DeLuSioNaL's Arcade Youtube channel theme (WIP)

[DeLuSioNal29]

Hi all,

As some of you know, I'm working hard on overhauling my graphical theme over on my Youtube channel:  http://youtube.com/delusionalarcade2084
This is in preparation for Zapcon in April of 2016, where I plan to shoot, edit and post videos of the trip.  I'm posting it in the main forum for now so that I can get more feedback.  I'll move it to the artwork section in due time.

I'm in the process of creating an intro, end page graphic page and eventually lower thirds and transitions.  This is all being done in Aftereffects.  I'm enlisting a good friend of mine who is helping me with the initial concept (he'll remain nameless, but he produces graphics for us on a daily basis for our broadcasting networks on TV).  We've worked on past projects together and I'm grateful to have him as a mentor for this creation process.

Here's stuff we've worked on together (Arcade related) in the past:
DeLuSioNaL's Ultra Arcade blue lightning theme intro:  https://youtu.be/B1hOz1CaZO0?t=9
Maximus Arcade frontend intro: 
Original Retroware TV intro: 
Modified Retroware TV intro:  (Custom made for my Ultra Arcade MAME cabinet):  https://youtu.be/vQdq_0p5q24?t=13

I'm basing my new theme around this awesome neon sign that I grabbed a couple of months ago on Craigslist:


My thought is to have a neon sign theme throughout that I can adhere to.  My first step was to trace the neon sign itself from a picture that I took so that it can easily be animated later.

My goal is to have it to animate into view and "draw" itself:


Here is the completed arcade cabinet sign rendering with it in the "OFF" position:


Here is the completed arcade cabinet sign rendering with it in  the "ON" position:


And finally, I have three different fonts in mind.  Here are the samples:
Atarian font:


Neon 80s font:


Poophead font (no, I didn't name it):


Which font do you guys like best?  I'm leaning towards the Atarian font.

[Edit:  Now that I look at it, I'm going to add the 's so that it says DELUSIONAL's ARCADE.  Originally I had wanted it to be just DELUSIONAL ARCADE since it was a place, but the 's makes more sense.  I will post a re-render soon.]

DeLuSioNaL29

[yotsuya]

I like Neon 80s. Why not Delusional's Arcade?

[Nocturnaloner]

Atarian all the way.  Very legible, strong design, and retro appeal. 

Personally, I like Delusional Arcade over Delusional's Arcade.  It's more of a universal statement that people who aren't forum members would understand.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I like Neon 80s. Why not Delusional's Arcade?

Yots you read my mind.  I edited the post and then saw your post afterwards.  I will post it soon in the Atarian font (my fav)?  I like the Neon 80s, but it seems too "round".  That may change though...

D

[yotsuya]

Atarian is fine. I like the roundness, though. 

[DeLuSioNal29]

Atarian all the way.  Very legible, strong design, and retro appeal. 

Personally, I like Delusional Arcade over Delusional's Arcade.  It's more of a universal statement that people who aren't forum members would understand.

Yeah, but I feel if I need to add the word "The" to make it complete.  THE DELUSIONAL ARCADE.  Too wordy!  So DELUSIONAL's ARCADE is winning so far.

D

[yotsuya]

Delusional has a negative cononotation, usually,  so The Delusional Arcade sounds kind of hipsterish.

[BadMouth]

80's Neon looks the most correct to me.

I want some neon startup flicker in there.
The machine could draw itself, then the name could flicker on (after zooming out and panning right)..
or
Different colors of the machine could flicker on one at a time, then the name could flicker on (after zooming out and panning right).

EDIT:  ...and some buzzing.  Then a pop and it goes dark.  Then the show starts.

[Malenko]

will you have 8 minute long videos about washing arcade monitors?

[DeLuSioNal29]

Here's an update with Delusional's:

[vwalbridge]

I like it.


However, one small thing...that black stained brick mortar looks a bit out of place.

[yotsuya]

Here's an update with Delusional's:

Much better.

[BadMouth]

However, one small thing...that black stained brick mortar looks a bit out of place.

I think it's a scale thing.
The neon words would be tiny in real life if they were only 1.5 bricks high.
A wider shot of a brick wall would probably look more right.

We are talking about a very short intro video here though.
Nobody is going to be analyzing it like we are this still picture.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I want some neon startup flicker in there.

Already done.  I have a rough draft that I rendered out last night (without the 's).

EDIT:  ...and some buzzing.  Then a pop and it goes dark.  Then the show starts.

Yeah, it's still in it's rough stage, but I plan on adding original music I wrote and sound effects once I'm all done.

[DeLuSioNal29]

However, one small thing...that black stained brick mortar looks a bit out of place.

I think it's a scale thing.
The neon words would be tiny in real life if they were only 1.5 bricks high.
A wider shot of a brick wall would probably look more right.

We are talking about a very short intro video here though.
Nobody is going to be analyzing it like we are this still picture.

That background may change.  This is all rough ideas at the moment.

