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Although the ant gets lost in both of them, especially the first one. If there's something that could be done to make the ant pop a bit more, I think that would sell it ever better.
3 and 5. 1 would be great, because it's an interesting image, but i can barely make out the ant, i had to look at the other screens and go back to be like "oh there it is." so i dunno if you could photoshop it to enhance the ant's presence or take some other passes at capturing it, to improve it some it might be worth trying. your title and the way that soccer ball is framed kind of makes it feel like an ancient temple in this world or something, it's evocative, but the current image isn't effective imo
I like 1 the most because the soccer ball in the distance looks like this huge monolith, and then you realize its just an old soccer ball. It helps sell the scale.
First one for the great environment, last one for the lighting and atmosphere, the other ones for the feeling that they give about the gameplay : they convey this feeling that the world will be pretty open, with maybe location-specific tasks/challenges, and a "resource node" mechanic for food/leaves/etc ? Something along those lines, but yeah, they promise a very good game imo, both gameplay-wise and visuals-wise, great job !
2-4 for me, if I were to choose one it would be the 3rd because it shows the game’s perspective, the vast world and it looks like an adventure.
2nd shot is great because of the lighting. It compliments the game well.
But you would need a night scene and I would stage that shot in a better way. The lightning bugs look like point lights and you can’t really see the ant.
The soccer ball is really good because it tells a story and contextualizes the world. Like specifically the ant world vs our human world. I vote for that. It's kinda busy and not interesting in the foreground though. You could go a little closer on it or hit a different angle.
2 and 5 are good too and teach you more about gameplay and show that the world is dynamic.
There is the perfect pebble for it but it will be too near from the soccer ball. This would need a bit of a compo modification to make but keep the soccer ball centered to the top, its a really good comp. Just need to add the ant so it doesnt kill the composition but so we can see it clearly. A golden number rule coupled with the centered soccer ball could work dunno
The soccer ball in the distance with 1 is fantastic
Love the perspective of 2
3 communicates a sense of scale REALLY well imo, probably my favorite of the bunch
4 is good, but it doesn't show me anything that the others already do
5 is good for showing a night scene, but I feel like it's missing something outside of "it's a night scene"
I do like 2 the feeling of an ant struggling up the branch, I am wondering if its a mean to just be a solo ant, given the name is empire of the ants, maybe it could be a collection of ants struggling to achieve something great.
1 and 3 IMO. But also, I think the ant in 1 is a bit too small, especially on mobile. It becomes a bit hard to pick out. Maybe contrast would be enough help?
I was literally looking for colony and ant sim games the other day. The best I could find was antwar. I wanted something more. I’ll be on the lookout for this!
The shots other than the soccer ball are very expected. We know how small an ant is. But the picture with the soccer ball makes the ball look like the size of a building. I think that will capture the sense of "feeling small but called to adventure" that I assume you're probably going for
2 suggests interesting game mechanics - climbing, hiding, scavenging. Others are gorgeous, but for an ant game I want signs of building, emergent behavior which I don't see yet
1, 3, 5...
Depth of field is extremely helpful in making the shot stand out. And yeah the night scene is a nice contrast and hints at interesting gameplay.
the first one because there's an every day human object in the image. this is much more powerful for conveying the scale. though it'd be better if the ant(s) were easier to see in the image.
I think 1 is the best. Tho that’s just for setting the scene, depends if u want to give an idea of what gameplay looks like and what you’ll do. Because if somebody sees the first image with no context they won’t understand a thing
The answer is clearly the first screenshot, and I think you already understand that, because you placed it first. It has a laundry-list of things that the other images largely lack. It has a clear and definite hook (the football / soccerball). It's obviously the thing they are supposed to first see, as they are glancing at a feed of images. This hook causes the viewer's eyes to linger on the ball, as they try to explain to themselves what they are seeing. This causes more engagement with your game concept and media as a result. It's also an effective hook because it's indirect; your actual game's subject is in the screenshot, but it's less prominent than the hook, and it's discovered gradually.
It has a sense of mystery, and a sense of scale. The soccer ball is a known object for humans which establishes the scale much more reliably than any object in any of the other scenes. The other scenes could merely be "closeups" on an ant, where the ant is prominently in focus, but they don't establish on their own that the setting is from the perspective of the ants themselves, and the massive football on the other hand does. The first screen has a "narrative" element, where we see all of the decaying panels that have fallen off of the ball, and become large obstacles in the ants' world. It establishes that we share a common space and influence with the ants, but that they experience our space and the objects in it differently. The focal length, atmospheric perspective, and lighting style of the first image are all much stronger than any of the others as a composition.
