Topic: November 2014 Castlevania Dungeon Sprite Contest

[Dracula9]

Ahhh. That would explain why you've been so aloof as of late, both here and on CVBla.

[Donoffrio]

But looking at what you guys did, damn.

Loving the Dragon Drac there, D9.

But you all did awesome! 

[Shiroi Koumori]

#CastlevaniaDungeonContestDrama

This has to be a trending topic today.

I'M TIRED AND AND WORK I'M SORRY

Ah. Ok, you're forgiven.

Since I enrolled in my local University, life needs me more than ever. lol

You'll be back once vacation time comes.
Thanks to the music sprite awards as well. 

[darkmanx_429]

Theplottwist mentioned to me about this contest so out of boredom I decided to take a look at the submissions.

Shit

I actually already posted all the submissions in the Dungeon Bestiary so you can check them out there.

can you read??? 

December MUSIC contest is not equal to December SPRITE contest.
You judges will still judge for the December SPRITE contest.

Polls seem interesting, I'm down to try them out for January and see how they go.

On a side note, Drac9 I wasn't trying to downplay the situation or speak for Uzo. He can explain why it's taken him so long for this contest. Just so you know, myself and Android had our entries in the first couple of days of judging.

But I think the poll deal might eliminate stuff like this in the future...

[Dracula9]

*gets the dragon on image at the ready*

I feel like I'm gonna need this again before the day is done.

[Jorge D. Fuentes]

Why not both?
How about "Popular Vote" (via poll) counts as one of the Judges?
The poll locks the day a contest end.  Perhaps some contest can be decided "by Popular Vote Only"?

Gives the forum flexibility.

[Donoffrio]

@Shiroi Koumouri

Thanks Shiroi and no problem!

darkmanx_429

I actually saw them, thanks! 

[uzo]

I'll have my stuff up tonight. I got really sick so I've been laid out the past couple of days. Sorry for holding things up, but isn't the suspense making it exciting?

[Dracula9]

Ah, but mayhap the suspense has been



for too long, eh? 

[VladCT]

*tosses rotten tomatoes at Dracula9*

[Dracula9]

I nat-20'd my roll for Decaying Fruit Resistance last turn. I AM IMMUNE.

But in seriousness, you're fine uzo. We've basically just been dicking around in this thread in the meantime, so it's not like we're chomping at the bit for the results.

[Jop]

what happen here? well im going to keep with my sprite works.

[darkmanx_429]

what happen here? well im going to keep with my sprite works.

You should enter the new sprite contest.

I nat-20'd my roll for Decaying Fruit Resistance last turn. I AM IMMUNE.

But in seriousness, you're fine uzo. We've basically just been dicking around in this thread in the meantime, so it's not like we're chomping at the bit for the results.

Decaying fruit..sounds like a contest idea.

Also D9 I recommended 2 book for you in your other post on the off topic thread.

Why not both?
How about "Popular Vote" (via poll) counts as one of the Judges?
The poll locks the day a contest end.  Perhaps some contest can be decided "by Popular Vote Only"?

Gives the forum flexibility.

That is also a good idea. I really want to keep actual judges. You know how people can also scream favoritism in the Dungeon. I like the different rotation of judges so far. Nice to see how other artists view work here with the write ups. We should keep that. I don't want that to go away.

I'll have my stuff up tonight. I got really sick so I've been laid out the past couple of days. Sorry for holding things up, but isn't the suspense making it exciting?

Nice to see you alive Uzo. I figured it was probably something like that..lol

[uzo]

The results!

_______________________________________ ___________________________________
UZO

1st Place - 4 Points - The Plot Twist
From the moment I saw your entry I knew this was what truly embodied the contest theme. You hit all the points you needed, and gave it a haunting flair. The work is immediately and easily identifiable as Dracula. I think the way you did the imagery, the representation of the forms, the somewhat classic spooky skull face, etc, all lends to the identification of the character. The countless souls reaching up to the main body is also very haunting and symbolic I believe as if they’re the souls collected by the Crimson Stone reaching up to their captor. To top it all off the execution is just spectacular.


2nd Place - 2 Points - Dracula 9
I’m really impressed with how much you’ve improved over the years. Taking on this kind of contest was pretty ballsy. I have to give you some respect points for that at the very least. The scale is also very crazy, and really awesome to see. What pushed you down to second place can be summed up as not recognisable and execution.

