Can you give us some insight (details without giving away your secrets) on how you go about the process of creating such beautiful images out of photos.
@craps: I have no secrets! Although I did go to art school and have been using Photoshop every day for 20 years! Besides that, I use a variety of digital painting techniques.
You can simply google "digital painting tutorials", "matte painting photoshop techniques" or "photoshop tutorials" and that will return tens of thousands of great tutorials for you to follow along with, step-by-step.
Those tutorials use very similar techniques to what I do.
It is certainly a long, painstaking process, but I believe it pays off in the end. Especially for the types of games that I am making. This type of artwork has sort of a magical realism quality to it, which I find is much more immersive than vector art or 3D renderings would be. It depends on the type of game that you are making however. You want to find an art style that fits the mood of the game and creates the type of emotional response you're looking for.
He heee! Joe you made me chuckle :-D Glad you keep looking in on the ol' Gamesalad forums. It's already a given you have a huge hit on your hands. Next time you'll have to bite the bullet and make it for the iPad. Good luck with the completion. It will be worth waiting for that's for sure!
firemaplegames said: It would just take me 4x the time to hand paint a 960x640 image as opposed to a 480x320 one. For not that dramatic of a quality increase.
After the launch of BOT, I think I've changed my opinion about retina display. I got a lot of complaints about the size of the app. That's because it included two sets of graphics.
So non-retina display graphics are 50 Megs... the retina display graphics are roughly 200 Megs... So instead of 50 Megs, now it's 250 Megs. It seems that could scare away customers.
But then there's this...
firemaplegames said: Thanks, Mike! Yeah, someday I will make a native iPad sized game!
If you start with large images, at least you have the option. You could create a universal binary... (I'm not sure if Corona has that, but GameSalad is supposedly getting it later this year.) ...and I think that far overshadows any size complaints from players trying to save storage space.
If it's iPhone only, keeping the game under 20 Megs is a good idea... as that encourages impulse buys. Yet, this seems like a big game, so that might not be possible.
It's a tough decision... I think the Retina Graphics / Universal binary option edges out... but you have an established brand though. So even without the high res graphics, many players might not care.
@Rumi: Awesome! Thanks for the kind words! Tell your sister that I am working hard on it! Hopefully not too much longer!
@artonskyblue: Thanks, man! Maybe I will write up a portmortem on the game as well as the photos/techniques that I used.
@Photics: Yeah, all of the text in the game will be sharp on all of the devices, which is most important to me. But having multiple sets of images is just not feasible. This game has over 1,000 graphics. The project would just become too unwieldy if I tripled the size. The round trip just to test it would be a nightmare.
I am also porting this to several other markets such as NOOKcolor, Amazon and the Android marketplace, which has a strict 50MB size limit. Apps cannot be larger than that. It will be difficult adhering to that limit as it is.
And all that is in addition to the fact that it would take me so long to hand paint everything, that I would never finish!
I am always impress with your game idea and concept and after playing grisly minor. I cant wait for this next one. I can see your bright future in this game industry.
Just wanted to show off some more screenshots as the release date for The Lost City looms closer!
I realize that my initial release dates were a tad optimistic, but it shouldn't be too much longer. I am having a blast working on the game and cannot wait to show it off!
Just wanted to show off some more screenshots as the release date for The Lost City looms closer!
I realize that my initial release dates were a tad optimistic, but it shouldn't be too much longer. I am having a blast working on the game and cannot wait to show it off!
Fab work as usual, and I can totally understand why you might be enjoying it. The mood and look was triggering something in my distant recollection and I've just remembered what it was. Do an image search on 'Mizmaze Breamore'.
Good luck and I shall be ready to press that buy button when you are done.
Joe, I can't wait to play this game! It's going to kill my already pathetic productivity level, but it looks like it will be worth it.
gyroscopeI am here.Member, Sous Chef, PROPosts: 6,598
Looking the biz! Here's hoping you'll have as much or more success with this as Grisly Manor - but then you're bound to! Top notch stuff and I too can't wait to play it. :-)
Looks great as usual Joe! Was this developed in GS? (You probably mentioned earlier, I didn't read the entire thread)
And every time I start to get a little cocky about something I did in Photoshop, I like to load up Grizzly Manor to knock myself down a few hundred pegs.
