Could you open this link - www.geocities.com/saito_loki/screenshot.jpg to see my work ?? And after that, can you give an opinion on this screenshot ? It's taken from the interface of my puzzle game but it's still on a development stage so there are few things missing yet (scorelines n few details). Something really bothers me, is that when I look at my game screenshot, well.. , it seems like it doesn't got what it takes to make people buy the game (altough I'm not planning to sell it anyway..) or in other words it doesn't look like a commercial game, I can see/judge by myself that my work is actually amateur work. It's quite obvious sometimes looks can kill and I just found the truth, it's really different to see amateur and professional artwork in games but I can't describe the difference to fix the amateurity of my work. Can you tell me what am I missing in this interface ?? Thanx, any opinion will do... Make It Happen !! [edited by - yanuart on March 24, 2003 5:22:19 AM] [edited by - Machaira on March 24, 2003 11:52:06 AM]

Actually I really like it. It reminds me of the stylings of the old Broken Sword games.

It dosn''t look like an interface right now though, probably more like a splash or loading screen. Maybe if you posted another version with some indication of the HUD elements?


#Old Steve, he said to Xerox "Boys, turn your heads and cough"
And when no-one was looking he ripped their interfaces off#
Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie on the truth behind MacOS 1

SketchSoft | SketchNews

It''s a cool design, it''s got panache which is too often totally lacking in commercial games that just regurgitate last year''s "dark", "mysterious", "sexy", "hi tech" etc looks.

There''s nothing bad with the graphics in themselves, but I think you should look at balancing the overall layout. Have elements on both sides or countering each other.
From a single screenshot it''s not possible to say anything about usability, but think a bit about making the screen elements self-explanatory and try to get rid of things that are unnecessary.

If this is programmer art you''re certainly way ahead of *my* feeble attempts ;-)

I like it.

http://www.geocities.com/saito_loki/screenshot.jpg

There, now let me go click it, and let you know what I think .

--- Edit ---

Umm... geoshitties doesn't let you direct link, so I removed the link I had. You have to copy it into a new browser window, otherwise it gives you a "this page cannot be displayed" error.

[edited by - Ready4Dis on March 24, 2003 9:07:38 AM]

Well, the idea of the game is to form a polygon based on stones form which you can see on the right..
I''m gonna add score on top.. and that''s it, that''s the only thing missing from the complete layout.. i guess..
Hmm.. I dunno much, maybe it''s just me being the worst critics for myself or I''m totally lack of confidence..
Thank you guys for the positive comments.. if my game ever finished I''ll post it soon ..

ps : I think the link works just fine, did anyone encounter problems to click it ??

It a geocities thing, they don''t allow direct linking.


#Old Steve, he said to Xerox "Boys, turn your heads and cough"
And when no-one was looking he ripped their interfaces off#
Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie on the truth behind MacOS 1

SketchSoft | SketchNews

I''m an illustrator, and I can say that the color scheme is good. the Hut, Stone, and Dinosaur is great for the style, but the cave drawing seems like it needs more detail to show that it''s on a slab of rock.

I like the asymetrical approach to the drawing, however, if you notice in all the greater works of art, like you see in museums, they use multiple forms of balance at the same time. Often, you will see an asymetrical style with a style that shows dominance, or the main focus of the scene.

I would suggest an animation of in-game play centered on the vertical axis and slightly off from the center, to the right on the horizontal axis.

Or just play with it some more until you feel satisfied.

It''s a question a style really. Your work is not bad per se, it''s just that you are judging it compared to professional stuff. The difference really, is in the line out of your shapes, and IMO in the choice of colours.

The colours themselves form a nice ensemble, but the problem is the lack of, well, panache ? They are just a tad bit too bland.
The green and the brown are quite pale, and since they form most of the picture, it makes for too much overall blandness.
In comparison the fire on the top right is quite vivid. The green you use as the background of your shapes is more the kind of colour you might want to use.
Bright and contrasting colours usually work well, especially if you use them in contrast (blue and gold/orange is a classic, for instance, or purple and yellow)

I have a feeling you scanned drawings you did on paper, for your drawings ? didnt you ?
Personally, I think it works wonderfully for the cave drawings, but for the interface elements, you might want to go for a more "stylish" lineout.
May I suggest you look up one of my previous mini tutorial thread about doing simple "Flash-style" drawings based on hand drawings ? I had a lot of students who had to do projects similar to yours and who couldnt draw, and still, the methog gave their drawings a very cool "artsy" touch, despite the lack of experience.

ACtually, there it is
And dont hesitate to post on the thread to revive it, after all, it seems that it could still help some people ?

Hopefully, this is the kind of criticism you were looking for ?

Sancte Isidore ora pro nobis !

First, good work

Now, the stuff I think could do with a change are the background, the fire, and the placing of the right-hand side images. I think the background is a bit plain, perhaps some really faint leaves or something would create more life? The fire is the only thing I don''t really like, IMHO it would be good with some more work and a bit more details. The Head/Fire, Dinosaur, and hut are a little to jammed together IMO, if you follow my suggestion about the background, how about doing a textured dino and move it to the left side? Otherwise, I think it''s a very nice interface =D