Posts Tagged ‘COLTRAN Studios Art’
From the Cradle to the Grave
Ahhh, back at it again. It’s been a while since there’s been time to hit the blog, but with us wrapping up our first WP7 game, finally we can start to talk about things!
We are still waiting for our final release of “The Hearts of Men: Throne of Deceit” to get through the xblig review process. What a pain in the ass. Plain and simple. We’re hoping to release soon, and will have news forthcoming once we get through submissions. One of these days, you will get to actually see all the great efforts that came forward to bring a former Indie Game of the Week, to a Game of the Year! We extended this game far beyond its development time, with results that show throughout the game. Before revising the control scheme, we actually reached the final tier of entrants for the Indie Summer Uprising, but did not make the final cut. There’s so much to speak of thats new to the game, we’ll have to hold off until we are ready to release.
Besides all that XBLIG nonsense, we moved forward–by leaps and bounds. In the beginning of December, 2011, we decided it was time to get going, so we started development on our follow up game “Cradle to the Grave”, a sort of tower defense game. Having worked together for 2 years, Simon and I became the machine, and today we stand prepared to release the beta version of the game, just 2.5 months later. While THoM was a much larger game in some ways, our new agile method has turned us into a speeding bullet of development, cutting through all our shortcomings on our first game and allowing us to streamline production in unprecedented ways. Besides making a 50 level game with over 100 craftable items, numerous enemies and even cutscenes, Simon implemented a full backend that will allow us to connect users through social medias like twitter and facebook, as well as our own server to keep up-to-the-minute scoring and interactions. We’re doing it folks, and we’re doing it 100. We don’t know anyway different than to get better, and we can’t wait to unleash our next game, “Cradle to the Grave”, onto the WP7 and other platforms this spring, 2012. Very soon, we’ll be looking for beta testers and players alike, as well as releasing content.
We’ll be continuing to update and drop what content we can, and hope to hear from the community…we’re tired of sitting idly by and watching! We players in this game, and we want the ball!!! Thankfully, we are already seeing great results with “Cradle to the Grave”, so I’m sure we’ll be hearing quite a bit of feedback. MS has sent us phones, there’s some buzz going on, and we’re feeling alright. Being in that final phase of a game is truly painstaking, but shoot, pros execute in that last 5%–when they see the finish line, they start sprinting towards it. That’s where we are, and it’s what we’re doing. Now…where’s that pic I wanted to post…
From Sweden MS WP7 conference…with love
Alright, i’m officially pumped right now. Simon, our master developer and international genius went to the MS WP7 conference today, and got some amazing feedback on our current development. Without giving away too much (before he posts), I can easily say he was extremely effective. I guess being international can certainly have its advantages 
To say the least, we have MS themselves looking at our game–Kinect and Mobile–interested in what we’re doing.
Big, big UPS to Simon for going out and getting it. I couldnt help myself and had to give a precursor here. Pics and much, much more info to come soon. Oh yeah, The Hearts of Men: Throne of Deceit is in peer review, so if you are on it, please test for us so we can release for the Holiday 2011!
Kickstart The Heart!
COLTRAN Studios is proud to launch their funding initiative through Kickstarter.com—Help Us Succeed!
Chicago, July 6th, 2011 – Come one, come all, and be part of a star being born. COLTRAN Studios is gearing up to launch their first game, “The Hearts of Men: Throne of Deceit”, in August of 2011. In just a month, gamers with a pc or Xbox 360 will be able to play through this amazing tale, playing with or against each other in a number of game modes. As the game nears completion and is set for launch, we need everybody we know to support our funding initiative, to ensure we can market the game properly, and continue our developments onto our next project. With the help of family and friends, and spreading the word, we can achieve our goals. We also have some great, one of a kind gifts for donators that fans and supporters will not want to miss out on.
Visit the Kickstarter page to view gifts and donate:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/coltranstudios/the-hearts-of-men-the-dream-begins
“The Hearts of Men” will launch will a full set of features, game modes, and art to satisfy gamers of all ages. The game is a top down game, where players use a combination of attacks to defeat a horde of enemies, and defeat the castles bosses to succeed the evil overlord on the throne. Players can choose to play the story mode alone, or with 3 other players to help them along the way. There is also an arcade mode, that is also 4 player co-op and sees players pitted against a nonstop mass of enemies to gain the highest score and survive the longest. Another noteworthy addition that gamers will welcome is 8 player online multiplayer matches. Players can choose from classic gameplay modes such as Deathmatch, and Capture the Flag, or try all new challenging modes like Onslaught, and the explosive Bomb Run.
