Topic: November 2014 Castlevania Dungeon Sprite Contest

[Shiroi Koumori]

Contest Details (modified from the original sprite contest page):

Duration: From now until November 30th
Deadline for submissions: November 27th
Judgement: by tribunal from November 28th to November 30th at midnight and Winners announced on the morning of December 1st

Volunteer Judges:

-Uzo
-darkmanx_429
-theANdROId

Theme: Design an original Dracula end boss sprite!
Prizes: Award medals for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.

Guidelines for Participants:
-Provide your sprite in 1x and 2x zoom at least.
-No color, size, style restrictions. (yeah, big sprite addicts would love this)
-Contestants may submit as many entries as they like and each one will be evaluated individually.
-Contestants may update their entries freely before the submission deadline.
-You may withdraw any entry at any time before the judgement begins.

Guidelines for Judges:
-judgement will use a point system.
--4 points awarded for your first place choice.
--2 points awarded for your second place choice.
--1 point for your third place choice.
--When posting your scores write up an explanation/critique of your judgement.
--Additional rounds of judgement will be used for tie breakers.
-Judges cannot participate in the contest.

Entries:

Jop

(click to show/hide)

Its my best try to make a creature, im not good on this:



I wanted he looks like a goat, some aspect of a bat and a Dragon, i think i can make it better but i think its okey for now, hope that find something to make it better XD

theplottwist WINNER

(click to show/hide)

OK, this is my entry:





This is Dracula final form in the 1999 battle, if the game were made by me: Dracula's Spirit. The TRUE boss here, though, is the Crimson Stone. The sprite is cut like that because this form is an entire level. But I kept the main sprite itself separate.

Read the whole concept (along with something else I did) here, at your own risk:

(click to show/hide)

Using a combination of the power of the Hakuba ritual inbued in the Vampire Killer itself, and Charlotte Aulin's knowledge of the "multilayer quantum-space barrier", Julius is able to use it to enter Dracula's mind, so he can find and destroy his connection with the Castle, in a reverse twist of Brauner's paintings in Portrait of Ruin.

The battle happens inside Dracula's psyche, a vast sea made of the blood of countless impaled humans with the castle looming over them. All this blood represents the souls of these humans. The scenario is the "will of the artist", but in this case the canvas is Dracula's mind, and the artist is Dracula himself.

In this dimension, Dracula's distorted spirit can be found, and is composed of a wolf, a bat and a demon, and in his hands, he holds the Crimson Stone, which he uses to draw his power from the Castle, and also is his weak spot. He's buried in heaps of the human souls he absorbed and enslaved along the centuries. These human souls, in turn, are submerged in the sea of blood.

It's all very symbolic, considering this happens inside Dracula's own personal dimension. The concept comes from "Whip's Memory" which has its own dimension inside its supposed psyche, with a full fledged Richter Belmont inside, and again, from Brauner's paintings and how Charlotte and Jonathan could enter it to destroy their core source of power.

The goal is to destroy the stone between his hands, which connects Dracula's soul to the Castle. The Castle in the background represents the connection Dracula has with it inside his spirit/mind.

When Julius approaches, he's able to climb the small hill of souls and hit the stone. After hitting enough times, Dracula reacts.

Dracula has some attacks: The wolf head is able to vomit spheres made of blood to hit Julius when he's near, the bat is able to flap the wings very fast so he can send Julius flying far from the Stone, and the demon head's forehead eye can shoot spheres of energy towards Julius' position that explode when making contact. The Stone itself can shoot red lighting bolts towards Julius, and can create waves of bats made of energy that hit multiple times (Akin to Dracula's "Bat Moon" attack on Order of Ecclesia). The Stone can also heal itself by absorbing Red Zombies (Which are human souls summoned to attack Julius).

Everytime Julius attacks the Stone, the Castle in the background can be seen "phazing" in and out of reality.

Near its destruction, the Stone summons a doppelganger of Walter Bernhard made of human souls, and shields itself, so only after destroying "Walter" it can be attacked again.

When the Stone is destroyed, the Castle in the background suddenly disappears, symbolizing the broken connection between Dracula's Spirit and the Castle, and Julius is kicked back to reality.

Also, this is why Julius loses his memory: This is the price to pay for entering Dracula's own psyche to fight him, to lose a little from his own mind.

I even imagine his musical theme to be "Arch Enemy" from Harmony of Dissonance, remixed to use a lot of Kingdom Hearts' style violins.

