I need your opinion please :)
http_gamesalad
Member Posts: 1,340
Well I finally convinced my dad to hire a graphic artist who is going to redo all the graphics in my game Sway. I know my graphics (as they are now) aren't the best and I've been told that that's something that's holding my application back. I'm trying to come up with a theme that will really blow people away. I told my graphic artist that I'm trying to do a mixture of Crossy Road and ZigZag (a cross between2d/3d). He showed me some of the stuff that he has come up with and they look great but I'll love to get other peoples opinion of what theme will be best for this type of game (because the more opinions the better and I'm always open for new ideas! 
). Thank you in advance for taking your time and giving me feedback 
Here are the links if you'll like to download and play it first hand and get a hands on feel
(sorry about that one big image lol)
iOS :https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=1009433885&mt=8
Google Play :https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tincomeapps.swayandroid
Here is the design he has made so far ! (Note: it'll be one level straight line)
This is how my game looks (as of now)
Comments
Why not share the designs your graphic artist has created and then ask for feedback? It might be that his design is amazing or it might lead people to critique it and give you better suggestions.
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@tatiang okay , I've redone it and I showed you what he's sketched up very quick
What he is doing is in 3D, how do you plan to incorporate that into GameSalad's 2D environment?
@pHghost the game won't look exactly like that. I just want to give it depth and make it look like the ball is actually moving and the ball is 3d
You need to work out how your going to get a fake 3d working for your game, without having to redo huge chunks of the code, before you get too far down the road.... Otherwise you could end up wasting the artists time, and a chunk of your art budget.
Unless your ok with, and planning on rebuilding the game, and how it lays out the levels, then you really need to get the artist creating art that fits in with how your game currently works. Going a fake 3d look is definately possible in GameSalad, but it does require additional design and implementation.
The style your artist is creating might look better, but you need to make sure it's actually something you can realistically do with your current game, otherwise you could end up with lots of nice, but un-usable art. I'd get some basic platform elements done in the 3d style, and make sure you can work with them in the game, before pushing too far...
I would personally advise against faux-3D. Leverage the 2Dness and make it awesome.
As @Chunkypixels says, it will mean you can keep most of your code, just tighten it to work with the new design.
You could have 3D art and use the new custom collisions to only have detection of top of the blocks. Just some advice if you're still trying to figure out how your goin to do this
If you do go 3D then isometric is much easier than perspective 3D (as in the designer's sketch).
@tappwater Games I will definitely need that for sure! Thank you for telling me they had that! I was wondering how I would make that work
@Socks Thats exactly what I had in mind! The angle, the block size, and everything is spot on! I just sent this to my graphic artist so he has a better idea of what I'm going for. Sometimes I have a problem explaining things to people especially something like this. Thank you making this! Also I'll tell him to make the game anamorphic style .. I had to google what that meant lol.
@pHghost and @Chunkypixels The reason why I wanted to go 3D/2D like Crossy Road did is because it really stood out and it was very different. Do you think trying to put 3D graphics in Gamesalad will be impossible? I know I have change around some coding .. maybe redo my whole "controller" actor (which contains the spawner) .. I don't see how I can make a 2D game that'll get the attention of the Editor's Choice. That's why I was asking the forums different themes that would probably fit theme of this game better. Do you have any suggestions
One big problem I know I'll have is the horizontal line that the ball has to cross to get to the other side. I don't know what to tell him on that ... in terms of what size he should make ... because the horizontal line changes its size all the time unlike the other one
Whoops, sorry I meant isometric rather than anamorphic !
@socks no problem ! btw do you think this is something achievable ?
Yes, it takes a little more work and a lot more planning, but it's perfectly achievable.
No, it isn't impossible. If you love that style and are ready to dig deep in your code, go for it. Just be aware it will have it's specific issues (e.g. moving 'forward' actually means moving slantways).
Being 2D or 3D doesn't affect whether you get the attention of the Editor's Choice, what matters there is overall fun, polish, and honestly -- quite a bit of luck.
This should be a consideration whether you do pseudo-3D or 2D. Come up with an interesting, funny concept. Something that will sell your game as enjoyable.
@http_gamesalad its definitely possible to do a 3D game in GameSalad, it just requires more thought, time and planning... so don't let us discourage you from trying.
We're just cautioning you on getting too deep with an artist until you've worked out how your going to change the game from a straight 2D to a fake 3D one.
All your assets are still 2D, but you need to recalculate how you perform movement of actors and collision, as you no longer work in a straight up/down or left/right system. You have to work with more complex math, and work out ways of building your levels so that correct draw depth/ordering works.. (objects nearer draw over objects further back)... etc, etc
But yup... its definitely doable in GameSalad... Ive personally got 3-4 fake 3D GameSalad games in development, amongst my steadily increasing portfolio of works-in-progress.
Okay I tried to draw up something I'm trying to go for .. as you see my graphic skills are extremely basic. If I could pick I would like to stay in 2D . I tried y very best to give the grey line an illusion of it being 3D and raised .. please bare with me and try to use your imagination of it being more polished .. I know it's not the best. I could send this off to my graphic artist and I know for sure he'll be able to make this very polished and add a very professional touch and add a lot more stuff. What do you guys think? I'm trying to use up all the real estate on the screen and fill it up with something. I don't want to put too much because the game will become extremely laggy with the constant spawning. I think if I come up with a right theme I can make something very impressive in a 2D scale . @Chunkypixels @pHghost @Socks @tappwater Games @tatiang
@http_gamesalad - looks great - I'd say you were pretty close to having the needed skills to do the art yourself. A minimalist look works well, you probably just need a bit of help with colour and layout. Brainstorm with family and friends.
Forget isometric - you will put yourself in a learning curve that is not compatible with getting a good update to Sway done whilst your media buzz is still warm and the Sun is still burning
( absolutely learn Isometric methods but not at the expense of a timely update )
@tmann I feel like going on the 2d route will be very nice and will fit the theme of the game nicely! We just have to refine it alot and add alot more depth and colors to bring it out
@http_gamesalad How is this for an idea? This way you get the depth you were looking fore, and it doesn't require a lot of new artwork to make it look better.
Great idea, works really well.
@Approw Nice one!
@Socks @pHghost That's what I though too! I might sell the project for just $5000,-
That's so cheap! But hey, it's Black Friday!
@approw HOW DID YOU DO THAT? You show me that things aren't impossible in gamesalad
Zimbabwe dollars ?
@http_gamesalad well as you can see it is definitely possible, and not that hard to make:D
@Socks hahah you want me to be a Zimbabwean millionaire?
@socks how do you plan to pay for the other $4,999.75 . It's only around 25 cents in US currency lmao!
@Approw teach me your ways ! If you don't mind