By TerryToday I worked on some enemies! This is quite slow work – first I sketched a basic picture of what I wanted, then I inked it, I scanned it, I coloured it, and finally I resized the enemy down to fit in 256×256. However, I think they’re all are going to need further processing, as they’re a little big at the moment compared to the hero characters (at only 40×20).
On the enemy graphics side, here’s what I figure I need for the first two hours of gameplay:
– The Fool (Done)
– The Emperor (Done)
– The Magician
– A representation of Cups (Done)
– A representation of Swords (Done)
– A representation of Pentacles
– A representation of Wands
– A Wolf
– A Bat (Every cave needs a bat.)
As a disclaimer, I should point out that I’m (naturally) not particularly happy with how any of these have turned out… Graphics take a lot out of me, so it’s kinda remarkable, in a way, that I actually managed to do four full enemy sprites in one day. My secret? I’ve just been ignoring that tinny little voice in my head nagging about how “it doesn’t look right”. After all, I’m going to replace all this after the contest.
So. Here’s what I’ve got to show for my day’s work.
Based on Minor Arcana 2 of Swords
As the game’s working title implies, I hadn’t originally intended to include the Minor Arcana at all, but when I was trying to come up with enemies, this just seemed ideal. The original card is quite a powerful image – it features the woman in this picture with two swords, blindfolded, sitting with her back to the ocean.
Based on Major Arcana 0, The Fool
Of all the enemies I worked on today, this one most closely resembles the card he’s based on. “The Fool” plays a special role in the game, sort of an optional side quest that you can complete throughout the game. I’d really like to implement at least the first part of that, and I thought if I made the enemy graphic, it would ensure that I wouldn’t have to cut it from the game at the last moment.
Based on Major Arcana 4, The Emperor
I’m quite happy with how this one turned out. In my game, The Emperor is the first “Important” character that you fight against. It’s also where the demo’s going to end.
Based on Minor Arcana 4 of Cups
I made this one last, and it didn’t really work out. The problem is that there isn’t really a character in the first part of the suit of Cups that makes a good enemy. This guy is closest, but the 4 of Cups is meant to represent apathy, boredom, all that sorta thing. I think I was trying to make him look drunk, or at least just disinterested, but it didn’t really work out. It also didn’t help that the resizing process totally ruined his hair.
I’m sad to say that this is it – I’m off for the weekend, so my full time contribution to this project is basically over. I won’t be updating daily anymore either, but judging by my last two posts, I guess that’s not really a big deal 🙂
I know it’s a friendly competition, but I was sorta secretly hoping that the two week vacation would give me a major boost, and at this stage I’d be way ahead of the other competitors. Well, a progress thread has started on RPGDX, and it looks like (at least) two competitors are way ahead of me. Kudos. I don’t know where they get the time for it.