The game has been in development for almost 1.5 years now, and over the course of time has evolved. After a great alpha release, and gathering of feedback, the game has been revamped to better suit todays gamer. The inclusion of weapon and health upgrades, a dash/teleportation move, and superb artificial intelligence which will keep players on the edge of their seats for hours. Also, the User Interface has seen a significant upgrade, allowing more flow into the user experience, while using the comic graphics for backgrounds. The sound effects and soundtrack have also been updated to lend a more energetic pacing to the game. And finally, the story has been completely included, with 30 pages of comic art to tell the story of the characters and the outcome of the journey.
Check out more The Hearts of Men developments:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/COLTRAN-Studios/245333015480385?sk=wall
Webpage: http://coltranstudios.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/COLTRAN
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc3xiFx-JBs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO3Jwjy34HU&feature=related
***We can do this but we need YOUR support!***
With the Kickstarter initiative, we’re looking for a small donation from anybody that can, and would be willing to help us. We’ve set the amounts low with great rewards for donations, including getting your name in the game, receiving art from the game, tshirts, and even a first series, one of a kind comic book, signed by the artist. If we reach our goal, we will be able to market this game and gain new equipment necessary for our continued development. We’re asking for 2 things, one is any donation, the lowest is $1. The second thing we need, is for you to spread the word and forward this announcement, Like us on Facebook, retweet us on Twitter, and in general, support our initiative!!! In return we’re giving everything we can, and you can even show your credits in the game to friends and family!
Jason Zielinski
COLTRAN Studios
jz@coltranstudios.com
NEW ART! 3d fun
It’s good to have lots of art you forget about–and even better when you find it because you kept it Here, we have a nice little 3d model I was working on back in 2009 that I stumbled upon last night whilst making trees in 3d!! How I got from trees, to searching my “sort” folder is still a mystery, but a nice find regardless!
NOW…we must finish “The Hearts of Men” (yes, finish it, for we have great ideas on the way), so that we can jump right into our next game, which will be going back to 3d!
“The Hearts of Men” first review in! Check it out
Our first review is in, thank you very much to Mr Deeke of the indieverse. Because I can’t help myself, below are a few choice quotes, but first the full review HERE . To say I’m excited is a bit of an understatement
Four Player Co-Op! This title contains all the elements needed for a great bout of co-op action, especially with four-players. A fantastic title to play when friends are over and you need a game to enjoy on the spot. It’s fast-paced and doesn’t take a while to start up–you’re right in the action after a quick load-up, ready to hack and slash enemies with your team.
It’s Fun! The Hearts of Men is a classic Xbox Indie that is at the heart of retro with it’s blast-from-the-past dynamics of hack-and-slash* games. It incorporates several aspects gamers will be familiar with, and it’s a sure way to enjoy an 80 MSP purchase, especially if you’re a gamer that usually plays with friends.
Great Visuals and Soundtrack! As far as Xbox Indies go, this game has a great soundtrack that flows with the game and the sound effects are very accurate as well–overall the music and the effects combine to deliver what gamers expect from the medieval age. The visuals are astounding, and the comic-inspired graphics are something that is kind of rare in the Xbox Indie scene, especially since they are of exceptional quality. The in-game visual effects are great, too–whether you’re using a Special Attack or reviving a player, the visuals are fluid and are very fitting.
Needless to say, much thanks and appreciation to Mr. Deeke…and btw, those bugs are fixed and we’re going to resubmit the update for patch soon:D Thanks again for the great feedback and helping us craft the experience better.
