4D needs a banner

[Molly]

I've been planning to advertise a bit on TMC or TMS, to see if that could help our waning playerbase, but to do that, I need a 4D banner first. There are also other situations in which a Banner or Logo would be useful. For instance, we just joined a new website, http://mudgamers.com. If you check out the front page of that, you'll see that the Muds displayed all have a square icon or logo placed in front of the name. Presently we don't have either.

4D could really do with both a banner and a logo, in fact it would be great if we had several to choose from. And since I am not very computer savvy myself, I'd like to see if we have any artistic and/or knowledgeable players who could help with that. In fact, it would be great if we could get more than one good submission, then we could run a different banner each month to get a bit extra attention.

The design should in some way reflect the character and theme of the Mud, but there are really no restrictions. It could be purely text - (in which case the design and typography gets very important), or it could have some artwork, either in the form of a background or some figures - (in which case imagination, humour and drawing talents comes into play).

'Artistic' and 'knowledgeable' doesn't even have to be in the same person, the banner could well be the result of a teamwork.

As an example, Iwku, (who's currently on long-term vacation), has worked with an idea that I think has potential, but still needs some more development on the typography, format and file size, (which neither Iwku nor myself know enough about as of yet).

About the technical requirements:
TMC states the following about ad banners:
The banner should be between 360x72 and 468x60. 
The physical file size of an ad banner should not exceed 36 Kilobytes.
MudGamers say that any submitted images will be resized to 80 x 80 pixels.
I don't think the file format , i.e. gif, jpg, bmp, png, etc. matters, but then again, I am no expert on the subject.

Anyhow,  we'll make a competition of it, with the Staff, and maybe some prominent players in the jury. And we'll pay quite well, for whatever we can use, not in money, but in Quest Tokens.

[Natalya B.]

Nothing special, just a quick muck around...

[Leonardo]

To build an effective logo we need to take in consideration the following details:
-What do we want to transmit to the players through the logo?
-We want to attract them to our game through the banner
-A good slogan is a must, something that revives curiosity in people
-A graphic that impress and attracks your click to it even if you don't want to
-Graphic has not to be too complex and scare people out
-Text shouldn't be so small that I avoid making the effort to read it
-Colors should not punch you in the eye, must have a part of aggressivness and a part of tenderness, to be able to catch both people mind states
-The file format should be saved as .jpg with maximum quality
-There is a standard dimension for banners and logos on the web, google it.

[Leonardo]

Hand me a feedback about this:

What about a Flash banner that has 4 planets starting at every corner of it, then slowly move to the center of it leaving a trail of stardust and collide. At the collision event the movement stops and the writing 4Dimensions - Where worlds collide. Appears. Then disappears after 3seconds and the big transparent writing allowing viewing the tremendous graphic behind it says:

Click to collide(play)
You can't afford missing such experience

We can have also a still version of it in jpg format showing only the collision of the planets and the 4d name and slogan. Writing in the right-lower corner 'Click to Collide(play)'

The worlds mixed colors: Red, Blue, Gray, White


About the LOGO, I believe a simple 4D big writing with some welcoming colors would suffice since the square space is limited.

PS: I found over google a standard for banners with grephic examples of them instead of just the dimensions: http://www.simplygraphix.com/banners_sizes.html

[Molly]

After Lionheart's post there was a short discussion on line and some more ideas came up.
As promised I will summarize the current ideas in the next post, but first some general comments:

I almost totally agree in LH's summary of the desired details and would like to add a couple myself:
- A minimum of text - people's attention is never caught for long
- If possible an original, 'different' approach - most banners are similar to the verge of being interchangeable
- Graphics cannot be too detailed in this small format
- Typography and graphics are equally important for a good impression
- What makes 4D different from most Muds? - Off hand I'd say diversity, complexity, originality and humor
- How display our 4 Themes without 'cluttering' the banner? - probably  a flashing banner is necessary

So far all the ideas that have come up center around the 4 worlds, which is natural. And what comes natural is usually right.

I'll post a short summary of the current ideas, in the next post.
Feel free to comment or come up with new approaches.

[Molly]

1. Iwku's idea:
Most Mud banners are dark and sinister. Iwku's idea in contrast is a light, cartoonish expression, with a comical approach.
4 comic figures represent the 4 Dimensions; a caveman, a knight, a cowboy and an alien in a mini-spaceship.

