I agree that she definitely looks too flat. I need more definitely. Beverly probably wasn't a good first example though, since her pose is supposed to be stiff. She's trying to not fall apart so she stands really straight with a rigid smile. When she walks she barely moves her feet and kinda wobbles almost. Other characters we've started designing already have a much more alive pose, like Sutter's (the old man). Thank you for your feedback!

new is worse IMO

Okay, thanks for the feedback. Hopefully, I'll have improved the design with my next version.

Thank you for your detailed opinion!

One of the adjustments I plan to make it making body parts smaller. Her chest area is too large. Her arms and legs are similar in size to the old art. The head is massive, so I plan to make that smaller too. Her hair will actually be a little bigger once I'm done, because it currently looks boxed. I want it to look more natural and a little messier, but the rest of her was too big to fit that.

As for her pose, that's just her, don't worry. Her character is supposed to be trying to stay pretty even though she's a zombie, but she keeps falling apart. So she walks very stiffly to keep from falling apart any more. The other characters we're working on are of a much looser pose.

EDIT:
Here is a side-by-side comparison for everyone to use as reference -

yeah, not matching

I understand that. What I need is opinions on both of them. I don't understand if you guys hate the new art completely and want something identical to the old art, or if you're simply stating that the two arts don't go with each other at all.

[Devlog #015 - Saturday, February 2nd, 2013]

Devlog #015 - Saturday, February 2nd, 2013

Art: I don't want the art to be identical to my previous artist's work. I also don't want the art to be too far from it since it is what fans have most verbally praised. I am going to be redesigned the Beverly sprite. Once it is finished, I'll post it here to see if you guys like it. Once my new art style is set in stone, I'll have Wilfred and Sutter redrawn to match the new style.

Programming: I've been designing a new feature for the game. It hasn't been named yet, but the feature is a journal of sorts. Upon first meeting an NPC or encountering an enemy in battle, they'll be added to this journal. It's sections will be: Party (Playable Characters), Enemies (Villains in the Storyline), Bestiary (Enemies fought in battle), and Others(NPCs). Character pages listed in the journal will include a detailed description of them and your involvement with them. As their story unfolds with you, more will automatically add to their page. Bestiary pages will include a detailed description of them also. I plan to implement a 'Scan' skill that, when used in battle, adds the target enemy's weakness and strengths to their journal page.

• Scripted the journal array storage so that all of its party (name, location, age, past, etc.) are easily accessible.
• Added the journal to the main menu commands.
• Created the Scenes and Windows necessary for the journal, though they are mostly empty and featureless at the moment.

In what way exactly?

Would you say that you like the new art as well and just feel there is too much of a difference? Or are you saying you think the older art is better and you wants the new zombie to resemble it more?

I'd really love feedback on that before we do a lot more art. The older art is from an artist I only had for a short time before he became too busy to help on the project. He won't be coming back. My current artist I feel is nearly as good despite this being her first time with pixel art. We're trying to emulate the style of the older art however, because its what people have pointed out as liking about my project the most. Let me know what you think!

EDIT:
Here is a side-by-side comparison for everyone to use as reference -


There's obviously a difference. I'd just like to know if everyone dislikes the new art, likes it just as much, or whatever. I'm sure we can tweak the art a bit to fit more the other style. However, if everyone loves the new art as well (or better) then we can simply redraw Sutter and Wilfred to match the new style. What's your opinions?

[Surprise:]

Thanks, Angelbait!

Surprise:

My artist and I have finished our first piece of in-game art! The following is the still sprite of Beverly (an NPC in Brookstone Cemertary, the first town you encounter).



That is how she will appear in game at 1x resolution of 64x64. If you want to look at her in detail though:



Stay tuned! I'll be posting art now weekly (hopefully) as well as still updating you on my progress with programming.

[Devlog #014 - Tuesday, January 29th, 2013]

Devlog #014 - Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

Sorry for the less than usual updates these past two weeks! Today I have media for you. More specifically, Concept art! The pixel artist and I have been working together a lot. Tomorrow we'll be taking our concept art and putting them into pixel form. For now, however, I have four characters to introduce to you, as concept art. Each of these are just sketches in pencil and the picture are taken with a phone, but its something!


