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Manifest Destiny - Request for Help with Graphics
Hello gang,
The number one comment I get about MD is this: "Good game, but the graphics need work." My response has always been that the current batch of graphics are mostly prototype stuff. A lot of things are just there as placeholders, until we can get the real graphics in place.
Well, it's gotten to the point where we can start thinking about putting in our real graphics. With the implementation of combat right around the corner, it is my hope that we will begin attracting new players. But to do this, they have to be impressed by the look of the game (so they don't turn away before they are impressed by the play of the game). Now, our in-team graphic artist will also be working on this, but there is more work there than he will be able to handle by himself. So we are now officially opening up the field for your input.
We can't pay you. I wish we could pay for submissions, but we just can't afford it. But you will get your name in the credits, and you will get a free registered copy of the game (when it hits that point). Should MD do well enough that we produce a boxed version, you will be sent a free one of those as well. Additionally (and somewhat more tenuously), it is my intention to hire another graphic artist for our second game (assuming MD does reasonably well), so you may consider this a sort of application process for that job (should you still be available by then, for it will be for a good year or two before I start looking for new people).
For your part, you agree by your submission that we can use/modify your graphic as we see fit, confined to the context of Manifest Destiny (ie we can't use it outside of the game without your permission). We also reserve the right to show your graphic in the context of screenshots of the game. Additionally, your submission is an agreement that the graphic is an original piece of art of your creation. Please don't get us sued by Clip Art for copyright infringement.
Submission is not a guarantee that we will use your graphic. It could be we already have one that is better, or your graphic doesn't fit into the look of our game. Please don't be offended if we decide not to use your submission. We are not making any comment on your artistic ability, we simply have to do what's best for the game. Should your submission not make it into the game, we cannot put you in the credits. You have to make it into the game before you are listed. It is possible we will use your graphic, but replace it at some point with another. Should this happen, your name will be left in the credits, and you will still recieve all the benifits thereof.
Alright, enough of the legal banter. Here is a list of what I am currently ready for:
The Unit Workshop Screen
Unit Components: These are components shown on the left side of the screen in the scrollbox. They are what is dragged onto the unit templates. Bronze Sword, Iron Sword, Spear, and Stone Dagger are examples of components that currently have graphics. We have many that do not.
Parameters: Component graphics should be 70x70 pixels and be 24 bpp (16 million color). Try to leave the top and bottom portion fairly open, as this is where text goes when the component is moved onto unit templates. IF your component is one that, in your opinion, belongs in a stone age setting, you may place it over the stone item template backgrounds currently being used (can be found in the MD directory under gameart/ItemTileTemplate.bmp). Otherwise, just put it onto a pure black background (RGB 0,0,0) so we can transfer it later (note that if you do this, don't use pure black anywhere in the drawing itself. You can use RGB 5,5,5, which is just as black but doesn't go tranparent during a transfer).
Unit Component Backgrounds: We have the stone age background for unit components (gameart/ItemTileTemplate.bmp). We could also use additional ones. Bronze, Iron, Steel, Electrical. They should be 70x70 pixels, and button-like (see the stone age graphic one for what I mean). Keep them low key, they are meant to be background images, and components and text need to go over them (and you don't want to drown them out). Again, use 24 bpp.
Main Screen
Resources: Food, Wood, Stone, etc. These appear both on the main map and in the resource information screen. They must be 64x64 pixels, at 24 bpp. Additionally, they MUST be on a pure black background (RGB 0,0,0), which will appear transparent in the game. Any of the existing icons may be replaced if you can do one better, and new icons are always welcome (although clear them with me first for new ones). In particular, I am unhappy with the Copper resource icon right now, and wouldn't mind if that one got replaced soon.
Cities: The only current example we have is the Gathering Place icon (gameart/GatheringPlace.bmp). This icon appears both on the main map and on the Resource Info Screen. We need icons for Tribes, Villages, Towns, Cities, etc. They need to be 64x64 pixels, 24 bpp, on black backgrounds. Again, I wouldn't mind if the current icon was replaced as well.
Stacks: Currently stacks are represented as triangles. This is not meant to be the final display. We need icons for stacks. They ought to be representative of what is in the stack, so we will need infantry icons, cavalry, vehicles, etc. They should be 32x32 pixels, 24 bpp on black backgrounds. I am thinking 3/4 isometric views for these, but am open to suggestions.
Window Skins: As I write this, you guys don't have an example of these yet. You will with the next release, however. Window skins are a graphic that is layed over the windows, and give them an age feel. Right now we have a stone age skin. We still need all the others (bronze, iron, information, etc.). Our current skin is 400x400 pixels, 24 bpp. They should tile reasonable well (ie sit next to each other without noticable seams). These are new, so the size specs may change, I'll keep you posted.
Okay, that's about it for now. If you have other suggestions, feel free, but clear them with me before doing any work on them. There are many other graphics that could be done (such as combat icons), but I don't know the exact specs for them quite yet. I will update this post to keep it current as needed.