And yeah, I made a mockup representation of it:



That's it dudes! I REALLY loved this challenge, as I always wanted to create a Castlevania final boss! Making everything took me a whooping 10-days time.

Dracula9 2ND PLACE

(click to show/hide)

Added highlights to his horns, a small bit on the wing I'd neglected before, and brightened the interiors of his wings.



This is to be considered my final entry.

Mod: reference on the in-game version:

(click to show/hide)

(yeah, yeah, double-sized healthbars, sue me)

Donvermicelli

(click to show/hide)

I hopefully fixed some of the issues in my entry.

kaonstantine 3RD PLACE

(click to show/hide)

Ok, So am I  the last contestant? 

A rejuvenated, strong and fast Count Dracula was my idea. I'd wish to add more details, like more armor parts, and complete fine details, but the deadline is almost here, so this is the final look for this thing. (I started to make this sprite around 10-12 days ago).

(click to show/hide)

[darkmanx_429]

I'm available to judge again.

[theANdROId]

Basically copied from where I said it in the other thread...I think an end boss is not the type of thing I should start with, but if you still need a judge, and if it doesn't matter that I haven't designed my own sprites before, I'd be glad to judge this one.  I think I could be a fair judge...I love the "pixelated" style and I'm a quick learner if there are certain "specifics" or "details" I should know...but if those of you with more experience at spriting think it would be a bad idea, I don't really have grounds to argue I think.  But again, I'd be glad to do it, as well as look up anything those with experience feel I need to know to do the job.



EDIT: Shiroi, I just saw your comment here...if, by this, you mean I shouldn't judge either (because I'm not experienced) that's fine.  I don't mean to be nit-picky, but just say that directly so I know I'm not just reading something into your comment.  I won't be offended, I promise!  Otherwise, I'd still be glad/willing to be a judge.

[Shiroi Koumori]

I'll be adding both of your names on the list.
@theAndroid: judges dont need the experience. My comment pertains to people who would create the sprites.

[darkmanx_429]

Basically copied from where I said it in the other thread...I think an end boss is not the type of thing I should start with, but if you still need a judge, and if it doesn't matter that I haven't designed my own sprites before, I'd be glad to judge this one.  I think I could be a fair judge...I love the "pixelated" style and I'm a quick learner if there are certain "specifics" or "details" I should know...but if those of you with more experience at spriting think it would be a bad idea, I don't really have grounds to argue I think.  But again, I'd be glad to do it, as well as look up anything those with experience feel I need to know to do the job.



EDIT: Shiroi, I just saw your comment here...if, by this, you mean I shouldn't judge either (because I'm not experienced) that's fine.  I don't mean to be nit-picky, but just say that directly so I know I'm not just reading something into your comment.  I won't be offended, I promise!  Otherwise, I'd still be glad/willing to be a judge.

Nice to have you aboard Android!

Give yourself some credit bro, technically anyone with any drop of artistic talent could judge a contest.

It's all subjective man!

[Jop]

Its my best try to make a creature, im not good on this:



I wanted he looks like a goat, some aspect of a bat and a Dragon, i think i can make it better but i think its okey for now, hope that find something to make it better XD

[darkmanx_429]

Its my best try to make a creature, im not good on this:



I wanted he looks like a goat, some aspect of a bat and a Dragon, i think i can make it better but i think its okey for now, hope that find something to make it better XD

Not bad Jop, Remember what I mentioned about dynamic posing in your entry in the last contest?

Look at how mythical creatures like Satyr or even Pan from LOS. Look at how they stand. Your sprite could benefit from that type of stance. It gives a sense of weight and it won't be just standing dead-on.

Also, I would add a character sprite for scale in relation to your creature.

[theplottwist]

I can't wait to submit my entry.

But I must work on it juuuuuuust a tiny bit more.

[theplottwist]

OK, this is my entry:





This is Dracula final form in the 1999 battle, if the game were made by me: Dracula's Spirit. The TRUE boss here, though, is the Crimson Stone. The sprite is cut like that because this form is an entire level. But I kept the main sprite itself separate.

Read the whole concept (along with something else I did) here, at your own risk:

(click to show/hide)

Using a combination of the power of the Hakuba ritual inbued in the Vampire Killer itself, and Charlotte Aulin's knowledge of the "multilayer quantum-space barrier", Julius is able to use it to enter Dracula's mind, so he can find and destroy his connection with the Castle, in a reverse twist of Brauner's paintings in Portrait of Ruin.

