ID:1800438
 
People on the forums are always stating that no one wants to make an original game and that the lack of original developers is leading to the problems in byond. However I am developing. The problem is that I can't find a pixel artist willing to help. It doesn't help that trolls constantly flame the game for using placeholder art from another resource. It's impossible to even find a paid pixel artist. Some of them are charging redicilous prices like 300 dollars per base with 6 complete states. The ones that have reasonable prices are either too busy or impossible to find. It's as if without being rich there's no way to develop a game anymore. I love programming and want to develop my game for byond which I have been working very hard on in the past months but because of the lack of art my work will always be unfairly judged and I will end up failing. Please someone offer some advice on how to fix this problem. Thank you.
Keep plugging away with placeholder art. If the game is fun, you'll attract an artist with a similar goal and a like mind.

Don't limit yourself to BYOND. Look on game development forums elsewhere on the net and pixel art communities.

$300 is what I'd charge for ~15-20 hours of work. I can usually manage a 32x32 sprite at one unique frame every 5-10 minutes, depending on the detail or complexity. That works out to about $2-3 a frame for 32x32.

Art's expensive, and that's just how it is. If you want to get art for free or dirt cheap, it's got to be mutually beneficial to both you and the artist. To do that, you are going to have to prove to someone that you are serious and that you are going to make something worth their time.

Keep working with placeholders. Don't look too far ahead, and keep working on your project a little bit at a time. Slow and steady wins the race.

my work will always be unfairly judged and I will end up failing.

Your work will wind up being unfairly judged no matter what you do, and there's nothing you can do about that. Don't let it make you quit, because if you are afraid of criticism, you'll never make anything to criticize in the first place. Better to make a bad game and learn from it than to spend so much time/energy worrying about making a good game that you don't even manage a bad one.

Don't expect to knock it out of the park on the first try. It takes a long time to learn enough to get things right, and you need to keep moving or you'll wind up getting to the same point over and over again and giving up.
I like that Phat is working on what could be a neat original game. What I dislike, however, is that each update just showcases the same sprites, but no gameplay.

Character Creation unveiling

*Looks exactly like DBZ Onslaught*

The only thing so far I've seen different is the Quest Book, and Party Sprite.

Again, I like that you're putting effort. But to really make things seem different from Onslaught, perhaps we're due for a GIF? Or Video?
"I don't have a programmer" and "I don't have an artist" are bs excuses because the language is super easy and our 2 most successful games don't have amazing artwork. Hell, one of them doesn't even have a walking animation
In response to EmpirezTeam
EmpirezTeam wrote:
"I don't have a programmer" and "I don't have an artist" are bs excuses because the language is super easy and our 2 most successful games don't have amazing artwork. Hell, one of them doesn't even have a walking animation


This is probably the stupidest post I've read on byond so far. For one it may be easy for you but hard for others. Yes byond's not the hardest language and fairly easy compared to assembly and c level languages but that doesn't mean that it doesn't take a lot of hard work still to make an original game. Also just because two games exist that work without much artwork doesn't mean that every game can. Some people's games require art to shine. Path of Hero being of such type since the animations are a part of the fun. There's a reason why text based games have died. People like to see and graphics are important now more than ever.
^ I agree.

But yes, my post still stands.
Also just because two games exist that work without much artwork doesn't mean that every game can. Some people's games require art to shine. Path of Hero being of such type since the animations are a part of the fun. There's a reason why text based games have died. People like to see and graphics are important now more than ever.

It's not about being the best compared to everyone else. It's about doing your best.

We're all novices here. It's more important to make something and learn from it than to beat the pants off of everyone else around you. A lot of developers around here get so caught up with making the next big thing that they never make a thing period.

Phat T, keep working. Build it, and they will come.
Arestocracy, too obvious man.
In response to Ter13
First of all I'd like to thank you for your optimism. Phat's been working very hard on Path of Hero and I think he would just like to see some art work as a motivation factor. As a programmer it's the satisfaction of fixing and completing a program to see it work "correctly" that keeps me going. This is the case for the majority of people who hold a passion for programming Phat T included. I think it's more of a desert or reward for the hardwork to see some nice graphics. But you're right in time it will happen as long as the game keeps improving and progressing. It's just sad to see so many nice projects on byond have been stopped developing but I have high hopes for path of hero.