[ARTWORK] Milo's Museum

[Milo]

No art, but another/more game idea(s).

 

Was in a discussion at the Sega Forums on whether the Genesis Sonic gameplay could be adapted to a 3D space, and in response to a fellow member's points on why it is not possible, I decided to jot down some ideas I had been juggling in my head for a while in response to address his points. Here goes...(and I was actually writing/drawing these ideas down on paper too!...)

 

"Though I admittedly am not going to come up with a permanent solution on the spot, I am going to try to address these issues (which you bring up speed, timing, and directional movement) with a potential idea I have been cooking up in my head as a potential solution for some areas.

I have actually been bouncing ideas off of my head recently as to what a Sonic game, done in the style of Super Mario 3D Land/World would be like. I'm bringing those games in this post (and did in a previous post) because the main goals of those games was to combine the traditional side-scrolling mechanics of the 2D Mario titles with the free-roaming gameplay of the 3D titles, or alternatively -and more relevant to this discussion-, as Shigeru Miyamoto himself put it, "a 3D Mario that plays like a 2D Mario game."
One thing in particular I've always took notice of those two games was it's use of it's camera system. Unlike past Mario games where the camera, by default, was usually not too far behind the player at a more "traditional" third-person angle, the camera for these games, from what I have seen in screenshots and gameplay, was usually in an angled top-down position by default. Few if any times do I recall the camera shifting to the traditional "third person" perspective in standard occurrences. Not only that, but it was also usually at what I'd argue was a "2.75D" perspective-it was positioned in a way that the camera was behind Mario, but it was typically at an angle that allowed him the player to see what was approaching him from directly in front of him as well as from the side from his left or his right.

I'm bringing up the camera because I think that if a camera similar to it could be done in a Sonic game, it could serve as a potential solution to some issues in adapting the Genesis gameplay to a 3D world. I consider it, in a sense, as to viewing Sonic as billiard/pinball on a pooltable/pinball table, or to a lesser extent Sonic 3D Blast/Flickies's Island, though the camera would obviously not be in a similar manner.
- One of the usually brought up arguments about it is that the speed would make it hard for the player to see what's in front of Sonic, especially when it came to controls. An 3D World-esque top-down camera I think could work against this problem by giving the player at least enough of a view to see not only where Sonic goes, but also his surroundings from a close or medium distance around him. Even if Sonic is not only running fast, but also increasing in speed or making sharp turns at fast speeds, if the 3D World-esque camera is programmed to keep up with Sonic's speeds (much like the camera is able to keep up with Sonic regardless how fast he goes in the Genesis games-though there are exceptions in which it shows Sonic nearly outrunning the camera in levels that emphasize speed like Chemical Plant) and stay at a fixed distance (so that you don't have any instances in which Sonic runs up a steep hill and the camera, in an attempt to keep up, suddenly "phases" through the hill), the player shouldn't have too much of a problem pulling a split-second move that could keep Sonic from getting hit by a approaching hazard like one would do in the Genesis games.
- I feel such a camera could also work in terms of combating the issue of momentum-based physics too. The player would not have much (if any) difficulty making Sonic jump on and land onto a interactive object, whether it be a spring, a badnik, or a monitor. Even better if one makes sure to make good use of a character's shadow to their advantage-knowing where the shadow for Sonic can go would allow one to better land on their target and see where Sonic moves when he bounces off said target. Rolling and bouncing off objects likewise ties in with the aforementioned speed-the camera angle allows one to see where they are going and if programmed to do so keep up with their speed (which, in regards to bouncing, would also be able to keep up with where a character movies in the "z" space/"3D vertical" space in addition to a "x" and "y" / "2D horizontal and vertical" spaces, as I recall you talking about in past posts-it's crucial that the camera can keep up with Sonic's quick ascents/descents in height without losing it's fixed perspective).
- A camera of this type I think would also allow one to make use of level design seen in the Genesis games. Echoing the "pooltalble/pinball table" perspective view I mentioned, I feel the best way to describe how levels would be designed would essentially depend on terrain. "Environmental levels" would be designed, in a sense, like a golf field. Terrain would be essentially be hills and pits of varied slopes/heights, dictated by various trope levels (tropical, jungle, beach, etc.). Then you have "manmade levels", which would be in a sense like a series of highways. Like the hills, one can mostly see straight lanes of level design of varied angles, also dictated by trope levels (city, factory, plane, etc.).
- One final thing I'd like to note that this camera in such a position can still run into flaws, namely if the level design shifts to an area the camera may not display, or the player runs into a small-cramped space that the camera may run into some problems displaying it (i.e. you might see a "wall" until you can get Sonic out of that area). I think a way to combat this would give the camera some levels of customization. Aside from allowing the player to shift the camera to different perspectives if necessary (my idea was an "eight way" position in terms of how it focuses on the player), another thing would be to allow (though temporary...probably, or maybe it can be toggled, I'm not too sure) two additional camera perspectives in height-a "closer" perspective that moves to a "traditional" third-person perspective - (this can be very useful for if Sonic gets in small secret spaces), and also a "farther" perspective that pulls back quite a bit-so Sonic can get a good look at his immediate surroundings, as well as his surroundings at a good distance away (I feel this can be very useful for areas where Sonic could get stuck in a pit and the camera could tend to whack out a bit out of confusion).

