The Suggestion Box

It has been suggested, and rightly so, that there should be a thread where suggestions for improvements to Pixel Art (and Projects) can be made, where regulars and visitors may speak their minds, say what they like, what they don't like, what works, what doesn't, and what new things they want to see.

This is that thread.

So, whatever it is you think would be a help to the section, please, don't hesitate to suggest it. It needn't be a grand suggestion for a big change. If all you want to contribute is "there are too many stickies" or "the rules are too long" then that's all you need to say. The one thing I'll ask is that if you don't like something that you try to think of an alternative so I have an idea how you'd like things changed. If you can't that's okay, too.

I'd like to see any many people satisfied with these sections as possible. I'll do my best to keep an open mind and to respond to all ideas.

I already spoke to Haroun about this but,
I was thinking about a Pixel Art Newsletter. It'll have a couple of topics, it can include pixelated fan games and maybe even rom hacks and the fan-made games over here at PC. What else can be included is that we can either make a interview and/or review on a certain pixel artist and their sprites and sort of have a 'Pixel Artist of the Day/Week' thing going on. I'll think of anything else if anything comes up. Just pitchin'.

I've noticed that the Pixel Art section is split into more than one category. What I mean by this, is that there are thread that contain sprites that are for ROM hacks or Game Development. Then, there are the threads that contain pixel art which isn't meant to be used in a hack or game. As a ROM hacker, and now pixel artist, I know about the demand for fakemon, trainer, and overwold sprites. Perhaps, we could make a sub-category of Pixel Art specifically meant for artists to display their sprites created for the purpose of ROM hacking. This would make it easier for other artists to see the creations by others, so we can improve our pixel skills. This would also make it MUCH easier for ROM hackers to find sprites for their hacks, and also the relatively few artists who make them. That way, they don't have to search through a ton of irrelevant threads in the pixel art section as we currently know it.

On another note, I feel like the pixel art section isn't as active as it could be. It's always the second most viewed section in the Creative Discussions section, but people barely ever post on others' threads it seems like. I'm guilty of this, too... But I think we should all make a better effort to keep this place hoppin'.

Logiedan said:

I already spoke to Haroun about this but,
I was thinking about a Pixel Art Newsletter. It'll have a couple of topics, it can include pixelated fan games and maybe even rom hacks and the fan-made games over here at PC. What else can be included is that we can either make a interview and/or review on a certain pixel artist and their sprites and sort of have a 'Pixel Artist of the Day/Week' thing going on. I'll think of anything else if anything comes up. Just pitchin'.

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I like everything you've said about this idea and will give you whatever support I can for it.

icychill66 said:

I've noticed that the Pixel Art section is split into more than one category. What I mean by this, is that there are thread that contain sprites that are for ROM hacks or Game Development. Then, there are the threads that contain pixel art which isn't meant to be used in a hack or game. As a ROM hacker, and now pixel artist, I know about the demand for fakemon, trainer, and overwold sprites. Perhaps, we could make a sub-category of Pixel Art specifically meant for artists to display their sprites created for the purpose of ROM hacking. This would make it easier for other artists to see the creations by others, so we can improve our pixel skills. This would also make it MUCH easier for ROM hackers to find sprites for their hacks, and also the relatively few artists who make them. That way, they don't have to search through a ton of irrelevant threads in the pixel art section as we currently know it.

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So, if I can summarize, you want some sort of section or area or thread specifically for resources for ROM hacking/game development?

Personally, I think it would be messy to make a new sub section (like Projects) and I don't know if it would get used much if it did exist. This is just my view at the moment. If anyone else thinks differently then please say so. Something like a stickied thread (like the showcase thread) seems much simpler and potentially just as effective. One thing that immediately occurs to me is that if something like this were implemented it would mean some people could post their work in their personal showcase thread, the group showcase thread, and this hypothetical thread. I'm trying to think of some way that your suggestion could be implemented in a way that would make it the most seamless and I'm not coming up with anything at the moment.

On a related note, keep in mind that even though this is a pokemon forum and that it is a huge hacking section that there are still members who want to see some distance between pixel art and game making. I would like to help members from other sections of PC, but I don't want to see Pixel Art becoming a de facto subsection of ROM Hacking.

icychill66 said:

On another note, I feel like the pixel art section isn't as active as it could be. It's always the second most viewed section in the Creative Discussions section, but people barely ever post on others' threads it seems like. I'm guilty of this, too... But I think we should all make a better effort to keep this place hoppin'.

