but there's still some good information in there. You should check it out.
viewtopic.php?f=270&t=67658
viewtopic.php?f=270&t=67658
Despite your ideas and opinions, i like my title screen a lot, and in fact the title screen i made was heavly inspired by a background you can pick for a title screen on RPG Maker DS.
The difference? Mine has a sword and an axe where as the one i took inspiration from had 2 swords of a shield and some sort of stone background.
I took inspiration from this
So i don't think i did too horribly, even if i did use photoshop for some rendering... and i do think the Title it's self stands out rather well despite the background.... i suppose i can drop the background, and put plan boring white and add a shadow to the shield axe, and sword... or something..
The difference? Mine has a sword and an axe where as the one i took inspiration from had 2 swords of a shield and some sort of stone background.
I took inspiration from this
So i don't think i did too horribly, even if i did use photoshop for some rendering... and i do think the Title it's self stands out rather well despite the background.... i suppose i can drop the background, and put plan boring white and add a shadow to the shield axe, and sword... or something..
Mikepjr":3bw4146f said:Despite your ideas and opinions, i like my title screen a lot, and in fact the title screen i made was heavly inspired by a background you can pick for a title screen on RPG Maker DS.
The difference? Mine has a sword and an axe where as the one i took inspiration from had 2 swords of a shield and some sort of stone background.
I took inspiration from this
So i don't think i did too horribly, even if i did use photoshop for some rendering... and i do think the Title it's self stands out rather well despite the background.... i suppose i can drop the background, and put plan boring white and add a shadow to the shield axe, and sword... or something..
there are a lot more differences than just the one weapon, mate.
the worst of them being lots of conflicting colors in yours, which also does not provide you with contrast.
also your background is a warm, saturated color, which lets the viewers eye focus on the background, so they don't read the text.
after the background they see the axe handle, and after that the wall..
this is not even an opinion by the way, it's basic composition and coloring.
if you make a graphic, the first thing you want to do is ask yourself what the point is of the graphic.
if yours was to have people see a screen with a big shield on it, then you've succeeded.
;D
having said that, you should try experimenting with some styles for text, to go over a very detailed background.
you can practice on that small image you have there, that original one.
try different colors, different effects, and see what is easy on the eyes, and what makes sense to the viewer.
Maybe i will just ... drop all the art and put a simple black text of the title and leave it at that.. i do what looks nice, i don't worry too much of the science of it all... or.. how ever...
My main goal was seeing if the placement of things was alright, i was actually planning to do some animating with the title screen when i find a script that allows it.
My main goal was seeing if the placement of things was alright, i was actually planning to do some animating with the title screen when i find a script that allows it.
Oh hey, i didnt mean to scare you off! I just gave you my thouts on your idea, like you asked.. You should know my standards are pretty high regarding graphics.
Also what i did was just pointing out some basics concerning visuals, which are easy to correct. But you shouldnt correct them just because i said so! the most imporant thing in creating your own stuff is that you create what YOU think.is awesome. Make that title screen you've always wanted to see, but never did!
You should know my standards are pretty high regarding graphics. Also what i did was just pointing out some basics concerning visuals, which are easy to correct. But you shouldnt correct them just because i said so! the most imporant thing in creating your own stuff is that you create what YOU think.is awesome. Make that title screen you've always wanted to see, but never did!
Going to try this again....
I like detail in anything, yes the background is kinda dark in this new one, yes it has stuff i did with photoshop, but i figured if a dark background takes away, a bright Title would POP and draw someone's attention..
Also, this new one is kinda pixelated cause my game is pretty retro....
I like detail in anything, yes the background is kinda dark in this new one, yes it has stuff i did with photoshop, but i figured if a dark background takes away, a bright Title would POP and draw someone's attention..
Also, this new one is kinda pixelated cause my game is pretty retro....
I've never used Photoshop but I assume it has functions for editing and tweaking the saturation and contrast. You might want to play around with those if you can; I think the only real glaring "problem" with it is that the colours are very close to primary colours (the greens, blues, etc) and this makes it seem unnatural.
I like that you're after a retro look. Something that would emphasise that is getting rid of the anti-aliasing, which generally doesn't look so good when double scaled; Fireworks can do this I don't know about Photoshop though. Decreasing the amount of colours to 8-bit (255) might also help, and tweaking the pallette etc.
The thing you've got to remember is we can find criticisms in everything :p if you're happy with it then that's great; if you want to spend years on a title screen that's fine too but I don't imagine you do
I like that you're after a retro look. Something that would emphasise that is getting rid of the anti-aliasing, which generally doesn't look so good when double scaled; Fireworks can do this I don't know about Photoshop though. Decreasing the amount of colours to 8-bit (255) might also help, and tweaking the pallette etc.
The thing you've got to remember is we can find criticisms in everything :p if you're happy with it then that's great; if you want to spend years on a title screen that's fine too but I don't imagine you do
I'm happy with it then.
