Remember, there’s not one way to draw things! You don’t have to draw it exactly like this , but you can apply certain things from this. This is just a little process we hope that might be useful to others out there! More to come, y’all!
Edit: Something else to keep in mind ! It’s something we see from other artists who put tutorials online and the result after they post it - When coming across a tutorial , taking the technique or the simplification of a process and carrying that over to your own way of drawing things is a lot more beneficial than copying the exact composition/subject matter/color pallet . If it’s for practice , that’s fine! But don’t let a tutorial direct ( or discourage) you in a way that isn’t your own unique way of drawing . If you’re in search of finding a style of your own , then finding helpful tutorials is a great way to expand your knowledge of techniques rather than doing exact copies of the actual art itself. :) And just to add , we’re big fans of Evyind Earle! His technique of graphic simplification is something we’re learning ourselves as we try to apply the photoshop layers in a similar , simpler fashion. He’s a good artist to learn from , so hopefully this tutorial was helpful in deconstructing admirable aspects of some awesome work from different artists we enjoy! And if you did this tutorial , please let us know. We’d love to see what you did !
Development continues with dry-erase-tober! Wait a minute... That's not catchy at all. Let's stick with #inktober #gamedev #gamedesign #goeden #inktober2015
Hey there! This marks the first official Developer Update for THE GUARDING OF EDEN since the successful launch of our Indiegogo campaign. Thank you again to all those who helped contribute to make that possible!
So let’s get down to business... We have been BUSY. Normally I wouldn’t indiscriminately capitalize a word on the internet, but without facial expressions and arm waving it’s the best I can do. There is so much to discuss and even more on the horizon to do...and then discuss..
Anyways, hopefully you’re beginning to have an idea of just how busy we actually are. It’s difficult to even try and summarize what’s been done (without the aforementioned faces and gestures), but I’ll try...
THE GAME
Development has been more of a marathon pace so far than a sprint. We’ve gone through several iterations on settling on a Game Engine due to the landscape of the industry shifting under our feet. Our aim for our full-featured action-platformer is to use a 3D engine like Unity or Unreal (which both had massive new releases since our campaign), however for A DRAGON’S DREAM, the first game in the story, we’ve been trying to find something how-do-you-say...cheaper. After some prototype runs in artist-friendly engines like Construct 2, we’ve settled on using YO-YO Games’ Game Maker Studio. Personally this program has worked really well for me right out of the gate. Sure, there’s a learning curve for any program, but Game Maker seemed to just *click* really early on. As for game features, this is where things get interesting. A lot of things have inside the game has changed as well. Slash’s fight to escape to Eden now involves a much more cohesive story. More on that to come! Stay tuned for more screens and information on The Game itself!
THE STUDIO
Making a profitable game out of our basement (just an expression, we live in Southern Virginia so there are no basements) may sound like a great Indie Game Cinderella story, but the reality is are there’s a lot of serious work to setting up a Development Studio. There’s Legal, Accounting, Taxes, Hardware, Software, and Bears that all take up a lot of time! Okay, maybe I’m not speaking from experience on the Bear part, but I can say setting up and following through on the other categories sure can take up a good amount of time! Time is the most precious commodity we have. Full disclosure, the funding from the successful IndieGoGo campaign is a great start, however the reality is that it’s really only a fraction of a real Game Budget and we have to find other financial solutions. That means that while we will definitely be making the game as we promised, we can’t necessarily afford to work on it full time (yet!). Simon and I have already begun taking on Digital Media Production work just to keep the lights on. There is a silver-lining though, as we’ve been able to meet and network with some great people!
THE FUTURE
While some movies may show the future as a bleak wasteland of zombies and dust, I remain optimistic! If you would like to get involved discussing the game and give feedback to bring the game to its final destination, then head over to our Facebook Page and join in the conversation!
THE TOP 7 MOST VISUALLY STUNNING iPhone & iPad Games!
There are plenty of games on iOS that deserve special recognition for a variety of qualities such as unique mechanics, interesting music, or even just a solid fun factor. This list however, is about the games that have (in my humble opinion) reach the apex of quality in the realm of visual art and design.
Feedback is welcome!
I love games and would be happy to hear about any games you may feel should have made the list. Feel free to disagree or comment, just please keep it friendly!
