RODEN'S PROFILE

I've kind of avoided commenting on this, not cause I think my opinion is unwelcome or anything, but because it might be somewhat unfair. Now that others have made some rational comments and suggestions however I feel like I can share my two cents.

Basically, if you were to ask me "Do/Does X matter in a game?" my answer would always be a definite yes, at least in terms of the major aspects like plot, characters, atmosphere, graphics, music, game-play, etc. I guess it comes from being a perfectionist with a ridiculous standard of quality, but I'd say that you should try to make everything in your project as good as humanly possible.

In terms of graphics, the way things work out is pretty set in stone. As Racheal said, games with sloppy graphics don't look professional, and it dissuades people from checking them out. Having adequate graphical and mapping skills generally works out fine, but I'd say that you should strive for much more than that. Having a unique atmosphere or graphical style that's done right not only helps the game look professional, it makes it stand out from the crowd. If the game stands out, it makes sense that more people will take a look at it, and you'll get more feedback because of that.

I guess what I'm saying is just "The more you give, the more you get." Like I said though, I'm a perfectionist. I know for a fact that the "Everything MUST be perfect" style of design isn't super helpful in the long run. You shouldn't spend all of your time perfecting a single game, you should get it as good as possible and release it. Being able to finish something that's even in the "above average" category is an achievement in itself, and you can always improve your skills in your next project.

I'm sorry if that was really rambling. I'm not good at explaining things.

That's much clearer.

EDIT: Some content:



Working on recreating the environment of World 1, this time with some upgrades. Trying to put in some more colour, and more detail. Ignore the unfinished party sprites, I still need to put those together.

@Craze: It looks great so far. Everything is organized very nicely, and the way the shop progresses (with the +100 Essence per skill) is a nice way to level things out. If I had to be that guy who throws out the super nitpicky comment though, I'd say that the faded faces aren't really faded enough. Maybe like, another 10% or something? I don't know, it probably won't cause any problems since you'll remember who has what skills anyways.

I actually haven't sat down and watched a lot of anime the whole way through. The only ones that I've seen entirely are Gurren Lagann, The Big O, Hellsing, Trigun, Power Stone, Evangelion (ugh), and I think Trinity Blood & Utawarumono as well. I also watched the entirety of Yu-Gi-Oh for nostalgia's sake, and Yu-Gi-Oh GX (against my better judgement, at the request of a friend).

If I had to explain what makes a great anime it would probably be the same core things that make a good movie or game. Characters, Story, Music, and Artistic Design. That's why The Big O and Gurren Lagann still remain my favourites, they just ooze perfection in those categories (with the exception of season 2 of The Big O, of course. Season 1 overshadows it and makes up for it though.) I would say that Trigun is really good as well, but once you read Trigun Maximum it stops being a great show and starts being a poor adaptation.

Things that I can't stand in anime would be annoying characters (Evangelion), forced moral dilemmas (Evangelion), and a confusing, misguided plot that likes to believe its really deep (Evangelion). All jokes aside, if you want to know what I don't like in anime you can pretty much look at NGE and have your answer.

EDIT: I'd also like to point out that all of the anime that I've really enjoyed seems to have a "magic number" of episodes: 26. I don't know what it is, like I said, I haven't watched a lot of anime, so maybe that's why it seems to be a trend. I need to research this more.