Again I don't think this is/these are (a) perfect solutions, it's/they're just some ideas I've been kicking around for a while on how the Genesis Sonic mechanics could break through the polygon ceiling and properly be adapted to a 3D playground. I am interested to hear your feedback as well as others if they're interested."

 

That last bit also applies for the rest of ya'll reading this. :U

[Milo]

 

I always thought the Random Access Memories album art looked similar to the Sonic and Knuckles boxart...

[Milo]

Platformer Concept 11

 

[Milo]

Tab's Sunset Dash

 

 

 

[Milo]

Something old, something new.

 

This one was something Dr. Crusher suggested to me when I was taking suggestions on what to draw a while back. Sonic 3's Penguinator, but as a tank! Brilliant!

 

 

I have no idea what I was doing with this one. At least the Penguinator T-800 made sense...

 

[Milo]

Limbonochrome Forest (feat. Marlowe and Wynnie)

 

[super saiyan weegee]

I just want to say real quick that you've got a lot of good stuff in this thread. Like I really like your style, and all the ideas and thingies you have here are cool. So yeah, man, keep up what yer doin'.

[Milo]

OK so you know the drill-server wipe = all posts with art made after July 16th is kaput. I plan to repost most stuff, but not right away. For this post, I am going to show what I would consider the "highlights" of my art from last year, and some of my recent/new stuff.

 

Platformer Concepts 12-16 (16 may be a workprint) and 8 Color (in that order. All except for the possibility of 16 are the final versions).

 

 

 

 

SSMB Avatar Collab stuff-the workprint of Part II (with still Crow and Xenos to go), and the "finished" avatars I have from both parts (The Joker, Dr. Homem, Can of Nothing, Classic Sonic and Jessica and Robinson for Spin Attaxx, and Cobra Commander for Blue Wisp - all in that order).

 

 

Last but not least, practically everything I've posted from the start of 2015 so far:

 

Wynnie the Marlowe and the Blustery Day

 

 

A sketch I did based on suggestions made on February 15 (that status is likely lost forever now...)

 

 

Tab (OC of mine)'s recent design tweak-largely involving the addition of hair among other things.

 

 

And my (as of this post) newest piece: Wynnie and the Comet

 

 

Future posts will have recaps of all of the other drawings of Tab, Marlowe and/or Wynnie, and game concept sketches I made over last year, until then enjoy this treasure trove of stuff. =)

[Milo]

Bump. I've been working on the avatar collabs, and I think I can safely say I can finish and release the next slew sometime this month. I've also had a fair amount of things I've drawn but are sitting on the backburner.

 

Until then, here's a sketch of Wynnie and Marlowe I colored (one of six I did, again I'm putting it off to focus on the avatar stuff). Actually did this a while ago but....you probably know the answer by this point.

 

Wynnie the Tease

 

[Milo]

Two finished SSMB avatar commissions for tonight. Planning to finish and upload the rest of what I've done tomorrow (even though today was yesterday and tomorrow is today as of this writing, if we want to get into technical terms...). I've got Felix and Enderwoman's commissions-Kiki (& Jiji too) and Samus!

 

 

[Milo]

Here's the rest of the SSMB avatar commissions: Riku and Draven (KHCast and Blue Wisp / ARIA Wisp, respectively); Megaman (Soniman), and The Eleventh Doctor (The Eleventh Doctor).

 

 

---

 

Technically, I still have three more commissions to do from the original request-I still have Shrek to do (as requested by Homem and Pink Cat), as well as Crow and Xenos (who made his request much later). A bit of explanation required for these-while I actually did draw Shrek in the second part of the original drawn commissions (the ones on paper), I was dissatisfied with the proportions with the proportions enough to decide to do that one by scratch. Meanwhile Crow and Xenos...I admittedly haven't drawn at all yet-a result of switching from me constantly changing how I wanted to do the commissions, and putting them off to other material. Mind you, I still aim to get all three done, though I want to take a brief break from commissions and finish some other stuff I have in the queue.