Bandit (Enemy)
The bandit is a low level zombie enemy you encounter in Brookstone Woods. He fights with a butcher knife, wearing only his bandana and tattered shorts. He has a chance to drop "Tattered Shorts" upon defeat.





Beverly (NPC)
In life, Beverly spent all her time keeping herself beautiful. In death, not much has changed. It's just harder. She is a non-player character that wanders Brookstone Cemetary.





Chester (NPC)
This large man has had his fair share of human brains, back in the day. Thanks to the shortage though, he sits against a wall next to a sewer grate in Brookstone Cemetary eating rats all night long.





Sampson (NPC)
Strangely enough, Sampson is the oldest of zombies in Brookstone Cemetary. You can often find him regaling youngsters with stories of the good old days when zombies had integrity.

Yeah, I personally really enjoy grinding in this type of game, but I agree that it should be forced upon the player. It's going to take a lot of fine-tuning during game development, but I plan to make the exp progression in areas range from "Hard" to "Easy". What I mean by that is: If the player completes an area quickly (and thus not encountering a mass of enemies) then the boss battle may be hard (due to lack of exp), but it won't be impossible. They'll need to strategize, but they should be able to do it. If a player decides they want to grind however, they can end up fighting the boss with ease. Now, I don't mean it would be extremely easy. Just not hard. The exp curve of each area will hopefully only range between those two. Playing Lost Odyssey (on 360) I noticed the EXP in areas slowed down a lot once you reached a couple levels higher. Thats what I hope to accomplish. It kept you feeling a little challenged the whole game, but not overwhelmed.

Thank you! I had meant to include a link, but somehow it slipped my mind. I'll add it to my original post and the topic's first post.

Thanks for your further feedback! :D I'm still unsure if I'll post my unfinished screenshots yet, but chances are I eventually will. What I will definitely post soon though is concept art! My artist is hard at work designing certain NPCs and enemies, so I'll be sure to share her concepts!

[Update:]

Update:

I've been working mostly on stuff for the game outside of actual programming and designing this week. The artist and I have been working back and forth on the game's art style. She'll be doing the art for characters, icons, enemies, etc. I'm still looking for an environment artist to do the tilesets. If you're an artist who would like to help, PM me as soon as possible!

As for actual designing of the game, I've mostly just done some reorganizing of the menu system to make it more streamlined. Originally the Item Menu contained subcategories and each contained more sub-categories. I cut it back so it's just "Items, Armor, Weapons and Key Items". I'll be redesigning the skill menu to do the opposite. Currently it's simply "skills" and "unlock". I'll be seperating those into their own menus with each having a few categories of skills such as "Offensive", "Defensive", "Summons", etc.

Also, I made a Feedback thread for feedback on my ideas and to collect opinions on RPG features in general. Pop on over there if you want to share your views (or just post them here)!

[Battle Encounters:]

Thanks for the feedback Widget! :D

Battle Encounters:
Personally, I like both random/non-visible encounters and touch/visible encounters equally. When trying to design the system, I had to decide between the two. Funny enough, the engine wasn't a factor to me. I've so heavily modified scripts that I could easily pull it off. The deciding factor was art. I am not an artist at all and this game is already too big. The amount of art assets I need worked on is enormous. I wanted the in-battle enemy sprites to be bigger. So having field sprites for every enemy also would add in a ridiculous amount of art. Exceptions will be certain bosses of course and recurring characters that you fight in special events.
I haven't played those, but I've read a lot about them. That's an interesting concept! I'll have to see if I can include something like that in my game. I'd like to note that I do have a system where if you're a certain levels higher than the enemies of the area, then the enemies hide. In other words, if battle would just be a nuisance without much reward, it will not happen. That can of course be turned off in the menu though.

