And we’re back! 
GDC was a energetic, exciting and exhausting experience as always, but this time I was travelling with the Bit Collective crew from Winnipeg. They’re a great group of guys and we had a lot of fun meeting a ton of new indies and presenting the Winnitron at the New Media Manitoba booth in the Expo hall. Kert Gartner captured timelapses of our trip; this first one really captures the frantic energy and time compression that we experienced at GDC:
New Marian Postcards
Right before we left to GDC, Ashley put together three scenes of brand new Marian art that we could use for postcards. Ordering the cards turned out to be stressful, and I ended up going with an American company and shipping the finished postcards to Derek Yu’s house in SF. The results were worth it -- the cards are printed on nice thick stock and they’re glossy on the game artwork side.
The Marian postcards we handed out at the Winnitron/Manitoba booth
Based on how many cards we had left, I think we handed out over 200 of them at GDC. We have some leftover that we’re putting up for sale on the IA store. We’re almost out of two of the three types, so if you’re interested -- get in there now. I can also sign your cards if you specify that! Unfortunately Ashley can’t sign them because she’s nowhere near Winnipeg. (although we may be getting some Ashley signed goods up in the future)
Let’s take a look at these new postcards…
This one you may have seen before, but the composition is a bit different and you can now see that more is going on here. This area appears fairly early in the game.
Support the Game by Buying this Postcard: “Balcony”
This area currently appears early in the game; it may or may not in the final version. It combines a number of neat ideas.
Support the Game by Buying this Postcard: “The Bedhills”
This area will probably appear later in the game and may have something to do with the last Marian Mondays post.
Support the Game by Buying this Postcard: “Spring”
How Does She Do It?
Ashley uses a pretty neat and time consuming method to create her game art, that involves first sketching on paper, scanning those in and eventually coloring in Photoshop. For a new and in-depth explanation of her process, check out the new post in Ashley’s art corner.
Feedback
Through GDC and various forum discussions around the internet, we’ve been collecting feedback on the new art. Most of it has been positive, but we’ve received some useful critiques and some confusing negative feedback as well. We’d like to try to understand what some of this negative feedback is about so that we can fine tune the look of the game while we’re still able to be flexible in that area.
If you’d like to help us out with this, please let us know which of these postcards looks best and tell us why in the comments. The more detailed and precise you can be with your feedback, the more useful it will be to us.
Which postcard do you find most appealing? Please give us the details in the comments. Thanks!
Loading ...We want the game to look as good as possible, but we also want it to have a unique style. I really like working with Ashley because she has her own vision for the game that meshes with and expands on my own.
We appreciate any and all feedback you may decide to give us on our journey to complete “Marian.”
Jesse Chounard wrote a Comment on March 7, 2011 at 5:17 pm
For some reason, I can’t vote on the poll. (The Vote button is grayed out.)
My favorite is The Bedhills. I’ve already ordered the postcards, but if you put together a poster sized version of that one, I’d buy that too. These images make me very excited to see the game in action.
Alec Holowka wrote a Comment on March 7, 2011 at 5:28 pm
1: Poll vote button should be fixed now, thanks for pointing it out!
Kert Gartner wrote a Comment on March 7, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Hey Alec! Here’s my thoughts! I know I had some quick comments at GDC, but here’s a more elaborate explanation
The Bedhills is by far my favourite of the three. I think the reason I’m drawn to that one more is because (to me anyways) it feels the most complete of the three and had a really good balance of detail and depth.
Comparing the three together, I really like the way that there’s a subtle sense of detail in the clouds in Bedhills, and there’s some nice depth cueing fading out the windmills into the distance. It might be interesting to add a subtle blur/depth of field into that shot to see if that helps pop the foreground elements out even more.
If you compare Bedhills to the Spring image, it feels like the spring image has almost no depth, and it’s hard to figure out what’s in the foreground and BG. The FG reeds/grass is a solid flat colour and lacks some detail that I’d expect to see in something that’s in the FG. It’s also very sharp, which is confusing since you’d expect it to be a little defocused if it is supposed to be that close (which could justify the flatter colour). The background also lacks some detail, and there doesn’t seem to be any depth cueing on the reeds/grass in the BG. I know it’s supposed to be in the BG, and the lighter green helps, but I’d expect it to be tinted a little more yellow to push it further into the BG.
Basically, I think my main criticism of Spring is that it feels like it’s all on one plane, and it’s hard to imagine where the action is going to take place. I don’t really know where to look since it looks like everything is on the same plane.