The Hearts of Men Comic Art – Final
And the finale to this tale of art, I’m calling this one finished. Yes, I could spend another 4 hours painting, but I like where this is at, plus I have so much more to draw for this series. Do you like it?? Then click the “Like” button and tell your friends to like it too so we can build up to release!!! You’ll be able to get the full story in the game, which we are planning on submitting for the final peer review today, and hopefully we’ll pass with flying colors and be working hard on a press release tomorrow! So get your 80 MSP and thumbs ready for “The Hearts of Men”
The Hearts of Men Comic Art – Ink Final
Finally, after cobbling what hours I could together, the piece I have been doing for The Hearts of Men is complete, ready to go in the game, which means–we’re about ready to release:) I have to finish writing the 5th chapter of this series tonight, which is the story block that will be inserted into the launch version of the game, along with the final render of the art you see here. This will serve to set the story up proper, and I just can’t wait to tell each characters story in comic format. It’s thrilling because this is a short series of comics that we will insert into the Deluxe version of The Hearts of Men, and thus far, Simon has been excited to see these things moving on screen–meaning he’ll be enthused to support my cinematic requests . The next step will be bringing in multiple moving parts and really creating some visual in game treats. Until then…
The Hearts of Men Concept Art – On the Brink
First off–HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIMON!!! You made it mate, hope you are having fun today
Besides celebrating (i’m going to do some this weekend as well, more on that later) we’re working on our final submission for The Hearts of Men, so this is the 100% mark. While we’ve been playtesting and tweeking the gameplay, a side note came about in regards to story, and having planned to add story from the beginning (we ran out of space), I jumped at the opportunity to create a few screens to squeeze into the game to layer in just a bit of the lore that drives the whole idea of the game. While what we can put into this release is limited to 2-3 screens, we have some plans to blow this whole story wide open. Anybody like web comics??? Just wondering, no reason in particular ;D
In the meantime, here’s the current opening screen, which sees our heroes approaching the brink and about to commence on their adventure. This is the concept art, tonight I am planning on inking stuff in and hopefully painting (there’s alot of ink to do). JZ
ART: Military Inspiration – Updated
Since we’re about to drop a bomb on the game world with our next offering, it seems only appropriate to pull some fun drawings that fit the theme. Let’s have a look at a few different rounds of military characters i’ve created. Up top, you can see a bunch of characters I created for a motion comic that fell by the wayside.
Below, you can check out another set of military dudes I created for the pitch to a squad based game back in 2008. When I considered how to approach 4 playable characters, I wanted to make them all defined and unique, and able to fit within a real group mentality. To accomplish this using visuals, I thought about the characters, and what would allow them to be separate and play off each others attributes. The first thing I thought of is some archetypes that could show up in such a group, and their dialogue with one another. Creating characters is about understanding what drives the characters. In order to do that, you really have to investigate why this character acts the way they do–what motivates them. Check out the image, what group dynamic do you see happening there?
There’s alot happening here already, just from the picture. I’m not speaking of animosity or any such emotion, but just looking at the characters, it should be clear they all have a different sort of mentality. The fact that they all carry the same gun, and wear the same uniform allows us (the viewer) to understand they are part of the same team, but the fact that they all have their own personalities allows a larger investment on our part. I sigh, as I’d love to keep going, but I’d also like to keep interest! And in such a fashion, I’ll say that coming up next, I’ll break down each character, along with line drawings to further the ideas of character development!
…you know what, I just can’t help myself right now! I have to talk about the first 2 guys and how they came about. We’ll start with the big guy. This guy, to me, had to be here–I guess upon thinking about it, because he was what inspired me! No other reason, I went with what came to me. 
Here we have who I termed “Southern Fried”…but to start, let’s get some more details on the game. It was about Ex NAVY Seals, and they have to go save the world. The base information is these guys are highly trained Seals, and a group of 4. Now, some people would automatically start with a robotic group of space marines, and I say go for it. Here, the first thing I thought is about the world I see around me, and what most images really bring up when discussing our modern day heroes. Obviously, my design here is not a machine, he’s a real person. He is also a trained killer, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at him (in street clothes). And for the most part, you wouldn’t know that by looking at anybody! Beyond that, his physical shape is there to start to tell his story, without him having to (obtrusively)–tell his story!! I don’t need to hear some guy rambling away about how he loves chicken wings, it doesn’t add to the gameplay! But, I have no problem coming up with that story myself through quick comments that are made by the character. I’m going to take this one step further, and share the true inspiration for this character–an NFL defensive lineman!! Look at his body type and at first you say there’s no way that guy could catch a criminal etc…but lets consider that most defensive lineman in the NFL run a 4.5 average 40 yard dash (the fast ones I’m thinking of at least), so it’s not out of line for our character to now seem a bit more acceptable as a Seal. Add to the fact he loves chewing tobacco, is southern so his voice has a drawl, and is quite easy going but can erupt like a volcano if pushed. We’re getting complex, and I like it. Let’s add another layer, by adding another character to the dynamic.
“Gung Ho”, I still don’t know what that truly means, but I know what it implies, and this guy is it! All about efficiency and any means necessary, I felt this guy did actually fit a more pumped up aesthetic and attitude, so I was glad to be able to incorporate such a character. The fun came from exploring the polar opposites of these 2 characters, and envisioning how their dialogue would work.
And thats what we should consider about our characters…how do they work. What makes them work? As a character artist, these are the questions I ask, especially when dealing with group scenarios for a game setting. I’ll bring up the next 2 guys soon, and how I related them to these characters, and once again to the overall group.
