Looks bad - (avatars)

[redtom]

I'm not trying to be rude or anything but the avatars just look awful, I'm not saying the game its self is bad as because i can't possible judge that at this point, and the rest of the graphic side of things looks okay. It's just the avatars look like a let down, personally I would postpone the opening dates for a while and sort the out because at the minute they look ugly to say the least, and this is the main thing your users are going to see and remember.

[Kimber]

I'm sure that you'll change your mind when you see the further designs - Only one example has been released so far.

[MrPinkPanther]

Yeh i've gotta agree with Tom. I think that although Kazopark as a whole looks well thought out the graphics, in particular the avatars, look fairly amateurish. I think one of the largest problems is the lack of lines, it prevents the objects from being properly defined against the background.

[Kimber]

Presently we've not yet released any previews of how the avatars look within the client. What you must bear in mind is that we design everything at 200% to ensure that everything is the best quality it can be. We then swap to 100% for treehouses, and 50% for public rooms (Spring/Summer).

For the moment you will have to trust us that we have spent a very long time ensuring that everything within Kazopark matches and nothing looks out of place. Just because a static image (which is mostly to show examples of clothes) does not have borders/lines, you shouldn't assume that there is a lack of this when you're inside.

I can assure you our developers have not overlooked the concerns you both may be having. I believe that an example of the avatar(s) within the client will be a Screenshot of the Day shortly.

[MrPinkPanther]

I'm talking about images such as this:


Several of the objects either have very light lines or no lines at all offering no real definition. The lack of proper shading only adds to this effect. In my personal opinion, others may disagree, it makes it look very cheap and amateurish. If you expect to go up against Habbo then you need a polished finished product, in my opinion your concept is there, your graphics are not.

[redtom]

Also some little things



1. To me it looks kinda werid the sand is going into the tree but the tree is above the sand, its just blags my head, not sure if others will see what I mean.

2. Is that a shadow? There are no shadows anywhere else, seems a bit odd just having shadows on only a few objects and no all.

3. Them logs look really good

[Kimber]

I'll reply to both at once - Give me a few moments.

[redtom]

Looking forward to see the screenshot btw thanks for the quick replys

[Kimber]

Also some little things



1. To me it looks kinda werid the sand is going into the tree but the tree is above the sand, its just blags my head, not sure if others will see what I mean.

2. Is that a shadow? There are no shadows anywhere else, seems a bit odd just having shadows on only a few objects and no all.

3. Them logs look really good

Firstly, I’m going to emphasise I’m not involved with the designing of graphics or the coding part of Kazopark – We have people that are employed fulltime for that, however each and every item/room that is designed goes through the approval process which I am a part of.

Now onto your points – Your first point is about the sand seemingly disappearing under the tree. This is down to issues that we had with allowing avatars to walk behind “objects”, and as such the tree stump that you’re highlighting is indeed on top of the sand. I think that this is unfortunately emphasised due to the sand, when compared with the grass, however at present we do not have any work around for this. This is unfortunately a technical workaround.

Secondly –Having seen the sandcastles without the shading they are very, very hard to tell that they even exist. We played around with changing the colour, but then it looked like there were two different types of sand. Adding a bolder border than the current, light, white version also looked very out of place. It’s also worth baring in mind that the sandcastles are somewhat new, as initially we had a mini-golf course where they are now, but we had to pull that due to time restraints on the BETA (which means it’s possible the sand section may not be staying there permanently, as a hint)

Finally, I believe that if you like our attention to detail on the smaller items you will indeed like many, many of the items and rooms that we have ready for the BETA release. I can assure you that we have gone through everything with a fine-tooth come, and every comment brought up here or through our contact form is followed up.

I'm talking about images such as this:


Several of the objects either have very light lines or no lines at all offering no real definition. The lack of proper shading only adds to this effect. In my personal opinion, others may disagree, it makes it look very cheap and amateurish. If you expect to go up against Habbo then you need a polished finished product, in my opinion your concept is there, your graphics are not.

You'll need to experience the client first hand before you fully understand why certain items are blended into the background/purposely not defined as a separate item (the sandcastles being a key example). Whilst I can’t comment on other companies specifically, we are fully aware of the need to shine and once again, that is why we are not releasing everything at once with our BETA to ensure we can fix issues that may arise with some of the graphics/how it plays out before we dive into offering as much as similar sites.

Whilst I can't give out full-size screenshots of the Alpha, I'll post in here tomorrow an example of the Autumn room with how items are defined which is cut down to the above size. It’s very nice to see you’re taking a critical eye to our work, however – This is exactly what we’re looking for during our BETA before we launch our full release version.

[MrPinkPanther]

Ok, cool. Thanks for replying!