Main > Project Announcements
Pixel Troll Arcade (COMPLETE!)
Dafu:
[UPDATE: The machine is now complete! I couldn't be happier with it, take a look at the attached photos]
Hi all,
I'm a brand new byoac member. I've been reading the forums for some weeks now, but only registered recently. I've realized just last month that there is a whole mame cabinet craze going on, and I've been completely sucked in by it to the point of rabid obsession (I couldn't sleep the first night at all). I'm in the planning and parts gathering stage of making my own cabinet, very much inspired by Mountains cabinet with a blue color theme. To that end I've spent a number of days now working on my own unique CP art. Have a look below and please reply with any suggestions/comments.
A little background on how I went about making this, to those who may be interested:
1. Ran a bunch of Mame games and took screenshots of various games, that I then edited to cut out the characters I was interested in
2. Wrote a script for Blender that takes the character files and creates a "3d-pixel" representation of them, that I then arranged so that they look like they're flying out of the middle (trackball)
3. In Gimp I created a bunch of layered effects, most interesting would be the crt-scanlines effect which is just a repeated gradient fill with lens distortion and shading on top.
This took many hours and failed attempts as I'm neither a 2d nor 3d artist. But I'm pleased with the "final" result, and am now even more excited about the next steps!
The actual image is 35x15inches at 300dpi (actual panel will be 34x14, 0.5 inch bleed), below is a scaled down screenshot.
As for the rest of the project, I've got some parts already:
- 27" TV, JVC turns on when unplugged and plugged back in, and remembers svideo input type, works great with a Smart Strip
- 3ghz 1gigram, 80gb HD, ATI 1300 Radeon (I plan to play more than Mame games on this eventually, hence the more than needed videocard)
- Creative Labs speakers+subwoofer
- Smart Strip power bar
- Woodworking tools
- Buttons, tmolding, router bit, and other nic-nacks are on order
- Ordering joysticks/spinner/trackball when Ultimarc is back in business next week.
Sadly winter is in full force outside, so while I can do some of the woodworking already in my garage, I have to wait for the right temperature to do any spray painting. I'm guessing that the CP alone will keep me busy for a while though.
Ond:
Welcome to the forum Dafu, nice idea with the CP art, for what it's worth here's my suggestions. I've been staring at that CP art a good few minutes, the extruded characters are very cool but a little lost in the overall blue. Perhaps de-saturate the gradient lined background or choose a different shade, I'd accentuate those 'flying' motion lines which radiate out from the centre to each character as well. Just suggestions to add 'snap' to the idea and strengthen the theme. Good luck with the build.
:cheers:
Ond
saurian333:
Hi Dafu, welcome!
Mountain's cab is gorgeous; his efforts are definitely among those that inspire us all. This is a great forum for getting ideas and inspiration.
I like your CPO a lot. After reading his post, I agree with Ond about the characters getting "lost" in the blue, and he's made good suggestions. (He's definitely another one to follow if you want to see some amazing work ;) )
Good luck with your build!
Gamester:
I agree with Ond's comments, and I'd also like to see the characters extruded even a bit more so that the 3D effect is more pronounced.
Good start though...
Dafu:
Thank you for your advice folks! With your suggestions I've made the following changes:
1. Add more depth to the characters, giving them equivalent of 2 "pixel" thickness, I found that adding anymore starts to look too odd.
2. Added a drop shadow to each character to make them pop out more
3. Run a color filter on the characters, which fixes their washed out colors (which were especially evident on Galaga character)
4. Changed the bottom portion of the border around the art to flatten out instead of come to a point
5. Pushed the trackball up a little, I realized that I wasn't accounting for how much room the trackball will take inside the cp.
Here is the updated file.