Sprite Jam (Until 11.6.07): Post Apocalyptic (Winner announced)

[SpacePirateCaine]

I'll admit, I'm a huge fan of the Fallout games. It's been ages since I actually played either, but I was pretty excited to hear that Fallout 3 is being developed. All thoughts about how well Bethesda will do at recreating such a successful franchise aside, it's pretty exciting, I think. It wasn't just that the story was great, and the game played so well, but it was the setting: Post apocalyptic Earth. So to coincide with the release of the first Fallout 3 trailer (Tomorrow, as of this writing), I've decided that this time around, I'd like to go with the theme:

Post Apocalyptic

I want you to pixel me up a sprite of a character that would fit well in a Fallout-esque post apocalyptic setting. So give me something appropriately dusty and dark-futuresque to enjoy, so that even if Fallout disappoints, as so many people seem to be assuming it will, there'll be something to cushion the blow.

And now for the boring technical rules:

Sprites may be up to 150x150 pixels
You may use up to 32 colors

For inspiration: The official Fallout 3 website.

Enjoy!

[Bohnito]

Fallout 3? i didn't  know that, its great! i love the fallout series, and I'm tryin to win this contest... (nice teaser on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tng09PEualc )

and sorry, but i don't know what "esque" means , can you describe it please

[SpacePirateCaine]

~esque (Suffix): Similar to the noun preceding it.

So Falloutesque means "In a similar bent to that of Fallout"

[EdLoen]

Ok. Not sure how Post apocalyptic this may be.  I think I squewed my own plan somewhere along the line.  It just looks like a blood-splattered soldier really. I know I messed up on the flak jacket.  But I shouldn't condecend my own entry, lol.


26 Colors including white, plus transparency.


X4 Zoom.

[cobra79]

I don't know if it fits the Fallout theme, because I never played it, but I always thought that Post Apocalyptic people would wear worn clothes and freeze in ice cold conditions (nuclear winter and all that)

32x86 10 colors


x2


Edit:changed the shading a bit, to emphasize what I had in mind.

[Lad]

I like the idea/theme. Hope I can take part(if I have the time)

  I'll show you one old drawing I did like 4-5 months(or more) ago
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/1446/nuclear2hq3.jpg
It's not part of the competition and it's not finished

[Bohnito]

maybe the main character (i always liked the leather jacket in the game )

x2


And he's totally stressed by all the post Apocalyptic things around him...

110x88, 21 colors

[markbilly]

These are all characters. We want landscapes! I would love to enter, but I'm busy at the moment with all sorts of exams and things. But I thought I'd comment anyway...

[Khris]

markbilly:

I want you to pixel me up a sprite of a character [...]

This is still a Sprite Jam, no Background Blitz.

Edit:

I'm tired of staring at him, so I'll just post him.

x2, 11 cols + transparency

[Mad]

Long time no sprite...

...but got inspired by this great topic and had some time.

So here it goes:

               

[markbilly]

markbilly:

I want you to pixel me up a sprite of a character [...]

This is still a Sprite Jam, no Background Blitz.

Good point. I really can't wait for someone to do this for the background blitz then.

[Phemar]

Markbilly: There was a post-apocalyptic diner topic once. Search for it

Edit: Here it is: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=23747.0

[Andail]

Don't ask me what I did here. The anatomy and perspective have gone hay wire. I tried to make him in a more top-down view, but he ended up with a very small lower body and looking like he's standing on his toes.


x2

[markbilly]

Markbilly: There was a post-apocalyptic diner topic once. Search for it

Edit: Here it is: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=23747.0

Cool, thanks. There are some great entries for that one.

Anyway, I'll let you all get back on topic.

[Eggie]

Uuuhhhh....cute?

[GreenBoy]

Not quite traditional,  no gun for example but he definatly belongs in a future where civilization has been going backwards after a nuclear halucaust.  Where technology has been forgoten and the most advanced weapon is a sword.  But with that sword he brings justice to a world that long ago gave up such things.

Thats right he's..........

Sheriff Samarai.

[Phemar]

Green Boy your entry reminds of Heroes for some reason. Like a mix between Peter and Hiro!

[GreenBoy]

Wow I never thought of that, it really does for me too now.  Do'h.  Though I have been quite obsessed with that TV program recently.

Thats actually quite scary.

[SpacePirateCaine]

Well, now...

I apologize to all of those who entered the competition and (maybe) are waiting for the verdict, as it were. I've been working 15 days straight, so I was a little indisposed lately. But excuses aside, I have appeared once again to give my praise and a few awards (as it were).

As usual, I feel the need to give my own personal opinions, solicited or not, on the individual sprites, so I shall pick apart each sprite in the order they were submitted. And so, without further ado, I'll begin with EdLoen.

EdLoen: Your sprite, perhaps, doesn't exactly follow the usual concepts of post-apocalyptic hero, but regardless, I do like the sprite quite a bit. The character has a lot of personality, from the hero beard  and big face scar, to the various blood splatters. I can imagine him standing around being generally pissed off after having killed some aliens or mutants, and I must admit, I like it like that. To offer some friendly criticism, I think the only large issue is with anatomy. His left leg seems a little bit twisted, and longer than his right. All in all, really good stuff.