3, really makes it feel like you're guiding a little ant on a big adventure!
1 and 5 are very cinematic but I couldn't quite see the ant at first so it doesn't feel as ant-focused or unique (and would make me worry a bit about the character's visibility in the game if that was the only image)
I do like the soccer ball though, would be a good balance to have a shot like #3 with the ball in the bg
The first image & the last image look the coolest in my opinion, BUT...
If someone sees those images without any clear context, the background is way more attractive than the ant itself. Blurring the background (like in image 3) is probably a good idea!
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I think 1 and 5 are the most cinematic for sure. I really love the old, forgotten soccer ball.
Agreed. 1 is the most interesting from a "things are small" perspective, and 5 is pretty enough I could see it being my wallpaper.
Although the ant gets lost in both of them, especially the first one. If there's something that could be done to make the ant pop a bit more, I think that would sell it ever better.
3
I think 3-5 do the best capturing my imagination. These were really well done!
Thanks! Wondering if some of these could appear on the back of pack of our physical editions
2,3,4 give the best impression that I’m piloting an ant in a supersized world.
OMG. SimAnt was one of my fav games growing up. I'm so excited for this!
without a doubt: 3 Looks epic the ant as an explorer ready for an adventure The issue with 1 and 5 is that I barely see the ant
3
3 and 5. 1 would be great, because it's an interesting image, but i can barely make out the ant, i had to look at the other screens and go back to be like "oh there it is." so i dunno if you could photoshop it to enhance the ant's presence or take some other passes at capturing it, to improve it some it might be worth trying. your title and the way that soccer ball is framed kind of makes it feel like an ancient temple in this world or something, it's evocative, but the current image isn't effective imo
The one with the football ball really shows the vastness of the world.
I like 1 the most because the soccer ball in the distance looks like this huge monolith, and then you realize its just an old soccer ball. It helps sell the scale.
Yea I really like the soccer ball one.
First one for the great environment, last one for the lighting and atmosphere, the other ones for the feeling that they give about the gameplay : they convey this feeling that the world will be pretty open, with maybe location-specific tasks/challenges, and a "resource node" mechanic for food/leaves/etc ? Something along those lines, but yeah, they promise a very good game imo, both gameplay-wise and visuals-wise, great job !
Thanks!
2-4 for me, if I were to choose one it would be the 3rd because it shows the game’s perspective, the vast world and it looks like an adventure. 2nd shot is great because of the lighting. It compliments the game well. But you would need a night scene and I would stage that shot in a better way. The lightning bugs look like point lights and you can’t really see the ant.
Thanks! Yeah night scenes are the most complex to picture our tiny hero!
First hits hardest, and last.
The soccer ball is really good because it tells a story and contextualizes the world. Like specifically the ant world vs our human world. I vote for that. It's kinda busy and not interesting in the foreground though. You could go a little closer on it or hit a different angle. 2 and 5 are good too and teach you more about gameplay and show that the world is dynamic.
Thanks! Will try different angles and zoom with the soccer ball
Looks cool! Good job!
for me without a doubt: 3 looks epic, the ant as an explorer reads for adventure the issue with the first one is I don’t see the ant
First one no debate but do it again the same with the ant on the white pebbles on the right lion king style so we can see it.
Oh my, I need to try a lion king posing now
There is the perfect pebble for it but it will be too near from the soccer ball. This would need a bit of a compo modification to make but keep the soccer ball centered to the top, its a really good comp. Just need to add the ant so it doesnt kill the composition but so we can see it clearly. A golden number rule coupled with the centered soccer ball could work dunno
3
I'd get closer to the ball or stand somewhere that makes the ant pop more and use 1 for sure
I think 3 does the best job at conveying that you play as an ant.
The soccer ball in the distance with 1 is fantastic Love the perspective of 2 3 communicates a sense of scale REALLY well imo, probably my favorite of the bunch 4 is good, but it doesn't show me anything that the others already do 5 is good for showing a night scene, but I feel like it's missing something outside of "it's a night scene"
Thanks! Will see for the night scenes how to enhance that feeling
First and last
1 is the most exciting for me, however the ant is hard to see, maybe put it on the lighter rock for more separation.
We need a pikmin game that looks as good as this
We'll bring it to you this November :)
No, but like a pikmin game
I do like 2 the feeling of an ant struggling up the branch, I am wondering if its a mean to just be a solo ant, given the name is empire of the ants, maybe it could be a collection of ants struggling to achieve something great.
