{"author_link":"\/users\/flaterectomy","author_name":"Flaterectomy","author_uid":"flaterectomy","comments":[],"epoch":1534879590,"event":"LD42","format":"md","ldjam_node_id":117211,"likes":9,"metadata":{"p_key":"120769","p_author":"Flaterectomy","p_authorkey":"1003398","p_urlkey":"336804","p_title":"CYBATRON | Graphics Post-Mortem","p_cat":"LDJam ","p_event":"LD42","p_time":"1534879590","p_likes":"9","p_comments":"0","p_status":"WAYBACK","us_key":"1003398","us_name":"Flaterectomy","us_username":"flaterectomy","event_start":"1533859200","event_key":"73","event_name":"LD 42"},"node":{"_collation":{"body_sanitizer":"TextUtils::SanitizeHTML via existing importer","event":"LD42","removed_author":false},"_superparent":97793,"_trust":15,"author":3398,"body":" \n\n![gfxpm-header.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5dc.png)\n\nThere's **plenty of interesting things** to talk about in regard to our game [CYBATRON](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/cybatron). There's **mistakes we made** and a large number of **improvements** we could still implement post-jam to have the game explain itself much better. **None of the humorous content** we had been thinking of even made it into the game.\n\nBut I am not going to talk about any of those actually **interesting** things, **I'm gonna talk about the graphics.**\n\n![gfxpm-tileset.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5e4.png)\n\n## A Change in Art Direction\nLudum Dare 42 was a little different for us, visually. Our previous entries are generally **x2 or x3 scaled pixelart**. Even if they weren\u2019t scaled up, it was still quite clearly *pixelart*. This time, @daanvanyperen asked me at one point: **\u201cWhy don\u2019t you try something like your digital paintings?\u201d** All right, out of the comfort zone we go! (In regard to game art, anyway.)\n\nAs I got started on the graphics, I figured I'd **start clean** and eventually get to **painting over things**, but I quickly realized I quite enjoyed the clean style. I only ended up using my Wacom tablet for **quick little sketches** of buildings to figure out the general design of things. \n\n![gfxpm-sketches.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5da.png)\n\n*(I lost a few sketches when I neglected to save the file, so I don't actually have any left that look like the assets I ended up making. D'oh!)*\n\n## Cyberpunk: It's All The Rage Right Now\n**80's music**, a new **Bladerunner**, **Cyberpunk 2077**, the current fad of **neon magenta** and **cyan lighting**... Cyberpunk seemed a pretty **obvious pick**. We'd also brainstormed past **Kowloon Walled City**, which is where the height of my building assets came from at least. There was more cyberpunk that we wanted to include originally. Tiles that merge together with cables and wires connecting them, etc. In the end, we ran out of time for that.\n\n## The Good\nI think we achieved a **high level of polish** for our game. I had taken the monday off from work (first time I did that for a Ludum Dare) while @daanvanyperen did have to go to work (probably also a first time) so I had 8 to 10 hours of doodling extra. I had consciously postponed work on some assets so I could spend the monday doing those, and the **extra time paid off**.\n\nThe game also has a **fairly uniform style** to it. I tried to **art direct** myself by shooting down ideas that, while they might look nice on their own, would not fit with the rest of the game. That internal direction worked 90% of the time.\n\n## The Bad and The Ugly\nThere are a bunch of things, graphically, that could do with improvements. Some of might be **nitpicking**, but I do indeed pick nits.\n### 1. Go Away, Escher\nThe height of the blocks causing an optical illusion that a **block closer to the foreground** looks like it's **below the other blocks**. Reducing the *height* of the blocks should probably do the trick.\n\n![gfxpm-perspective.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5d2.png)\n### 2. Ticks Are Off The Mark\nThe tick mark on the resource icons hovering over the buildings when they are active **does not fit** the style of the game. A five minute fix, but it didn't stand out to me until after the jam ended.\n\n![gfxpm-tickmark.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5d3.png)\n### 3. I Cast Magic Missile, Not Shadow\nA more **uniform use of shadows**. The buildings draw shadows on the tile below, but not on themselves in a bunch of sprites. The casino in the image below was the last building sprite I made ion the last day of the jam; **I got careless**. \n\n![gfxpm-shadow.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5d6.png)\n### 4. Anchor What?!