Sprites....

[curry nochi rice]

Hello!

All i know about sprites is that they're PNG images, but what should be the optimal dimensions for sprites?...would vector graphics fit for the job???

I'm preparing to receive my artist's preliminary sketches....and this is the first project my (newbie) team is going to make...

[Nessiah]

What is your screen's resolution ? 800x600?

Don't worry about the sprites being humongous, you can always resize them later, and you usually determine the size by doing mockup screens with the finished sprite '3')b

[curry nochi rice]

What is your screen's resolution ? 800x600?

yup...default for Ren'Py engine

[Nessiah]

Yeah vector will work totally fine as well

[luminarious]

Yeah vector will work totally fine as well

Eh,if you get vector from your artist, you still need to turn them into PNG. Personally, I think the sprite height should be the same as the resolution height. This makes it easier to work with characters who have different heights.

[Nessiah]

Isn't vector an art style rather than a file format? O_o
Unless I'm totally misunderstanding his post

[J. Datie]

Isn't vector an art style rather than a file format? O_o
Unless I'm totally misunderstanding his post

Vector graphics are displayed based on mathematical equations, as opposed to raster graphics, which are displayed based on a grid of pixels. As far as I'm aware, Ren'Py does not support displaying vector graphics, although they can be easily converted into raster format.

[curry nochi rice]

thank you....

I still have to learn how to work with the PNG format....using photoshop....I'm "photoshopping" some random sketches now...

hmm....how many expressions should be used anyway? i mean (happy, sad, angry, etc) with all the poses

hehehe, I just checked wikipedia...I guess i have to follow the facial expressions listed.....and decide upon the poses....

and....

I still lack a basic understanding about event CG's. In my own understanding, this are specific graphics made for a specific and rare vent, with the characters integrated to the backgrounds....simple CG's would be a character sitting on the chair, since the chair is part of the background, the character cannot be placed with a sprite so we have to draw the character to the background..

therefore....

CG's are backgrounds with the characters drawn and are animated in the background itself????

is this correct???

i was wondering if i can use Adobe Illustraor instead of photoshop for the sprites...is this advisable?

[luminarious]

Event graphics are rarely animated.
Illustrator is fine.
Expressions.. only do as many as you need. The World Ends with You RPG on the DS only had 4 expressions for each character.
Blinking is optional.

[prezzey]

Expressions.. only do as many as you need. The World Ends with You RPG on the DS only had 4 expressions for each character.

I don't think so... (are you sure you're talking about the right game?) Here are sprite rips:

http://sdb.drshnaps.com/objects/2/87/Sp ... lWorld.gif
http://sdb.drshnaps.com/objects/2/87/Sp ... lWorld.gif
http://sdb.drshnaps.com/objects/2/87/Sp ... lWorld.gif
http://sdb.drshnaps.com/objects/2/87/Sp ... lWorld.gif

Not only there are 10+ expressions per main character, they are also quite varied (so not just face replaces, but entire poses).

The NPCs do have fewer expressions. Here is a NPC layout -

http://sdb.drshnaps.com/objects/2/87/Sp ... lWorld.gif

(These are really useful to look at, if somewhat discouraging... I found them a few months back when I was beginning to get worried about Emerald Spires having too many expressions per main character, and I looked at other games with VN elements to count the expressions.)

[luminarious]

My apologies, apparently I was too absorbed in the game to pay real attention..

But this does bring up another really good point! I wish more sprite-artists considered that when people change their expression, the body language also changes. I mean, even a couple of different bodies to go with the multiple expressions would be a change.

[curry nochi rice]

Expressions.. only do as many as you need. The World Ends with You RPG on the DS only had 4 expressions for each character.

I don't think so... (are you sure you're talking about the right game?) Here are sprite rips:

http://sdb.drshnaps.com/objects/2/87/Sp ... lWorld.gif
http://sdb.drshnaps.com/objects/2/87/Sp ... lWorld.gif
http://sdb.drshnaps.com/objects/2/87/Sp ... lWorld.gif
http://sdb.drshnaps.com/objects/2/87/Sp ... lWorld.gif

Not only there are 10+ expressions per main character, they are also quite varied (so not just face replaces, but entire poses).

The NPCs do have fewer expressions. Here is a NPC layout -

http://sdb.drshnaps.com/objects/2/87/Sp ... lWorld.gif

(These are really useful to look at, if somewhat discouraging... I found them a few months back when I was beginning to get worried about Emerald Spires having too many expressions per main character, and I looked at other games with VN elements to count the expressions.)

what game is this from...?

looking at the links, i feel like i'm going to vomit.....so i guess i'll just have to settle for the "required only" option....making new sprites if the situation wants it....

[Jake]

what game is this from...?

As was kind of implied earlier in the thread, the DS title The World Ends With You.

i guess i'll just have to settle for the "required only" option....making new sprites if the situation wants it....

"Settle"?

There are no rules, no instructions saying you absolutely have to have the same sets of expressions as other games. Nobody is going to say "I really liked the story on that game, and the art was fantastic, and it really drew me in and I loved the whole experience... but man, there were only four expressions per character and everyone knows you need ten so I'm going to have to say it was crap". There's no point in drawing any more than you need for your story - inserting extra expressions into your script just because other games have that many and you feel the need to use the extra sprites is probably just going to look awkward.

[number473]

There's no point in drawing any more than you need for your story - inserting extra expressions into your script just because other games have that many and you feel the need to use the extra sprites is probably just going to look awkward.

That said, don't cut down on the number of sprites that you actually need. It's easy to ruin your game by cutting corners. If you want to end up really feeling proud of your game when it's done and as though you achieved something, you need to make sure you don't settle for second best. Anything that you can't do now, you can learn to do.

[curry nochi rice]

okay...hehehe...i won't cut for now since the team is still planning....i guess i just have to list the expressions used on the finished script....(since we're making a VN out of a completed story)