The battle happens inside Dracula's psyche, a vast sea made of the blood of countless impaled humans with the castle looming over them. All this blood represents the souls of these humans. The scenario is the "will of the artist", but in this case the canvas is Dracula's mind, and the artist is Dracula himself.

In this dimension, Dracula's distorted spirit can be found, and is composed of a wolf, a bat and a demon, and in his hands, he holds the Crimson Stone, which he uses to draw his power from the Castle, and also is his weak spot. He's buried in heaps of the human souls he absorbed and enslaved along the centuries. These human souls, in turn, are submerged in the sea of blood.

It's all very symbolic, considering this happens inside Dracula's own personal dimension. The concept comes from "Whip's Memory" which has its own dimension inside its supposed psyche, with a full fledged Richter Belmont inside, and again, from Brauner's paintings and how Charlotte and Jonathan could enter it to destroy their core source of power.

The goal is to destroy the stone between his hands, which connects Dracula's soul to the Castle. The Castle in the background represents the connection Dracula has with it inside his spirit/mind.

When Julius approaches, he's able to climb the small hill of souls and hit the stone. After hitting enough times, Dracula reacts.

Dracula has some attacks: The wolf head is able to vomit spheres made of blood to hit Julius when he's near, the bat is able to flap the wings very fast so he can send Julius flying far from the Stone, and the demon head's forehead eye can shoot spheres of energy towards Julius' position that explode when making contact. The Stone itself can shoot red lighting bolts towards Julius, and can create waves of bats made of energy that hit multiple times (Akin to Dracula's "Bat Moon" attack on Order of Ecclesia). The Stone can also heal itself by absorbing Red Zombies (Which are human souls summoned to attack Julius).

Everytime Julius attacks the Stone, the Castle in the background can be seen "phazing" in and out of reality.

Near its destruction, the Stone summons a doppelganger of Walter Bernhard made of human souls, and shields itself, so only after destroying "Walter" it can be attacked again.

When the Stone is destroyed, the Castle in the background suddenly disappears, symbolizing the broken connection between Dracula's Spirit and the Castle, and Julius is kicked back to reality.

Also, this is why Julius loses his memory: This is the price to pay for entering Dracula's own psyche to fight him, to lose a little from his own mind.

I even imagine his musical theme to be "Arch Enemy" from Harmony of Dissonance, remixed to use a lot of Kingdom Hearts' style violins.

And yeah, I made a mockup representation of it:



That's it dudes! I REALLY loved this challenge, as I always wanted to create a Castlevania final boss! Making everything took me a whooping 10-days time.

[Jop]

OK, this is my entry:





This is Dracula final form in the 1999 battle, if the game were made by me: Dracula's Spirit. The sprite is cut like that because this form is an entire level. But I kept the main sprite itself separate.

Read the whole concept here, at your own risk:

(click to show/hide)

Using the power of the Hakuba ritual inbued in the Vampire Killer itself, Julius is able to use it to enter Dracula's spirit, so he can find and destroy his connection with the Castle.

The battle happens inside Dracula's psyche, a vast sea made of the blood of countless impaled humans with the castle looming over them. All this blood represents the souls of these humans.

In this dimension, Dracula's distorted spirit can be found, and is composed of a wolf, a bat and a demon, and in his hands, he holds the Crimson Stone, from which he draws his power and also is his weak spot. He's buried in heaps of the human souls he absorbed and enslaved along the centuries. These human souls, in turn, are submerged in the sea of blood.

It's all very symbolic, considering this happens inside Dracula's own personal dimension. The concept comes from "Whip's Memory" which has its own dimension inside its supposed psyche, with a full fledged Richter Belmont inside.

The goal is to destroy the stone between his hands, which connects Dracula's soul to the Castle.

When Julius approaches, he's able to climb the small hill of souls and hit the stone. After hitting enough times, Dracula reacts.

Dracula has some attacks: The wolf head is able to vomit spheres made of blood to hit Julius when he's near, the bat is able to flap the wings very fast so he can send Julius flying far from the Stone, and the demon head's forehead eye can shoot spheres of energy towards Julius' position that explode when making contact. The Stone itself can shoot red lighting bolts towards Julius, and can create waves of bats made of energy that hit multiple times (Akin to Dracula's "Bat Moon" attack on Order of Ecclesia). The Stone can also heal itself by absorbing Red Zombies (Which are human souls summoned to attack Julius).