The general design of the banner would be the same, but part of the idea would be that the activities of the same 4 figures would be changing now and then.
They could be interacting with the text or with one another in several different ways.
For instance:
- The caveman chipping away on the letters of the text with stone hammer and chisel.
- The knight and the cowboy battling each other on cock-horses
- The caveman bashing the alien over the head with his cudgel
- The cowboy trying to catch a Tyrannosaurus Rex - or the spaceship - with his lasso
- The alien trying to pry open the knight's armor and yelling for a can opener
- The knight charging the spaceship - or a buffalo - or a dinosaur - with his lance
- The alien spaceship trying to avoid the fire blast of a dragon
- The cowboy blasting away on the spaceship - or the armed knight - with his sixshooters
and so on...

The general style and impression should of course be that of a comic strip.

Comment: I rather like this approach, because it's so 'different', but much depends on how funny the figures could be made out. It would probably be easier to draw than the other alternatives.
*

2. Lionheart's idea
- At the start there are 4 planets, one in each corner of the banner,
- They slowly move to the center of it leaving a trail of stardust,
- Then they collide.
- At the collision event the movement stops and a writing appears
  4Dimensions - Where 4 Worlds collide
-The text disappears after 3 seconds
- and the big transparent writing allowing to view the tremendous graphic behind it says:
  Click to collide(play)
  You can't afford missing such experience

Comment:
This corresponds with our general slogan 'Where 4 Worlds collide', but not so well with the background story, which is more 4 parallel worlds than 4 colliding ones.
The graphic should probably cover the entire banner and be of a more 'epic' nature, (which of course puts more demands on the artist).
To cover all 4 themes, ideally we should have 4 interchanging graphics, but possibly it could all be covered in one.
*

3. Erwin's idea:
Use a graphic version of Durgan's Spinning globe from Whotvar.

Here's what the globe does, with a text script in the game:
- Round and round the globe spins. Nothing remains the same for long.
 wait 3 s
- The globe spins. Dinosaurs and cavemen come into view.
 wait 3 s
- The world turns. Ancient cities cover the globe.
 wait 3 s
- The world rotates. Knights and dragons wrestle for supremacy.
 wait 3 s
- The globe revolves. Cowboys and Indians fight a long, bloody war.
 wait 3 s
- The world changes. Robots walk the land.
and so on...

Comment:
I think the rotating globe has potential, it would actually be the easiest way to change between images (Dimensions).
The text could be easily interpreted into pictures.
I like the idea of using an actually existing game object, but that's a finesse that only those that know the game will really appreciate.
*

4. My own old idea
Years ago we had pretty advanced plans on making a banner that never was completed.
But here's the idea we had back then:

- It starts with a dark blue space background, with a single bright star in the center
- The star turns into a supernova and explodes into clouds of glowing debris that cover the entire banner.
- The debris forms into 4 planets, which slowly float apart, while a text appears;
  4Dimensions - Travel Through Time
- One planet at the turn comes into focus (different images) with the corresponding text
  PreHistoric / Medieval / OldWest / Future

Comment: This is more true to the background story than alternative 2, but on the other hand doesn't go well with the slogan 'Where 4 Worlds collide'.
*

As you can see all the ideas have similarities and can probably be combined in different ways.

Comments anyone?
More ideas?
   

[thotter]

For those looking for a free drawing program, you might want to try inkscape.
http://www.inkscape.org/
It's a vector-based drawing program, similar to corel draw and illustrator in function.
Or for those who have used flash, it's like drawing in that.

The big advantage of inkscape above all those is that for the ones above you have to pay big bucks or wait ages for it to finish downloading, while inkscape's installer is 34 MB and it's totally freee!!!!

Okay enough fanboyism. Go draw people.

[Fizban]

Wait ages? Pfft, that installed's download in 40 seconds, a bigger one in maybe 2 minutes. You people just need to stop using dial-up or similarly slow options.

[Kvetch]

If some of us had other options, we'd love to, Fizzy. 

On the ideas, while the cartoony one has some merit, you don't want people to think that this is an anime mud either... unless it is and I just don't know it.  I admit, some of our characters are rather.. umm.. looney, but still... no DBZ.

Kvetchy

[thotter]

pikachu I choose you!!!!1one

[Fizban]

If some of us had other options, we'd love to, Fizzy. 

On the ideas, while the cartoony one has some merit, you don't want people to think that this is an anime mud either... unless it is and I just don't know it.  I admit, some of our characters are rather.. umm.. looney, but still... no DBZ.

Kvetchy

Umm, 8,000 kbps ftw? *runs and hides, then realizes Kvetch is on dial-up and he can slow down*

Sadly this is as close as I come to making banners:

[Natalya B.]

I dont have long online, BUT;

I love how no one has posted any banner images of their own, and instead, all LH had to say was (apparent?) criticism.

I kept the banner to the dimensions.

I saved it to the maximum quality it could be, given the file size restrictions as mentioned above.

