The_Squid
2009-12-11, 12:05 AM
I know there have been a few threads on this before, but they all appear to be gone by now so here's a new one.
Picture Wars is a forum-based game using sprites and other forms of pixel art to portray, obviously, wars! It take many forms, and is quite open to interpretation. The game itself is played with a turn-based system in which each side takes turns editing a picture to show the movements of their troops.
PW is not a competition or an RTS or a board game or anything of that sort. Without rules, you can't really have a "winner" so a good PW match generally involves collaboration rather than competition between the two sides, working together to tell a cool story with cool illustrations. It's all about fun, creating a world/army/story/battle/gorefest.
The most common type of PW "match," as games are called, is a classic ground match. These take place on normal 2d maps and involve primarily infantry. These can be of tremendous variety, and just a few different creations are shown below:
http://filesmelt.com/downloader/Army_Showcase1.PNG
1. A subterranean civilization of squid people with medieval level technology and powerful magics and beasts.
2. An army of cultists of the god of metal, utilizing extensive cybernetic modifications and lots and lots of armor.
3. Tribes of desert-dwelling nomads who ride atop massive, elephantine beasts that trample entire armies.
4. A futuristic empire of diminutive, blue aliens with battlesuits and dropships.
5. A tribe of lizardmen on a primitive planet, scavenging technology from crashed ships to augment their bone weapons and armor.
6. Warrior monks who pilot massive walkers and fight with discipline and honor.
7. Tentacled aliens fleeing their dying homeworld, making extensive use of cybernetics to survive on other planets and augment their combat abilities.
8. Rebellious colonists from the Sol system clad in armored spacesuits.
9. Cartoonish, silly trench fighting men in orange coats fit to die by the droves.
10. A race of vicious interstellar raiders using robotic suits to attack from space.
11. Tiny, insectoid humanoids based around massive corporations and using steam technology in battle.
12. A ragtag ship crew ala Firefly.
13. Time traveling aliens using weapons based around manipulating time and distorting the battlefield.
14. An interstellar alliance of humans and armored, chitinous aliens.
15. A collective of various insectoid species with futuristic weaponry.
As you can see just from this tiny sampling of armies, PW offers essentially infinite possibilities for the backstory, gameplay style and artistic style of your army.
Just as common as infantry are large vehicles, ranging from ordinary tanks and APCs to more unique vehicles such as war blimps and steam-mechs.
http://filesmelt.com/downloader/Vehicle_Showcase.PNG
Another gametype commonly played is PPW, or Planetary Picture Wars, in which a much smaller scale is used and battles take place over planets using spacecraft, such as these:
http://filesmelt.com/downloader/Space_Showcase.PNG
So if you want to try your hand at both pixel art and a fun forum game, I highly suggest you check out this forum:
http://picturewars.freeforums.org/index.php
Even if you aren't great at spriting, we can help you improve your skills and gradually make things on the level of these examples. Remember, you don't need anything fancier than MS Paint.
Picture Wars is a forum-based game using sprites and other forms of pixel art to portray, obviously, wars! It take many forms, and is quite open to interpretation. The game itself is played with a turn-based system in which each side takes turns editing a picture to show the movements of their troops.
PW is not a competition or an RTS or a board game or anything of that sort. Without rules, you can't really have a "winner" so a good PW match generally involves collaboration rather than competition between the two sides, working together to tell a cool story with cool illustrations. It's all about fun, creating a world/army/story/battle/gorefest.
The most common type of PW "match," as games are called, is a classic ground match. These take place on normal 2d maps and involve primarily infantry. These can be of tremendous variety, and just a few different creations are shown below:
http://filesmelt.com/downloader/Army_Showcase1.PNG
1. A subterranean civilization of squid people with medieval level technology and powerful magics and beasts.
2. An army of cultists of the god of metal, utilizing extensive cybernetic modifications and lots and lots of armor.
3. Tribes of desert-dwelling nomads who ride atop massive, elephantine beasts that trample entire armies.
4. A futuristic empire of diminutive, blue aliens with battlesuits and dropships.
5. A tribe of lizardmen on a primitive planet, scavenging technology from crashed ships to augment their bone weapons and armor.
6. Warrior monks who pilot massive walkers and fight with discipline and honor.
7. Tentacled aliens fleeing their dying homeworld, making extensive use of cybernetics to survive on other planets and augment their combat abilities.
8. Rebellious colonists from the Sol system clad in armored spacesuits.
9. Cartoonish, silly trench fighting men in orange coats fit to die by the droves.
10. A race of vicious interstellar raiders using robotic suits to attack from space.
11. Tiny, insectoid humanoids based around massive corporations and using steam technology in battle.
12. A ragtag ship crew ala Firefly.
13. Time traveling aliens using weapons based around manipulating time and distorting the battlefield.
14. An interstellar alliance of humans and armored, chitinous aliens.
15. A collective of various insectoid species with futuristic weaponry.
As you can see just from this tiny sampling of armies, PW offers essentially infinite possibilities for the backstory, gameplay style and artistic style of your army.
Just as common as infantry are large vehicles, ranging from ordinary tanks and APCs to more unique vehicles such as war blimps and steam-mechs.
http://filesmelt.com/downloader/Vehicle_Showcase.PNG
Another gametype commonly played is PPW, or Planetary Picture Wars, in which a much smaller scale is used and battles take place over planets using spacecraft, such as these:
http://filesmelt.com/downloader/Space_Showcase.PNG
So if you want to try your hand at both pixel art and a fun forum game, I highly suggest you check out this forum:
http://picturewars.freeforums.org/index.php
Even if you aren't great at spriting, we can help you improve your skills and gradually make things on the level of these examples. Remember, you don't need anything fancier than MS Paint.