\nWe have a tile that doesn't allow blocks to be moved away from it. It started with reinforced edges. That didn't look good. Then I **reiterated and reiterated**. I reached a point where more time spent on it just wasn't worth it. We needed a quick symbol fix. Either a **lock** or an **anchor**? Those don't seem very *cyberpunky*. I clearly saw the anchor in my mind, I went for it. Don't judge me.\n\n![gfxpm-anchor.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5d7.png)\n\n### 5. A Farmtastic Failure\nYes. Yes, that is a farm. It really is. It **supplies food** to the residential buildings, **enabling the population to live there**. It started as a regular greenhouse; that looked too present-day. Then it turned into a hazy cylindrical glass chamber; cylindrical did not suit the angular style of the game. @daanvanyperen asked for a biodome, but round shapes still don't suit the style. **Righto, some green-tinted glass boxes it is.**\n\n![gfxpm-farm.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5de.png)\n\n### 6. Where's The Cyber, Punk?\nThis is probably my **biggest gripe** with the graphics I ended up making. It may be kind-of reminiscent of cyberpunk, but it definitely **doesn't scream cyberpunk**. As I mentioned above, there was more we wanted to do with it, and as a result our game merely became **cyberpunkish**. It's a good thing we put it **in the name of the game**.\n\n# In Conclusion...\nWe ended up with a pretty good looking game that could have looked better. But of course, the **could look better** part is always true in a game jam. While I directed my art well, there's more details to keep in mind that I neglected. Step back and try to be objective. \n\nIf you made it this far down, **thanks for reading**. There **will be** a **graphics timelapse video** somewhere in the next few weeks. If you like these kinds of things, keep an eye on my [YouTube](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/Flaterectomy) or [Twitter](https:\/\/twitter.com\/Flaterectomy).\n\n![cybatron.gif](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5e6.gif)\n![Small Thumbs_footer_postld41.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5e8.png)","comments":4,"comments-timestamp":"2018-08-22T15:25:47Z","created":"2018-08-16T16:40:40Z","files":[],"files-timestamp":0,"id":117211,"love":9,"love-timestamp":"2018-08-22T06:48:17Z","meta":[],"modified":"2018-08-22T15:25:47Z","name":"CYBATRON | Graphics Post-Mortem","node-timestamp":"2018-08-21T19:35:43Z","parent":99446,"parents":[1,5,9,97793,99446],"path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/cybatron\/cybatron-graphics-post-mortem","published":"2018-08-21T19:26:30Z","scope":"public","slug":"cybatron-graphics-post-mortem","subsubtype":"","subtype":"","type":"post","version":353669},"node_metadata":{"n_key":"117211","n_urlkey":"336804","n_parent":"99446","n_path":"\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/cybatron\/cybatron-graphics-post-mortem","n_slug":"cybatron-graphics-post-mortem","n_type":"post","n_subtype":"","n_subsubtype":"","n_author":"3398","n_created":"1534437640","n_modified":"1534951547","n_version":"353669","n_status":"WAYBACK"},"source_url":"https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/cybatron\/cybatron-graphics-post-mortem","text":" \n\n![gfxpm-header.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5dc.png)\n\nThere's **plenty of interesting things** to talk about in regard to our game [CYBATRON](https:\/\/ldjam.com\/events\/ludum-dare\/42\/cybatron). There's **mistakes we made** and a large number of **improvements** we could still implement post-jam to have the game explain itself much better. **None of the humorous content** we had been thinking of even made it into the game.\n\nBut I am not going to talk about any of those actually **interesting** things, **I'm gonna talk about the graphics.**\n\n![gfxpm-tileset.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5e4.png)\n\n## A Change in Art Direction\nLudum Dare 42 was a little different for us, visually. Our previous entries are generally **x2 or x3 scaled pixelart**. Even if they weren\u2019t scaled up, it was still quite clearly *pixelart*. This time, @daanvanyperen asked me at one point: **\u201cWhy don\u2019t you try something like your digital paintings?\u201d** All right, out of the comfort zone we go! (In regard to game art, anyway.)\n\nAs I got started on the graphics, I figured I'd **start clean** and eventually get to **painting over things**, but I quickly realized I quite enjoyed the clean style. I only ended up using my Wacom tablet for **quick little sketches** of buildings to figure out the general design of things. \n\n![gfxpm-sketches.