I know colors blend together, it was on perpous, i was trying to make the background look like a painting of a field or something.. and actually, retro knows not color count, look at the GBA and DS, for me retro is low resolution, i'm not really going for a 8 bit game either, just a game with a sense of a lower resolution, as if it was being played on GBA or DS, but with ofcourse a large screen lol... honestly i would have HELL if i tried to make things not blend like they are in that shot..also.. if i shrunk the screen down to 1x1 pixel, or 320x240 .. it would not look so bad, and would look sharp.. it's just really hard working with XP, some days i wish what they had just done, is took 2K and 2k3 and just UPPED way UP the color count, and left it 320x240.. or.. gave RMXP the ability to use other resolutions and not just stick you with one.
My actual plan was not really to have a still image for the title, as soon as i find a script, i plan to have it animate, the background will scroll by and the sword will move into perspective, and the title text will do this fade in from like... you.. as in.. i wanted it to start big and invisible and shrink down as it fades in, as if it lands on the screen.. the still image was just a mok up for the most part... also the title i had before was gonna animate to honestly... i was gonna have the sword and axe come in at different angles and the text and text shadow come from 2 different parts of the screen and center on the screen.. most of these titles are mokups.. but i wanted something that has some sort of animating..
I know colors blend together, it was on perpous, i was trying to make the background look like a painting of a field or something.. and actually, retro knows not color count, look at the GBA and DS, for me retro is low resolution, i'm not really going for a 8 bit game either, just a game with a sense of a lower resolution, as if it was being played on GBA or DS, but with ofcourse a large screen lol... honestly i would have HELL if i tried to make things not blend like they are in that shot..also.. if i shrunk the screen down to 1x1 pixel, or 320x240 .. it would not look so bad, and would look sharp.. it's just really hard working with XP, some days i wish what they had just done, is took 2K and 2k3 and just UPPED way UP the color count, and left it 320x240.. or.. gave RMXP the ability to use other resolutions and not just stick you with one.
My actual plan was not really to have a still image for the title, as soon as i find a script, i plan to have it animate, the background will scroll by and the sword will move into perspective, and the title text will do this fade in from like... you.. as in.. i wanted it to start big and invisible and shrink down as it fades in, as if it lands on the screen.. the still image was just a mok up for the most part... also the title i had before was gonna animate to honestly... i was gonna have the sword and axe come in at different angles and the text and text shadow come from 2 different parts of the screen and center on the screen.. most of these titles are mokups.. but i wanted something that has some sort of animating..
Skyla Doragono
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See, I really don't like it, but I think you're aiming in the right direction.Mikepjr":3mhgq9ir said:
The issue is tone; you have a game with a very serious title, "Twisted Fate", but you have bright colors in your title image. If it were me, I would lose the background colors entirely; go for black, or if you want some detail, do a black/dark red gradient, or something to that effect. Also darken the text color, and give it either a faint outer glow, or a faint white drop shadow. Maybe even incorporate the sword into the actual wording, like so:
Yes, I know it's a Final Fantasy title, but I recall this being done a lot way back when, so it would also match your retro look.
This is just what I would do, though; feel free to interpret as you will.
It's actually not serious at all, Twisted Fate, think about it.. Twisted... as in weird.. odd.. out of the ordinary, warped, something twisted and not quite right lol.. No one gets that the game is going to have humor and be off the wall like some animes like The Slayers series... real goofy crazy stuff.. no one is getting it.. at all..
The game is not a dark game.. it gets zany.. the title refers to how it will be twisted things get, as well as the fact that the main guy has a fate you would not think one like him would have... It's not supposed to be dark at all.. at... all..
I guess it's confusing much like how it is with square.. Final Fantasy? think about that.. they called it final fantasy and it was not the final anything lol.. it was a fantasy though..
Well my game's title is a play on words, Twisted.. as in weird.. goofy.. and Fate.. referring to the fact that the main character has a fate you would not expect.
The game is not a dark game.. it gets zany.. the title refers to how it will be twisted things get, as well as the fact that the main guy has a fate you would not think one like him would have... It's not supposed to be dark at all.. at... all..
I guess it's confusing much like how it is with square.. Final Fantasy? think about that.. they called it final fantasy and it was not the final anything lol.. it was a fantasy though..
Well my game's title is a play on words, Twisted.. as in weird.. goofy.. and Fate.. referring to the fact that the main character has a fate you would not expect.
Mikepjr":10iura8b said:
Did you ever consider that 'no one gets it' because you aren't properly portraying the game? Its great that you understand what the title means, but how are you going to show us? Not every player of your game is going to look through this thread for pertinent game information. You need to find ways to reflect your games style throughout the art and gameplay. That's what Skyla is trying to say, mostly. Also, your word 'Twisted' doesn't imply light-hearted oddness either - twisted is a word that implies something dark or sinister. That just reiterates my point about portrayal. Most people are going to read that title and make assumptions about your game that aren't necessarily justified. Game design is part psychology, bro. If you're making this game for others, you have make it FOR others.
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