As for the Balcony image, I think it’s really cool. I wish there was as much detail in the mist at the bottom as there is in the clouds in the Bedhills image. Even when the buildings are silhouetted, it would be nice to hint at subtle detail in those buildings. Though the three buildings in the BG are getting smaller, they’re all the same colour and look like they’re at the same depth. That might be the case, but I’m assuming the intention was to make them all at different depths. If they each be blended back a little more each building would be pushed into the BG that much more, and have a more convincing sense of depth.
The other little nit-picky thing that bugs me about the Balcony image, is there’s some weird perspective thing going on on the balcony. It’s almost like the top right point is being curved up a little and that it’s a little off-kilter. That might be part of the design, so that’s cool, but my eye always goes right to that point, since it feels a little off to me
Anyways, overall I think they look really cool. I just think the Balcony and Spring images could use a little more love to get them up to the same standard that’s’ set by the Bedhills image
Again, just my $0.02 
Na wrote a Comment on March 7, 2011 at 9:29 pm
Damn it! I wanted the Balcony postcard, but now they’re all sold out!
Any chance of adding more?
Ben wrote a Comment on March 7, 2011 at 10:55 pm
I agree with most of what Kert Gartner pointed out: mainly in that the background and foreground elements are cluttering together and there is a little bit of weird perspective on the balcony. I think the top 2 cards are the strongest artistically, but I’ve always thought that the Balcony picture had the best “feel” to it. Kind of a “Little Nemo” vibe.
The other thing that really stands out to me are the hard black pencil lines. I’m not sure if this is a design decision to make the player instantly aware of where the platforms are, but I keep focusing on them. I’d much rather see her keep the lines, but continue with what she did on the flying chicken in the Bedhills picture (colorize the lines to take some of the contrast off of them).
Of course, all of this is only my opinion. Keep up the good work and I’m a huge fan of the podcast.
Alec Holowka wrote a Comment on March 7, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Thanks for the feedback, folks.
Ashley and I are talking about it and it’s been really helpful so far. Keep it up!
Nathan wrote a Comment on March 8, 2011 at 8:38 am
I’m voting for the Bedhills. I tend to like scenes that fit the “green grass blue sky” motif. The balloons, windmills and clouds evoke a light & airy feeling as well. One thing that is a bit confusing upon reflection is the mixture of the pillow clouds with real clouds… or maybe I’m just thinking about it too hard.
David K wrote a Comment on March 8, 2011 at 10:54 am
It’s interesting that Balcony is currently winning in the poll, but Bedhills has the most comments.
I voted for both – it was a toss-up. The reason I really like Balcony has to do with seeing things glowing in the distance. One of my favorite types of scenes is a city waterfront at night: you’re seeing this bustle and activity, yet because you’re viewing it at a distance, you’re removed from it. There’s a heightened sense of serenity in being distant from it, perhaps.
Balcony doesn’t have a major city, bu you can see the various structures in the distance. For a video game, it gives a sense of excitement; a feeling that maybe you’ll be headed there, some time later in the game. There’s also the starry skies, which is always nicely atmospheric (and again in games, you occasionally wonder if you’ll be headed there, too). The fireflies are also atmospheric.
Perhaps it could also be summed up by saying that people are naturally drawn to dramatic, high-contrast lighting. It’s appealing and pulls you into the game (as long as it’s not over-done).
Others have discussed Bedhills a lot, so I’ll be a bit more brief on that one – you have rolling hills in the background, and a nice, cloudy sky. Again, it’s a serene scene, atmospheric enough to draw you in, and limitless enough to make you feel like there’s a lot to come.
“Spring” is the odd one out, and having written what I did, I can understand why: whereas Balcony and Bedhills both offer a relative view to “infinity distance,” Spring is very closed by comparison. I can imagine that it’s limitless, but I can’t see it. It’s quite beautiful and I like the look of it, but because of the closeness of things it doesn’t give me that serene, atmospheric feel that the other two do.
Who knew so much psychology could go into the art of games
Even though I didn’t remark on it, I did notice the careful attention to details in all three images. They are all impressive – very nice work, Ashley!
Heather wrote a Comment on March 8, 2011 at 5:07 pm
I can’t decide and I want to get all three of them! Will any of them not be sold out soon?
Vieko Franetovic wrote a Comment on March 9, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Great work Ashley! Love them all. Here’s some comments:
BALCONY: fully realized direction, appealing, I feel safe, makes me float, reminds me of what my dreams should look like when I wake up, I could pour hours on a game like this. I suspect most votes because it is familiar.
BEDHILLS: strange mix, lots of personality, whimsical, makes me uneasy, good layering but could be better, 30 somethings may relate best to this direction
SPRING: feels light, can hear the wind, the heavy strokes confuse me, makes me want to explore
Cheers!
Mike Kime wrote a Comment on March 9, 2011 at 11:19 pm
I have one of the balcony cards thanks to swink…. It really caught my eye.
