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nextnametaken
Posts: 2,212 Arc User
Please start using animated GIF with your marketing materials, because the current static images look like old moldy cheese and aren't doing very well to sell the game or the virtual things you try to sell in game.
http://www.cockos.com/licecap"]Licecap is a really nice screen recording GIF maker.
You can run demo_record and get the camera angle just right to achieve a nice GIF from the playback. GIMP makes GIFs to and I imagine Photoshop can produce some from layers, which you can import from a folder of images, which you can produce from demo_save (I think).
Once you master your GIF-skill, update all the old marketing material with some GIF, while reintroducing the old items in sales as you are doing, but with images that are actually worth looking at so that people get a sense that what you are selling is worth buying.
Look how awesome this spinning character animation for TF2 is.
Look how yawn inducing this static chariot, king sekwhoever ad is Look how much early X-box quality graphics you are selling in the background, its two thirds of the image.
Early X-box quality graphics doesn't sell PC games at $15 a month in 2014.
Do better.
http://www.cockos.com/licecap"]Licecap is a really nice screen recording GIF maker.
You can run demo_record and get the camera angle just right to achieve a nice GIF from the playback. GIMP makes GIFs to and I imagine Photoshop can produce some from layers, which you can import from a folder of images, which you can produce from demo_save (I think).
Once you master your GIF-skill, update all the old marketing material with some GIF, while reintroducing the old items in sales as you are doing, but with images that are actually worth looking at so that people get a sense that what you are selling is worth buying.
Look how awesome this spinning character animation for TF2 is.
Look how yawn inducing this static chariot, king sekwhoever ad is Look how much early X-box quality graphics you are selling in the background, its two thirds of the image.
Early X-box quality graphics doesn't sell PC games at $15 a month in 2014.
Do better.
Post edited by nextnametaken on
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My super cool CC build and how to use it.
Silverspar on PRIMUS
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That's about it. The 3D view featured on that TF2 page, I don't think that counts as a GIF, but more a programmed series of PNGs that can be dragged to load other PNGs. Also, to add to that, GIFs are limited to 256 colors/frame. So if we use that, unless you specifically work to keep background elements out, the promotional images will look more like Early 3D VGA graphics, like the wonderful Alone In The Dark. Wheeeeeeeee
Speaking of TF2 and what stuff looks like in stores, they take it up a step and actively have options to preview what an item might look on a character - full 3d and everything - without having to purchase it first.
While they try to sell things with images like this.
((Also the scout thing is a cropped jpeg. It just uses Javascript to animate it.))
Silverspar on PRIMUS
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Wow that game has garbage graphics... and why are the characters so small? Is it a top-down style diablo clone?
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
Auras previews REALLY need to be on an Animated Format since auras are... animated
I'm really thankful for your .GIFs Stellario, they do better job than the Z-store screenshots :biggrin:
I should get to try that program you are using, my Editor of Choice is GIMP
This perfectly highlights what's wrong with the GIF format. Notice how the wooden wall behind the tattoo and pharaoh sets are partially blue in some places. Yeah, it's animated, but it's also pretty heinously discolored. Like spinny said, it looks old.
Cmon dude, it's 2014. aPNGs and even animated JPGs exist.
I am also freelance as a web developer and I can say gifs really aren't ideal. I'm sure the ARC devs are working on some HTML5 way of showing video loops.
Right now I'm just using licecap and photoshop. It's good enough for Tumblr and message boards.
AFAIK, aPNGs aren't cross-browser compatible and aren't even supported by the people who made the PNG format and animated JPGs require javascript to function properly. The latest standard is regular encoded video through HTML5.
There is also the consideration of sharability, GIFs as you said are ancient and are supported by more viewers. However, most of those gifts are 2M and Tumblr only allows 1M, I believe. Imgur allows people share pretty easily though.