Here's a very rough video sample.  It took over 3 hours to render so I left it without the revised "Delusional's" text: (the Defender 2600 animation will probably get the boot, I'm not happy with it, so ignore that for now)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2din1c6uex8z7ap/2016-03-10%2015.37.49-1.mov?dl=0

D

[BadMouth]

vid looks good.   
The size of the bricks is a non-issue on it IMO.

If I had to nitpick something, maybe have the cab drawn a little slower.

A 2 or 3 second montage of 5-6 games at the beginning in place of the defender clip might work.

[vwalbridge]

Neon coin door or GTFO.   

[DeLuSioNal29]

If I had to nitpick something, maybe have the cab drawn a little slower.

A 2 or 3 second montage of 5-6 games at the beginning in place of the defender clip might work.

Yeah, it will be "timed out" later.  Again, it's rough, so it's all slapped together.  The transition will probably change too.  We'll polish it up once I get my ideas sorted out.  There's no sense perfecting it if it's going to change.
As for the montage, I may shoot some footage in an arcade to throw in before the animation...  Not sure if I want it all to be animated at the moment.

Stay tuned.

D

[Token]

Neon 80s.

And...

[Nocturnaloner]

Neon coin door or GTFO.   

The area where the coin door should be does stand out as being a little empty.  A neon coin door would be nice.  I also agree that the mold on the bricks is a little distracting, so maybe try a different brick texture.

Really digging the Defender animation with the wipe to your logo, super cool.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Neon coin door or GTFO.   

Ha!  Thought about that too, but I may reserve the space so that I can slip in a letter or design inside when I use it for the lower third graphic.  Dunno yet.

[Edit: Now you have me thinking:  Maybe I can add a coin door, have it swing open and then zoom inside to the next shot to end the animation.  Hmmm.]

D

[yotsuya]

Neon 80s.

And...

Me and you,  brother.

Although, to be fair, Delusional has been doing this for quite a while, so I give him some leeway.

[yotsuya]

Did you move the file? I tried to watch it, and it wouldn't let me. I am on my phone though.

[vwalbridge]

Did you move the file? I tried to watch it, and it wouldn't let me. I am on my phone though.

Video link works on my iPhone and PC.

[yotsuya]

Hmmmm.... I'll try again

[yotsuya]

 Okay, it connected that time. But I'm going to wait till I get home to watch it. But I will watch it. After all, you're asking for feedback.

[n3wt0n]

I really like the Atarian font. Really easy to read compared to the other two. The 2nd one isn't bad but the 3rd one is too difficult to read. I think that a coin door would work well. One thing that bothers me, and you and everyone else may be fine with it, but the bottom line of the arcade machine doesn't follow the same perspective as the rest of the cabinet. To me it looks like it is twisting. Good luck with your redesign. I will look forward to checking it out. 

[Token]

The Atarian Font looks better on my tablet than Neon 80s, which I preferred on my computer screen. n3wt0n is right in that it is more readable.

[harveybirdman]

All these arcade channels and no one to show me how to check voltages, continuity,  desolder components, understand logic gates, or how to win at SHMUPS......

Oh well, looks good Del!

[yotsuya]

All these arcade channels and no one to show me how to check voltages, continuity,  desolder components, understand logic gates, or how to win at SHMUPS......

Oh well, looks good Del!

That's what repair parties are for,  G.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Subscribe, leave comments on the channel and I'll get to it.  :-)

[yotsuya]

I'll teach you how to do that from 9 to 11 on Friday, brah.

[keilmillerjr]

Looks awesome.

[yotsuya]

I liked the sign bits. Why not just leave it at that? Do you need to show game footage? Watch any TV show today - the days of long opening credit sequences is long gone.

[DeLuSioNal29]

I liked the sign bits. Why not just leave it at that? Do you need to show game footage? Watch any TV show today - the days of long opening credit sequences is long gone.

Yeah, the footage is probably going to get dropped.  We just tossed it in there from a previous project to see what it would look like.  We're going to re-work it this weekend (today if I can but doubtful, I'm super busy).  Hopefully I'll have something by the end of the weekend or sooner.

Thanks for the input guys!

D

[Peabo]

I agree with yotsuya, lose the game footage

[DeLuSioNal29]

Quick update.  Initial graphic concept and theme is complete!
-  Took everyone's advice on adding the coin door.  I had it green at first matching the back, but changed it to blue to match the front and it looked WAY better.
-  Changed the background to a different brick wall.  Added lighting effect to it to make it look like a stage.  Zoomed out a bit to make the neon sign appear bigger.

This is the final version.  Now we just need to complete the animation for the intro and lower thirds.  I've screen-capped it from Photoshop.  The blue lines are so that everything is placed straight in my project.  The graphic on my page will not have them.



DeL

[vwalbridge]

That brick is waaaaay better. 

[yotsuya]

That brick IS better,  but looking at it,  I'm reminded of late 80s comedy club.  Just a thought

[orangepink]

Neon letters are very rarely used as lettering outlines unless they're large and have a frame.

Free-standing lettering should be thin like this (in your choice of font)

That's why it doesn't look right.