Mummy tiles

[Bloax]

The new mummy tiles aren't exactly satisfactory. The guardian mummy definitely looks awesome though.

But the regular one looks really bad, what with it's overly stereotypical pose and just a general lack of "something".
The previous one was pretty cool, this one.. Just lacks that "cool" factor. It's so plain and uninteresting.
Giving it the pose of the previous mummy would probably make it more attractive, though probably with stronger shading. (Currently, if memory serves - it's kind of mushy.)

The mummy priest definitely needs another mask, it's not a tribal shaman. (Or even no mask, I think a mummy with red (purple?), glowing eyes would serve well.)

The greater mummy though. Oh dear is that thing silly. To be honest here, I think it'd look much better without that gaping :O mouth it has;
And with it's arms crossed around the chest. (A bit like it was before, just not in a sarcophagus)

Definitely get rid of that short skirt though, it'd look much better if it was a longer (or just recolored) version of the priests'.

[/rage]

[dd]

overly stereotypical pose

Yes, we certainly don't want to offend mummies with stereotypical presentation. I'm going to contact the local Mummies Rights Organization and see if they have any advice about how they would like to be portrayed in media.

[Grimm]

Yes, we certainly don't want to offend mummies with stereotypical presentation. I'm going to contact the local Mummies Rights Organization and see if they have any advice about how they would like to be portrayed in media.

Well they are from Egypt.

[Bloax]

I'm saying that the pose is inferior to the previous one's, not "oh noes, stereotypes!".

While the other stands like a tall, haunting figure - yours is more like "brainsssssssss", and das is not good.

Edit: And here's what I mean with the priest: vs.

[dd]

I'm saying that the pose is inferior to the previous one's, not "oh noes, stereotypes!".

Well, that's not what you said in your previous post. Your previous post was pretty much "oh noes, stereotypes!".

While stereotypes are usually bad when we're talking about real groups of people, mummies (the undead kind) are fictional creatures and stereotypical portrayal doesn't harm fictional creatures. In fact, when it comes to fictional characters, they're not called stereotypes at all, they're called tropes. And tropes are often useful tools to portray something in a recognizable way, they only become a problem when they're overused or used incorrectly.

In this case I would argue it's good to present mummies in a pose most people can recognize as typical to mummies or undead in general. It creates a visual shorthand, making the graphic more familiar and easily recognized.

Furthermore, as it happens a lot of people gave feedback during the process of creating the mummy tiles, and many revisions were made until everyone was satisfied with them. You're of course entitled to your opinion, and I can respect that... but the thing is, so far you're only one person, and to the best of my knowledge most people don't share your view, so I'm afraid unless you can gather much more people who agree with you, I don't think the tiles should be changed.

[Bloax]

Well the crowd sure didn't like them (except the guardian ones, which were alright, though IMHO they're good) over at CSZO.

It's also very unfitting that suddenly plain mummies follow the zombie/"undead" "trope". Why don't actual zombies do that then?
It sticks out pretty badly, especially because every other mummy has an actual pose.

[dd]

Well the crowd sure didn't like them (except the guardian ones, which were alright, though IMHO they're good) over at CSZO.

I don't know who the "CSZO crowd" is, but you're the only one who I've seen complaining about them since they were committed, and that's what I'm basing my assessment on.

[Galefury]

Presumably they are the people playing trunk webtiles, which currently is only on CSZO.

[BlackSheep]

I didn't like them when they popped up on Mantis and thought the criticism that appeared immediately meant they wouldn't be commited.

[Deimos]

I've got to admit to not being too happy with the new mummy tiles either. I wouldn't say they are strictly worse then the old tile, but calling it an improvement? Eh.

[Bloax]

Menkaure, the guardian mummies and perhaps this guy certainly look better to silly me.

The others get a bit too silly.

[Sar]

I'm sorry, but I don't think those new tiles are much of an improvement. Maybe they need a revision.

[white_noise]

I just use the old mummy tiles with my offline Crawl now, because the new ones rub me the wrong way. I agree that guardian can use better tile, but not from completely different set. Regular mummy and a priest is just too good to wish anything else. And I LOVE the idea of moving sarcophagus for the greater mummy. It is pretty unusual (thus interesting), it shows mummy's overwhelming power and it's really scary if you think about it.

[Bloax]

Well definitely. The greater mummies were actually pretty frightening the first time I saw them. (And it's not like they aren't, unless you can easily smash everything in sight.)

The current ones (or well, the "new" ones) don't exactly give you that feeling, quite the contrary - they look silly as I already mentioned.
Though I think that could be fixed by giving them back the sarcophagus appearance, and with Khufu having some fancy circling purple lights. (You gotta admit that lighting effects look cool.)

[dd]

Regular mummy and a priest is just too good to wish anything else.

So you're seriously saying you think mummies should be pink? Are mummies so fabulous?

As for other feedback, I'm going to consult and defer to ontoclasm about this, him being the artistic director of crawl development. Ultimately it's up to him what gets committed and what not, so if he says the mummies need further revisions then I'll do them, otherwise I have more important projects needing my time.

[white_noise]

So you're seriously saying you think mummies should be pink? Are mummies so fabulous?

They are not that pink. Sure they are more reddish than yellowish, but I'm pretty sure it was made to emphasize the contrast with golden things most of them wear. And it's doing the job.
Yes, colors can be tweaked a bit to be more pleasant to the eye, but pixel-work there is very good.

[inkydood]

Not that it means much, but here's another vote for "new mummy tile looks worse."

EDIT: This says nothing of the quality of the author's other contributions, which from what I've seen are pretty good. Didn't mean to just hop on the bandwagon. Next time I'll hold off unless I've got something to really add to the discussion.

[Sar]

As for other feedback, I'm going to consult and defer to ontoclasm about this, him being the artistic director of crawl development. Ultimately it's up to him what gets committed and what not, so if he says the mummies need further revisions then I'll do them, otherwise I have more important projects needing my time.

Please don't be like this. I know it might be harsh for you to hear criticism like that, I can speak for myself that I very much appreciate the work you (and other tiles makers) put into new tiles.

[delilah]

I'm saying that the pose is inferior to the previous one's, not "oh noes, stereotypes!".

While the other stands like a tall, haunting figure - yours is more like "brainsssssssss", and das is not good.

Edit: And here's what I mean with the priest: vs.

The first sprite you've posted here is one of my personal favorites. I'd be sad to see it go.

[XuaXua]

The first sprite you've posted here is one of my personal favorites. I'd be sad to see it go.

Wow. Now that I've seen it out of contest, I see that those are wrappings. I always thought it was just flaming sand or something weird and inexplicable.

[Deimos]

The only thing I'd change from the original tile is the color. Its a little too pinkish for my tastes, but perhaps people like it better then the usual faded yellow.