We've been working hard on our game here and have gotten to the point where we've contracted an artist to create our Space Pirate Character art.
The first concept was shown in our Journal entry, and now he's been added to a complete (WIP) Character Board to show how they will look in the game.
Some considerations we're giving to the character boards;
- The stat lines may be given some colour. Right now they're rather plain
- The stat line boxes may be reduced in size to show off the character and background more (ALTERNATELY to these first two, the stat boxes may simply be changed to numbers, though I personally like the visual representation)
- The strokes around the text are probably going to be removed. It's not consistent and, let's face it, most often just doesn't look professional.
- The special ability and character title box may be reduced in size, though it has to be large enough to fit the most complex ability descriptions as well.
These character boards are drawn randomly by the players at the start of the game to determine which Pirate they will be playing as. They will be printed on either 3.5 x 5.75 inch tarot card size cards (350gsm stock) or on 2mm board (budget pending).
The icons on the top left indicate Health, Attack, Search, Movement and Leadership scores, the first 4 range from 1-4 while leadership is 1-10 (which is why it's a number instead of boxes).
Each character board has the same layout with varying stats, title, ability and character picture (the background, icons, etc remain constant)
Please let us know what you think and what you would change or rearrange!
(With help from here and many other sources we're up to version 6!)
See the three alternatives on V6.0 above!
Comments
Fonts!
We'd also like input on the fonts.
The character title and leadership score are "Ethnocentric RG" while the ability text is "Minion Pro".
Are these legible? Are they theme appropriate? Are they sized well for the size of the boards (3.5 x 5.75inch)?
Thank you!
More fixes to make!
1) Reduce the size of the stat boxes - They are only a visual representation of the stats and no tokens are used on them, so they don't need to take up so much space and cover the artwork as much as they do
2) Strokes - Remove all strokes - Not needed and will make the card look more uniform
3) Abilities/Text font - Seeking a new one and not in all caps
4) Character Title - Might separate the box for the title and ability
5) Icons - The movement icon needs some love - it's pretty plain compared to the rest. Might change the Search icon to a periscope (in keeping with theme more) and the attack icon to a crosshair.
V2.0
Changed the stat box size (Smaller, takes up less artspace)
Added color to the stat boxes (Not sure I like this though)
Removed all strokes from text
Changed the abilities font to Neris Sans Serif - much cleaner, not all caps
I like it a lot. One problem
I like it a lot.
One problem could arise when you get more art, the character could blend too much with the background. Maybe try adding an outer glow to the character too and see if it fits.
And the body text could go smaller too, it almost look kinda... comical when that big. And if more detailed ability comes along to fill that text box, you got that covered already.
Jarec wrote:I like it a
One problem could arise when you get more art, the character could blend too much with the background. Maybe try adding an outer glow to the character too and see if it fits.
And the body text could go smaller too, it almost look kinda... comical when that big. And if more detailed ability comes along to fill that text box, you got that covered already.
I have considered adding a glow to the illustration, but I passed on it. The character illustrations will be lightened or darkened to match as much as possible and stand out from the dark background. I feel this one stands out as is. If we DO get some that doesn't then something will have to be done (that is consistent) for sure.
The background will be consistent across all boards and the character, stats and ability will change.
There are more abilities that have far more words (this is probably the least wordy of them). I could reduce the size of the box and the font size if needed. I do feel if I reduce the font size too much it will be out of place with the rest of the design.
v4.0 of the Mechanic
v4.0 of the Mechanic Character Board added. The critique has been coming in from a variety of sources and I think we're getting there!
Changes are coming fast and
Changes are coming fast and furious (and incrementally).
V5.0 added to the original post.
We're back to the white stat boxes and icons. It was pointed out (rightly so) that pastel easter egg colours don't really fit with a gritty sci-fi pirate theme.
Opacity on the text boxes is increased slightly. The background image has had a slight Gaussian blur added to increase the legibility of the foreground images (including the legs behind the text boxes) and the stat boxes have been given a very slight transparency.
In addition to all that, the ability text was bolded for legibility.
Anything else? :)
what about putting the
what about putting the "mechanic" heading box on top of the card? you still have a bit of space there before the actual artwork begins
and try to increase the space between lines in the lower text box
the rest is good. no need for colored icons on my side
(personally i would make them all glowing-green and add a interlace effect to them as well to the check boxes).
just my 2 cents
Colored boxes
Great design. I may be an outlier, but I actually prefer the colored boxes to the white/grey versions. Maybe the "pastel" colors don't fit with the theme, but they really helped quickly differentiate the stats. Maybe change the colors to be brighter (lasers and neon), or deeper (rust and khaki jumpsuits). Even just using the color pallet on the character, with the red, yellow and green from his outfit might be fine.
It's kind of fun to open up v5 next to v1 and switch back and forth to really see the changes you've made. I'm excited to see more!
Fhizban wrote:what about
and try to increase the space between lines in the lower text box
the rest is good. no need for colored icons on my side
(personally i would make them all glowing-green and add a interlace effect to them as well to the check boxes).
just my 2 cents
In my latest version I have moved the Title to the top. It looks good, thanks for that suggestion!
Increasing the space in the lower text rules box is possible but then it would not match with cards that fill that box with rules text.
My original thought on the icons/stats, rules/ability box and title was that they would be in a transparent LED display screen of the high-tech/sci-fi variety. However .. as I'm no artist, my attempts at this were less than successful to say the least.
Hopefully, when this launches on Kickstarter, we will get the funding needed to add that, probably as a stretch goal (Upgraded Art)!
killerkilroy wrote:Great
It's kind of fun to open up v5 next to v1 and switch back and forth to really see the changes you've made. I'm excited to see more!
Thanks KillerKilroy. I've made a side-by-side comparison with bolder colours that I'm adding to the original post now.
I still like the white personally .. I think the colours detract from the rest of the illustration. We'll see .. there's lots of time to decide, lol.
Lots of changes made in
Lots of changes made in V6.0
So, I've uploaded a side by side comparison of the 3 alternatives of this newest version. What do you think?
V7.0 Completed
A few minor tweaks still in the works, such as adding the relevant icons in the rules text to bring everything together.
I have changed the picture in the original post to show the complete progression, from Concept to Current version.
Thank you all for advice and comments!
If you like what you see, please like our facebook page and check out our homepage!
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Into-the-Black-710623765705378/
product page : http://www.iwillnevergrowup.com/publishing/intotheblack
We're doing some more refining of the rules, getting all of our ducks in a row and gearing up for a KS launch this spring!