92 replies to this topic

[joeybastard]

mojofltr said:

I was working on an entry, but after viewing those that have already been entered, I don't think I stand a chance!    If I had to choose a winner, I'd pick Dave Dries awesome entry!  

Here is a mockup copy of what I was working on.  I don't know if I would have had time to finish it in time anyways.

Finish it!  That's great start!

[Albert]

mojofltr said:

Here is a mockup copy of what I was working on.  I don't know if I would have had time to finish it in time anyways.

Your label looks great, I hope you find time to finish it up and submit it!  

..Al

[Nathan Strum]

mojofltr said:

Here is a mockup copy of what I was working on.  I don't know if I would have had time to finish it in time anyways.

Finish it! It's looking great, and you can never know what's going to appeal to the homebrew author until the contest is over.

[DaveD]

Nathan Strum said:

I love the talking Mango in Dave's entries! Very cool illustrations, too.

Thanks!  The mango wasn't originally going to talk but at the last minute I decided he should.  

Now that you see my entry maybe my other lengthy message makes more sense.  The reason I was fishing for more info on the main character is because I wanted to give him some kind of personality.  Whenever I think of any sort of platformer game I always associate it with it's main character.  Donkey Kong, Mario, Kangaroo, Popeye, Pitfall Harry, whatever.  And my idea focused more on the skateboard, thus giving our "man" a slightly hipper, younger image.  I just wondered if that direction was appropriate or not.  We'll have to wait and see.  

I really like the translucent, plexiglass look of the platforms in your design, Nathan.  Lots of cool stuff going on in there actually.  The illustration of the guy is cool and I really like the logo with the arrow at the bottom.

And Manu Pärssinen, I love the sketchy look of the guy in your second entry.  Is that done by hand or some sort of filter magic there?

[DaveD]

joeybastard said:

I work in graphic design, but for TV.  I usually design with the idea of movement in a piece and it only being onscreen for like 3 seconds.

That's interesting that you say that because the idea of movement and multiple frames is completely evident in all of your entries.   That's a cool, unique approach.  

[mojofltr]

Albert said:

Your label looks great, I hope you find time to finish it up and submit it!

I played with it a little more today, but I'm still not sure that I'm satisfied.  Here is an update.  The spelling on the end label is intentional - I know that there are two ways to spell the plural form of "mango", but I thought that taking away the space and changing the spelling might make the joke more obvious this way.  Err, hm...  that is assuming, of course, that the pun is intentional and that's why there are mangos in the game(?)

Maybe the joke is on me.  

[atari_aaron]

The labels for this contest look great... except for mine... it's the text one... I just wanted to participate. Too bad they all couldn't be used.

Aaron

[Alex H]

DaveD said:

And the speech "burp" that I see mentioned...will this be included in the final as well?  Any other signature phrases that will definitely end up in the final?  I have a few ideas in mind that might include a Q*Bert-style signature word bubble that might be appropriate.

I'm sorry for taking so long to answer, I thought I'd have more speech in by now.  The ROM space available for it keeps shrinking/expanding each time I add stuff or clean up the code so I've been holding off putting the actual speech data in.  It's almost finished now though...  

The burp is staying but is now occasional rather than every time a fruit is eaten.

Other phrases I have so far:
Game start:
- "May the fruit be with you."
- "Run, run, run!"
Missed fruit, etc.:
- "I hunger."
- "Ah, missed it!"
Near death experience:
- "Phew, that was too close!"
- "Are you insane?"
Collect gravity (down arrow)
- "Heavy, man."
Collect skateboard:
- "Awesome, dude!"
Collect heli-pack:
- "What a hero!"
Collect bubble:
- "I'm forever blowing bubbles." (Sung)
Collect magic mushroom:
- "I feel strange."
Top score:
- "The fruit is with you. "
Low score:
- "You suck!"

Suggestions anyone?

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It seems that a big part of this game is the discovery of what power-up items come next which is a great idea and provides incentive to keep playing.  So far I've seen a skateboard, heli-pack, arrows, bubble, and fruits.  Without "spilling the beans" and telling us what all the actual power-ups are, can you provide any more clues as to what some of them might be?  Are they all pretty much powerup items that affect motion, speed and gravity?  You mentioned a stop sign icon early in the evolution of the game.  Is this still in the game?

Yes the stop sign is still there but I think the only place it shows up (in the last binary) is in the blue section with the long platforms.  They come in threes (like the gravity arrow) and halt the scrolling momentarily.

I'm working on the last of the power-ups at the moment - the magic mushroom.  Mushrooms blink colours (red/blue) and depending on what colour it is when you touch it, you'll either have a good or a bad trip.  The bad effect is done and it's rather nasty.    I'm not happy with how the good effect has turned out though.  The benefit to the player isn't enough to risk having a bad trip so it's better to just avoid them, which kind of defeats the purpose.  Need to have a rethink.

