Plan for Paul Malyschko
by Paul Malyschko · 07/19/2004 (5:20 am) · 8 comments
It's taken me longer than I expected, but the artwork for the villains in Void War is finally complete. What I thought should take a week (!) has so far (not including time for study and exams in between) a month and a half. I'm glad it's taken this long, because all creative activities need time to mature, and I can't complain about the end product.
Part of the time taken was spent exploring a new style, as the previous one was too underdeveloped for my taste. Pen and ink is a style haven't used for a while, so it was good getting back to my artistic roots.
Enough from me, I'll let the art speak for itself. Without further ado, I present, the Villains of Void War!
Boss #1
Boss #2
Boss #3
Boss #4
On the coding side, I'm returning to Java app development, as I'd begun prototyping game ideas and went wayward on my commitment to put out an alpha version of Hatchet, the tracker for the Headache event-based music engine, as soon as humanly possible. It's been sitting there for four years, so I can't neglect the opportunity it presents any further.
In a couple of months, I hope to show some Hatchet screenshots, and have an alpha demo for whoever wants to help me test its cross-platform mobility. The engine itself has a simple API and only takes a couple of lines to add to your game, and the command set, events and macros (the file format uses a RISC-reminiscent command set, and complicated signal processing is done by an intermediate scripting language that gets converted to the basic commands when passed to the engine) aren't too hard to get to grips with either.
Any musician who's utilised a tracker in the last ten years will be able to grasp the concepts therein. I'm also designing two interchangeable interfaces, a classic tracker configuration and a visual, drag-and-drop configuration, in an attempt to convert MIDI nuts to the virtues of sample-based music.
For now, it remains vapourware, but I'll keep you updated on my progress.
Part of the time taken was spent exploring a new style, as the previous one was too underdeveloped for my taste. Pen and ink is a style haven't used for a while, so it was good getting back to my artistic roots.
Enough from me, I'll let the art speak for itself. Without further ado, I present, the Villains of Void War!
Boss #1
Boss #2
Boss #3
Boss #4
On the coding side, I'm returning to Java app development, as I'd begun prototyping game ideas and went wayward on my commitment to put out an alpha version of Hatchet, the tracker for the Headache event-based music engine, as soon as humanly possible. It's been sitting there for four years, so I can't neglect the opportunity it presents any further.
In a couple of months, I hope to show some Hatchet screenshots, and have an alpha demo for whoever wants to help me test its cross-platform mobility. The engine itself has a simple API and only takes a couple of lines to add to your game, and the command set, events and macros (the file format uses a RISC-reminiscent command set, and complicated signal processing is done by an intermediate scripting language that gets converted to the basic commands when passed to the engine) aren't too hard to get to grips with either.
Any musician who's utilised a tracker in the last ten years will be able to grasp the concepts therein. I'm also designing two interchangeable interfaces, a classic tracker configuration and a visual, drag-and-drop configuration, in an attempt to convert MIDI nuts to the virtues of sample-based music.
For now, it remains vapourware, but I'll keep you updated on my progress.
About the author
#2
07/19/2004 (7:53 pm)
Nice stuff Paul, as usual ;)
#3
07/19/2004 (10:59 pm)
That's awesome work, I like the style too! :) 
#4
07/20/2004 (2:31 am)
Awesome baddies:) I Me likey third the most. Very distinct and expressive. Just out of curiousity - those were done in vectors or "real world" media?
#5
@Nauris: I'm a traditional illustrator, so I use real world media. I used gouache for the colour (I don't have any colour inks), inked it with a nib and hatched it with a pen. I just like the tactility of painting; it takes longer, but it gets me away from the computer and I like having a finished product at the end.
07/20/2004 (2:58 am)
Thanks guys.@Nauris: I'm a traditional illustrator, so I use real world media. I used gouache for the colour (I don't have any colour inks), inked it with a nib and hatched it with a pen. I just like the tactility of painting; it takes longer, but it gets me away from the computer and I like having a finished product at the end.
#6
07/20/2004 (4:39 am)
Very impressive. I too like the 3rd one best. I wish I had just an ounce of your talent. ;) 
#7
Based on my descriptions, Paul sent me about 8 thumbnail sketches for each character. This made working with him very interactive and easy... I'd say things like, "#3 is the closest, but maybe with more of the attitude from #6, and his hair a little shorter, like #2."
For the third boss, my description was pretty vague. He came up with several ideas, but a couple of them really stood out - including what became the final version. I just looked at him and said, "You know, that isn't what I had in mind... but it's better!" He just grabbed me and made me laugh - he was perfect.
One of the things Void War is doing that sets it apart from the norm is that we're presenting the single-player game with a little bit of a sense of humor. Not over-the-top comedy, but in some ways the storyline parodies how other games take themselves so seriously. Void War is all about having *FUN*, and where its appropriate we've thrown traditional conventions of the genre out the window to allow for more entertaining and accessible gameplay. So presenting an off-kilter storyline will hopefully help put the player in the proper mindset.
My wife hadn't seen the cutscenes in the game until I put Paul's final boss versions in there... and when I showed them to her, she laughed out loud (particularly at #2), so I'm gonna have to say that they WORK! Paul's done a great job.
07/20/2004 (7:07 am)
Guess I should chime in here.Based on my descriptions, Paul sent me about 8 thumbnail sketches for each character. This made working with him very interactive and easy... I'd say things like, "#3 is the closest, but maybe with more of the attitude from #6, and his hair a little shorter, like #2."
For the third boss, my description was pretty vague. He came up with several ideas, but a couple of them really stood out - including what became the final version. I just looked at him and said, "You know, that isn't what I had in mind... but it's better!" He just grabbed me and made me laugh - he was perfect.
One of the things Void War is doing that sets it apart from the norm is that we're presenting the single-player game with a little bit of a sense of humor. Not over-the-top comedy, but in some ways the storyline parodies how other games take themselves so seriously. Void War is all about having *FUN*, and where its appropriate we've thrown traditional conventions of the genre out the window to allow for more entertaining and accessible gameplay. So presenting an off-kilter storyline will hopefully help put the player in the proper mindset.
My wife hadn't seen the cutscenes in the game until I put Paul's final boss versions in there... and when I showed them to her, she laughed out loud (particularly at #2), so I'm gonna have to say that they WORK! Paul's done a great job.
#8
07/20/2004 (10:35 am)
Someone commented to me that #2 looked like a gay, evil Captain Kirk. I found that quite amusing.
Torque Owner Jarrad Piper
Extraordinary work from a distinguished and remarkable artist.