Searching a graphic artist

[Shining]

For my "I return to CPC"- game project (I don't want to tell too much today  ),  I'm searching for a graphic artist (Because I'm a lousy one  ).
Music and coding will be done by myself and the main game-engine is already running.

Some specs: Graphics will be Mode 0 and no overscan . Also, because I'm currently running out of memory (double-buffer for gfx), the game is planned for 128kB.

I think 30-40% of the coding is done, so I do not need all the gfx very quick.

So if someone wants to join, please contact me in personal for details.

[Lazy Dude]

guess it will be a while before more details are released on this one then. all top secret and stuff!

[MacDeath]

Curious... 

[TFM]

Thanks for using 128 KB! Do you use Soundtrakker or Starkos?


Sorry can't help with GFX, only coding, but that you can do already well. 

[Shining]

Ok, to tell something about the game  :


The only game I play todays is some kind of tower defence game on my mobile. So I wanted to have this on my CPC.


There is a map on the screen and you have to build a maze out of weapons to pevent the enemys to reach the goal.


What is working today is that a map out of tiles is drawn, you can move around the tiles and place weapons and also the enemys are spawned and go through the maze and are hurt when there is a weapon nearby. Also placing weapons costs money and when you destroy some, you earn money. This is working as well.


There is also a working pathfinding-algorithm, because each time you place a weapon in the maze, I have to recalculate the enemys route (shortest way to exit).


And to answer TFMs question: At the moment there is played a soundtrakker tune during the game. I used ST mainly for two reasons: First, I know it well and second I have some never released own compositions for it.


Still many planned things to do. At the moment I'm eleminating the rest of firmware-usage ( color- setting and mode ) because I used double buffer at 4000 and now i want to use it at 8000 (for better banking GFX).

[CraigsBar]

This sounds excellent. I cannot wait to play it. One question however, using the extra sound channels with playcity support would it be possible to add sound effects as well as bgm? Personally I think it would be great if all new productions used this feature in an optional function so as not to break the game for non playcity owners.

[TFM]

Well, that sounds awesome! Such a game is definitely missing for the CPC!


If you run out of CPU time switching form ST to Starkos may help. I may have to do this for one of my WIP too.

[Zoe Robinson]

Graphic artist, you say? Interesting, I say.

It's been years since I did graphics work for a CPC game (last time was adding graphics to a text adventure in 1991) but I work as a cartoonist now so my art skills have improved a lot.

I'd be happy to lend a hand.

[MacDeath]

Tower defense is definitely something that is far too rare on CPC.

do you plan for isometric graphics ? could be cool and cute and nice with Mode0.
But quite harder to display I guess... or not.

is there a plan for multiscaled display so you would be able to zoom out or is this supposed to be single screen ?

Are the graphical elements supposed to be big or quite small ?

[MaV]

Tower defense is definitely something that is far too rare on CPC.

Name one! I can't remember having stumbled upon a tower defense game on the CPC.

[Shining]

At the moment the gfx is pure 2d and the playground consist of a tilemap of 10*10 tiles. Each tile and also the enemys are 16*18 pixels. Today I've reserved 3 memory blocks per enemy for animation ( but if needed, i can add more ).


With this game, I want to pursue this approach having the idea in mind to switch to mode 1 and do scrolling in an eventually successor.
I think, when I want to include too much in my first project returning to CPC, it'll be never finished  .

[MacDeath]

Name one! I can't remember having stumbled upon a tower defense game on the CPC.

I was using the euphemism technic to hide the misery...
Exactly : none exists at the moment.

the playground consist of a tilemap of 10*10 tiles. Each tile and also the enemys are 16*18 pixels.

Now this is usefull informations.
16x18 pixels, in mode0 ? so this is equivalent to 32x18xMode1 pixels ?
So a 160x180 playfield.
Is this suppsoed to "scroll" or is the playfield the actual whole map ?
To scroll this sort of game you don't really need to do it smoothly, can scroll per characters/tile.
Also you may aim at a "vertical display" perhaps.
à la arkanoid/donkeykong : 128x256... and get the map to scroll vertically (may be easier to have it scroll even smoother...)

when I was refering to isometric I wasn't thinking about 3D isometric à la Head over heels but "2D isometric" on a flat plane, isometric being more a style than anything else, but this then changes the way the playfield works or is managed, alter the movements patterns and so on.
Warcraft 1 was 2D yet some graphics were in somewhat isometric style... (buildings)

[Sykobee (Briggsy)]

We could try and crowdsource a full set of graphics!


Post a tile-spec that you need, maybe a palette (or the first poster can dictate it!), and people can pick tiles they want.


If you've got ideas for look, post them too - totally overhead, or 2D but angled view (objects have height), etc...


Let's people submit stuff - maybe the game could even have selectable tilesets!
But they won't feel bad if they don't have the time to do a full tileset.


Btw, I think that 16x20 would be a more friendly size for a tile (16x16 being too square) in terms of software... but if you've got that sorted...

[MaV]

I was using the euphemism technic to hide the misery...
Exactly : none exists at the moment.

I was hoping you knew something that I didn't.

[Shining]

Not a bad idea to crowdsource the GFX .

Ok to be more specific what I need:

At the moment I'm fixed to 16x18 or less (but I think less is too small).  I don't plan to scroll the map at the moment and making the gfx bigger looses space of the game. The remaining y-pixels I need for score, health, etc...

The Enemys should look like aliens, robots or spaceships (something from outer space) to fit my plot.

At first I need 4 enemy tilesets for "ground troops". Perhaps later on I need two tilesets of flying enemys but thats not clear at the moment.
Animation phase of each enemy consist of 3 sprites.

The map consists of walkable and non walkable elements.
I need:
- Completly walkable element ( for example grass or stone )
- Walkable element for left map-border (eg. grass with a wall on the left)
- Same for right, up and down border.
- Walkable element which looks like an entry to the map (like the one for a border but with a hole in it)
- Walkable element for map- exit.
(Entry and exit, I need for horizontal and vertical)

Non-Walkable-Elements like water, stone, wall (I think 2-3 different types are enough).

Today I'm planning using 4 map tilesets but this number is not fixed. If I get less, its ok, too.

Then we have the player- weapons to place on the map. At the moment I have 3 of them (perhaps later a 4th will be needed) and they are named RocketLauncher, MG and SlowTower in the source (to give them names ). They do not have animation.

When an enemy gets hurt, I want to overlay the enemy sprite with an additional sprite which looks like fire (3 phase animation).


Besides the gameplay itself there is also need for a nice loading screen and a title screen. But if someone is willing to do that, I'd like to discuss that in personal to just remain some secrets.

I_ve attached a lousy-painted enemy by me:

[attachimg=1][attachimg=2][attachimg=3]

Here a screenshot of the actual game:
[attachimg=4]

You see the 4 "weapons", an enemy moving around the map, some "non-walkable" and some walkable tiles and you see the orange player-cursor.

Supplement: About palette we can think about "first come, first serve"

[Sykobee (Briggsy)]

I can't guarantee getting any time, but if I get a chance, I'll knock something up, even if it's only an adaptation of some stuff I've done before.

[Gryzor]

Ohhh yasssss! A TD game for the CPC! Finally!!!