So, I think part of this is going to come down to what the laws are. Over at the RPG Maker forums, which I moderate for, they have to keep things at PG-13 because they're a business, and there are some very specific laws about distributing things of a pornographic nature. I do know that these laws aren't as big of a deal for privately run sites, like this one is, but I think there's an element of what amount of risk Bart wants to take, since I'm pretty sure he'd be liable if something went south.
Everything here is pretty PG-13 right now and I prefer it that way. It makes things useable for the widest range of people. If we start catering to those who want to post things of a more extreeme nature, we're going to be turning off some of the people who like to come here with a more conservative preference. Maybe it would draw in more people who are interested in that sort of thing, but that would change the nature of the site. I'm not for it. I would feel the need to quit following the site to limit my own exposure.
I'm open to hearing other sides of the issue though, I'd love to know what your guidelines would be. Maybe it could be done in a way where we wouldn't be alienating anyone.
The cost is going to depend on a lot of factors, what the subject is, how big the resulting set should be, what the style is, if you pick a good artist, and more. Subject is the biggest concern. As mentioned before, a platformer is less work than an RPG. I would put RPG on the expensive side of the list. I don't think people really understand just how huge even a basic RPG set can be. Something inbetween might be a overhead shooter, since you're not having to do as many effects or locations. Puzzle game would be the cheapest, just some menus, some backgrounds, a cursor, and a few blocks or whatever.
Your second concern, the style, is really huge. The cost difference between a simple style like Earthbound or one of the early Dragon Quest games would cost much less than something more involved like Seiken Densetsu 3 or Alundra. Simple doesn't have to feel cheap or cartoony though. Simple can also be dramatic and atmospheric depending on how you go about it. Limbo, for example.
The third biggest concern is scope. This is pretty difficult to pin down because just simplifying it to a few locations might not be enough. Even something as simple as a single house can get very expensive if you want to have every bell and whistle. Or, since it's a house, every lamp and tea set.
I highly recommend figuring out exactly what you want out of this project and why so you can get your money's worth. Don't leave it up to the artist, you can easily end up paying for things you don't actually want that way.
So, for the artist cost, you don't always want to go with the cheapest. Cheap can be good, but most of the time it means inexperienced. An experienced artist is going to be much more per hour but they'll also work dramatically faster, have to redo less, be better at figuring out what you want and getting it to you than someone who's new will. I recommend going for someone who can either do the style you want well or who has a really solid and diverse portfolio which means they're more likely to be able to pick up a new style for the project fairly easily.
FYI Pixel Art is only cheaper when the tiles are small (16x16 is best in my opinion) and the style is relatively simple. It gets vastly more expensive very quickly the bigger the canvas is, and the artwork gets easier to do with other methods. Vector doesn't care about size at all, but gets more expensive the more detailed you get pretty quickly, due to the constraints of the medium. For high def with a smaller scope digital painting is your best bet, it's the easiest to make for a wide variety of project sizes and styles. 3D is best for bigger projects, because the set up is the expensive part. Once you've got the basics down you can make small changes to make "new" objects and the costs start to offset. I wouldn't recommend it for a project like this.
Since this project is still pretty hypothetical, why not consider taking an existing set of resources that you like and hiring someone to expand on them?
I'm not interested in GPL since there doesn't seem to be an atribution requirement, but I'm fine with OGA-BY. Is there a specific reason you need a GPL license?
Animuz has a few backgrounds that could possibly work. It's hard to find large pieces with a low color count though. Maybe it could be one of the weekly challenges and we could get some new stuff that fits.
So, I think part of this is going to come down to what the laws are. Over at the RPG Maker forums, which I moderate for, they have to keep things at PG-13 because they're a business, and there are some very specific laws about distributing things of a pornographic nature. I do know that these laws aren't as big of a deal for privately run sites, like this one is, but I think there's an element of what amount of risk Bart wants to take, since I'm pretty sure he'd be liable if something went south.
Everything here is pretty PG-13 right now and I prefer it that way. It makes things useable for the widest range of people. If we start catering to those who want to post things of a more extreeme nature, we're going to be turning off some of the people who like to come here with a more conservative preference. Maybe it would draw in more people who are interested in that sort of thing, but that would change the nature of the site. I'm not for it. I would feel the need to quit following the site to limit my own exposure.
I'm open to hearing other sides of the issue though, I'd love to know what your guidelines would be. Maybe it could be done in a way where we wouldn't be alienating anyone.
The cost is going to depend on a lot of factors, what the subject is, how big the resulting set should be, what the style is, if you pick a good artist, and more. Subject is the biggest concern. As mentioned before, a platformer is less work than an RPG. I would put RPG on the expensive side of the list. I don't think people really understand just how huge even a basic RPG set can be. Something inbetween might be a overhead shooter, since you're not having to do as many effects or locations. Puzzle game would be the cheapest, just some menus, some backgrounds, a cursor, and a few blocks or whatever.
Your second concern, the style, is really huge. The cost difference between a simple style like Earthbound or one of the early Dragon Quest games would cost much less than something more involved like Seiken Densetsu 3 or Alundra. Simple doesn't have to feel cheap or cartoony though. Simple can also be dramatic and atmospheric depending on how you go about it. Limbo, for example.
The third biggest concern is scope. This is pretty difficult to pin down because just simplifying it to a few locations might not be enough. Even something as simple as a single house can get very expensive if you want to have every bell and whistle. Or, since it's a house, every lamp and tea set.
I highly recommend figuring out exactly what you want out of this project and why so you can get your money's worth. Don't leave it up to the artist, you can easily end up paying for things you don't actually want that way.
So, for the artist cost, you don't always want to go with the cheapest. Cheap can be good, but most of the time it means inexperienced. An experienced artist is going to be much more per hour but they'll also work dramatically faster, have to redo less, be better at figuring out what you want and getting it to you than someone who's new will. I recommend going for someone who can either do the style you want well or who has a really solid and diverse portfolio which means they're more likely to be able to pick up a new style for the project fairly easily.
FYI Pixel Art is only cheaper when the tiles are small (16x16 is best in my opinion) and the style is relatively simple. It gets vastly more expensive very quickly the bigger the canvas is, and the artwork gets easier to do with other methods. Vector doesn't care about size at all, but gets more expensive the more detailed you get pretty quickly, due to the constraints of the medium. For high def with a smaller scope digital painting is your best bet, it's the easiest to make for a wide variety of project sizes and styles. 3D is best for bigger projects, because the set up is the expensive part. Once you've got the basics down you can make small changes to make "new" objects and the costs start to offset. I wouldn't recommend it for a project like this.
Since this project is still pretty hypothetical, why not consider taking an existing set of resources that you like and hiring someone to expand on them?
Yep, that's by me! Made from scratch for the original starter art for Liberated Pixel Cup.
I'm not having any troubles either. Maybe you accidentally ad blocked the source or something.
I can get a challenge going, but I haven't had any ideas for themes lately. I'm probably being too picky. ^_^;
Yay! I'm going to have to follow you on itch.io now. :) Thanks for the update!
Yes, you can make a game for the play store using these resources.
I'm not interested in GPL since there doesn't seem to be an atribution requirement, but I'm fine with OGA-BY. Is there a specific reason you need a GPL license?
Fantastic! I'm excited to try out the game!
Animuz has a few backgrounds that could possibly work. It's hard to find large pieces with a low color count though. Maybe it could be one of the weekly challenges and we could get some new stuff that fits.
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