[Milo]

Some new stuff I did over this week.

 

Sonic And Co-op Ideas. ...not much to say about this one, pretty self-explanatory. Might had missed or overlooked some stuff so I'm all ears to responses. (And if you guys conveniently missed the misspelling of "applies" I'm pointing out right now, that would be fantastic :V).

 

 

Marlowe Has A Torch Sword. Was originally a sketch testing out shading and another tweak to Marlowe, but I decided to try and be funny again...

 

[Milo]

Marlowe Has A Torch Sword, now in living, flaming, fiery color!

 

[Milo]

Remember what I said about the previously-posted Platformer Concept 16 possibly being a workprint? Well, that one is now, as I decided to color it:

I still have quite a few more platformer concepts in the pipeline! That said, there are still some other things I gotta work on.

[Danj86]

Good to know you haven't hung up your pencil Gabe. Although in this day and age, some people probably don't draw with a pencil anymore...I still do though...

Anyway, keep the ideas coming. It's those that create new ideas with sheer determination that make the next big thing. 

[Milo]

Thanks for the encouraging words, Daniel. (:-)

Well, well, well. Another new Platformer Concept-#17! This one takes to the skies, where you travel through aerial waterslides to explore islands that reside on huge clouds!

The workprint (original scan) is here too, which has Wynnie and Marlowe as well as some elements of the original designs for the islands that were changed for the final version.

[Milo]

 

Do Not Adjust Your Set-conds

Geddit? The phrase (as said back in the old days) is “Do Not Adjust Your Set”, and in this picture Wynnie is adjusting her watch, so I sorta mashed the words together because set and seconds both start with the letters “ se”….eh, forget it.

Moving away from the pun, this was largely done for the purposes of experimenting with sketches, body construction, and color shading. I don't think I got what I was exactly hoping for with the shading with this picture, but I think I have an idea of how I want use my colors/shading in the future.

[Milo]

Earlier last night I mentioned in the statuses I compiled the parts of what was my early attempt at level design --Apogee Armada Act 1, which I originally drew two years ago-- into a singular piece to view. Since the map is rather big in size, I recommend clicking this link to see it in full. That said, you can get the idea of how it looks of it in the linked picture below.

On that note, earlier today I got around to putting together the pages that comprised of the second and third acts of the same stage. And as a bit of a bonus, an even earlier attempt at a jungle level (dubbed Jumpy Jungle) I made as well. You can see all three of those below as well.

[Milo]

Shape...the future. Tape...the future? Tab...the future? Ehhhhh, I'm not very good at punning a bassline.* Anyway:

...anyway, this was supposed to be presented as just a sketch I made a few weeks ago (especially since the proportions are a bit naff), but then I decided add a little color. Somewhere along the line I got bored and decided to put a bit more amount of effort into it. :v

*I'm hilarious

Edited August 29, 2015 by Gabe

[Milo]

I initially said I wasn't going to upload the workprints of my Platformer Concept art before the final versions anymore (I actually drew this months ago), but I made an exception as don't think the final versions for this one will be seen anytime soon. I'm currently trying to figure out a different method for coloring my stuff, and I don't think I'll be putting out much until I'm satisfied with what I make, hehe.

Anywho, here's the workprints of PCs 18 (level set during autumn / fall), 19 (dessert / candy level), and 20 (jungle level).

[Milo]

Attack of Tab Clones

A comic concerning edgy evil doppelgangers I drew well over a year ago or so. I'm actually a bit not too happy with how it turned out, due to the character proportions and I felt the facial reactions could had been better drawn. I was actually contemplating posting it as it is, or redrawing it completely (which I still might do, but not for a long time).

[Milo]

More level theme concept / level design stuff, but don't worry, I have something different too!

Platformer Concept 21

 

Thoughts / description in spoiler below:

 

I was actually mulling over the thought at ending or putting on hiatus my Platformer Concepts series, but during that mulling I ended up hacking out one more anyway. I was experimenting with this one quite a bit, as I based the platforms around construction blocks rather than drawing them in. The general idea behind this one was to have some more detail on it, but that sorta faded when I started to grow bored of it.

This one's supposed to be a meadow level (of sorts) set at night, with the player having the choice of either going into the river below, or using the platform sticking out of the water and use it to grab onto the grass growing on the ceiling of the jagged rock structure on the right. The general design for this one was based on Aquatic Ruin from Sonic 2, as well as the forest levels of the Donkey Kong Country series.

