Artist search continues...
William Hoffman
I'm posting this here because I could not find another base that
looked more suited. Anyone who knows of one, please cross-post this,
I'd be very grateful.
I'm especially interested in artists for the character/enemy/object
side, although if you're an awesome tile-man, contact me anyway.
I've gotten a few responses from casual posts, but this is the
formal call-for-artists type thing. Yeah.
A few tips in drawing walls and characters:
1. Try to avoid single-pixel-wide lines or fine detail such as
speckling. The rescaling done by the engine loses detail such as
this, especially when the walls are seen at an angle. Be especially
careful of this on floor and ceiling tiles, because they are ALWAYS at
a 90 degree angle, remember. (Speckling also "flickers" as the
rescaling routines alternately do and don't display that pixel.)
2. Pics should be in 256 color PCX format, and use any palette you
darn well want to, because for testing they will be remapped anyway.
3. A few people have sent me raytraced images. These really don't
look very good at all in the engine. The walls aren't supposed to
look ultra-realistic (hey, at 256 colors and 320x200 res, what
would?), but I've gotten a few very nice wall textures, that looked
GREAT in the engine, and ALL of them were done by hand. The
hand-drawn and carefully worked-on pics end up looking much more
realistic than raytracing - I'm sure it would be different if I was
using 24 bit color and 640x480 res, but... I'm not.
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The project, untitled as of yet, will work as a sort of
combat-intensive MUD, running from a central server where users
can call or telnet in. It will work on a pay-by-the-hour rate
system, and this game will be only one of several online. The
graphics engine used will allow texture mapped walls, floors, and
ceilings, first person perspective, and bitmapped enemies. An
artist for the project would need to be able to create
wall/floor/ceiling textures and/or the bitmapped characters in
all their positions. A demo of a limited form of the graphics
engine is available.
This is a fun project with lots of freedom for expression.
Part of your payment, just like mine, will be in satisfaction
that your work will be seen and known publicly, and that the
final product will be cool as hell. If the game bombs, nobody
gets anything, I write a LAN version, and we all get together and
play it against each other, for kicks. If it soars, well, then,
we all get a lot of money.
NOTE: There will almost certainly be more than one artist on
the project, so if your skills cover only walls or only people,
don't worry.
Here is a listing of some requirements:
1. Must have skills neccessary to create and edit bitmapped
graphics, preferably to be saved in PCX format.
2. Must be fairly good at #1.
3. Must be able to perform #1 with a limited palette of colors.
Although the game itself will operate in a 256 color graphics
mode, the exact palette to be used is still unknown.
4. Must work on a percentage of profit and/or royalty basis
only, as I am very poor.
Here is a brief list of some example jobs:
1. Draw a 64x64 bitmap of a stone wall.
2. Draw a 64x64 bitmap of an old, rotting wooden door.
3. Draw a 64x64 bitmap of a ... wall. (there will be many of these)
4. Draw a 128x128 bitmap of a polished marble wall.
5. Draw a series of bitmaps, all at the same resolution, that
depict a man viewed from eight directions and walking.
(8 directions X # of frames per cycle = # of bitmaps)
6. Draw several bitmaps at 128x128 resolution, which when tiled on
a floor will produce the illusion of dirt/stone/metal/etc.
7. Draw introduction and presentation screens (full palette
available). These will be the screens that show up as the
game starts up, and as the player picks his character, etc.
Periodic updates on the project will be provided, including
demonstrations of how the art is being integrated into the game.
(You get to see that enemy you spent 4 hours drawing walk around
and shoot at you.) Creativity is highly encouraged - if you have
ideas for the game, let us know.
For any general or specific questions about resources,
plans, etc., contact the addresses below. If you wish to
"audition" your art, send the following as well. If you have a
"specialty", you can just audition that particular type. (Use
PCX format, please):
NOTE: "Wall" bitmaps should take up the entire given size and
represent a wall as seen when facing head on - the wall
should connect at the left and right edges with itself if
placed end to end. In practice, the bitmap will be tiled
along a surface to produce the illusion of 3D walls.
1. 128x128 bitmap of a stone wall
2. 128x128 or 64x64 bitmap of a marble wall
3. 128x128 bitmap of a steel reenforced wooden door
4. THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT - 64x128 bitmap of a well-built man in
a blue jumpsuit (what the hell!) standing facing and pointing
a gun at the viewer. Maybe an evil grin on his face, too.
5. The SAME man as viewed from his left side and front...
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/|\
+ <- Viewer is here
6. Maybe something to demonstate your creativity and skill -
primarily geared towards the opening screen and support
screens.
Not all of these is neccesary, of course, and you can include other
work, but try to include at least one or two.
NONE OF THESE IMAGES WILL BE STOLEN OR COPIED.
George Hoffman
Submissions, ideas and requests may be submitted to the following:
Michael Mitchell
The Dark One's Domain
609-488-4398 - Node 1 (HST/V32 ONLY)
609-661-0512 - Node 2 (1200-2400)
FIDO: 1:255/15
Or send mail to:
George Hoffman