Sound Effects:
I feel the same way. I'll likely include a sound effect that is unirritating, and just have an option to turn it off. If feedback shows later that its unnecessary or annoying I'll scrap it.

Other:
I completely agree. I decided from the beginning that the gameplay will be unaffected by the comedy element of the game. I want the gameplay to be high quality while the dialogue and item descriptions are what hold the comedy.

[Battle Encounters:]

I have a devlog here but I wanted to make a thread specifically for feedback on features or ideas I'm not entirely set on. If I add any new features that are strange or unique I'll be sure to post them here to ask for feedback, but I'll also be asking opinions of ideas and the J-RPG genre in general.

Before you look at any questions or give feedback, keep in mind:

• This is a 2D game from the above perspective. Think old Final Fantasy games.
• Battle is turn-based.
• I don't want normal enemies to be visible on the main field.
• I'm making this in RPG Maker VX Ace. I know that usually games made using RPG Maker turn out very cut-and-paste with barely anything making them look or feel different. Don't worry though, I am working very hard to make it extremely set apart from RPG Maker games. All graphics in the entire game are made by my artist, and pretty much every script is heavily modified. Honestly, even at this point in development, the game is set apart quite a bit from the engine's norm. The reason I'm using RPG Maker VX Ace in the first place is because it's very convenient. Things like the database and map creation are much simpler to work with.

So here are the things I'd like to bring up for now!

Battle Encounters: - I am a very traditional RPG player. I love random battles. However, there are a lot of people that hate them. I'd like to hear what type of encounter system you guys prefer. What I know for sure is that no enemies will be seen on the field and the battle system will be turn-based. My question is: Should it be entirely random? Should battle happen at specific spots on the field but give much more experience? Or what other system would you reccommend. Currently, battle happens randomly. On average somewhere between every 30-50 steps. However, if your level is a certain number above the enemies in the area, they hide from you and random battles do not initiate.

The Name: - I chose Zombie Quest as the name of my game because its fairly straight-forward. You immediately know it involves Zombies and it's likely an RPG because it involves a "Quest". Lately, I've been wondering if they name is the right one. The only other name I like though would be "The City of Brains". That almost sounds like a game about scientists or something though. Do you have any suggestions? More importantly, how do you feel about the name Zombie Quest?

Sound Effects: - Most old RPGs or retro-style indie games have sound effects every time a letter is typed on the screen. I've always found this extremely annoying. For instance, I love Cave Story, but the loud beeping every time a person is talking to you on the game gets really aggravating. So, my current plan is to not have that at all. What do you guys think though? For you, are those sounds nostalgic or helpful in any way?

Other than those questions, what would you love to see in my style of game? What have you liked in other games my style? Do you have any complaints or praises in regards to what you've seen in my devlog about the game?

[Devlog #013 - Saturday, January 12th, 2013]

Devlog #013 - Saturday, January 12th, 2013

• Now, when actors are being commanded in battle, they step forward so the player knows who they are commanding. I'm still trying to decide if I should keep their name highlighted in the status window even though its no longer necessary.
• Fixed a glitch causing the characters to fly off screen if their TP was full. O_O
• Made system messages more easily distinguishable from NPC chatter in the dialogue system.
• Added the game's first "summon" called "Rage". I haven't decided if they'll actually be called summons or something else yet. However, I have decided that they will be the same as other skills but more powerful (and more costly). Summoning one of them will show an animation of the summon appearing, then doing his attack, then disappearing. Summons will also have a cooldown, making you only able to summon them once a battle (subject to change).

Other news: I may now have a pixel artist! At least for sprites and such. I may still need an environment artist. We'll see. Also, the questions I posted in the previous update are still open, so let me know your opinions!

The problem is that your walls/background have shading and minor detail, while your sprite is very flat with no shading at all. Both of those are good styles, depending on your game. However, using a sprite with no shading and backgrounds with shading make the character look out of place and awkward. This is why everyone always says never to mix resolutions.

So, if you're trying to make a Link to the Past style game, I'd take a look at the style of their sprites and try to copy that style while still making your character original and unique.