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5da.png)\n\n*(I lost a few sketches when I neglected to save the file, so I don't actually have any left that look like the assets I ended up making. D'oh!)*\n\n## Cyberpunk: It's All The Rage Right Now\n**80's music**, a new **Bladerunner**, **Cyberpunk 2077**, the current fad of **neon magenta** and **cyan lighting**... Cyberpunk seemed a pretty **obvious pick**. We'd also brainstormed past **Kowloon Walled City**, which is where the height of my building assets came from at least. There was more cyberpunk that we wanted to include originally. Tiles that merge together with cables and wires connecting them, etc. In the end, we ran out of time for that.\n\n## The Good\nI think we achieved a **high level of polish** for our game. I had taken the monday off from work (first time I did that for a Ludum Dare) while @daanvanyperen did have to go to work (probably also a first time) so I had 8 to 10 hours of doodling extra. I had consciously postponed work on some assets so I could spend the monday doing those, and the **extra time paid off**.\n\nThe game also has a **fairly uniform style** to it. I tried to **art direct** myself by shooting down ideas that, while they might look nice on their own, would not fit with the rest of the game. That internal direction worked 90% of the time.\n\n## The Bad and The Ugly\nThere are a bunch of things, graphically, that could do with improvements. Some of might be **nitpicking**, but I do indeed pick nits.\n### 1. Go Away, Escher\nThe height of the blocks causing an optical illusion that a **block closer to the foreground** looks like it's **below the other blocks**. Reducing the *height* of the blocks should probably do the trick.\n\n![gfxpm-perspective.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5d2.png)\n### 2. Ticks Are Off The Mark\nThe tick mark on the resource icons hovering over the buildings when they are active **does not fit** the style of the game. A five minute fix, but it didn't stand out to me until after the jam ended.\n\n![gfxpm-tickmark.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5d3.png)\n### 3. I Cast Magic Missile, Not Shadow\nA more **uniform use of shadows**. The buildings draw shadows on the tile below, but not on themselves in a bunch of sprites. The casino in the image below was the last building sprite I made ion the last day of the jam; **I got careless**. \n\n![gfxpm-shadow.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5d6.png)\n### 4. Anchor What?!\nWe have a tile that doesn't allow blocks to be moved away from it. It started with reinforced edges. That didn't look good. Then I **reiterated and reiterated**. I reached a point where more time spent on it just wasn't worth it. We needed a quick symbol fix. Either a **lock** or an **anchor**? Those don't seem very *cyberpunky*. I clearly saw the anchor in my mind, I went for it. Don't judge me.\n\n![gfxpm-anchor.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5d7.png)\n\n### 5. A Farmtastic Failure\nYes. Yes, that is a farm. It really is. It **supplies food** to the residential buildings, **enabling the population to live there**. It started as a regular greenhouse; that looked too present-day. Then it turned into a hazy cylindrical glass chamber; cylindrical did not suit the angular style of the game. @daanvanyperen asked for a biodome, but round shapes still don't suit the style. **Righto, some green-tinted glass boxes it is.**\n\n![gfxpm-farm.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5de.png)\n\n### 6. Where's The Cyber, Punk?\nThis is probably my **biggest gripe** with the graphics I ended up making. It may be kind-of reminiscent of cyberpunk, but it definitely **doesn't scream cyberpunk**. As I mentioned above, there was more we wanted to do with it, and as a result our game merely became **cyberpunkish**. It's a good thing we put it **in the name of the game**.\n\n# In Conclusion...\nWe ended up with a pretty good looking game that could have looked better. But of course, the **could look better** part is always true in a game jam. While I directed my art well, there's more details to keep in mind that I neglected. Step back and try to be objective. \n\nIf you made it this far down, **thanks for reading**. There **will be** a **graphics timelapse video** somewhere in the next few weeks. If you like these kinds of things, keep an eye on my [YouTube](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/Flaterectomy) or [Twitter](https:\/\/twitter.com\/Flaterectomy).\n\n![cybatron.gif](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5e6.gif)\n![Small Thumbs_footer_postld41.png](\/\/\/raw\/64d\/z\/1a5e8.png)","title":"CYBATRON | Graphics Post-Mortem","wayback_source":[]}