Quentyn Sprites

[Yuoofox]

I have a project that I'm working on that requires some sprite images of Quentyn or some other Racconan. Mr. Ralph said that a set of Quentyn animation sprites have already been made. Does anyone have them? (perhaps the person who made the Questor/Zelda video game fanart).

[Yuoofox]

I'm looking for a Questor fan to help me with something. I need someone to help me make a series of sprite images of Quentyn for a possible Tales of the Questor video game.

I've got to be very careful and first mention that I may not have time to finish this game later on, or the final product might not be all that great. I apologize to anyone who bought the game Morrowind, anticipating a Tales of the Questor plugin. I'm still trying to work on it if I can, but we've hit a major roadblock.

But anyway, I'd like to work on this video game if I can, and I would appreciate it if some other Questor fans could help me, especially with the sprite images. First of all, what are sprite images? Here are links to some collections of sprite images from various video games:
1 2 3 4

Basically, it's pictures of the character doing things that the video game uses in various instances: such as Quentyn walking left, walking right, walking North, walking South, climbing, swinging his sword, jumping, getting hit by some enemy, lying on the ground unconscious, mixing two magic potions together, casting a Lux spell, getting eaten by a great white shark, or playing a game of hopscotch with Chewbaca and his wookie friends. (Okay, maybe some of those examples were a little bit extreme. )

Let me warn you. The program that I'm using to make the game is very old-school. It's a DOS program, so the graphics will be a bit chunky, and I haven't been able to get the sound to work for it on my computer. I know there are other RPG programs out there, but I'm using this one because the design process seems pretty straightforward, and I like the built-in inventory, equipment, spell, and save-game features. (Better to start with something cheesy but workable than never to start at all; at least that's what I say.)

I'm about half way through the newbie tutorial for this program, and so far I've made a video game that consists of a welcome screen and then a cheesy stick-figure version of Quentyn walking around on a generic grassy map with a few stones blocking his way. [I wish I could show it to you so you could get a few laughs, but for some reason the printscreen button doesn't work.] Oh, and I also put in a couple of doors Quentyn can enter that teleport him to another part of the map. That's about it: no enemies, battle sequences, or storylines yet.

The Gritty Details:

The Map Screen - This requires a series of images of Quentyn, each image being 4-bit (16 color) BMP format, 20x20 pixels:
* two images of him facing Left (The two images will be alternating back-and-forth in the game to simulate walking.)
* two images of him facing Right
* two images of him facing Up (north, or away from the screen)
* two images of him facing Down (south, or toward the screen)

Battle Screen - This requires more images of Quentyn, each image being 4-bit (16 color) format BMP, 32x40 pixels:
(Note: In the Battle Screen, all heros are on the right side of the screen, facing the Left.)
* one image of him standing
* one image of him stepping left, preparing to attack
* two images of him attacking (a two-image sequence of him swinging his fist or perhaps his sword. I know you can equip various weapons in this game, but I haven't learned yet how that works as far as the images go.)
* one image of him casting a spell or using an item (probably an image of him with his hands raised in the air would work)
* one image of him getting hit from an enemy attack (You know, an "Ouch!" scene.)
* one image of him standing weakly (when he has low HP)
* one image of him knocked-out (in need of a healer-mage or a Phoenix Down to revive him)

There are some other images, such as spell effects and flying missiles, but I don't want to worry about those now.

Enemies - If you want to draw some generic enemies to fight (no big bosses yet, just random battles), the image sizes are:

Small Enemies..34x34 pixels (4-bit,16-color bmp)
Large Enemies..50x50 pixels (4-bit,16-color bmp)
Huge Enemies...80x80 pixels (4-bit,16-color bmp)


Yes, I know this is a whole lot, but that's what it takes. I don't need every single one these things in order to come up with a workable game, it just makes things that much better.


A couple of extra notes: I've tried copying and pasting images directly from the comics to use in the game, but converting the images to 16-color and scaling them down is very tricky. Also, if you are going to make an image for me (well, first of all THANK YOU! ), make sure that I am able to choose a color to be the background color. Whenever I import an image with this program, it asks me to choose a background color. Let's say your picture of Quentyn has a black background. If I click on black as my color, then all of black in the picture (including his eyes) will become invisible to the video game. Think of it as one of those blue-screens the weather forecasters use. So what I'm saying is, pick a color that you haven't used anywhere else in that particular image, and fill the background with that color.