There are 2 other special items, but I don't want to give away too much about these - want to leave some surprises.

Quote

And finally, what about our hero?  He looks kinda like a blonde surfer-guy that has a fondness for striped clothing.  Anything else you care to share about your main character that might give us some background?  Or am I overthinking this?

His real fetish is for vertical striped clothing but he only wears those on his day off.

Anyway, enough of my sillyness.  Thanks everyone for your entries so far - absolutely fantastic!  There are already several here which I'd be more than happy to use.  I think this is going to be a really hard decision.  I apologise in advance to everyone who doesn't win.

Keep 'em coming!

Alex

[joeybastard]

atari_aaron said:

The labels for this contest look great... except for mine... it's the text one...

Aaron

Nonsense, yours is just a different approach and a very good entry.  After all, Atari themselves used that style design for a long time. It's classic.   You never know what will win these contests so don't give up hope.

[DaveD]

Alex H said:

Other phrases I have so far:...

Wow!  Those sound awesome!  I can just imagine how hearing those in the middle of already great gameplay will enhance the whole experience.  I've gotta get my hands on this game when it comes out!  More incentive to find time to create another label variation...  

[Nathan Strum]

Those are great sounds! The game is already a blast, but this will really send it over the top.

I hope you can keep the mushroom in. Whether the good effect is really good or not may not matter so much. The bad effect will make you want to avoid the powerup (which you can't always do), so it's just a different gameplay element. Variety, spice of life, all that. Plus, if the bad effect is fun enough, then it's worth keeping just to see it.

I have a gameplay suggestion, although I don't know if it would help or hurt the game - I'm just tossing this out here. If I'm having a really good game, sometimes I wish I had just one extra life to keep going a little further. I had an idea of how this might be done, so it doesn't just "give" you a free turn with no penalties.

When you die, the game could restart you a number of platforms higher than where you last landed, and not start adding to your score again until you get past that platform again.

For instance, if you die after landing on platform 40, the game would restart you on platform 30, but not give you any more points until you got back down to 41. Or maybe it could start you at the beginning of the previous section.

[manu_pkp]

DaveD said:

And Manu Pärssinen, I love the sketchy look of the guy in your second entry.  Is that done by hand or some sort of filter magic there?

No filters but by hand, photoshop blend modes and textures.

Here's one in a similar style I've made with a tutorial type deal :
http://www.sci.fi/~man/thoughthrough/

[SS]

joeybastard said:

atari_aaron said:

The labels for this contest look great... except for mine... it's the text one...

Aaron

Nonsense, yours is just a different approach and a very good entry.

I thought so too.     

[Shaggy the Atarian]

OK, this is my first label ever for a contest. I admit that it's kind of derivitive, but I hope it works. It's not 100% done yet. I've also thought of making the background black, but then it would loose it's Pitfall-ness style to it. What do you guys think?

(It's not showing up in the preview, so I'll cross my fingers and post...)

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[Albert]

I have a new entry by mojofltr, as well as updated Nathan Strum's entries.  

..Al

[Albert]

I've added a new entry from Dave Dries.  Keep up the great work everyone!  

..Al

[Albert]

Just added several more entries from Dave Dries, Matt Reed, and Nathan Strum:

Man Goes Down Label Contest: Submissions

Enjoy!

..Al

[mojofltr]

Albert said:

Just added several more entries from Dave Dries, Matt Reed, and Nathan Strum:

All very nice entries!      

I love these label art contests!  It's amazing to see so much creative talent on one board!  It'd be nice to have an ongoing artwork thread so these guys could post pieces of their work more often.  I'm thoroughly impressed by what I've seen so far.  :-)

[manu_pkp]

The silver version of Nathan Strum's latest... whoah!

[Nathan Strum]

I really like Dave's comic book label!

What a great idea - telling the story behind the game on the cart label iteself. It reminds me of some of the classic video game magazine ads from old issues of Electronic games where they'd use a short comic to describe the game.

It's not only a nice looking label, but it actually has something to entertain you, before even plugging the cart in!

Very, very, cool!

[mojofltr]

I'm having a lot of trouble focusing on my studies these days.  It doesn't help, that there is so much cool stuff happening on this website!  

Another entry:

[Albert]

Just posted five more entries, courtesy of mojofltr, Nathan Strum, and Alexius Wronka.  Enjoy!!

Man Goes Down Label Contest: Submissions

..Al

[Albert]

I've posted three more entries, submitted by Alexius Wronka and Shadowdoggie.  Enjoy!

Man Goes Down Label Contest: Submissions

Remember, the contest ends Sunday, so if you're planning on submitting a label for the contest it needs to be sent in no later than 11:59pm Sunday evening!

..Al

[SS]

I love the end label of mojofltr's first entry.  

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[Albert]

Posted a new (10th!) entry from Nathan Strum, and also updated his three previous entries (7, 8, and 9):

Man Goes Down Label Contest: Submissions

..Al