Mild Disclaimer
So before I begin I feel the need to say that this list is purely based on my personal opinion and does not represent the official stance of the Eden team. This list rates the visual component of the games listed and is not a full-on endorsement of any of these products. Factors that contribute to a game’s score include enigmatic qualities such as my artistic tastes and sensibilities. It also only includes games I’ve gotten the chance to play, so there may be some notable absences.
Gameplay and Sound will play a minor role in the judging process, but only in the sense that it will be mentioned if it improves the entire package. Rather than have a traditional list of just 7 games, I separated each number into a category to better describe what each game did so well. For convenience, I also included each game’s price, rating, and a link to where it can be found on the App Store. If you want to find out any more information about the titles listed check out their official sites. Enjoy!
Cheers!
-Peter
7. Best Character Design and Animation:
“My Singing Monsters”
By: Big Blue Bubble Inc.
Price: Free (In-App Purchases) RATING: Ages 4+
App Store Link: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/my-singing-monsters/id521671873?mt=8
This game is the quirky combination of a “farming” simulation and a musical game. The objective is to combine and raise monsters to your hearts content. Each unique monster adds more musical variety to the level’s song. All the monsters are incredibly varied and fit perfectly with the sounds they are paired with. Every animation syncs perfectly with the melodies, and seeing them all act in harmony is really something special!
Runner up:
“Tap Titans“ -- Much like Nintendo’s classic “Punch-Out” this game is all about beating up cartoonish big bosses. Most of the Titans look pretty cool and all the animations are super smooth. Animator Jay Edry (http://www.artisanimation.com) lends his talents to make this rather repetitive game something special. The bosses are fun to look at and even more fun to hit, unfortunately the variety seems to wear off rather quickly.
6. Best Environment and Level Art:
“Sword and Sworcery EP”
By: Superbrothers & Capybara Games Inc.
Price: $4.99 RATING: Ages 12+
App Store Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/superbrothers-sword-sworcery/id424912055?mt=8
This game is pretty interesting all around. This game was inspired by classics like “Link to the Past” and uses a “pixel art” style to create a sight to behold. The effects and characters all bring their own charm, but it is the environments and sound that steal the show. Each environment is rather haunting and conveys a depth than goes well beyond the fact that each scene is composed of simplistic blocks (or pixels) of color. Seeing pixelated waterfalls and oceans is mesmerizing.
Runner up:
“Angry Birds 2“ -- Rovio seems to have put a good deal of the profits from its wildly successful first "Birds” to good use and hired some outstanding background artists to create level art worthy of any console game!
5. Best User Interface Graphics:
“Two Dots”
By: Playdots, Inc.
Price: Free RATING: Ages 4+
App Store Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/two-dots/id880178264?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Simple, clean, elegant, bright, and fun. These are the words that come to mind when playing Two Dots the addictive puzzler. The User Interface (UI), refers to the graphical content that the user interacts with. TwoDots’ Map/Level Select get a mention on a list like this, as it is super cool! Playful AND elegant design is no easy task to achieve, so hats off to the design team at Playdots Inc.
Runner up:
“Threes!“ -- Like Two Dots, this number matching puzzle game does a great job making tough mind-bending gameplay playful and cute.
4. Best Retro-style Graphics:
“Goblin Sword”
By: Eleftherios Christodoulatos of Gelato Games
Price: $1.99 RATING: Ages 9+
App Store Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goblin-sword/id905488045?mt=8
This game is awesome. Hearkening back to the best of the early gaming days, Gelato games two-man team team created an excellent retro experience to take on the go. Tons of enemy types, armor, weapons, and treasure. Check this out if you want a challenging platformer with all the charm of Zelda mixed with the difficulty of Megaman.
Runner up:
“Hoplite“ -- This game nearly won. It starts off simple and then gets incredibly difficult very fast. Simple, but effective. Retro to it’s core. Only thing keeping out of the top spot is just a lack of vareity.
3. Most Unique / Unconventional Style:
“Hitman GO”
By: SQUARE ENIX INC
Price: $4.99 RATING: Mature. Ages 17 or above
App Store Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hitman-go/id731645633?mt=8
Hitman GO is slick. A very cool new take on the Hitman franchise that feels like CLUE meets Chess. The small scale models all work very well with limited animation, and in the end this game is great even without the Hitman namesake. I have yet to play it, but I hear there is also a “Tomb Raider GO” game in the works using the same style. If it is anything like Hitman GO, it will be a solid strategy game with loads of charm.
