An untitled 8-bit shooter.

Dchao

  • Posts: 23
After two threads getting me where I am right now and instead of awakening those dead threads I'd go and make a topic in here.

So, 8-bit NES style shoot 'em up, as some of you already know, is what I'm trying to create as a first game.

Saying that, I have barely any pixel art experience as of yet, but I'll try my best and hopefully you guys with will help.

So this is my main character~ Right now lets call him Shooter Boy.

Edit: This is what I made for the shooting stance.

I think I'ma make him shoot some sort of elemental power ball so that it isn't to close too Megaman.

Please tell me how to make said sprite better, things to change etc.

« Last Edit: March 29, 2011, 11:45:34 am by Dchao »
A comedian with no good jokes.

Strasteo

  • Posts: 323
Good to see ya back! :]

You could always resurrect your thread for sprite help in the Gallery (Chit-Chat --> Gallery) it's absolutely fine to do so.

As of now, it looks like a solid sprite. Do you have an idea for what the enemies are, or what they look like?

Dchao

  • Posts: 23
Before I move on to other sprites I would like peoples opinions of the shooting sprite.

<3
A comedian with no good jokes.

Epic428

  • Posts: 1118
It is far better than the pixel art I have made!
James Moore - Official Support & Documentation.
We cannot and will not respond to PM's asking questions. Please make a new thread in the forums if you have any questions, Thank you.
For better support and faster response times, please post your logs regarding any Stencyl related issues. Debug > Logs > Generate Logs

Blob

  • *
  • Posts: 721
Yeah, it definitely fits in as an 8-bit character. Don't be afraid to move onto other graphics even if one isn't quite perfect to you yet.

~ Blob

Dchao

  • Posts: 23
I don't know how many stances (is that the right word?) I'll need?
-Stand
-Shoot
-Jump
-Jump Shoot
-Walk (how many of these do I need for a smooth walk sprite?)
-Dead
 :s
A comedian with no good jokes.

Hectate

  • *
  • Posts: 4643
I like it, but the one thing I would do is make him lean forward a bit more. Think of it as him pushing the shot forward - he'll be leaning toward the target by pushing his hand in that direction. His current pose is obviously a modified version of the standing pose - so he's too evenly balanced for his "shooting" frame. Additionally, the lack of movement (other than the hand and arm) between the two frames will make the change in frames when shooting less dynamic. I've attached a modified version of how I would do it... Feel free to make use of it.
:
:
Patience is a Virtue,
But Haste is my Life.
Proud member of the League of Idiotic Stencylers; doing things in Stencyl that probably shouldn't be done.

Strasteo

  • Posts: 323
I don't know how many stances (is that the right word?) I'll need?
-Stand
-Shoot
-Jump
-Jump Shoot
-Walk (how many of these do I need for a smooth walk sprite?)
-Dead
 :s

Now we're talking animation. Frames is probably the term you'll see the most.

Generally, the more frames you have, the smoother its going to be, as well as slower. For more abrupt movements, you don't need a lot of frames. 

Stand (1 frame): Assuming you don't want it to be doing anything while the player is not moving. For example, Link in the Zelda series does a few things when the player is gone.
Shoot (1 frame): If it's a basic shot and not a more complex, powerful shot, then this is all you need to show that the character fired something.
Jump (1 frame): "
Jump Shoot (1 frame): "
Walk (depends): Mega man uses three, but generally an even number of frames are better. The most basic one is, in my opinion, 4 frames. The most smooth one I've ever done had 8 frames.
Dead (depends): Mega man has an explosion which takes a few frames, but you gotta know how you want the character to die.

Blob

  • *
  • Posts: 721
I like the idea of using your original shooting sprite to transition into Hectate's modified version, that'd make it look more fluid.

The list of animations you have looks like it'd cover most action-platformer essentials.

Strasteo change your name to Stratus okay thanks.

~ Blob

Strasteo

  • Posts: 323
I would if I could but I can't, Blob. :c

Dchao

  • Posts: 23
I like it, but the one thing I would do is make him lean forward a bit more. Think of it as him pushing the shot forward - he'll be leaning toward the target by pushing his hand in that direction. His current pose is obviously a modified version of the standing pose - so he's too evenly balanced for his "shooting" frame. Additionally, the lack of movement (other than the hand and arm) between the two frames will make the change in frames when shooting less dynamic. I've attached a modified version of how I would do it... Feel free to make use of it.

If you don't mind, could I use this sprite you made?

I added this, the stand pose and my shooting pose like Blob said to do into a slow GIF to see how it would look. Opinions?

« Last Edit: March 29, 2011, 12:54:01 pm by Dchao »
A comedian with no good jokes.

Blob

  • *
  • Posts: 721
I added this, the stand pose and my shooting pose into a slow GIF to see how it would look. Opinions?
looks a little awkward there, but I'd bet if you tinkered with the frame speed in Stencylworks you could get it to look nice and smooth.

~ Blob

Dchao

  • Posts: 23
Ah! ;___; I'm so new to all this.. Does anyone have a link to an article on graphic frame speed..Thingies.
A comedian with no good jokes.

Blob

  • *
  • Posts: 721
Ah! ;___; I'm so new to all this.. Does anyone have a link to an article on graphic frame speed..Thingies.
Changing frame speed in Stencyl isn't hard at all. When you're editing this character's animations in Stencyl, you can set how quickly each specific frame is displayed. You should familiarize yourself with the basics of Stencyl while you're working on these graphics, that way you'll have more of an idea of what you're doing when you have made all the graphics.

Here's the Stencylpedia article on the actor interface if it helps.

~ Blob

Dchao

  • Posts: 23
I've already done the Stencyl tutorials so I have the basic idea down. :3 Don't worry I wouldn't jump in without having an idea if I could even HANDLE it<3

A comedian with no good jokes.