There's no "punchy" colours.

I know it's nothing special, but yknow I didn't think it was exactly bad either.

I had 15 minutes spare, I quickly whacked one together just to help in some way or another.

So whatever.

Gotta run. But Im gonna leave saying I think it's freaking stupid of LH to presume to try to tell me what to do, and suggest googling things etc. Perhaps I have misinterpreted his reply wrongly. I was just working under the size details given.

Wheres all the other banners? Lets gogogogo people!

*runs off*

[Kvetch]

I liked the banner.  My only problem would be the copyright on the pictures - that's what's stopped me from making one.  I can't draw my own pictures and I don't need someone trying to sue/shut us down because we "borrowed" theirs.  But yes, I liked.

Kvetchy

[Molly]

Guys, (in particular Natalya),

We are all in this together, and we hopefully all want to work for the benefit of 4D, so can we please leave the personal attacks out, and work in the same direction?

I didn't really read LH's post as criticism of your banner, Natalya, rather as a clarification of my original post, but knowing how you two feel about each other, maybe I'm wrong there.

Anyhow, I thought your banner looked quite good myself.
But I actually think that if we are going to attract some real attention, we need something that is more originally 4D.

Diandra has been experimenting quite a bit on another website with the text part of the banner - different messages, texts sizes and fonts.
But what we really need is some catchy graphics that are specifically 4D-ish, and maybe we need an artist for that.  Possibly we could use the same artist that made the graphics on the webpage, but I assume that would cost a bit.

I still think the Changing Cartoon approach has the greatest potential, and I actually have some new ideas along those lines. basically it would be a number of funny anachronistic situations that could occur in 4D, because of our theme with Time Travelers landing in 4 different Dimensions.
These would all need short and catchy one-liners as 'talk blurbs', with flashing text, to simulate a cartoon strip.

I haven't had time to think about the actual illustrations yet, but in my next post I'll describe a number of the situations ideas I have in words.

That is, after I fed the kids and walked the dogs


 

[Molly]

Below are some situations that could possibly be used as graphics on the banner.
We should use the same 4 figures, which should be easy to connect to the different Dimensions.
Primarily I suggest: a Caveman, a Knight, and Cowboy and a Spaceman.
(Possibly a Magician would be better for Medieval, and an Egyptian or Greek for Prehistoric, since we only really have one Stoneage zone, but the sketches below use the original four types).
Feel free to suggest more one-liners if you think of any, and also to rank the different ideas, since we obviously cannot use all of them.
It would probably not be hard to think up some funny situations involving a Magician too.

1.   Cowboy meets the Huge Green Dragon
Cowboy: Howdy, mighty Dragon!
Dragon: Hi , Food-that-talks! Did you bring the ketchup?
Dragon fries Cowboy.

2.   Spaceman meets Egyptian Princess
Spaceman: Hail! I come in Peace!
Princess: Call the guards!!!

3.   Medieval knight trying to attack spaceship with his lance
Knight: By the Holy Grail, the dragons of Future have tough hide!

4.   Caveman dragging female Timetraveller by the hair towards cave
TimeTraveller: Help!!!
Caveman: Ugh! Shut up, woman!

5.   Cowboy meeting Greek peasant woman
Cowboy: I’ve come to plunder , ravage, rape and kill!
Woman: Welcome to my humble abode! Where do you want to start?

6.   Cowboy trying to catch Brontosaurus with his lasso
Cowboy: Yeeehaw! Prehistoric sure has mighty big cattle!

7.   Medieval knight meets Alien Monster
Knight: Stand and fight, sir!
Monster: ROAAAAARRRRRR!
Monster eats knight and burps.

8.   Spaceman meets Cowboy
Spaceman: Take me to your Leader!
Cowboy: Fat chance, buster!
Cowboy shoots spaceman: Blam! Blam! Blam!

9.   Spaceman meets Huge Green Dragon
Spaceman: Take me to your Leader!
Dragon: ROAAAAARRRRRR!
Dragon fries Spaceman.

10.   Caveman meeting Cowboy
Caveman: Hi, I’m a Time traveller.
Cowboy, pointing: The masquerade ball is that way.

11.   Spaceman meeting Cowboy
Spaceman: Hi! I’m a Martian!
Cowboy, pointing: The Asylum is that way.

12.   Medieval knight meeting Spaceman
Knight: May the Force be with you!
Spaceman: Hey, Captain, here’s another of those Time Tourist StarWars freaks!

13.   Medieval knight and cowboy doing battle on cockhorses   
Knight: My Sword of Super Slaying pwns your stupid sixshooter!
Cowboy: Not fair! Molly!!!