Drawing is hard. Especially when you’re trying to make a good-looking game.
I’m trying to best to draw the best graphics for Zabuyaki. I’ve always liked drawing, both on paper and on computer. But I ended up being a programmer, so I don’t have that much experience or proper training when it comes to drawing.
I always end up noticing flaws in my drawings. Sometimes, looking back, I see a certain pose is simply plain ugly or uninspired. Above everything, consistency is hard. Like, I notice the hands of one of my characters are too big in a certain animation, or the legs are too short in another one, etc. This leads me to keep updating my stuff until I’m satisfied. I realize it’s a waste of time, so I try to get it right the first time around. Also, whenever I feel the urge to redraw something, I force myself to draw some new graphics first, to make sure I keep going forward, and don’t end redoing stuff all the time. Otherwise we’ll never be done.
Anyway, this is what Zabuyaki looks like now:
Sometimes, I like to take a break and see what other people draw. It’s often a depressing experience, as I realize my stuff is shit. But if I want to get better, a reality check is needed.
I could dig up great-looking sprites that have been posted on DeviantArt, but let’s stay focused on actual games. Specifically, beat ’em ups with SD graphics, because that’s what Zabuyaki is.
Here’s Crows — “The Battle Action for Sega Saturn”. An old beat ’em up (almost 20 years old now) based on the manga Crows.
I haven’t played the game yet, but the graphics look amazing to me. I love the big sprites, large pants, and colorful graphics (I wonder if Zabuyaki needs higher color saturation, as it really looks grayish in comparison). The animation, however, is sometimes a bit choppy or weird, so there’s room for improvement.
This is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World — the game.
I haven’t played this one either, but Paul Robertson’s art is always on point. His stuff is generally a bit too flashy or crazy for my tastes, but the graphics and animation quality are both top notch.
This is Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds.
Yet another game I haven’t played. It looks great, but again, I like my games less flashy and more epileptic friendly. And I can’t see the appeal in having thousands of item drops. The fact it has 2 planes (front and back lines) instead of the ability to move freely vertically is kind of a turndown, too. But the characters are very cute and move very smoothly.
Now for something pretty obscure. Here’s an untitled and unannounced (as far as I know) beat ’em up by Yes Ido. From what I gathered, it’s mostly just mockups, not an actual game yet. Still, it looks breathtaking. And just like Zabuyaki, it involves gopniks!
Now, if you scroll back up and look at the Zabuyaki screenshot, you might have a look of disgust on your face (or maybe you already did in the first place). But we’ll keep trying to improve our game visuals as time passes, to try to catch up with all these games. That said, we know graphics are not everything, and we’re spending most of our time making sure our gameplay and controls feel great.
Are you an artist (either on paper and/or on computer), and would you like to help us with Zabuyaki? Hopefully you can draw better than I can! If you’re serious about it, drop me a mail at stifu at free dot fr, and we’ll try and see if we can get you on board!
Let’s conclude this post with bad art! Streets of Rage 2 is a timeless classic. When it was brought back on the 3DS, Sega (or was it Sega?) drew a few new frames for some characters, for the ending sequence:
I’m talking about when Axel looks behind him, and when the heroes wave at the screen in the final scene. These animations are so bad, it’s embarrassing. To think Sega decided to shut down a great project like Streets of Rage Remake, only to come up with such mediocre content.
Oh, and to think they censored Mr X’s cigar back in the days, while now we have Garcia playing with himself in a manhole. What a time to be alive!
