   Art needed for adventure/RPG (like old Zelda games)
Team name:N/AProject name:Armand and the Foppish HatBrief description:Basically, Armand and the Foppish Hat is a small adventure/rpg in the style of the early Zelda games.  It is a short game, as it is meant to be like a one-act play.  It is also the first game to be produced with my new adventure game engine, which is part of why I'm keeping it simple.  The engine has been developed off and on for several months, but is now feature-complete.  I have scripted roughly 80% of the main plot, and expect to have that finished within two weeks.  I plan to add a few simple side quests as well.  The game is playable, but is currently using placeholder graphics.The game stars a swashbuckler/swordsman whose skill is exceeded only by his ego.  While he is on his way to a fancy party, he manages to get his favorite hat stolen along with all of his money.  Since obviously a gentleman such as this can't be seen without his hat, the quest to track down the thief ensues.Target aim:I will release this adventure as freeware.  However, I plan to use the same engine to produce at least one shareware game.Compensation:I can provide some level of payment, but as this is a freeware effort, nobody will be getting rich off of it.  You will definitely receive full credit for your work, links to your website/portfolio, etc.  It could also lead to me hiring you for the shareware game a few months out, which would of course pay better.Technology:This game was developed primarily in BlitzMax.  It is a cross-platform effort, and runs on both Mac and Windows.  It has been tested on both platforms, and runs well on older machines.  Sound and music are collected from free archives mixed with some purchased tracks.  I have done some customization via Audacity where needed.Talent needed:Pixel artist - I need someone who is willing to do environmental tiles (grass, buildings, etc), and someone who can do people/monsters/items.  The tiles are 32x32, and would ideally use a simple but attractive style similar to the Zelda game on Super Nintendo.  Buildings and such can be drawn bigger, as long as they can be separated into smaller tiles.  Depending on how exactly they are drawn, this entire project will use roughly 100 tiles (including transitions between terrain types, which I can do if necessary) and 15 animated characters/monsters.  The animation on the people/monsters is simple two to four frame animation (though the engine can use whatever you'd like to throw at it).  If you could draw me a handful of basic people sprites, I can recolor them myself to create different people in the town (unless you want to draw them all yourself, in which case go for it).  Screen artist - I would also like someone who could draw a nice title screen, a few small portraits of major characters, and maybe a few still shots that could be used like cutscenes.  If necessary, I can do the cutscenes with the engine itself, but would ideally like to have some nice stills.Team structure:Currently, it's just me.  I've written the story, coded the engine, and am in the process (80% complete) of scripting all characters/movements.Website:jhanson.com - There is no project page there currently for the Armand game, but there are links to some of my older work.Contacts:Best bet is to go to my website and use the contact form.  If you'd rather not do that, please use "webmaster"  --AT--  "jhanson.com".Previous Work by Team:From about 1990 on up, I have programmed little games, apps, and such.  A few of them are collected on my website, including a full RPG from 1995/1996 (was shareware, now free), a recent Pac-Man style game (freeware), and a few others.Additional Info:This is my pet project, so it will be completed with or without your help.  I would like it to be WITH your help, though, as I would like it to look as good as possible, and I am most certainly no artist.  :)Feedback:ANY   
  maraxle- Best of luck with this project! I really appreciate the fact that you are setting reasonable goals and have much of the work already done. I see way too many posts in HW from people who haven't done much prep work at all and are wanting to build  the next insanely huge MMO project for the Xbox 360 and PC. It is so refreshing to see a game developer out there that is thinking things through and trying to make something that is completely possible and managable within a smaller budget and crew!I look forward to seeing how thing one pans out!Thanks, NathanPS- I rated you up for this. :)   ;  Thanks a lot, Nathan.  I was worried that I was jumping the gun a bit since I don't have all the scripting done, so I'm glad to hear that I'm at least on par (or maybe a little better).I wouldn't even dream of trying to do an MMO game.  That's way too much effort given my time/resource constraints.  I try to scope my projects so that they can be finished.  I've done quite a few over the years, only a few of which are listed on my website, but this is the first one I've decided to try to go outside for artwork on.By the way, I checked out the song samples on your website.  Very impressive work.   I really like your Game Show song in particular, for some reason.  I might have to see if I can squeeze into your schedule for a track or two, budget willing.   ;  Nice site, and excellent project.  I wonder what lucky artist will get to work with you, this seems like a win/win situation for you 2D pixel artists out there!   ;  Someone has kindly offered to join up in the Screen Artist role.  I haven't asked his permission to post his name here, so I'll let him announce himself if he so chooses, but he seems very enthusiastic about the project and has already offered up some ideas to make things work smoother.We are still looking for a Pixel Artist.  At the very least, we need someone who can draw the character animations.  I can slug my way through the background tiles myself if I absolutely must (though would prefer someone who is good at it...), but even the simplest character animations are outside of my skillset, unfortunately.  For character animations, we'd be looking for 2-4 frame animations for the following:Walking north, south, east, westAttacking (hero swinging sword, giant spider shooting web, etc) - not all characters need thisFalling down dead - not all characters need thisThe characters should fit into a 32x32 space, except for one boss monster that I would like to have a bit larger (optional).Even if we can only get someone to animate one of the male characters (preferably our hero) and one of the female ones, that would be a HUGE help, since I could then change colors and such to make separate characters from those two basic ones.  I can provide plenty of reference material on what the hero and other main characters look like, including my own horridly "animated" placeholder characters (which I will warn you now, may cause retinal damage or at least make you cry).   ;  Another generous soul has signed up to create some pixel art for the project.  We could definitely still use more help, though, particularly on the pixel art side.   