[DragonMasterHawk]

Okay, maybe some of those examples were a little bit extreme.

Ever play Parodius for the SNES?



...yeah.

4-bit (16 color) BMP format

...

How old is this DOS program!? Honestly, even the NES was 8-bit!

Yes, I know this is a whole lot

Comparatively speaking...not even close. You seem to know your games. Hundreds, if not thousands of sprites were needed for SNES games (although palette swaps helped). This isn't really directed at you, but moreso at anyone who looks at that list and thinks it is a lot.

Ironic. Today, in two hours, I leave for Washington, and, subsequently, Digipen.

[Madmoonie]

I thought it was going to be more a Zelda top-down game. I think I would prefer that format to a side scroller. Cherrio!

[MalamiteLtd]

Heh. An old RPG maker, I presume? Like the one they used to make the small Arfenouse RPG's? X3

I personally kinda visualized a Questor game to be a platformer myself. Some odd mix of Sonic the Hedgehog and Viewtiful Joe in gameplay design, with other things mixed in. I mean, heck! Those cool boots have to be put to use for something! :3
Maybe some "Bionic Commando" element with the glimmer rope, some kind of levelling up system to enhance status and abilities, and maybe the opportunity to use other swords/weapons as well, mostly to add a little variety...and some may be useful to gain access to new areas in some way. (Purgatory... :3 )

Meh. I dream too much. X3

[Aurrin]

Oy. I really just can't picture it as anything other than a Zelda-style RPG or Action-Adventure.

[Yuoofox]

I thought it was going to be more a Zelda top-down game. I think I would prefer that format to a side scroller. Cherrio!

Oh, it is going to be like that. Well, it's more like Pokemon for Gameboy color. The map screens (where you walk around, explore, and talk to people) are top-down like you said, but the RPG battle sequences are from the side perspective, like in the older Final Fantasy games.

How old is this DOS program!? Honestly, even the NES was 8-bit!

**shrug** What can I say? Here is the website to the program. Hamster Replublic You can also download the "Wandering Hamster" demo game to get an idea of how things could possibly be. I admit that I would like things to be larger-scale too, but I think it's best that I start small.

Comparatively speaking...not even close... Hundreds, if not thousands of sprites were needed for SNES games

Yes, you are right. It is just that this is an all-volunteer project. I was saying to any would-be helpers that I realize this will be a difficult thing to get started.

[Fahlma]

Alright, I apologize for cutting in. I know I've never presented myself before, but I've been a long time fan of all of these comics and read the forums frequently. I just have never been good at immersing myself in them, I was afraid I'd die out and leave you all hanging. But forgive me, I'm off topic.

I was just curious, have any of you heard of a program called RPG Maker 2000. It's a relitively easy program to use, and somewhat versitile. I just thought I'd mention it. Perhaps it's not the kind of program you'd like to make at all. But you can import your own sprites into the program. And you are able to create your own little spells.

Again, sorry for intruding, perhaps I'll get more involved here and in the other comic forums if I'm welcome too. ^^;

[Wayfarer]

Again, sorry for intruding, perhaps I'll get more involved here and in the other comic forums if I'm welcome too. ^^;

Welcome, Fahlma! What intrusion? I didn't notice one. (Or would I not notice because I was intruding, too? Oh well, then, yay for intrusions!)

But forgive me, I'm off topic.

See, test past - you fit right in!
I should warn you (in case you didn't notice in what you've read so far): folk around here are a little bit (translate: incredibly)... weird. (I am, of course, perfectly normal. )
But really, you should stick around. If you have any sanity left, we'll make sure you lose it, and then you'll see life will be so much more fun! And hey, we have a good time around here.

[Yuoofox]

Alright, I apologize for cutting in. I know I've never presented myself before, but I've been a long time fan of all of these comics and read the forums frequently. I just have never been good at immersing myself in them, I was afraid I'd die out and leave you all hanging. But forgive me, I'm off topic.

I am pleased to meet you, Fahlma. Don't worry, your post was on-topic.

I know that there are better programs than what I'm using, but I wanted to start out small and work my way up from there. For now, I want to use a program that is free. Yes, I know you can download RPG Maker 2000 for free, but from what I understand it's based on a commercial product, so I would feel more comfortable if I just purchased the newest version of their product (RPG Maker 2003 or XP, I think).