Comments
I am certainly struggling with this concept.
You can simply google "digital painting tutorials", "matte painting photoshop techniques" or "photoshop tutorials" and that will return tens of thousands of great tutorials for you to follow along with, step-by-step.
Here is a nice collection of matte painting Photoshop tutorials:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12726772/Photoshop-Digital-Matte-Painting-Techniques-Tutorials-WalkThroughs
Those tutorials use very similar techniques to what I do.
It is certainly a long, painstaking process, but I believe it pays off in the end. Especially for the types of games that I am making. This type of artwork has sort of a magical realism quality to it, which I find is much more immersive than vector art or 3D renderings would be. It depends on the type of game that you are making however. You want to find an art style that fits the mood of the game and creates the type of emotional response you're looking for.
Ace
Glad you keep looking in on the ol' Gamesalad forums. It's already a given you have a huge hit on your hands.
Next time you'll have to bite the bullet and make it for the iPad.
Good luck with the completion. It will be worth waiting for that's for sure!
Mike
Just WOW!
My little 9 year-old sister was obsessed with Grisly Manor and thats all she plays, this will make her life complete!
I would love to see how the original photos of those screenshots look!
So non-retina display graphics are 50 Megs...
the retina display graphics are roughly 200 Megs...
So instead of 50 Megs, now it's 250 Megs. It seems that could scare away customers.
But then there's this... If you start with large images, at least you have the option. You could create a universal binary... (I'm not sure if Corona has that, but GameSalad is supposedly getting it later this year.) ...and I think that far overshadows any size complaints from players trying to save storage space.
If it's iPhone only, keeping the game under 20 Megs is a good idea... as that encourages impulse buys. Yet, this seems like a big game, so that might not be possible.
It's a tough decision... I think the Retina Graphics / Universal binary option edges out... but you have an established brand though. So even without the high res graphics, many players might not care.
@artonskyblue: Thanks, man! Maybe I will write up a portmortem on the game as well as the photos/techniques that I used.
@Photics: Yeah, all of the text in the game will be sharp on all of the devices, which is most important to me. But having multiple sets of images is just not feasible. This game has over 1,000 graphics. The project would just become too unwieldy if I tripled the size. The round trip just to test it would be a nightmare.
I am also porting this to several other markets such as NOOKcolor, Amazon and the Android marketplace, which has a strict 50MB size limit. Apps cannot be larger than that. It will be difficult adhering to that limit as it is.
And all that is in addition to the fact that it would take me so long to hand paint everything, that I would never finish!
Just wanted to show off some more screenshots as the release date for The Lost City looms closer!
I realize that my initial release dates were a tad optimistic, but it shouldn't be too much longer. I am having a blast working on the game and cannot wait to show it off!
Joe
Just wanted to show off some more screenshots as the release date for The Lost City looms closer!
I realize that my initial release dates were a tad optimistic, but it shouldn't be too much longer. I am having a blast working on the game and cannot wait to show it off!
Joe
PS- thats not really me
Good luck and I shall be ready to press that buy button when you are done.
kipper
You could probably do well on steam too if it was desktop sized and pc compatible.
Take the plunge for your next one and hire another artist to help you make a full screen HD, multi-format game!
""You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike." - Zork temp domain http://spidergriffin.wix.com/alphaghostapps
@old_kipper: that place looks great! anything to do with mazes and puzzles is right up my alley!
And every time I start to get a little cocky about something I did in Photoshop, I like to load up Grizzly Manor to knock myself down a few hundred pegs.
@TheMoonwalls: No firm release date yet. Shouldn't be too much longer!
@GamersRejoice: Making you happy makes me happy! ;0)
Well thats a first!
I hope you finish your game soon! Adventure games are my favorite!