Cobra79: That's great! It reminds me of any number of children in post-apocalyptic settings - dressed in rags and wrapped up in a ratty old blanket to keep warm and safe. If I were to nitpick, as I am wont to do, I would say that though there's some great detail, especially in the shading of the blanket, where you can really make out those arms, the pose is decidedly non-dynamic. The stance is decidedly strong, when I think that the character itself belies a sense of despair - I'd like to see the knees a little more bent to accentuate the hunching-over, or even having them huddled down on the ground. Not a major issue by any right, and certainly not a strike against the sprite at all, however.

Bohnito: Also a really groovy character - I like the sense of style as well. I was always a fan of the leather jacket in Fallout, and would usually wear it exclusively until I could get myself a suit of power armor from the Brotherhood of Steel (At which I really am willing to trade the lack of aesthetics for a massive boost in armor). It does have a distinct post-apocalyptic vibe, and he has the paleness one might expect from a vault-dweller living in synthetic light all of his life. In contrast to Cobra79's sprite, the pose is very dynamic, but I'm kinda sad that there's a large lack of detail in the character's features, especially with as much care as you put into the jeans and the gun.

Mad: This is an awesome sprite. The artwork itself is simple and well-concieved, and I think that the earthy, dusty color selection was spot-on. She looks a little cleaner than I would generally expect, but she fits the theme about as well as I think she possibly could. The pose is great, and I really love the shading. I would really, honestly love to see her in action in a game at some point. If I were to offer any criticism, it would be that I feel that with the size of her chest relative to her waist, she's probably looking at some major back problems in the future.

Andail: Another character I really dig. The most realistic of the sprites in the competition, I'd venture to say, even if the proportions were significantly squished in order to fit the dimensions I set for the contest. Regardless, the thing I really like the most is the obvious attention to detail that you put into this sprite. The features are all really good - particularly the face and the pants. If you'd said in your post that this was a dwarf, I wouldn't have even thought that there were problems. As is, I think that the issues with short legs probably could've been rectified by having him kneeling, perhaps. Either way, awesome sprite, and I don't know why, but I really, really dig that bowgun.

Eggie: That is one hell of an arm, that is the first thing that came to mind when I saw this sprite. I would love to see this character in an odd, dark and cartoony post-apocalyptic game as well, though I would venture to call her a bit more sci-fi. It definitely shows through with classic Eggie style - unique, to say the least, which I'm very fond of. I'm not sure how well it fits with my general overgeneralizations of post-apocalyptic settings, but I do dig it. I'd love to hear the backstory behind this one.

KhrisMUC: The first thing I thought when I saw this sprite was Blade, from Rise of the Dragon. Don't know if you've played the game - it's very similar visually to Blade Runner (hence the name). I'm sure it's the coat that does it, and the big gun. It somewhat reminds me of my now-faulty memory of the action sequences in the game. I would also say this seems the most like a classic adventure game sprite of the ones that we've seen in this competition.

Green Boy: I can certainly see what others have said about the similarity to Hiro from heroes. It's essentially the longish coat and sword over the shoulder, and the stocky build. There have been no shortage of characters that fit that description, but I think that at least at present, it's the most relevant comparison. I think that you could probably clean up a couple double pixels, particularly around the hilt of the sword, and some of the anatomy seems a bit off, but nonetheless, it's a great sprite, and I'm glad it made it into my contest.

Now, as everybody who ever has to host one of these contests says, this has been an extremely tough decision to make, but someone has to be crowned the winner. I am terrible at making little award sprites, since I always forget to actually make them until I've already procrastinated much too long to do so - so I apologize for not having any if anyone was really looking forward to them. Instead, I'll give you the winners in good ol' fashioned text.

So:

3rd place: Andail, with his short, post-apocalyptic sheriff

2nd place: KhrisMUC and his trenchcoated wanderer

1st place: Mad with his gas-masked gunmistress.

Thank you so much everyone for entering the contest - I truly enjoyed hosting it, and I'm very impressed with all of the entries that we recieved this time around. I'd really, really love to see a post-apocalyptic adventure game come to fruition one of these days -- Maybe I'll have to rise to the task myself (once I've finished with the other outstanding projects I already have).

So congratulations, Mad for your victory - you've done great work, and I think everyone can agree on this point. I'm looking forward to entering your competition once you've started it. And congratulations to everyone else as well, for finishing some awesome sprites. They will forever be something I love to look at, now that I've got it all saved to my hard drive.

So, thank you everybody, and goodnight! And remember: Duck and cover!

[Mad]

Hey thanks, SpacePirateCaine!

But you're absolutely right about her chest. Looking at the sprite again I think I went a bit Lara Croft on her!

I really thought KhrisMUC would win this one. Great composition, and I totally dig the colour scheme!

Ok, I'll start a new jam right away...