I want to start out with this old program just to learn the basics and to see if I have the mental resources to work on something like this. If I get a good game going, then I'll switch to a better program.

But in the meantime, I need some sprites.

[NydaLynn]

Hmm.... how would such sprite images be made? Were you wanting drawings or pixilations?

[Fahlma]

Well, I'm not much of an artist (and I'm starting to lose faith in some of my Photoshop abilities, I can't get this darn picture to resize, and I have an even better one I'd like to post. So annoying...) But if I can help you out in any other way I'd be happy to to try. Thing I'm best at is writing probably...dunno if that would help, but whatever you need, ask and I'll always be happy to try.

[Yuoofox]

Hmm.... how would such sprite images be made? Were you wanting drawings or pixilations?

Hmmm.... that's a tough question. If you can do a pixelation, that would be great, but pixelation can be very tricky and tedious. (the reason I'm asking for help ) If you want, you can make a drawing, then I can pixelize it myself.

As far as drawings go, I'm mostly looking for someone to draw images that are of the proper proportions, then I can scale them down into sprites. The sprites will eventually be 32x40 pixels. That means that we can start out making a drawing that's any size we want, as long as it can fit inside inside a rectangle that is 4 units wide and 5 units tall, without chopping off Quentyn's head or tail (I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate it). After that, I can simply scale it to a size of 32x40 pixels.

The problem with taking a drawing and pixelizing it is that almost all of the details from the original drawing are lost. To show you what I mean, let me take a random picture of Quentyn from the comics and convert it to a 16-color, 32x40 pixel image:



The first image is the original. The second image has had its background filled in (I made the background purple because you have to pick a color that isn't in the foreground. The purple will all be invisible in the real game.) The third image has been scaled down to 32x40 pixels. (Actually, it's a lot bigger than what 32x40 would look like in Windows-sized pixels, but I just wanted to show you how it will look later in game-sized pixels.) The fourth image has been reduced to 16 colors. It looks a lot chunkier because there aren't as many shades of grey to work with.

Yes, it's pretty hard to do, or do well, at least. Quentyn looks recognizable in the last panel, but his hand looks funny. (Maybe that's why all the early cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse wear big white gloves. ) The trick is knowing how to highlight your images so the most is said with the least as possible colors.


Tutorials:

http://tsugumo.swoo.net/tutorial/chapter7.htm

http://www.gamespp.com/tutorials/Conver ... rites.html

[Yuoofox]

By the way, I just want to point out that I made a mistake in my original post, the one about what images I'm looking for.

I said that the Map Screen sprites are 32x40 just like the Battle Screen sprites, but actually they're 20x20. I changed it up above.

[Bigdude]

You know...if a whole block of people were interested and each kicked Ralph $10 or something, well...there ain't anybody better qualified to draw Quentyn, right?

Ralph could give a quote on the total and then keep a running tally of donations earmarked that way...?

[Gizmo]

I did these sprites a while back;

[Gizmo]

How old is this DOS program!? Honestly, even the NES was 8-bit!

I think I know the program you used, something like DPaint, but on Windows. Allegro Sprite Editor is similar, but more modern. I even have an old copy of Promotion. No single program seems to fulfills all my needs, so I end up loading/saving/importing/exporting between various programs. PaintShopPro is mostly what I use.*

-Gizmo

[Yuoofox]

I did these sprites a while back.

WOW! Thanks! May I use them?

[DragonMasterHawk]

Sorry I haven't posted. I really want to get in on this project. A few things I'd like to go over, though.

1. Yuoo, can you post a GIF of that example Quent sprite? The Jpeg ruins the clarity, as I'm sure you know. I didn't think resizing a drawn pic and such would work, but you may have me convinced. See, pixelized art has its own style apart from just "translating from drawings". There are rules (well, guidelines) and such, especially when you have a set size like you're saying.

2. I'd like to be part of the design phase, if possible. In about four to five months, I'll also be able to do some coding if necessary. Still, I'd love to be a part of the writing/ideas, even if it's only textual editing (which I do EXTREMELY well).

Do you have AIM, Yuoo? Please IM me at DragonMasterHawk, if you are so inclined.

Thanks much.

[SolidusRaccoon]

Things are looking good.