Early Graphics Feedback

[BlueFooted]

Hi folks. I was hoping a few of you would be kind enough to give me some feedback on a couple of screen shots from the game I'm working on. It is a match-3 variant casual game so the target audience is the major casual portals.

Basically I'm just looking for general feedback on style and quality. Could you see these in a casual game? Do you wish you had never seen these? How much do they not suck .

Feel free to be brutal, I can take it....also feel free to be positive

The first is an example of the chapter end screens after a set of levels has been completed.


And the second is the current Options dialog (title font is probably slightly too big right now).

[Cartman]

I don't like the fonts on the OK, HighScore, etc in the second screen. The heavy tops on the fonts turn me off.

The background on the first screen seems too fuzzy to me. Like an old 80's game. But that may be your style.

[Dyno Kid]

I would contact the portals where you plan to place this asap for initial feedback as i know 2 seperate development teams that have failed to place there match 3 games on the portals and they both looked fantastic!!!

Darren.

[hddnobjcttmmngmntmtch3rlz]

It's not bad, but it's not great either. It's not very lush. Also a lot of straight lines and corners that make it seem like someone made it who is not very skilled with photoshop (or whatever program you're using). Also, the background in the first one looks like a picture that has a simple painting filter from photoshop run on it. It doesn't seem very cohesive either.

[AlexWeldon]

Digital photo + crappy Photoshop filters = suck. Hire an artist.

The rest I can deal with, though it's not great... but a filter cannot make a photo pass for an illustration, at least not a decent one. If you don't have the budget for proper background illustrations, then go with a design concept that doesn't require them.

The typeface for the body of the introduction is not sufficiently readable. A slab serif like Clarendon would work well for this. When you have a single word or short line of text, like a button or banner, you can get away with a decorative font... but if you set any substantial amount of text in a decorative font, no one will read it.

[BlueFooted]

Thanks a lot for the feedback. One of the main things I've been trying to determine is where I need to direct limited resources (time/money). I've always planned on hiring an artist for some work, I've just been trying to see if I can limit how much that will end up being.

i know 2 seperate development teams that have failed to place there match 3 games on the portals and they both looked fantastic!!!

Ya, I've questioned my choice here, but this is my first game and the idea was to try to do something simple as a first project. So far I would say not nearly as simple as I might have thought

But at this point I am determined to finish it, hopefully with a nice professional level of polish, just to get one under my belt.

[DayDream]

I don't like the fonts... Period!... It's a very weird combination/ mix of fonts and non of them strikes me as easy enough to read while matching the theme you are after.

It has a "one step up from coder art" feel to me... The lack of a proper consistent UI - those brown boxes don't count to me... the different levels of detail in the art elements and the somewhat random arrangement of elements show a lack of design ability. For example on the options screen there is a large horizontal area under the sliders but instead of using larger [nicer looking] switches you stack them up... Let me show you [that's always either for language challenged artists like me]:


[still not 100% where I want it to be but the lunch break is over]

Try and find 1 good font nice and readable for longer text and 1 font to go for title, heading, buttons but make sure they match. The current mix looks messy.

Bottom line - it's a good try but all the points are score for trying.
My advice is to get a decent artist on board if you want to match the quality required to be in the top spots of the portals. Let the artist worry about the visual side and focus on coding and gameplay.

[Colm]

That is some difference!
I think your best bet is to focus on everything but the art (what you have is fine for placeholder) and spend money on an artist.

[Jamie W]

Awesome!

I'm going to nit-pick (but generally, I think it looks fantastic, ok).

Only think I don't like, are the switches (one in up, one in down position)..

The 'stick' part of the switch should look more connected or moulded in with the little 'ball' part. Currently, it looks like it's just stuck on top of it.

That make sense?

[jpoag]

[still not 100% where I want it to be but the lunch break is over]

Nice, has sort of a 'SteamPunk' feel to it. If an artist were to submit a piece like this, I'd consider changing the entire game theme to accommodate.

[DayDream]

Awesome!

I'm going to nit-pick (but generally, I think it looks fantastic, ok).

Only think I don't like, are the switches (one in up, one in down position)..

The 'stick' part of the switch should look more connected or moulded in with the little 'ball' part. Currently, it looks like it's just stuck on top of it.

That make sense?

Thanks, Jamie... it does make sense... it was a rushed quickie done during my lunch break... and yes the switches as well as the font placement and the button would need some more work...
The idea was to illustrate the difference of what can be done with little effort if you know what to do and how to do it when turning "coder art" around...

[BlueFooted]

I must say I've seen DayDream post "quick" mock-ups in several threads like this and it is very impressive how you not only show much improved artwork but you also manage to capture what the original was going for every time. Thanks for that.

And thanks again for all the comments...I think I'll be off to the Help Wanted section soon

[Cartman]

it was a rushed quickie done during my lunch break

Lunch break? I'm sure that only took you all of 5 minutes. Probably with a nap in between.

[DayDream]

Lunch break? I'm sure that only took you all of 5 minutes. Probably with a nap in between.

Getting older, Cartman

[PoV]

Never a disappointment. Well done DayDream.