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If you have some ideas that might help inspire people to comment more I'd love to hear them. Otherwise for now I'll just echo this statement and encourage more commenting.

Scarf said:

I like everything you've said about this idea and will give you whatever support I can for it.

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This means I get an insta-approval, right? (:

Scarf said:

So, if I can summarize, you want some sort of section or area or thread specifically for resources for ROM hacking/game development?

Personally, I think it would be messy to make a new sub section (like Projects) and I don't know if it would get used much if it did exist. This is just my view at the moment. If anyone else thinks differently then please say so. Something like a stickied thread (like the showcase thread) seems much simpler and potentially just as effective. One thing that immediately occurs to me is that if something like this were implemented it would mean some people could post their work in their personal showcase thread, the group showcase thread, and this hypothetical thread. I'm trying to think of some way that your suggestion could be implemented in a way that would make it the most seamless and I'm not coming up with anything at the moment.

On a related note, keep in mind that even though this is a pokemon forum and that it is a huge hacking section that there are still members who want to see some distance between pixel art and game making. I would like to help members from other sections of PC, but I don't want to see Pixel Art becoming a de facto subsection of ROM Hacking.

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Actually, I think that idea would help in that, rather than not. If there was a "Game-Oriented Pixels" section or whatever, you'd move a lot of the hackers and devs who aren't really sure what they're doing into their own area, and keep the main forum for purists and more "traditional" pixel art, as it were. Although, it may be an issue, traffic-wise, as I'd say somewhere between 60 and 80% of all the threads probably fall under that category, which, I guess, is partly the issue we're trying to deal with.

Equally, you'd need to have a strict rule on when to move and when not to. I mean, what about a user who creates battle sprites for fun, and not for use by games? Would that go into the G-O area because of its content, or stay here because it's what the artist wants?

Anyway, if you're worried about Pixels becoming too close to ROM Hacking, it's certainly an option that I reckon is workable. I'm not sure why it would make that issue worse. If anything, you may even end up with a little more traffic, but whether it's the right kind of traffic is another issue. xD

Logiedan said:

This means I get an insta-approval, right? (:

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Of course. It's a great idea after all.

NikNaks said:

Actually, I think that idea would help in that, rather than not. If there was a "Game-Oriented Pixels" section or whatever, you'd move a lot of the hackers and devs who aren't really sure what they're doing into their own area, and keep the main forum for purists and more "traditional" pixel art, as it were. Although, it may be an issue, traffic-wise, as I'd say somewhere between 60 and 80% of all the threads probably fall under that category, which, I guess, is partly the issue we're trying to deal with.

Equally, you'd need to have a strict rule on when to move and when not to. I mean, what about a user who creates battle sprites for fun, and not for use by games? Would that go into the G-O area because of its content, or stay here because it's what the artist wants?

Anyway, if you're worried about Pixels becoming too close to ROM Hacking, it's certainly an option that I reckon is workable. I'm not sure why it would make that issue worse. If anything, you may even end up with a little more traffic, but whether it's the right kind of traffic is another issue. xD

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Having to make distinctions between what-is-game-art and what-isn't-game-art is one of the reasons that I'm hesitant about creating a new subsection. I suppose this issue gets into the "What is the Pixel Art section for?" question. If it's just a dumping ground for people to post their work then it probably doesn't matter if there are different sections or not. If it's meant to be more of a supporting section for game makers and hackers then a separate section would be a good thing since it would bypass all that non-game style pixel art and let those members get right to the stuff they're looking for. But if PA is meant to be a place where people learn and grow as artists by expanding their styles then it would probably be best to keep everything in one place so that no style is preferred over another and so that people new to making pixel art can be exposed to more than the pokemon style.

Sorry if that's a bit rambling. I'm just working through what you said, trying to see if from all sides.

Personally I think it'd make it a bit too splintered if artists needed separate threads for sprites related to Pokémon games and ones that are either general pixel are or not suitable for use in games.

altariaking said:

How about merging Pixel Projects and Pixel Art? Pixel Projects is still Pixel Art, and maybe having the two sections together would boost Pixel Arts activity (I've noticed the section sometimes goes a week without any posts).

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I agree with countryemo, that is a bad idea.