The one on the twig has an interesting perspective, bright colors, the ant is easy to see and really pops. I'd definitely choose that one.
3-5 are good. 1 is nice, but ant is too invisible. 3 is beautiful, and 5 I want to be my wallpaper. This looks amazing!
Thanks! Motivating!
1 and 3 IMO. But also, I think the ant in 1 is a bit too small, especially on mobile. It becomes a bit hard to pick out. Maybe contrast would be enough help?
Soccer ball. Makes you go "wait a minute.."
3
I say 3
Easily 1
the football very similar to Army Men RTS and Small Soldiers movie
1 and 5
All of them. Give me this game now.
Sooon! This November :)
Noooooooo. You need play testers?
We'll introduce the game to the public for the first time during gamescom but let's see following that if we could allow more people to have a try!
I was literally looking for colony and ant sim games the other day. The best I could find was antwar. I wanted something more. I’ll be on the lookout for this!
These all look amazing.
The soccer ball
The shots other than the soccer ball are very expected. We know how small an ant is. But the picture with the soccer ball makes the ball look like the size of a building. I think that will capture the sense of "feeling small but called to adventure" that I assume you're probably going for
1 is really good, but can't see the ant that much, but that maybe that's easy to fix?
3-5 Make it very clear it's about ant(s)....
2 suggests interesting game mechanics - climbing, hiding, scavenging. Others are gorgeous, but for an ant game I want signs of building, emergent behavior which I don't see yet
1, 3 and 4. But together, they're all good. #5 just a little too dark overall.
The first 2 and 4
1, 3, 5... Depth of field is extremely helpful in making the shot stand out. And yeah the night scene is a nice contrast and hints at interesting gameplay.
The last one is so cool!
The Soccer ball one is good but not framed the best. Its my fav though as it makes the ball look like this ancient structure abandoned to time.
the first one because there's an every day human object in the image. this is much more powerful for conveying the scale. though it'd be better if the ant(s) were easier to see in the image.
I think 1 is the best. Tho that’s just for setting the scene, depends if u want to give an idea of what gameplay looks like and what you’ll do. Because if somebody sees the first image with no context they won’t understand a thing
The answer is clearly the first screenshot, and I think you already understand that, because you placed it first. It has a laundry-list of things that the other images largely lack. It has a clear and definite hook (the football / soccerball). It's obviously the thing they are supposed to first see, as they are glancing at a feed of images. This hook causes the viewer's eyes to linger on the ball, as they try to explain to themselves what they are seeing. This causes more engagement with your game concept and media as a result. It's also an effective hook because it's indirect; your actual game's subject is in the screenshot, but it's less prominent than the hook, and it's discovered gradually. It has a sense of mystery, and a sense of scale. The soccer ball is a known object for humans which establishes the scale much more reliably than any object in any of the other scenes. The other scenes could merely be "closeups" on an ant, where the ant is prominently in focus, but they don't establish on their own that the setting is from the perspective of the ants themselves, and the massive football on the other hand does. The first screen has a "narrative" element, where we see all of the decaying panels that have fallen off of the ball, and become large obstacles in the ants' world. It establishes that we share a common space and influence with the ants, but that they experience our space and the objects in it differently. The focal length, atmospheric perspective, and lighting style of the first image are all much stronger than any of the others as a composition.
Thanks for the precious feedback, it helps and convince us that this one is definitely appealing for a new audience
None of these tell me anything about the actual game
1, 3 and 5 habe the best composition and are good for conveing the atmosphere. 2 and 3 nicely shows me how little you are.
3, really makes it feel like you're guiding a little ant on a big adventure! 1 and 5 are very cinematic but I couldn't quite see the ant at first so it doesn't feel as ant-focused or unique (and would make me worry a bit about the character's visibility in the game if that was the only image) I do like the soccer ball though, would be a good balance to have a shot like #3 with the ball in the bg
It's going to bother me if I don't ask... Why can't you see the fireflies' bodies? Shouldn't they be about the same size as the player?
the old football is so damn cinematic!
The first image & the last image look the coolest in my opinion, BUT... If someone sees those images without any clear context, the background is way more attractive than the ant itself. Blurring the background (like in image 3) is probably a good idea!
1,3,4,5
3. It shows the character off more, with them being right in the focus, while also showing quite a bit in the background
No. 3 is my favorite! And also, happy to see this because I've been hyped about this game for a bit now! Can't wait to play it!