Ron
The number one comment I get about MD is this: "Good game, but the graphics need work." My response has always been that the current batch of graphics are mostly prototype stuff. A lot of things are just there as placeholders, until we can get the real graphics in place.
Well, it's gotten to the point where we can start thinking about putting in our real graphics. With the implementation of combat right around the corner, it is my hope that we will begin attracting new players. But to do this, they have to be impressed by the look of the game (so they don't turn away before they are impressed by the play of the game). Now, our in-team graphic artist will also be working on this, but there is more work there than he will be able to handle by himself. So we are now officially opening up the field for your input.
We can't pay you. I wish we could pay for submissions, but we just can't afford it. But you will get your name in the credits, and you will get a free registered copy of the game (when it hits that point). Should MD do well enough that we produce a boxed version, you will be sent a free one of those as well. Additionally (and somewhat more tenuously), it is my intention to hire another graphic artist for our second game (assuming MD does reasonably well), so you may consider this a sort of application process for that job (should you still be available by then, for it will be for a good year or two before I start looking for new people).
For your part, you agree by your submission that we can use/modify your graphic as we see fit, confined to the context of Manifest Destiny (ie we can't use it outside of the game without your permission). We also reserve the right to show your graphic in the context of screenshots of the game. Additionally, your submission is an agreement that the graphic is an original piece of art of your creation. Please don't get us sued by Clip Art for copyright infringement.
Submission is not a guarantee that we will use your graphic. It could be we already have one that is better, or your graphic doesn't fit into the look of our game. Please don't be offended if we decide not to use your submission. We are not making any comment on your artistic ability, we simply have to do what's best for the game. Should your submission not make it into the game, we cannot put you in the credits. You have to make it into the game before you are listed. It is possible we will use your graphic, but replace it at some point with another. Should this happen, your name will be left in the credits, and you will still recieve all the benifits thereof.
Alright, enough of the legal banter. Here is a list of what I am currently ready for:
The Unit Workshop Screen
Unit Components: These are components shown on the left side of the screen in the scrollbox. They are what is dragged onto the unit templates. Bronze Sword, Iron Sword, Spear, and Stone Dagger are examples of components that currently have graphics. We have many that do not.
Parameters: Component graphics should be 70x70 pixels and be 24 bpp (16 million color). Try to leave the top and bottom portion fairly open, as this is where text goes when the component is moved onto unit templates. IF your component is one that, in your opinion, belongs in a stone age setting, you may place it over the stone item template backgrounds currently being used (can be found in the MD directory under gameart/ItemTileTemplate.bmp). Otherwise, just put it onto a pure black background (RGB 0,0,0) so we can transfer it later (note that if you do this, don't use pure black anywhere in the drawing itself. You can use RGB 5,5,5, which is just as black but doesn't go tranparent during a transfer).
Unit Component Backgrounds: We have the stone age background for unit components (gameart/ItemTileTemplate.bmp). We could also use additional ones. Bronze, Iron, Steel, Electrical. They should be 70x70 pixels, and button-like (see the stone age graphic one for what I mean). Keep them low key, they are meant to be background images, and components and text need to go over them (and you don't want to drown them out). Again, use 24 bpp.
Main Screen
Resources: Food, Wood, Stone, etc. These appear both on the main map and in the resource information screen. They must be 64x64 pixels, at 24 bpp. Additionally, they MUST be on a pure black background (RGB 0,0,0), which will appear transparent in the game. Any of the existing icons may be replaced if you can do one better, and new icons are always welcome (although clear them with me first for new ones). In particular, I am unhappy with the Copper resource icon right now, and wouldn't mind if that one got replaced soon.
Cities: The only current example we have is the Gathering Place icon (gameart/GatheringPlace.bmp). This icon appears both on the main map and on the Resource Info Screen. We need icons for Tribes, Villages, Towns, Cities, etc. They need to be 64x64 pixels, 24 bpp, on black backgrounds. Again, I wouldn't mind if the current icon was replaced as well.
Stacks: Currently stacks are represented as triangles. This is not meant to be the final display. We need icons for stacks. They ought to be representative of what is in the stack, so we will need infantry icons, cavalry, vehicles, etc. They should be 32x32 pixels, 24 bpp on black backgrounds. I am thinking 3/4 isometric views for these, but am open to suggestions.
Window Skins: As I write this, you guys don't have an example of these yet. You will with the next release, however. Window skins are a graphic that is layed over the windows, and give them an age feel. Right now we have a stone age skin. We still need all the others (bronze, iron, information, etc.). Our current skin is 400x400 pixels, 24 bpp. They should tile reasonable well (ie sit next to each other without noticable seams). These are new, so the size specs may change, I'll keep you posted.
Okay, that's about it for now. If you have other suggestions, feel free, but clear them with me before doing any work on them. There are many other graphics that could be done (such as combat icons), but I don't know the exact specs for them quite yet. I will update this post to keep it current as needed.
Ron
). Should I email them to you or post them as attachments here? If you want them by email, what address should they be sent to?
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