The Pixel Art section is for someone to showcase their sprites and only showcase them alone so they can get comments and constructive criticism. The Pixel Projects may be pixel art but the sub-forums is designed to be for people with projects of course. For example, a sprite comic is a project and can belong in the Pixel Projects sub-forums as well as shops and Pixel Art-based games.

Pixel Projects is more designed for requests that people would like for ANYTHING that the shop owner can do or showed you examples of what they can/will do for you. It's not really a place to showcase your work though it includes that.

Another one of my suggestions is that we make some sort of a 'Duel Pixel Art.' I think i've heard that from another forums..or was it PC? Anyways, if two pixel artists want to duel and battle eachother, they'll have to PM a person in charge and hand in their entries. There will be a poll, people will vote, blahblah. You can probably get the gist of it by the name basically. I think it'll just be a bonus, people may choose to duel or not, it's their choice really. Also i'm thinking about exceptions of maybe up to 3 people as well but that'd be my max.

I think this might be my first tl;dr post

Logiedan said:

Another one of my suggestions is that we make some sort of a 'Duel Pixel Art.' I think i've heard that from another forums..or was it PC? Anyways, if two pixel artists want to duel and battle eachother, they'll have to PM a person in charge and hand in their entries. There will be a poll, people will vote, blahblah. You can probably get the gist of it by the name basically. I think it'll just be a bonus, people may choose to duel or not, it's their choice really. Also i'm thinking about exceptions of maybe up to 3 people as well but that'd be my max.

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Indeed it was on PC. Long ago, Amachi held the Pixel Duels...well, spriting duels. It wasn't a success, unfortunately, but who knows, maybe this time we'll be lucky. In fact, I believe I made a draft post for a revival of this that never got posted. Idk if I've still got it, but I'll be sure to help you out if you get approved by Scarf.

Oh, and totally against the idea of the Game-oriented subforum and the merging of Pixel Art and Pixel Projects. For the former, why not make subforums for mockups and for limited palettes, and for isometric work, etc.?

It just seems too pointless for a minor thing, and may perhaps lower the activity of Pixel Art itself even more, as we all know that most people here sprite Pokémon (hm, maybe it's because this is the PokéCommunity?). As for the latter, it would, as others have already said, just get confusing, and the showcase threads would probably be pushed over by the games etc. and then it wouldn't really be a place to get your work critiqued anymore. So yeah, there's my two penneth.

I'm going to echo Spherical Ice (echoing Logiedan, echoing countryemo, etc.). Pixel Projects, or at least something like it, needs to be there so that there is a place for people to showcase their work and receive feedback and not have to worry about games, requests, shops, etc. pushing their threads off the first page while still giving people space to have their games, requests, shops, etc. I've never seen a problem with having Pixel Projects.

What I haven't personally seen is duels - it was probably before my time here - so I can't say whether they'd work or not, but I'm open to the idea.

http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=81169
http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=81191
http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=80061

Those three links pretty much explain how the spriting duels were run. With some tweaks here and there, I think this could work out.

The only thing is that i'm afraid not a lot of people are going to be wanting to duel. But it's worth a shot, that's what I think.
And honestly, I never knew there were actual spriting duels in PC, I thought there were only graphics ones or something.

Spherical Ice said:

http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=81169
http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=81191
http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=80061

Those three links pretty much explain how the spriting duels were run. With some tweaks here and there, I think this could work out.

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Thanks for the links.

Logiedan said:

The only thing is that i'm afraid not a lot of people are going to be wanting to duel. But it's worth a shot, that's what I think.
And honestly, I never knew there were actual spriting duels in PC, I thought there were only graphics ones or something.

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If not a lot of people want to do it then it could still work. It wouldn't have to be something that happens all the time, just when two people want to have a duel.

Well in that case, do you think it would have to be a stickied thread, as otherwise newcomers wouldn't even know about it if people haven't duelled in a long time?

I think it could work, we could make a sticky thread where players will request to have a deal with another, then they'll have to PM us their sprite. I think the themes should strictly be on the same theme, we wouldn't want to have a robot shooting crazy lazers versing a fakemon sprite. We could tell them what theme and then they'll have a go, PM us the entries, we make the challenge thread and people will vote. I don't mind organizing it.

I think merging the rules and guides/terminology/resources thread would shorten the amount of stickies.

I'd like to suggest a devamping tutorial guide if one has not been made.