Looking for some REALLY early feedback here.

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by NickFalk, Apr 2, 2010.

  1. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    OK guys and gals I'm early in the development of my next title. I have no real details regarding the game itself to share at the moment, but would like your feedback at this stage.

    The below character is the main character in the game. The idea behind the style is (I think) best described as a cartoon-pixelart-homage-style. That is, it's supposed to look the way cartoons depict arcade games. Kind of a meta-meta-style I guess(?)

    [​IMG]

    I like the style myself but as those of you with really good memory and humongous brains might recall my instincts aren't exactly tuned with the rest of the world when it comes to this kind of things. So I have a couple of questions:

    1. 1. Do you like the character?
    2. 2. Do you like the graphical style, or at least the general idea of the style?

    Thanks!
     
  2. jak56

    jak56 Well-Known Member

    steve jobs caricature?
     
  3. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    Close. Actually it's Fake fake Steve Jobs. ;)
     
  4. ejjib

    ejjib Active Member

    Feb 25, 2010
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    i like the style itself, but the nose is way too big.
    and well , maybe you could make the face a bit mor round and the elbow holes smaller.

    also thought of steve jobs first lol

    whats the game about?
     
  5. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    Thanks! I might have to go through a few iterations to find the right balance of the caricature. One of Jobs defining features is his long nose, but I might have gone too far. As for the rounding of the face: A little bit less inclined to do so, as the quasi-square style is a huge part of the fake pixel-art style. Anyone else care to share their thoughts about this?

    As for the game: I'm at the early prototype stages so it really is too early to divulge any information as anything at this stage is likely to change.
     
  6. Flickitty

    Flickitty Well-Known Member

    Oct 14, 2009
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    Here is one tip that I can provide that is timeless and universal, regardless of style:

    Silhouette

    Make sure your character has a distinct and well-defined silhouette. These silhouettes are not only defined by the outer shape of the character, but also by stances, poses and mannerisms.

    Think about any popular character. Can you tell who they are by their silhouette alone? Mickey Mouse. Charlie Brown. Scooby Doo. Bert, Ernie and Big Bird. Even Calvin and Hobbes had a distinct silhouette.

    This idea is actually borrowed from Stan Lee, creator of Spiderman and other famous Marvel comics characters. I'm not a comics fan, but I can stand behind the principles of Stan Lee.

    Build a strong silhouette and fill in the details- don't go the opposite direction.

    With that said, I think this particular character by NickFalk has an adequate silhouette. Especially in the joints, square chin and rounded dome on the head.

    The only downside that I might see is that the silhouette looks like a generic Wii character. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though- people might quickly associate the character with Wii-style gameplay. Which is diverse in it's library. I know, I have a Wii.
     
  7. dogmeat

    dogmeat Well-Known Member

    Apr 6, 2009
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    San Francisco, CA
    agreed.

    Look at the shilouette of your jobs character, it could be anyone, add some unique curves/lines/etc.. to give it style.
     
  8. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    Thanks guys, good advice from Flickitty about silhouettes. I'm well aware of the theory and agree wholeheartedly. It translates to other things than characters as well. (I'm fairly certain it predates even the great Stan Lee though). :)

    As for my character I think it should work well enough in this respect. The main thing being that the silhouette of the different characters in the game should be strong enough. I'm still not 100% confident about the character as it is at the moment though. That is, I'm quite pleased myself but I've made a few odd choices, as I often do, like the extremely long nose that has already been mentioned. (I like it though).

    I'm still very interested in hearing people's initial reactions to the look of the character, but am a little bit worried about this thread turning into a design-by-comittee-thing. I guess what I'm really asking is: What did you feel when you first saw the character:

    1. Amazing, NickFalk must be the next DaVinci and I want to give birth to his children
    2. Suckorama to the extreme. It's actually so bad I'm considering poking my eyes out!
    3. It's quite good.
    4. It's ok-ish, nothing special, but not too bad.
    5. Meh. Dull.

    Or any other thoughts...?
     
  9. Flickitty

    Flickitty Well-Known Member

    Oct 14, 2009
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    Silhouette definitely predates Stan Lee by a long shot. The very earliest animated cartoons had great silhouettes (look at Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willy). As you cited, Logo design is strongly influenced by strong silhouette, which is where I first heard about this theory over 20 years ago as a Graphic Design student. Graphic Design has a rich history in silhouette.

    I agree that design-by-committee is a bad thing.

    Overall, I can't find anything to complain about. I think the silhouette is adequate, considering there isn't much more you could do to Fake Steve Jobs. There isn't anything wrong with the nose. Changing the size of the nose drastically changes the tone of the character. So you can mess with the sizes, but there really isn't a 'right' answer. It is mostly how you want the character to be portrayed that matters.

    For the most part, long noses indicate an antagonist or older age. A short button nose represents innocence and youth. Considering Jobs is older, the longer nose is appropriate.
     
  10. my first thought was you are very brave thinking you will get a game starring a caricature of Steve Jobs onto the app store.

    My second thought is that at least the nose is in the right position.
     
  11. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    Steve Jobs? No, no it's fake fake Steve Jobs.

    :D
    You're saying you prefer my latest nose-job?
     
  12. HappyninGames

    HappyninGames Well-Known Member

    Mar 5, 2010
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    Well I definitely chuckled when I saw it, (hopefully that's what you were aiming for lol)

    It's ok-ish, nothing special, but not too bad.

    It's instantly recognizable as a caricature of Steve Jobs (or fake Steve), which is a plus. It's probably not a style that will will be instantly loved by the majority of consumers, but it's definitely interesting and there very well could be a small but loyal following. Just my guess though, nothing definitive.
     
  13. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    Thanks HayppyningGames. You chuckling is a good thing for sure, it's a positive emotional response so much appreciated.

    As for the nothing special, but not too bad thanks again. I was obviously hoping for something even more positive, but what I really want at this stage is just some feedback of the initial response people have towards the character. :)
     
  14. ilusions

    ilusions Well-Known Member

    Feb 13, 2010
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    Might want to make the nose look less like a male genital (especially with the eyes right next to it like that)
     
  15. DPP13

    DPP13 Well-Known Member

    Jan 24, 2010
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    College Student
    Just make the nose a tad smaller. Otherwise looks excellent in my opinion.
     
  16. schplurg

    schplurg Well-Known Member

    Good and interesting points.
     
  17. steelfires

    steelfires Well-Known Member

    Feb 17, 2010
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    Candy Mountain, Charlie!
    I didn't really like the chin and nose so long.
     
  18. ArtCoder

    ArtCoder Well-Known Member

    I think that for a drawing that's looking directly at you, the nose comes off as trunk... :)
     
  19. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    Thanks a lot for all the feedback, much appreciated! As I stated in one of my earlier postings I wasn't looking for suggestions in particular. As a lot of you weren't didn't really like the nose I decided to experiment a little bit to see if it would improve things. However, after trying out some different sizes I came to the conclusion I actually agree the character looks better with a shorter nose.

    [​IMG]

    Thanks! :)
     
  20. Mr Jack

    Mr Jack Well-Known Member

    If you look at the glasses and the nose it looks rather phallic...
     

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