I'm still experimenting with coloring techniques, and I still have a few older platformer concepts to color (to say nothing of other non-PC related stuff I intend to do)....so needless to say, don't expect to see to see the final version anytime soon.

 

Windmill Kay Level Layout

This is a basically a blueprint for a level map I created for a platforming level set in the forest, with windmills acting as the primary level gimmick. It's broken up into "breadcrumbs" of events that happen for each part of the level.

It was originally designed as a 3D level (you can even see the little 3D map I drew up out of it), but I decided to take what I had with it and draw up a 2D level map with it. That would be my Windmill Kay Level Map, which you can look at here (warning: it's big. Very big.).

And now, a step closer to finish what I started over a year ago!...D: another commission from my long gestating avatar commission project. This one's for you, Xenos.

Lee Everett (from Telltale Games' videogame adaptation of The Walking Dead). Unlike the previous ones, this one was drawn digitally, wasn't drawn on paper/traced. This one is a polished sketch (or at least I consider it a polished sketch, I spent a lot of time refining it) with the colors painted in, in contrast to the lineart and solid colors used in the previous sketches. After I finish the remaining two (hopefully later during this week and if necessary, the week following) I'm hoping to do more commissions, just not all / many at once like last time.

Edited October 11, 2015 by Gabe

[Milo]

Platformer Concept 18

I don't mean to toot my own (small) horn much, but I think this is definitely one of my better art pieces! I think this one is an improvement over my other artwork in terms of consistency of art tools (the ground is the only thing I feel is an outlier compared to the others), and I tried to make the general environment (specifically the trees and barn in the background) much more varied in their colors and details.

Click spoiler for more info.

While the tree stump and hay piles in the middleground in the original drawing are now gone, they've been replaced with leaves. Lots and lots and LOTS of leaves. I was originally going to draw a bunch of leaves for the original drawing, but I drew leaves piles instead as I was unsure how to draw them without it looking messy. I think the change brings it closer to my original idea (which I think establishes the autumn setting better than the leafpiles), without leaving the landscape barren at the same time. The ground path Tab is walking on is a lot more detailed too. Speaking of which, Tab now looks closer to his current design (a hat and has hair, among other things), and is now in a running position. The shape of the trees' leaf foliage in the background have been altered too, to look more like trees you would see in real life. The window and pumpkin near the barn is gone too, and the barn is more structurally symmetrical. The big tree with no leaves no longer has a hollow too...though I don't think that was intentional. I think I actually forgot to add that in. :I

(I also tried to make the pair of eyes a bit more obvious this time....for anyone who cares....)

I posted it in the statuses earlier, but I'm sure a fair amount of you guys missed it, so eh.

An OC I've been working on for a while. Completely unsure as to what I'm sure of her role concerning my other OCs, so far I've been drawing her with Tab and one other OC I've been drawing (he'll come later). One concept I've been bouncing around is that she's a friend who joins him on quests (no longer using that concept).

Here's a bio...of sorts...for her: The personality I've had in my mind for her is that she's supposed to be of the adventurer / scalawag type. She's not necessarily above the notion of swiping, and (as one can attest by the boxy, yet surprisingly lightweight sword sheath on her back) she likes swordfighting. She likes to research about various legends and unknown lands, so she's very likely to help you if you get stuck. She also however has a tendency to rush into things, "attack first, ask questions later"; and if she's the one to get stuck, she's conduct an Indy Ploy up on the spot...these unfortunately don't tend to work most of the time. She's also a bit cocky, thankfully she knows the proper time and place on when to use be cocky and when to be serious.

Small bonus fact: her design is based off the first design I came up for Wynnie.

[Milo]

Oh hai. It's been a while, hasn't it? First, here's the second-to-final chapter of my long-gestating SSMB avatar commissions project. Shrek, as requested by @Pink Cat and @Dr. Homem!

I actually decided to redraw this commission (rather than base it off the original drawing) from scratch because the proportions in the original drawing were kinda wonky. I also made sure to add some lighting/shading and extra details to this one, partially because I wanted to make the art look less flat and to make up for the fact that I took a long time working on and off on this particular commission. That just leaves President @Crow the BOOLET's  request left before I finally bring what I started to a close, I hope I can get his finished in a much shorter period than this one!

Also, here's a Sonic sketch I quickly rushed out back in January. If you've been going through  @Diogenes Draw Sonics Badly art thread, this picture may be a bit familiar.

[Milo]

This is actually something I had drawn months ago and was planning to color in (and still am). But I just wanted to post something to show that yes, I'm still here!

Abandoned Apparitional Adobe (WP)

(WP--short for workprint)

Marlowe and Wynnie got caught in the rain, and this was the only place they could find to take shelter...