More stuff about the game here: http://www.voodoosoftware.net

Moving you to Visual Arts.

Are those in-engine images? The rendering style is cool.

The soldiers are nifty but they're the same kind of thing you usually see in these kind of games. You could probably make them stand out a bit more.

I like the animal things a lot. I got confused at the claws and the head at first. When they are right over each other it is difficult to interpret what you are seeing. It was not until I looked at the one on the right side of second picture that I was able to tell what it was. In the creatures animation, you probably just want to make sure that they player sees some negative space between the claws and the head sometimes. That'll probably do the trick.

I kinda like those. I felt the same as Kelly G: the claws and beaks of those 'clawers' are too much alike in shape and color, so the beak doesn't stand out much. This might look cool if the claws are moving up and down - a sort of chainsaw-beaked creature - but some more distinction might work better.

The soldiers are ok, but their guns and gear don't match their overall style and level of detail. The guns could do with less finesse and more distinct overall shape, and their style should match the overall game style more closely. Currently it's a bit like a CS rifle imported into Mario-land.


Are you planning on adding three-eyed uber-soldiers bytheway? :)

Overall impression is "incredibly dull". They have potential and you can fix them up pretty quickly so grit your teeth and get ready for real criticism.

You're using very monotonous grey all over the place with very little change in value which is turning them into a giant mass of blah. First order of business should be to vary your colours more. Either pump up the contrast or stop making everything the most dull colours you can find.

Give your characters a focal point. Right now I barely even notice the guns. Think about that: what is the most important part of a person holding a gun? The part that kills you. Why are the guns almost invisible? Why are the blades less intimidating than their heads? Do they slash with their heads? Can they even reach past their heads?

You're using the same colour for the enemies as your main character. That's really bad from a gameplay standpoint (harder to keep track of character) and just looks lazy. Even if you have to use brown (and you don't and probably shouldn't) it can at least be a noticeably different shade of brown.

The way the soldiers are holding their guns is completely inane. Think about it. Pick up an object, stand in that pose, and think about it. It doesn't matter if they're idle or shooting it still makes no sense and is painful and looks awful.

Their pose in general is weak. It tells me nothing. What are you trying to say with them? Are they intimidating? Well-trained? Comical? Pathetic? Even if they are supposed to be boring you can have them slouch; show that they can't even muster up the energy to stand properly.

If you're going to use cliched bright glowing red eyes they should probably be a) bright, b) glowing, and c) very red. You are missing three of those things. If it's just because your going to slap on a glow in the engine, photoshop the glow in before presenting to people because they won't know that. If they aren't supposed to be glowing at all, they look like they should be and that needs to get changed because the average player will just assume you were too incompetent to pull it off.

The post above has some VERY good insights. I mean, it was useful even to me.

Interesting concept, but I've to agree with LockePick; They don't appear menacing enough.

Some animations of the clawed creature would be nice to judge it. From the other screenies on your page, I've gathered that you use a side view for the game. I doubt the close proximity of claws and the similar shaped head would look good. Perhaps elongate the neck.

Work on the soldier's poses and improve their helmets. Especially the top of the head could use some detail. Weapons need to stand out more. Grey in grey doesn't really cut it. The shoulder pads don't look right. Think about enlarging them or redesign completly, even if it means clipping during animations.

I do like the renderer however and making the models work should just be fine-tuning them.