Everytime Julius attacks the Stone, the Castle in the background can be seen "phazing" in and out of reality.

Near its destruction, the Stone summons a doppelganger of Walter Bernhard made of human souls, and shields itself, so only after destroying "Walter" it can be attacked again.

When the Stone is destroyed, the Castle in the background suddenly disappears, symbolizing the broken connection between Dracula's Spirit and the Castle, and Julius is kicked back to reality.

And yeah, I made a mockup representation of it:



That's it dudes! I REALLY loved this challenge, as I always wanted to create a Castlevania final boss! Making everything took me a whooping 10-days time.

Oh my god, this is awesome, its a perfect work.

[Gunlord]

That is AWESOME!

[Dracula9]

I like that he's crying. Bloody Tears joke aside, that's some symbolic shit right there.

[Shiroi Koumori]

@theplottwist: WHOA!! That sprite should have a game.
I could totally imagine that mock-up as a real game. ooohhhh... april fools idea~

[Dracula9]

Yeah, seriously. I had a similar idea (in appearance, not backstory), so now I'm not sure what I'm gonna do.

[VladCT]

OK, this is my entry:





This is Dracula final form in the 1999 battle, if the game were made by me: Dracula's Spirit. The TRUE boss here, though, is the Crimson Stone. The sprite is cut like that because this form is an entire level. But I kept the main sprite itself separate.

Read the whole concept (along with something else I did) here, at your own risk:

(click to show/hide)

Using a combination of the power of the Hakuba ritual inbued in the Vampire Killer itself, and Charlotte Aulin's knowledge of the "multilayer quantum-space barrier", Julius is able to use it to enter Dracula's mind, so he can find and destroy his connection with the Castle, in a reverse twist of Brauner's paintings in Portrait of Ruin.

The battle happens inside Dracula's psyche, a vast sea made of the blood of countless impaled humans with the castle looming over them. All this blood represents the souls of these humans. The scenario is the "will of the artist", but in this case the canvas is Dracula's mind, and the artist is Dracula himself.

In this dimension, Dracula's distorted spirit can be found, and is composed of a wolf, a bat and a demon, and in his hands, he holds the Crimson Stone, which he uses to draw his power from the Castle, and also is his weak spot. He's buried in heaps of the human souls he absorbed and enslaved along the centuries. These human souls, in turn, are submerged in the sea of blood.

It's all very symbolic, considering this happens inside Dracula's own personal dimension. The concept comes from "Whip's Memory" which has its own dimension inside its supposed psyche, with a full fledged Richter Belmont inside, and again, from Brauner's paintings and how Charlotte and Jonathan could enter it to destroy their core source of power.

The goal is to destroy the stone between his hands, which connects Dracula's soul to the Castle. The Castle in the background represents the connection Dracula has with it inside his spirit/mind.

When Julius approaches, he's able to climb the small hill of souls and hit the stone. After hitting enough times, Dracula reacts.

Dracula has some attacks: The wolf head is able to vomit spheres made of blood to hit Julius when he's near, the bat is able to flap the wings very fast so he can send Julius flying far from the Stone, and the demon head's forehead eye can shoot spheres of energy towards Julius' position that explode when making contact. The Stone itself can shoot red lighting bolts towards Julius, and can create waves of bats made of energy that hit multiple times (Akin to Dracula's "Bat Moon" attack on Order of Ecclesia). The Stone can also heal itself by absorbing Red Zombies (Which are human souls summoned to attack Julius).

Everytime Julius attacks the Stone, the Castle in the background can be seen "phazing" in and out of reality.

Near its destruction, the Stone summons a doppelganger of Walter Bernhard made of human souls, and shields itself, so only after destroying "Walter" it can be attacked again.

When the Stone is destroyed, the Castle in the background suddenly disappears, symbolizing the broken connection between Dracula's Spirit and the Castle, and Julius is kicked back to reality.

Also, this is why Julius loses his memory: This is the price to pay for entering Dracula's own psyche to fight him, to lose a little from his own mind.

I even imagine his musical theme to be "Arch Enemy" from Harmony of Dissonance, remixed to use a lot of Kingdom Hearts' style violins.

And yeah, I made a mockup representation of it:



That's it dudes! I REALLY loved this challenge, as I always wanted to create a Castlevania final boss! Making everything took me a whooping 10-days time.

Welp, contest over. gg no re. Good job everyone. :V

...Seriously though, is there anything that can top this? Wonder if Don's got something up his sleeve...