The character design is nice on it's surface. Not sure if I want the character to feel plush or smooth. Much of the world has a photographic burned edge look that suggests weathering wear and grime that is missing from Rilo. This along with contrast make him stand out graphically. That said, the distress, detail, realism level and full contrast in the imagery feel very AI which as an aesthetic is quite the turn off these days. Stylistically there's nothing original in the visual language here in the sense of a Mo Willems, Kazuno Kohara, Maurice Sendak or Dr Seuss. Creations for kids play well when the representation feels simple or tactile, fun and less precious. Right now there is a sense of Usborne visual dictionary or a generic children's book brushy illustration that isn't doing anything to endear Rilo to the target audience.
Nit-pick: the carousel stops are weird on my phone.
I’ve created a curious creature called Rilo who ends up in London, and I've hit the stage where feedback from friends and family is useless. Everyone says it's great. I don't need great, I need proper feedback, and I'm told this is the place for honestly.
The preview is at www.itsrilo.com. Password: wobble
Simply navigate your way around and leave and feedback you can to help us with our next steps.
"My four-year-old lost interest in ten seconds" is worth way more to me than a hundred compliments so please fire away.
The character design is nice on it's surface. Not sure if I want the character to feel plush or smooth. Much of the world has a photographic burned edge look that suggests weathering wear and grime that is missing from Rilo. This along with contrast make him stand out graphically. That said, the distress, detail, realism level and full contrast in the imagery feel very AI which as an aesthetic is quite the turn off these days. Stylistically there's nothing original in the visual language here in the sense of a Mo Willems, Kazuno Kohara, Maurice Sendak or Dr Seuss. Creations for kids play well when the representation feels simple or tactile, fun and less precious. Right now there is a sense of Usborne visual dictionary or a generic children's book brushy illustration that isn't doing anything to endear Rilo to the target audience.
Nit-pick: the carousel stops are weird on my phone.
Hope this is what you were looking for.
I’ve created a curious creature called Rilo who ends up in London, and I've hit the stage where feedback from friends and family is useless. Everyone says it's great. I don't need great, I need proper feedback, and I'm told this is the place for honestly.
The preview is at www.itsrilo.com. Password: wobble
Simply navigate your way around and leave and feedback you can to help us with our next steps.
"My four-year-old lost interest in ten seconds" is worth way more to me than a hundred compliments so please fire away.
IF your audience is 5-year olds, maybe Hacker News isn't the best place to get beta testers?