COLOUR MOCKUP SO FAR!




 

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You may or may not have seen my mockup artwork a while back on the gallery, but I've always wanted to turn my comic book, Black Hole, into a game.

You don't have to have read the book to help me. Want I want is help with the sprites, backgrounds and even story (if you feel so inclined).

Yeah, this is probably a bit similar to Larwick's Rustbug thread. I've definitely been inspired by all great advice and comments he's received.

My Black Hole graphics once occupied their own exclusive gallery, but it's different these days. That said, the gallery can still be viewed in it's entirety here.

IN SHORT...
-The running title is "Black Hole: The Game that Sucks."
-It's a comic book platformer where you control the hero, Black Hole.
-Black Hole has the ability to suck, store, repel objects (sort of like a vacuum cleaner) using his hands.
- He will also jump, climb, hold, slap, punch, talk and scratch
-The graphics are currently done using only four colours (Black, White, Grey Green)-- this is prone to change, but I need your suggestions!
-The game will loosely follow the first few adventures of Black Hole, so read the comic for more ideas.
-This game is currently just in the concept and graphics stage. I would love to talk to anyone about coding it, but I have no means to do so myself.
UPDATE:  
-BH will have a special attack named 'Supernova.' The attack features in the first episode of the comic, seen here.  BH claps his hands together in order to blast a flash of white light which temporarily blinds his enemies. I plan on using a sort of 'rage meter' to control this attack. So he'd only be able to use it once he has a certain amount of kills or something.

MAIN BH GRAPHICS!
        

 

NEW COLOURED GRAPHICS:

First off I'd like suggestions for a palette change. Four colours was originally used due to their simplicity and because it reminded me of old Gameboy games- but if you've got any better ideas, tell me!

Cheers for now,
iSTVAN

Thanks Swiifty mate. I guess the childish look is another affect of the gameboy-ish palette and style. Perhaps this will correct itself once I've adjusted the palette. 'The game that sucks' is just a working title, feel free to offer better suggestions! 

The attacks are currently: Punch, Hold+Slap, Hold+Uppercut, and ofcourse the sucking action. He will be able to shoot objects at enemies and suck enemies into his hands then choose whether to slap or uppercut them. Once again, I'm wide open for suggestions!

Shark PM'd me with this:

hey, just checking your new WIP ..nice stuff you got going here, but
just think about what you could do with lots more colors. Of course
keep a GB limited pallette version but i could see this being really
sweet with lots more colors aswell. At the moment it seems very
bright, darkening it down and giving it a more urban feel would suit
the game better. The sprites are nice but some of them suchas
running need 2/3 more frames just to smooth it out. May i have a go
at coloring on of your mockup screens, there basically linearts
anyway lol.

I knew he wouldn't mind me posting it. Sure! I don't mind you having a go at colouring it in for me. Also, I'm not really sure where to find a GBA palette as such, I'd probably just go ahead and start using whatever colours I feel like. If you have a suitable GBA palette you'd like to provide me with, or details on how to get one, I'd muchly appreciate it.

Also, keep in mind I started this project about a year ago, I just never thought to involve the community until now. So basically, my skill level SHOULD have improved, thats why I am willing to be more ambitious with colour.

Cheers guys.

Hurrah for game WIPs! ^_^

I actually liked the whole simple style, it was like an amusing pisstake of older games (especially the running animation). Of course, it would be cool to see a fully coloured one aswel.

Really cool stuff, can't wait to see more. Although as some critisism i think the AAing for some parts of the main screen could be improved (the title especially).

Go right ahead Spoon! This is all I really had in terms of background tiles so far:


And I recoloured the talk icon:

Thanks PO. Don't worry, you haven't upset me enough to warrant my "moditating." Your critisisms are very valid. The orignal grey and green colours were poorly chosen. They had a sort of subtle charm about them though. I tend to avoid dithering for game graphics.

Have you checked out the new colour graphics? I'd love to hear your thoughts on them. It is very fun to go back and fill in my previous works with new colour.

I'll upload some new colour talk icons that I made in the morning. Goodnight!

Oh, and thanks Shark, I only just got your comment! Nice idea about the old school minigame. I can't wait to see your coloured interpretation!

I should be sleeping, but my mind ain't in the clouds yet. Here's those new talk icons.

Shark: Any effort is appreciated ;)

Your spray paint inspired me to attempt to draw my new nickname.

Thanks for all the helpful comments so far people.

@Souly: Thank you! You're so right about the leg when he runs! I can't believe I've never noticed this before. Here's an updated verion:

I've also updated the main post with the new graphics to save confusion. Also, the grafitti you and Shark have made has given me the idea to include any graphitti signatures you guys wanna send me as actual tiles in the background! Just a way to give back to the community ;)

@Aleiav: Thanks a lot. With a little help from the community this thing might just see the light of day as a real game!

@Shark: I really like what you've done with the background! Thanks. My version will probably be slightly lighter, but you've definately inspired me to go full steam ahead with a entirely coloured version. Thanks mate. I really like what you've done with the sky and the brick building especially.

@PO: As mentioned above, my version of the background will be slightly different. I look forward to getting your help once I've completed it :)

@Swifty: Your demands for a coloured version will be met, sir! And thanks for the suggestions. As far as additional attacks go I failed to mention my plans to have BH perform his special attack 'Supernova.' The attack features in the first episode of the comic, seen here. BH claps his hands together in order to blast a flash of white light which temporarily blinds his enemies. I plan on using a sort of 'rage meter' to control this attack. So he'd only be able to use it once he has a certain amount of kills or something.

The skill system is also a nice idea, Swifty. I definitely plan on having special items that can be used for different things. This would add a level of strategy to the game. Got any ideas for this? I'm thinking the sorts of item progression that you see in games like the first game boy version of Zelda.

@Larwick: My new coloured version will probably follow more the composition of the original mockup I posted, but hopefully it will still sport eye candy graphics that please you!

@Saboteur: The updated first post should clear up any confusion about the issue of colour. That three frame animation Souly posted was actually posted earlier by me, and I've corrected a minor problem with it. I still have no plans to smooth it with more frames, but we'll see how things go. Thanks for the encouraging words, it's definately a dream of mine to see my Black Hole apppear under an endless line of crappy merchandise.

Spoon: Thanks, although I hate Family Guy.

!Swifty: Well your scientific mumbo jumbo alines perfectly with my current 18 year old drunken state, but yes! Combining both hands does create a special attack weapon. I like your thinking for the ultimate boss. It would be cool to make them polar opposites.

As far as you contributing to the art, I guess I'd have to see some examples of your previous work before I took you on. This is all happening pretty fast, and I'd probably want to discuss things further with Demon before anything to do with the game is decided.

Overall, I think I should sober up before I use the internet ever again.

Love Ivan (iSTVAN).

@Demon: Fantasitc news! Do you have any more information I can read about your team BlueStar?

@Jalonso: Haha, I think this mainly took off so fast because I responded to almost every post myself.

Oh, and yeah, sorry for my drunkeness earlier on. Won't happen again, promise.