Mega Man RPG Prototype General Discussion

Hello fellow MMRPG players! MMX100 here to speak about what goes through the mind of one of the spriters for the Prototype while a sheet is being worked on, and show original sheets made exclusively for the MMRPG with sprites that made it into the game and some secret ones that didn't :0 Also, to give out little tips here and there for anyone who makes sprites for fun. I plan to try making bi-monthly posts about this, so I don't run out of characters too quickly (Gives me more time to complete new ones as well).

So our first Robot Master we'll be taking a look at is: Sparky Spark Man



My, my, my what a sheet. What a horrible first try at layout! All those sprites smooshed together, positions weren't even labeled correctly, bottom row not even facing the opposite direction, saved in JPEG format! Are you kidding? (Top row sprites are slightly modified by having blue eyes and a red mouth like the official artwork.)

Quick Tip: Never save your sprites in JPEG format. JPEGS aren't for simple little sprites and create color discrepancies. Save your works in PNG or GIF format. I prefer PNG as GIFS are lower in quality.

Anyway, after being given more information by Adrian, I was able to submit this.


Spark Man Sheet V.1

Still not a big improvement but sprites actually reflect the instructions given to me. I decided not to push the slightly modified sprites as I had bigger plans than just facial differences.
That's when this came up -


Spark Man Sheet V.2

Wow, what a burst of color and confusion! The top two rows contain the sprites of V.1 while the bottom row sprites are completely color modified. But still nothing's labeled, well mistakes do come with practice as this was my first character sheet I worked on for the prototype. I'll label them here for you:

- Mugshot: Always comes first. The difference between the two columns of modified mugshots is that the first column's eyes have a sparkle in them while the second one does not. This may seem insignificant, but I am very detail-oriented.

- Base 1-2: These two sprites always come after the mugshot and are usually very close to each other. They are sometimes brought to a image editing program to test if the animation looks natural. Base 2's arms are kept close by so it is not to be confused with the 'summon' sprite which will come in a bit.

- Taunt: The sprite right before the purple box on this sheet. Just has his front arm in the air to match similar taunts by older robot masters.

- Victory: The first position to be multiple-choice. I place all my multiple-choice sprites in a box to help developer (Adrian) not confuse the choices as different positions. There's just so many expressions one makes when they're happy/satisfied, so I had make multiple expressions for Spark as well.

- Defeat/Offline: The sprite after the purple box. The faces on these sprites always make me think the character is sleeping. Spark Man is angrily sleeping apparently. Spark Man can move his eyelids (proved by the 'throw' position), but I really didn't feel the need to do so.

- Shoot: This next sprite of Spark doesn't have a 'Buster' like robot masters before him had for the 'shoot' position. As his 'hands' are perfectly capable of manipulating electricity and sending out bursts of energy as a projectile.

- Throw: Pulled directly from the game, this is the exact way he would throw that scary giant ball of electricity at you.

- Summon: This sprite has his arms out wide to differentiate from 'base 2.' This is usually the last one I make before taking a break of making the sheet because of...

- Slide: Oh boy, this position is the one (for me) that either make or breaks your sheet (My respects to anyone who makes sprites of robot masters in a slide position for fun). Some of you might notice something about this sprite but... If enough of you want to know, I'll make an edit to say what it is. If I tell you, you'll have to be locked away in the dungeon you'll probably won't be able to look at the sprite 'correctly' again.

- Defend: The two sprites in the black box with different ideas. The first one is protecting his face (who doesn't do that instinctively?), and the second one is protecting his lower body. As it doesn't seem to be very sturdy or well-armored.

- Damage: Finally, the last position of a sheet. These sprites in the blue box are usually multiple choice. This sprite is usually where I show my comedic side. Some of them have their eyes kind of open while others are wide-eye open. Some are even smiling. So many different expressions thanks to many of the cartoons I used to watch as a kid. My favorite being the 'knockout-X' eyes. I usually push for that expression on every sheet. I can just imagine the last two 'damage' sprites yelling: Ooooh! or Nooooo! With a U sound, can youuuuu?

Well, that's that for this post. Feel free to leave any feedback on the sprite work or this type of post. Tune in next time for when the sheets start to get weird/funny(?). You decide, until next time!