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View Full Version : Lost Garden: How to bootstrap your indie art needs



dislekcia
22-02-2008, 03:33 AM
http://lostgarden.com/2007/12/how-to-bootstrap-your-indie-art-needs.html


A goodly number of indie game developers are lured into Lostgarden.com by the free game graphics. Every few days an email pops into my inbox, "Hey, could you draw the graphics for my cool game design idea?"

I'm honored more than you can imagine when I get such a letter and they mean a lot to me. Unfortunately, I have my fingers in so many projects at the moment that squeezing in an additional graphics job wouldn't be doing anyone any favors. Still, it bothers me that talented people with amazing dreams can't make their games due to a lack of graphics.

Here's a run down of several techniques that help you get your game finished without being blocked by the graphics bottleneck.

All good points and recommendations. Give them a read, especially if you're stuck thinking about graphics having to be just perfect for whatever it is you're trying to do...

Also, if you don't regularly visit Lost Garden, you totally should ;)

-D

FuzzYspo0N
22-02-2008, 07:22 AM
Good read thanks, i remember going here once to take a look, its a cool site.


Other people might be using them in their games. "Argh, now my RPG looks just like the one done by that guy in Australia. *sigh* Now I will never be l33t."

My heartfelt recommendation is that you get over it.

I liked his conviction

dislekcia
22-02-2008, 11:48 AM
You seen is free graphics challenges? I'd really like to mess with the pea concept... Just no time :(

-D

FuzzYspo0N
22-02-2008, 12:17 PM
i actually hadnt till now, i read it it seems fun though, i think sticking my hand into yet another pie wud be suicide in itself, without a soft landing im afraid. Im slaughtering out antisense in the wait for SCR devlopment to continue so thats enough for now. the deadlines for antisense match the scr continuation date so im happy lol.

Above all, i like that guys stuff and iv read a lot of his articles before he makes more sense than most inid wannabe guys

dislekcia
22-02-2008, 01:44 PM
i actually hadnt till now, i read it it seems fun though, i think sticking my hand into yet another pie wud be suicide in itself, without a soft landing im afraid. Im slaughtering out antisense in the wait for SCR devlopment to continue so thats enough for now. the deadlines for antisense match the scr continuation date so im happy lol.

Same, I just don't have time to mess with his stuff. It'd be great to just lob a week at some of those ideas though!


Above all, i like that guys stuff and iv read a lot of his articles before he makes more sense than most inid wannabe guys

He's not really an indie wannabe... He's a designer/artist. Guy did the graphics for Tyrian. Gotta respect that ;) He's done his dues as a shareware dev, so he's looking at the current indie/casual wave and writing about it all logically. I enjoy that.

-D

FuzzYspo0N
22-02-2008, 03:22 PM
Above all, i like that guys stuff and iv read a lot of his articles before, he makes more sense than most indie wannabe guys

Maybe that will fix my actual meaning XD i meant i respect him cos he isnt rambling about nothing like other indie wannabes, he is a winner :D

I think these kinda competitions give indie guys the break from trying to make the next shelf title and focus on learning programming the actual programming. Programming good graphics, sound and all the niceties of games die the instant there is crap gameplay. i like how we (gamedev) focus on gameplay first more then getting recognised. It sure helps people learn what making games is all about.

Im priveledged to have come through a hundred mini projects when thats all i knew, learning about the anooying little things that pop their head up in your average game. Things i now brush off as simple can cripple a project for months... Its the little games that teach those things, not the next gen graphics implementation that take months to comprehend let alone implement :D I am endlessly amused on a number of game development communities at the lack of programming/design knowledge... But im always rewarded when i see guys like the game.dev guys making stuff thats actually cool, unique, different from the normal games you see, and even ugly. some ugly games are awesome.

I think as an indie community we are doing a lot better then some of these other hopeful crowds. I respect anybody who will buckle down and learn game development in depth, but you dont learn to drive by joining formula one, you start at the beginning. Thank goodness for common sense :D