Looking for feedback on a BOF sprite comic.

[Nayno]

Hi, I'm a first-time poster but a long-time lurker and fan of 8-bit Theater. I've seen these sort of threads posted here before, so I figured I'd ask for constructive criticism from you guys.

The comic is about the SNES RPG, Breath of Fire. The working title is B.O.F.F. That's all you really need to know. I've put together the mandatory six episodes for all sprite comics. As you can probably tell, the style varies wildly from one comic to the next. It's a very experimental process.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e348/nayno/comic0001.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e348/nayno/comic0002.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e348/nayno/comic0003.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e348/nayno/comic0004.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e348/nayno/comic0005.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e348/nayno/comic0006.jpg

I know that JPG isn't the best format for sprite comics. It's just what happened to work at the time.

Which of these comics is done well? What works for you? What doesn't work for you? Are the jokes funny? Is the writing entertaining? Do you think that this comic is or could be a worthy tribute to the game?

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

I must admit, I was sceptic at first but it really pulled through. I got a laugh out of page 5 where they are talking about Crazy Sara. The only thing I'd say that needs a little more work would be the paneling. The text bubbles are a nice effect, not many people can get a good text bubb' going for them.

[Skyshot]

Not bad... especially for my least favorite game ever.

Your comedic timing is actually pretty good, and you seem to have sprite resizing and the like down. I would advise you to read your dialogue into a tape recorder and play it back, because something about reads slightly off and I'm not sure what.

Also, in your sixth comic, both characters in panel eight were in the same poses as they were in panel seven. I'd advise you to look here (http://www.bobandgeorge.com/Other/Guides/ShardGuide.html), especially here (http://www.bobandgeorge.com/Other/Guides/Shard04.html) for what I'm talking about. Also, I see maybe one customized sprite in there. The more good customized sprites you have, the better. It helps these guys (http://www.fortunasaga.com/) out, anyway.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

Customized sprites aren't always better. Sometimes for a comic like this its good to stick to the basics. What makes 8-bit theater so great? The lack of customized one of a kind supah original neato keen +5 extremely altered sprites. It keeps to the basics.

This one is headed in the basics direction and thats why I could read through it all without being bored and/or disgusted by yet another sprite comic.

[Nayno]

I am kind of shooting for a "basics" style, so most of my characters are going to be the same as in the game. But if you look closely, 8-bit Theater actually has a TON of customized sprites. Even if you don't count the recent class change, there are still a lot of poses and characters that aren't in Final Fantasy I, II, or III. Ideally, I'd have a ton of customized poses too, but that takes work. I'm doing all of the spriting from Breath of Fire myself, so it's going to take a while before I have a huge arsenal of sprites at my disposal.

I can understand not liking the Breath of Fire series. It's more of a cult favorite. I actually liked BOF2 better than BOF, but BOF has less character development/dialogue and is therefore easier to adapt to my style (as soon as I get one).

[Mac]

It's okay. As Skyshot said, the comedic timing is good. But if I can offer a suggestion. Try and get different backgrounds and don;t make the characters so Close up. It does feel olike a distortion. Also, I find when saving, try usign a .png. it makes it sharpers and not as discoloured.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

Well yeah, 8-bit does have a lot of customized ones. But they are used as support roles.

What I was getting at was people try to be so original that originality becomes unoriginal. I know this sounds weird, but sometimes going for average wins more than trying to do something amazingly different.

[Skyshot]

That's an...interesting point. Kinda odd, but I see where you're coming from.Ideally, I'd have a ton of customized poses too, but that takes work.Ghhkt. You are kidding, right?

It takes a lot of practice, certainly, but you learn to enjoy it. Especially if you liked to play with Legos as a child. I maintain that was an important part in my learning to sprite.
I can understand not liking the Breath of Fire series. It's more of a cult favorite. I actually liked BOF2 better than BOF, but BOF has less character development/dialogue and is therefore easier to adapt to my style (as soon as I get one).I loved the second game myself. I include myself in that cult. Also, less character development would indeed mean easier to adapt, because you can add your own development without messing with the plot or anything. This guy (http://www.manatheater.com) does an incredible job of it, as do Dave Anez and Brian Clevinger.

[Nayno]

If anyone is interested in following this, I've got four new episodes on SmackJeeves, here (http://boff.smackjeeves.com/archive/). I'll also continue updating at that website, so if you're ever curious to see where it goes just check it out there and I won't bug you with anymore posts about it. :D So far I've put out at least four episodes per week so it's worthwhile to check back often.