While Dracula (or ‘Dracul’) has many ties to ‘the dragon’ I don’t think this piece really identifies itself as Dracula. To me it is indistinguishable from, lets say, a Zombie Dragon remake into SotN scale. I know you intended the red spot on the chest to be the Crimson Stone, but unlike The Plot Twist’s entry which also uses this feature, when you remove the Crimson Stone from the piece there isn’t any way to know it’s Dracula. I know the Crimson Stone is what ti is only because you told me. For The Plot Twist’s entry I know that is what it is because the piece is identifiable as Dracula, and I know this is a Castlevania sprite contest, and the added imagery of the red souls reaching up toward it. The difference is absolutely crucial.

Execution wise it’s pretty impressive in it’s own right, especially for the scale you took it. It does however seem to suffer from a look of early gaming pixel art. I’m not sure if it was your intention or not, but I believe pixel art has evolved and progressed beyond that amateurish look for a reason.

Regardless though it is a piece you can, and should, be proud of for sure.


3rd Place - 1 Point - Kaonstantine
Once again I feel conflicted about setting your work so low in the results. Your execution and creativity is ridiculously high among the contestants as it was in the last contest. I think once again though you’ve kind of jumped off the rails a little beyond the guidelines of the contest. However I couldn’t push you lower because the pure quality of execution just shines out among the other entries.

I really liked the design, and the crazy sickening imagery embodied by it. It really makes me think “The Dark Lord”. It is easily identifiable as Mathias, and I think that was really interesting. I actually didn’t feel that was a problem, nor any reason to push it down the list. Most of my contention was more along the lines of straying outside the bounds you would normally see for Dracula’s final form, as well as the piece resembling more of a full art piece than a sprite.

This is a sprite contest, and while your entry was indeed pixel art, it wasn’t much of a ‘sprite’. It lacks the smaller scale, and color stylizations, that would be associated with a sprite. This goes especially if we take the established Castlevania styles into consideration. Even when I imagine this design being scaled down to that size, I can’t imagine how it would transition well. More so I can’t really imagine what size it ‘should’ be even if it was to be turned into a sprite at any Castlevania sprite scale.

Had that not been an issue, you’d have easily taken second place at least.


Did Not Place - Jop
I can’t necessarily determine, without knowing it is suppose to be Dracula, that this is not just a normal enemy in a level, or a mid boss. It reminds me of the SotN Library boss, and the Inverted Alchemy lab fire demon enemies. It comes off as a ‘big’ normal enemy the most.


Did Not Place - Dovermicelli
For me the werewolf and bat wings don’t really jive. It feels like a really odd combination, even though Dracula rightfully should have both wolf and bat powers.


Did Not Place - ZeroSaberGreen
This entry is obviously not completed so I don’t really feel I can accurately critique it. If you happen to finish it I will be happy to amend my judgement for this entry (but it will not effect the outcome of course).


_______________________________________ ___________________________________
DARKMAN

1st Place - 4 Points - Dracula 9
I think that this entry speaks for itself. The time and energy spent on creating this monstrosity truly shows and I can see the passion flowing from this work.  I am a stickler for details and the itching on this creature’s texturing is amazingly done! It translates well on your mockup as well. This is definitely an advanced piece. You can even see the differences between the texturing of the bone of the nail to the scales of the dragon. There are even subtle details such as the cat eyes along the arms and the Crimson Stone. Dracula’s transformation into a dragon tells a story and that is good narrating and knowledge of theme. Its hard to believe that in the short time that you began on this contest that you still tried to get a tail in there!  The slight shift in color values is superb as well as your color choices.The only thing more you could do to this boss is to add animation to but that is just a nitpick and not required for this contest to take the gold!

2nd Place - 2 Points - The Plot Twist
You almost had first place again! It was a really close call for me because I love this piece! Honestly, if it wasn’t for the scale of the 1st place entry you would of won hand’s down. I think if I would had some animation to this piece you would of actually been able to beat the first place entry but I digress. This boss screams theme and is just awesome. The perspective of the wolf and bat and the positioning of the individual bodies just look amazing. To sprite is one thing, but to be able to sprite in multiple perspectives and make everything feel coherent is a master artist technique.You should really feel proud of this piece! The crying tears as an excellent nod to fans of the series and it also shows the great story-telling aspect of your work.  The creature coming out of the piles of the dead also has a subtle hint of Leigon. What I truly love about this piece is that shading on the aura of the hands I can totally see that energy blast starting to form in mind. Also your transition of the darker reds leading up to the body of the creature to the other parts of the body is amazing! Superb color choices and even better shading. 