Its pretty bent up but it’ll do.
Who did you go to for printing? (sorry if that info is on this site already)
Now hurry up and do more podcasts so I have something to do while I’m extruding polys
hehe.
Alec Holowka wrote a Comment on March 9, 2011 at 11:36 pm
Mike: overnightprints.com
Steven Duncan wrote a Comment on March 11, 2011 at 1:46 pm
what song is featured in the video? I liked it a lot!
Kenneth Plasa wrote a Comment on March 11, 2011 at 3:49 pm
I prefer the “balcony” postcard, because of its detail and atmosphere. Although i much more like colorful ones, like the “bedhills”. but the “bedhills” area doesn`t give me the taste of a world like the “balcony” image, because it just looks more like a screen part of one of the “moorhuhn” shooting games. i love “spring”, but the “spring” postcard doesn`t give me the wonderful and different colors, flowers, meadows, birds and insects (ladybirds, butteflies, bees …) blue sky and sunshine, that “spring” does mean for me: the world comes to life and blossom after a cold and grey winter.
FellaDudeMan wrote a Comment on March 13, 2011 at 11:26 pm
Hello! Cool video guys!
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Well, for the record, I think all of the pieces are cool, but I definitely picked Bedhills. You’ve mentioned before that you guys are aiming for a storybook quality to the work, and when I look at the Bedhills shot, it gives me the biggest throwback to artists like Winsor McCay and Blanche Fisher Wright, even stuff like Thief and the Cobbler or Yellow Submarine. Like those works, the Bedhills scene puts a greater focus on simpler color planes, and invokes depth through mostly color contrast, placing oranges and reds for the foreground, greens for the middle ground, and very muted colors for the background. The other pieces attempt a similar thing ,of course, but I feel as if their use of color doesn’t invoke the same depth without heavier rendering, or seeing the game in motion. Like, in Balcony, if not for the misty effect, the balcony and the background objects would be much harder to discern, because they’re both still very close in color. Bedhills is probably the busiest looking of the images compositionally, but my eyes have no problem moving around the image thanks to the use of color. Use of simple color was such a big deal in classic storybooks and comics, that it should definitely be a big focus of Marian’s approach imo.
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Anyway, it does excite me to think that Marian could be like a playable Blanche Fisher Wright illustration, but I look forward to seeing how you guys develop it whichever routes you choose. Good luck!
Mikko piironen wrote a Comment on March 21, 2011 at 10:38 pm
i actually didn’t know you switched to 2d until like yesterday, but do you think it might be harder to sell a 2d to microsoft or sony (hopefully sony) or some other publisher?
Jabberwok wrote a Comment on March 23, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Balcony is my favorite, for a number of reasons. For one, it looks more like an actual playable space. Bedhills is interesting to look at, but more so as a piece of art than a scene from a game. Balcony has a lot of separation between fore and background that gives it a sense of depth. I think the silhouettes help this along a good bit, and are intriguing in what they leave to the imagination. I also prefer the color palette and lighting in Balcony. The darker shades create a more interesting mood, and I like the use of lights and atmospheric effects. The other two are interesting, but I don’t think they evoke emotion to the same degree. And I think the separation between background and play space is important.
Raemon wrote a Comment on March 27, 2011 at 6:16 pm
I was at GDC but didn’t know you were there or where to find you. Aww.
I like the color aesthetics of the Balcony, but I don’t like the wobbly line styles. The latter two are both nice, but I think I prefer spring. I feel like the lines feel… I dunno, more deliberate?
One major concern is distinguishing between background and foreground. Spring is the only image where I feel like I’d be able to easily tell in game what objects I can interact with, what is background, and what is a wall. (One of my few complaints about Aquaria was that it was often hard to tell the difference between the foreground and background).
Katholay wrote a Comment on April 1, 2011 at 3:15 am
I totally adore the Art Nouveau elements and styling in Balcony and Spring.
Spring is cute but very different, I like the chicken thing, the sky is especially lovely, I really dislike the thing with the stalk and eye, the feathers are nice but it’s kinda ugly – and this game could be very beautiful. Please keep everything pretty.
Teal wrote a Comment on November 8, 2011 at 5:28 am
I love all three of the artwork samples. I voted for Spring because I love the art nouveau feel and the colour choices there. But it was a hard choice – Bedhills has a delightfully whimsical feel that I really enjoy (although it’s a bit hard to really work out what’s going on – it works more for me as a pretty image than as an environment to interact with), and Balcony is a beautiful scene, but it’s more reminiscent of art I’ve seen elsewhere – it doesn’t have quite the same originality and flair, to my eye, that the other two have. That said, it’s the most polished-looking of the three, I think.