Runner up:
“Tengami“ -- Tengami is a beautiful game. It didn’t necessarily hold my attention for too long (admittedly I didn’t get very far), but the game’s origami theme is brilliant.
2. Best Game ‘Experience’:
“Alto’s Adventure”
By: Snowman
Price: $1.99 RATING: Ages 9+
App Store Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/altos-adventure/id950812012?mt=8
If you’ve ever heard the phrase “interactive art” and wondered what that meant, look no further than Alto’s Adventure. This is both a wonderful arcade snowboarding game AND a beautifully complete audio and visual experience. The sounds perfectly match all the relaxing scrapes of the snowboard carving down slopes and the exhilarating silence of flying over deadly chasms, all the while being punctuated with the musical chimes of picking up bonuses! I cannot recommend this game enough!
Runner up:
“Monument Valley“ -- This was extremely tough choice between Alto and Monument. Monument Valley has it all. In the end, I preferred the gameplay of Alto’s over Monument for the complete “Game Experience.”
1. Most Visually Stunning Overall:
“Monument Valley”
This game blew me away. I have to admit I was skeptical at first, but it wasn’t long until I fell in love with this game’s style. I was in awe of the mind-bending architecture that lay before me, full of color and latent with surprise. The team behind the game, ustwo, set out to make every screen of Monument Valley something that could easily be seen in an art gallery or a poster-- and I have to say they succeeded. Also worth note is how appealing this game is to all age groups. While some levels are clearly more stunning than others, the quality level remains staggeringly high throughout the entirety of main chapters. For an extra $1.99 there is also 8 more chapters that feature even MORE stunningly gorgeous puzzles. The complete package puts this easily in the number one spot.
Check out their Dev Blog Here
Runner up:
“Alto’s Adventure“ -- Monument Valley barely edged Alto’s out for this. Both are beautiful games and both are extremely fun in two completely different ways.
Hey everyone! After a short break we are back at it. Thank you all again for helping our Indiegogo campaign successful! Please stay tuned in for more updates as we complete the game! In the meantime, get out there and be a Guardian! #thankyou #theguardingofeden #games #adragonsdream
Woohoo! We officially just reached our first goal! Thank you all so much for contributing and getting our campaign out there! We love you all so much! #theguardingofeden #itsago #thankyou #indiegogo #itsalive #beauty #goeden
97% and only 60 hours left! Come get some cool Perks and support us: Igg.me/at/GoEden #theguardingofeden #adragonsdream #art #indiegogo #videogames #gamedevelopment #goeden #indiegames #heroes #dragons #eden #beauty #games
Whoah! What happened to Dr. Fangklin? Check out the whole picture on our facebook page: Facebook.com/TheguardingofedenGame #theguardingofeden #videogames #characterreveal #indiegogo #adragonsdream #art
It's a Bat! Enter Dr. Borris T. Fangklin, the mad scientist behind The Dragon King's mutant army! Enter Eden and set this coward straight! #theguardingofeden #adragonsdream #art #gamedevelopment #indiegogo #videogames #characterreveal #goeden
Quick color to a sketch of Slash, the small hero of our game! #slashtalon #theguardingofeden #adragonsdream #videogames #indiegogo #art #gamedevelopment
We're less than a week away from the end our campaign! Please help up cross the finish line strong! Contribute now at Igg.me/at/GoEden #indiegogo #videogames #theguardingofeden #adragonsdream
"A new challenger is approaching!" We're about to reveal a new Boss enemy. Can you guess the animal? This nefarious scientist helped Scyfer develop the mutant formula used to create fiendish monsters for Slash to fight! #trivia #theguardingofeden #gamedevelopment #adragonsdream #goeden #videogames #indiegogo #indiegames #art #characterreveal
Thumbnail sketch of the Dragon's Keep Castle. I like the moon with a mustache, do you? #adragonsdream #goeden #gamedevelopment #theguardingofeden #badguybase #mustachemoon
"Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath..." Meet Scyfer, the dragon king and Lord of wrath. Check out our campaign for more details! #dragonsdream #goeden #indiegogo #theguardingofeden #videogames
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