3rd Place - 1 Point - Kaonstantine
Wow, this is an awesome version of Dracula. I believe if you had more time this piece could have been pushed even more, but that would be true about any entry. You shading is outstanding particular your shadows and light sources. The subtle touches where the flame highlights the wings and light the darker portion of the horned skull shows your artistic mastery. I am also a huge fan of your asymmetry, particular the knee pad decoration and the horned skull on one side.Your varied color tones and shading are amazing. You even have detailing in the face and it has a nice resemblance to the subject matter, particularly Mathias.This looks like a HD version of Dracula for a 2D Fighter similar to Castlevania Judgement.

Alternates:

Jop
I really really like this piece. Good color choices and shading. My only suggestion is for you to start experimenting on doing dynamic poses and also getting reference on your subject matter. You tend to do very well with your spriting on the torso and arms but neglect the bottom half of your characters. By doing this your characters tend to look static and dead-on posing (which is not the most ideal for posing characters). Also the illusion of weight plays a factor when doing creatures, monsters, etc. Remember my suggestion of looking up mythical creatures like Satyr or even Pan from LOS? Look at how they stand.Your sprite could have benefited from that type of stance. Maybe you should start doing just one sprite and  doing a variety of poses for just that on sprite. It’s tedious but I think would be a good exercise for you  especially since you have improved so much in such a short time. Also, don’t be afraid of adding animation to your entries to build your confidence. Some of your other animation that I have seen is starting to look really good.

Donvermicelli
This creature reminds me of the creature seen in Bram Stoker’s Dracula minus the wings. I really like the design.  I particular like the shading inside the mouth and inside of the wings., I think you could have pushed the color variance on the body of the character particularly between the areas with the fur and the smoother areas such as the torso and arms and feet. I understand that you normally don’t sprite so large, but this is a solid entry if this is the case that could be improved upon without any given time constraints. I would of also liked to see some additional texturing on the top of the wing that is further back. It translate to just black to me.

Zero Saber Green
What happened? I like everything about this piece to where it was going. Unfortunately it was not finished. Maybe you could finish it in another contest or just the sprite thread. That’s a fantastic looking player bar. Good 3d like effect with the wrapping and good color variation.  Also the particles on the energy boomerang is another subtle touch that works great. The shading on the boss as starting to look good. As a fan of hand drawn sprites, you should push yourself to finish this piece. I wouldn’t mind playing a fan-game drawn in this style.


_______________________________________ ___________________________________
ANDROID


Wow!  This...was...hard!  All of the entries are amazingly done, and for each of them I can imagine myself holding a portable system or controller and see myself playing against these bosses!  I don’t know if that’s a common feeling or not, but to me it speaks volumes about the talent of each of the artists and how well done are their entries!  It makes me wish “The Dungeon” was an actual game developer, and we could just design our own game using everything we have here.  I’m sure future contests are going to add to that feeling.  Great job to everyone!

1st Place - 4 Points - theplottwist
What you’ve created here is absolutely spectacular!  I have never imagined how any part of the 1999 game would look, but if Iga ever has he should come talk to you!  Your design of (and ideas for) this piece are fantastic!  It may or may not have been intentional parts of your design, but I love the symbolism I see in your entry.  The wolf and bat heads, the demon/dragon-like center head, the bloody tears, the legion of bloody corpses, and though they aren’t actually a parts of Dracula himself (and thus were not included in the reasoning for my judgments), the pieces you created in your background as well!  I really love what you’ve come up with here.  You revealed your hand pretty early, and many joked or truly expected they already knew who would be the winner.  However, that early reveal may have inspired some of your competition to step up their game, which made for some really amazing entries and some really difficult judging!  I deliberated for hours on how I was going to rate the top 3 pieces, and it’s really still a very close call!  You’ve created something amazing though, so congratulations on getting first place -- at least from me anyway!  Keep up the great work and awesome entries in contests to come!


