Prev/Next Blog
by date

some progress on cards

Name:	J Sears
Date Posted:	May 23, 2007
Rating:	Not Rated
Public:	YES
Comments:	YES
RSS Feed:	or Subscribe with .
Profile Page:	View profile page for J Sears

Blog post

Well I haven't gotten as much time put into my card game lately, but the time I did spend on it I've learned a lot. I used to think Guis were a tough part to make but I've learned how quick and easy they can be now which is great.

I've also learned some with photoshop an dillustrator, I've always been good at drawing on paper but it's a big change to use one of those programs. At first everything being on layers kind of bothered me but I see how powerfull that can be now.

So really most of what I've accomplished lately in small amounts of time was some art and worked on some menus for the game and that's about it. I know someone reading this would say "Your making a card game in TGB how long could that possibly take" And yes I know it can be done fast and I could have a full playable version (minus the multiplayer part that I've been figuring out in my head) in a couple hours. The thing is I'm trying to make it perfect and I want a very strong interface and plenty of options. I want there to be a reason to play a card game as a download since most of them can be easily done in flash.

So for the first time in a blog I'm going to post some art, I made a whole deck of cards I'm going to post one of each suit and what I call a green LED which goes into the bid selection gui I'm working on, I have a red one which is the same thing so I won't show it. Right now my table top image is pretty big so I won't post it until I shrink down a copy but it's what I'm most proud of (still needs a little work) the felt part was made from scratch and the only part that wasn't from scratch was the wood texture image.

[IMG]http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb227/NoWorriesXxX/greenLED.png[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb227/NoWorriesXxX/FourS.png[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb227/NoWorriesXxX/ThreeH.png[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb227/NoWorriesXxX/TwoD.png[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb227/NoWorriesXxX/AceC.png[/IMG]

tried to come up with a unique style for the cards, wanted it to be kind of like a hand drawn look but cleaned up. Also still need to make jokers and the backs of the cards.

Recent Blog Posts

List:	01/25/08 - persistance is rewarding 08/28/07 - My thoughts, and my farewell 05/23/07 - some progress on cards 04/23/07 - teaching my computer to play cards 01/03/07 - I'm not dead 12/06/06 - time to learn networking 12/05/06 - back on a decent pace 12/04/06 - back at it

Submit your own resources!

Tim Heldna (May 23, 2007 at 04:19 GMT)

This web uses "image" and not "IMG" tags - it's annoying.

Tim Heldna (May 23, 2007 at 04:28 GMT)

By the way, I have a need for a deck of cards for a project I'm involved in. I quite fancy the design pictured above, any chance of a freebie?

J Sears (May 23, 2007 at 04:49 GMT)

Thank you for that I was just going to try image. Glad to see someone likes the deck wasn't sure how it would go over, Nice thing about card games on the computer (except for solitaire type games) is that you only need the number in the one corner. What's the project your working on?

Tim Heldna (May 23, 2007 at 05:05 GMT)

The project is code named Mojave's Edge. It's an online Casino game that will feature slot machines, gaming tables, Baccarat and Roulette etc. There will be a huge playing area, in some cases you will have to drive to various Casinos which will all have a differing theme (modern, medieval etc).

There's a basic website here with more info: Mainland Gaming

I'm doing some contract work, mostly 3D models with a heavy focus on player models. All the art so far is stand-in programmer art however myself and a few other artists have jumped on board and endeavour to rectify this. If you want to participate and contribute some 2D artwork (card decks, slot machines and tables etc) send an email to info@mainlandgaming.com.

The next build or two should feature one of my player models: www.sentinelgames.com/download/player.exe

J Sears (May 23, 2007 at 05:22 GMT)

that;s a pretty interesting sounding project they're working on, I'll send them an e-mail soon. Will hace to check out that player model tomorrow on my g/fs laptop tonight she doesn't like me downloading anything on it. I was actually thinking of making a tournament blackjack program in tgb in the future so it's a nice coincidence that's the stuff they're working on as well

Andrew Douglas (May 23, 2007 at 22:43 GMT)

I think having just one "suit" image instead of the appropriate number of images based on the card is a little confusing. For example, the 3 of clubs should have 3 clubs on it. Instead, I have to search out the numeral which takes a bit of time. I do like the stripe along the side, especially for a game like solitaire, though it could be a bit "thinner".

Looking forward to seeing the rest of the art work!
-Andrew

J Sears (May 23, 2007 at 23:31 GMT)

The reason the number of suits in the middle doesn't matter (in this particular game, I couldn't even come close to using these in a game like freecell) is because of how the cards are held, when the cards are delt (think of the game spades) you have a lot of cards so only the left edge is visible on all except 1 card, so you always have to use just the number anyways.

As for the stripe I thought a lot about that and considered making it thinner except I wanted to have the number very large to be seen easily so when you have say 13 or so cards all stacked up the number would pop right out. That part is being tweaked around because I'm trying to find a good balance of card size + easy ability to be read + not take up the whole screen all at the same time.
So for example taking the game spades again just for ease of an example. Trying to find the best size to have 13 cards displayed across the bottom of the screen without making the screen feel cramped and at the same time making it easy to look quickly over and see ok that's the 3 of clubs. (Having the cards sorted by suit and then in order of value helps speed up finding a card as well). So that part will go through many variations as I get the game closer to finish I'm sure.

Thanks for the comments, constructive criticism is always welcome

Leroy Frederick (May 24, 2007 at 09:01 GMT)

Nice clean designs J Sears :)

You must be a member and be logged in to either append comments or rate this resource.