Background Blitz: Home Sweet Home - 11/08-25/08

[gameboy]

Home Sweet Home

Your job is to create a background of the main character's home. No matter what kind of district he/she lives, no matter what kind of person he/she is. Make him/her a place to live!

Both indoor and outdoor views are welcome. But remember, it has to follow the topic. Also, it has to be usable in a game as a background.

And also, I'd like to see some originality!

There are no restrictions in size or color.



The voting, as usually, will be given in four categories:
Best Idea
Best Design
Best Functionality
Best Technique

Voting will begin on the 25th and end on the 26th


Let's get it on!

[nihilyst]

Let's start with the home of Grog Roger:

2x


cheers
nihilyst

[Clip]

Hello

Yes, as you see its a Truck, not a house or building. But its a home to truckdrivers, because they have to spend alot of time in their trucks.



Its dedicated to all the truckdrivers in the world.

PS. Its made by using only MSPaint

[Sektor 13]

Ahh good old houses...




...of indian tribes

[Tocsik]

I'm not really happy with it but, as it took me a large chunk of the day, here is my attempt. It is supposed to be Arthur Dent's home minus Bulldozers.

[ildu]

Richard A. Tippington had once been a world-reknown lepidopterist, that is he found great fruition in collecting and studying lepidopterans, creatures we usually refer to as butterflies. Descending from a noble, and as some might distastefully argue, royal lineage, Richard was not expected to venture into this particular domain. Like foolish mothers and fathers sometimes tend to do, Richard's mother and father had in mind something a little more appropriate for their son's profession. Perhaps Richard should try law or medicine, or even the military, Richard's mother used to argue. But nothing was to dissuade the child from his true calling.

So as years came and went, Richard successfully built up a reputation as one of the world's leading butterfly experts. His whole existance depended on those noble creatures. However, on his fiftysecond birthday, Richard came upon a startling discovery: He had studied and knew by heart everything that was to be known about butterflies. His collection was complete, his library full, but his mind racing. His horn of plenty, his cornucopia, that had once been the very essence of his being, had now been depleted. What was there to do now, Richard thought frantically.

Then it came to him, an idea most people would have thought to be utter madness. In his younger days, Richard had read about a giant butterfly living in the remote rainforests near the Amazon. It had only been seen once by human eyes and the vague description told of its immense size as well as it's unusual coloring. In Richard's mind the matter was already settled. He was going to find that butterfly.

Richard quickly booked a flight in hopes of finding the sole witness, his colleague, Dr. Steinmann. The good doctor had vanished from the public eye some years ago when he wandered off on an expedition and wasn't seen since. Years later, in a letter sent to the London Lepidopterologic Society, Dr. Steinmann exclaimed to have come across a new type of butterfly that had never been registered before. The society was astonished. After all, no one had heard from Dr. Steinmann in over 4 years. The discovery prompted the release of a few articles about the matter, but the society didn't see it fit to make a fuss. It was told that Dr. Steinmann had either died or gone completely bonkers, which didn't exactly reassure the boardmembers. Nothing was heard from Dr. Steinmann ever since.

It was rumored that Dr. Steinmann was living as a hermit in a treehouse near the small merchant village of Maracayo. Richard saw it fit to start there, since it was his first and only lead to go on. The sighting of the giant butterfly had roused some suspicion and superstition among the village locals. Stories told of an enormous ghost-like butterfly, who would come at night to prey on small children. The locals called this beast "O Ladrão da Borboleta", which roughly translates to "The Butterfly Thief". Understandibly Richard found it a difficult task to find guides for his quest, especially since the trek to the treehouse would be done during the following night. After some ample persuasion, the expedition was afoot.

The party arrived at the treehouse at the break of dawn. Richard hurried up the steps embedded into the trunk of the tree and finally reached the top. He quickly checked the back of the treehouse and then entered. Dr. Steinmann was nowhere to be seen. His bed was not made and there were opened food supplies around the room. Surely the doctor is somewhere close-by, perhaps even on a trek to find the mysterious giant butterfly, Richard thought to his own delight. Having calmed down, Richard descended the steps back to the base of the tree and to his dismay, he found the rest of the expedition gone. Richard was puzzled. Perhaps they thought he was there to stay or either they didn't want to hang around with a toddler-thieving butterfly on the loose. Richard decided to make camp at the treehouse content that Dr. Steinmann would appear sooner or later.

A couple of days passed with no sign of the doctor. Richard grew weary. He couldn't stay in the treehouse for much longer. There were enough rations and clothes to last a long time, but Richard was feeling more and more uneasy about the absence of the man he had come to see. What had happened to Dr. Steinmann? What if he was in trouble? The time for idle waiting was over. It was time to find Dr. Steinmann...



The 640x480 version can be found here.

I decided not to burden people with the larger version of the image since it was around 300kb. Just check out the larger image from the link above. I finally got a painted bg done for the blitz after so many failed attempts with usually time or motivation running out. Sorry about the story . I was only gonna write a few lines, but I just couldn't stop writing until I got to the treehouse scene, so it evolved into quite a lot of text. Sorry again .

[yarooze]

oh... I had an Idea, but didn't realize it...
I was allways tired after work this week. And now it is to late.Ã,  :'(

Working suxxxx!

[Bartimaeus]

Beautiful bg Ildu  :o

[Mr Flibble]

Best Idea: Tocsik
I just love the concept of a HHGTTG adventure game (or at least, one which doesn't become impossibly hard once reaching the Heart of Gold...). Also,  I like the way you interpretted "Home Sweet Home", seeing how Arthur lost his home and for a long time pines to regain it.
Best Design: ildu
Very creative, lots of nice detail.
Best Functionality: nihilyst
It seems like this background has the best scope for actual use in an adventure game.
Best Technique: Clip
I love the simple yet effective shading you were able to get in here, great job.

[ildu]

Beautiful bg Ildu  :o

Thanks a lot .

Best Idea - Clip. A truly 'different' entry. Clearly some thought was put into this one .
Best Design - Clip. Simple, crisp, clean, colorful and pleasing.
Best Functionality - nihilyst. I don't know. It's just simply the best bg suited to work as a bg: Clear perspective, lots of walkable space and consistency in the design.
Best Technique - Sektor 13. I can't help but love Sektor's ever-pleasant colouring style.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Best Idea: Ildu
Best Design: Ildu
Best Functionality:nihilyst
Best Technique: ildu

[Tocsik]

I think all of them are pretty good but ildu's made me go --> :o

so ildu all around

[sergiocornaga]

Best idea- Sektor13
Best design- Ildu
Best functionality- Sektor13
Best technique- Ildu

[Bartimaeus]

Best idea - Clip
Best design - Ildu
Best functionality - Nihilyst
Best technique - Sektor 13

[Cino]

Best idea - Ildu
Best design - Ildu
Best functionality - Nihilyst
Best technique - Sektor 13

[gameboy]

Well, first of all, I apologize, 'cause I wasn't able to be around for a while.
Anyway, let's count the votes and end this blitz.

Very nice entries, everyone.
Here comes the lineup:

The third and the second place are taken by nihilyst & Sektor 13, both with 5 votes.
The first place goes to ildu with 13 votes!

Back to you, ildu.

[ildu]

Over so soon? Thanks, gameboy. We should try and continue this cycle, don't you think ?

Yeah, thanks to everyone who participated and/or voted. It's my birthday today (I'm exactly 22 years and one hour old now) and this was a nice present, especially as it's the first time I've won .

I'll be posting up the next blitz in a few hours. Meanwhile, help yourself to a drink!

[nihilyst]

So then: Congrats, and happy birthday!