2nd Place - 2 Points - Dracula9
This is an incredible entry...maybe immaculate even!  I don’t recall how many hours you said you’d spent on this project, but I think it shows!  The ornate detail in the carving of the nails, the variant shaping of the teeth, the patterned body -- all absolutely marvelous!  What really gets me about this piece is that when I imagine playing the game this is in, I never see it coming.  I’ve already defeated the “final” form of Dracula, I’m guiding my character back out and wondering why I’m still in control when the game is clearly over and BAM!  I get smacked in the face with one last battle against this guy!  This was in no way an easy decision, and my wife will testify that I reasoned this way and that for two days before I finally sat down to make a decision!  In the end, I hope my award of second place doesn’t make you feel like you wasted all of those hours.  I’m sure the practice has even further increased your skill in an area that, clearly, you already posses some pretty masterful talent!  You’ve also created something that I think we’ll all look at in years to come and still be amazed!  Way to go!  If you put half as much effort into an entry for the December contest, the Belmonts will be eating some amazing meals!

3rd Place - 1 Point - Konstantine
This is an amazing entry, and I especially enjoyed the various references/symbolic elements that you included.  The wings look awesome and are surely a nod to Dracula’s bat and dragon lore, the horns emphasize his evil/demonic nature, the upside-down crucifix as if to reference Lisa’s unfair execution, the fact that it pierces through Dracula, showing how it has affected him, the face on his greaves as if a Great Armor was sacrificed to forge them…perhaps my thoughts aren’t quite aligned with your original intentions, but I still appreciate the way you worked these elements into your piece!  Your overall work and shading is done so well that it looks more like it’s been hand-drawn with pencils as opposed to created pixel-by-pixel on a computer.  With everything you’ve already included I wish you’d had the time to continue a little further – so he could perhaps be…hmm…wearing some pants X-D, as well as to see what other features you would have added.  It doesn’t quite feel like a final form to me...maybe the first form of a Castlevania Judgment style game, or a second form of any other Castlevania game, but when I imagine myself beating this guy, I feel like I expect there to be a little more after I finish him.  In my mind there’s always one last form that is much less human and much more monster-like or demon-like.  But those are just a few of my personal thoughts.  Incredible work you’ve done here, and it makes me eager to see what else you’ve got up your sleeves!


Alternates:
Jop:
I can pretty clearly see the goat/bat/dragon look you were attempting with this piece, and it looks great!  I can easily picture your entry in a game, probably on a Game Boy Advance.  I can imagine myself playing that Castlevania game for hours, finally fighting your Dracula and wishing the game wasn’t over yet -- they are never long enough, are they?!!  Your original comment seems to hint that you might have been considering to continue working on it and later update your entry.  If that was the case, I wish you had!  You already do great work, and I think with a bit more time you can do greater work!  I hope you continue to practice and participate in these contests, ever improving your ability!

Donvermicelli:
Yours is another well done piece that reminds me of my Game Boy Advance and the many great games I played on it.  The way you colored/textured the hair on your entry sticks out to me -- it looks awesome!  The wings look pretty good as well, but there is something that seems off about them...unfortunately it’s something I can’t quite put my finger on. :-/  Other than that, I think you have a really great entry!  Whether I’m judging or not, I look forward to seeing what else you bring to the table!

ZeroSaberGreen:
Your entry sends me back to the Game Boy Color days, but that’s a great thing in my opinion!  I certainly don’t in any way mean your entry is sub-par or anything, and honestly I don’t know what about it makes me recall the GBC.  I looks like you have a pretty solid start here, but unfortunately you were unable to finish! :-(  I don’t know what happened, but it’s a bummer because I would love to have had the opportunity to see the whole picture of what you had in mind.  Don’t let this get you down though!  You’ve clearly got talent in this area, so stay involved in months to come, only then, make sure you push yourself all the way to the finish line!  You’ve got too much to offer to quit early!


_______________________________________ ___________________________________
TOTALS

1st - The Plot Twist - 10pts
2nd - Dracula 9 - 8pts
3rd - Kaonstantine - 3pts


Congratulations to everyone!

[theANdROId]

Congrats all!

On a side note, I agree with many of the sentiments about having a poll for contests.  It would be neat to add popular opinion poll as an additional judge.  However, to use this as the only means of judging, I'd be concerned as well that a time of low activity would affect the vote.  And while these are details that would be worked out if we tried to implement judging-by-poll-alone, my first thoughts were questioning exactly when you'd open/close it to ensure a fair amount of activity?  But again, if we really want to implement that we can figure out details at that point in time.
Also, while I can't speak for anyone else, I know I'd appreciate receiving the comments on my entry -- especially any tips/pointers/encouragement coming from those more experienced.  I could see a poll leading to less comments because everyone can vote really quickly and move on.  If it's not "part of the job" like it is for the judges, would people still do it?  Maybe...I dunno...just my thoughts is all.