Background Blitz: Dragons! (Results)

[Sinitrena]

Dragons!

Who doesn't like dragons?

Well, I love them (as you can see above), so I'd like to see some dragon themed backgrounds.
Is it a dragon's cave filled with treasures? Is it the mansion of an evil dragon lord decorated with statues of dragons everywhere? Is it a nest high in the mountains or the room of a moody teenager(or adult woman)? Or maybe a castle melted in a dragon's fire?
It can be everything that has something to do with dragons: Where they live, where they ravaged, where they are imprisoned. Or where they are used as decorations: as statues, tapestries, paintings, details on furniture, a chess set... (the possibilities are manifold.)


Voting is done in categories here:

Concept: your background should tell us something about the place you have depicted.
Playability: does it have clearly defined walkable areas, things to interact with, etc?
Artistic Execution: does the image convey the wanted atmosphere? What's the feeling of the place?
(shamelessly copied from Creamy)

Entries should be in by the end of 30. March 2021

And now, Fire!!!!

[JackPutter]

Beware ye who tread this path in search of fortune...

[Creamy]

[stylez75]

[imgzoom]https://i.postimg.cc/XJJG7J0T/RedLunch.png[/imgzoom]

[Sinitrena]

Three entries already and we have still two weeks to go? That's pretty good. I think y'all also like dragons! 
Keep them coming.

[Sinitrena]

Only a couple days left. Anyone else want to show us their dragon caves (or anything else described above)?

[Chomba]

[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/ac05dKl.png[/imgzoom]

[EjectedStar]

Hm, this might be a little deeper into the dragon than I originally thought. 

[Sinitrena]

Oh, so many dragons!

Time is up, and we have these five entries:

JackPutter:
[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/M8ykO6s.png[/imgzoom]


Creamy:
[imgzoom]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/14da1053-a658-4328-845a-b2b310d21541/defvjw7-bb22d41f-71f0-44c3-82f5-20b53a45b7d3.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_563,q_80,strp/pampering_by_jaipurna_defvjw7-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD01NjMiLCJwYXRoIjoiXC9mXC8xNGRhMTA1My1hNjU4LTQzMjgtODQ1YS1iMmIzMTBkMjE1NDFcL2RlZnZqdzctYmIyMmQ0MWYtNzFmMC00NGMzLTgyZjUtMjBiNTNhNDViN2QzLnBuZyIsIndpZHRoIjoiPD0xMjgwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.hM9FZsbVNjaCiqxWSZqZRIt74w_m3TVwBxHTWjX7BbY[/imgzoom]


stylez75:
[imgzoom]https://i.postimg.cc/XJJG7J0T/RedLunch.png[/imgzoom]


Chomba:
[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/ac05dKl.png[/imgzoom]


EjectedStar:
[imgzoom]https://i.imgur.com/AXXeNZe.jpg[/imgzoom]


Everyone can vote and everyone can give one vote in each of the following categories:

Concept: your background should tell us something about the place you have depicted.
Playability: does it have clearly defined walkable areas, things to interact with, etc?
Artistic Execution: does the image convey the wanted atmosphere? What's the feeling of the place?

On 5. April I will tally the votes and declare a winner but let me say now already: Good job, everyone!

[Creamy]

Concept: JackPutter
Playability: stylez75
Artistic Execution: Chomba

Nice entries. It was a hard choice.

[Sinitrena]

I... I can't really tally any votes when there are (nearly) none. Especially with 5 entries and just 1 person voting. A few more, please?

[ildu]

Concept: Chomba - I feel that for me this one was the most different entry, redefining a literal dragon.
Playability: stylez75 - Out of the entries, I think this one I would most like to see in a game. Perhaps it's also something I would most expect, but that's not necessarily always a bad thing .
Artistic Execution: stylez75 - While I really liked Creamy's more painterly take, this one just popped and became memorable as I visited this thread.

Nice collection this time! Congrats to all entrants !

[lorenzo]

My votes:

Concept: Chomba - I think it's the most unexpected interpretation of the theme (although EjectedStar's is pretty cool too!)
Playability: JackPutter - Clearly defined walkable areas, an objective in front of you and an obstacle (the dragon). And if it's a Sierra-style game, a big chasm to fall into.
Artistic Execution: Chomba - I really like the palette choice and the contrast of the yellow windows against the dark tones of the night.

Creamy: The dragons look lovely. Their silhouettes with just the right amounts of highlights to define their shape work really well!

stylez75: Nice old-school style background. Makes you wonder how Graham will beat that dragon!

EjectedStar: an original interpretation of the theme, with many objects to solve puzzles with. Also, is that Manny?

[Sinitrena]

Alrighty, we still have very few votes and just one of our entrants. I don't like this, but we can't wait forever.

JackPutter: I really like how enticing your background seems, in a very obvious, almost to parody the wants and needs of adventuerers - the obvious warning on the sign, sure to be ignored; the treasure chest that is far too large for the castle it sits in. Your use of light is pretty good too, drawing the attention to the chest and the sign, while keeping the dragon in the sky almost invisible but still very much there. I like this background.

Creamy: I can't quite tell what the walls are (ice, gold), but I don't mind. They give the scene a nice mystery and it feels almost like one stumbled into a different world, a more magical world. The background offeres not too many details, concentrating on just the core features of the two dragons in the middle and the walls. I think there's little to do for a player here and would - in general - say that this looks far more like a picture to hang on your wall than one to use in a game - if you know what I mean. It gives off a great atmosphere.

stylez75: Very old-school looking with not too many details but an amazing looking dragon, especially the face. Technically, I think the dragon is not part of the background (surely that would be either a character or an object to interact with), but who cares when you give us such a beautiful creature? Small detail I noticed: The tree has a shadow, the dragon does not, that looks slightly off. But a great background showing an obstacle in the way of our heroes.

Chomba: So, at least one person took up the idea to not use actual dragons - and still you give us a pretty good picture of one on the wall of the building. I like how the whole background just oozes shadyness, not just because there's a lot of drakness - the absence of street lamps, the lights on the bar (drawing the view to the main foocus of the background), the dirty wall to the left, the uneven street. Actually, one of the letters of "Red Dragon" should be dark or flickering and it would be perfect.

EjectedStar: Great idea, probably one of the few I didn't think about when setting up the theme, but sure, why not. I imagine it in-game wobbling and contracting! There are a nice few details, the sword, telling us just how large the dragon really is, the jewels and skeleton(parts). Good things to interact with.


Let's add my votes to the mix before I count them:

Concept: Chomba
Playability: stylez75
Artistic Execution: Chomba


That makes for a fairly clear winner:

Chomba wins with 6 points. Congratulations.
Second place goes to Stylez75 with 4 points.
And third place is JackPutter with 2 points.

Unfortunately, neither Creamy nor EjectedStar receive any points, but that is due to the strong competition, not any lack of theirs.

And also unfortunately I forgot to make any trophies for you all. Sorry. 


With that, this round is closed and the duty of creating the next one goes to Chomba.

[Creamy]

Kudos to you Chomba!

[Chomba]

Hey! I just saw this!

Thanks for the votes and the kind words 

I'll get to the new theme soon!