MegaMan 8-Bit Calendars (July - Heat Man)

PeterAndCompany

I was just going to toss these in the [CHAT] thread, but I figured since this will be an ongoing project, I'll go ahead and throw them into their own thread.

Quick synopsis: I've been trying to find a good desktop/wall calendar for 2011, but after missing all of January and being unable to find anything that caught my interest, I figured why the hell not and just decided to make my own.

I'm patterning it after the original NES MegaMan games (so just 1-6, not including 9 or 10), with each month being themed with a different robot master. Graphics included in each one will be utilizing the sprites from that particular game, and in the lower right MegaMan will be fighting the boss with the best weapon for the job.

I have a short list of robot masters that I plan to use, but I am definitely open for requests if anyone wants a particular one on a certain month (I can also do multiple versions of a month if needed). I am making these for my own personal use -- to decorate my office space -- and am posting them simply to let anyone else do the same who feels so inclined. These can be freely distributed, passed around, whatever you like. By all means, spread the MegaMan love.

Click the images to view the hi-res PNG version for printing purposes. They all fit nicely on 8.5x11 paper and can be easily upscaled if you can print at a larger size. This list will be updated with the latest versions of all months, so keep checking this post to see what has been added.

Alternatively, you can also view a running list of all available calendars on my site by clicking here.

February 2011: Cut Man



March 2011: Gemini Man



April 2011: Toad Man



May 2011: Plant Man



June 2011: Guts Man



July 2011: Heat Man



August 2011: Wood Man



October 2011: Skull Man





Upcoming Months and Robot Masters:

June 11 - Guts Man
July 11 - Heat Man
September 11 - Metal Man
November 11 - Magnet Man
December 11 - Ice Man
January 12 - MegaMan 2 Dragon Boss - Wily Stage 1

Feel free to request a certain master for a particular month. If you also want a special version made of a month with your own personal important dates, I can whip that up as well.

Siegfried

They aren't exactly pretty...but I think they're pretty cool and they get the job done. I like the little release dates and icons you put down too, that's pretty awesome.

MagicToaster

Hey, Jon!

As I told you before, these are amazing! Though, you know you what I was thinking, the enviroment is really blocky, as is the calendar grid. if you erased those empty calendar blocks and let the enviroment fill that space it's gonna give every month a new, more interesting shape, it also lets more enviroment shine through.

Or, if you want to continue using the grid as you have it, I suggest including the days of the prior month and next month in the empty squares in a gray text.

This could also be a great tool for driving traffic to your web page. I would add something like "Download every month from P&C.com"

I put feb on my cubicle.

My favorite Megaman boss was MetalMan from Megaman 2.

HugmasterGeneral

Yeah, my friend who got me into Mega Man 2 would dig these. It would definitely drive traffic to your site if, every month you released the next month's calendar. Also, would be cool to advance through the games for the next few years up to 6, then cycle back around.

The actual days seem to stick out, like the style of the alpha transparent white boxes doesn't belong. Maybe you could do something with the old boss select screens and the borders they had around them?



Just a suggestion. Neat idea, keep it up.

earthwormadam

These are rad, but sadly I can't print. Also if I could print, theres no way I would wait to get these on a month by month basis. The sooner you make the whole shabang available the better.

Also if you could make Woodman August you would be my hero.

My 30th birthday is the 12th if you wanted to include a significant day.

PeterAndCompany

Hmm, I may do that. I'll have to make a section for it and put it up proper.

@MT/rfilyaw: I tried out a few variations, but the main problem I ran into was keeping with the 8-bit aesthetic, balancing background visibility with the readability of the calendar days. If I let too much of the background show through, it makes it more difficult to read; but at the same time if I make the days completely opaque, it makes the background more of an arbitrary border and takes away the emphasis of the robot master theme. So there is definitely a balance somewhere that I need to find. Maybe I can just change my approach to the traditional "calendar" setup entirely. What do you guys think?

I do love the idea of the level select squares being used as the days on the calendar, though. I'll throw together a mock-up and upload it in a bit here.

earthwormadam wrote: »

These are rad, but sadly I can't print. Also if I could print, theres no way I would wait to get these on a month by month basis. The sooner you make the whole shabang available the better.

Also if you could make Woodman August you would be my hero.

My 30th birthday is the 12th if you wanted to include a significant day.

Consider it done!

earthwormadam

YAY thank you woodman is my favorite and has the most badass music.

PeterAndCompany

How's this?



I figure I can also keep the aesthetic consistent, and use the level-select boxes from the associated game (these are the MM3 boxes, for example).

MagicToaster

Thanks, Adam... now I'll have the Woodman theme in my mind all week.

Sean McGeezer

please please PLEASE make the rest of the year
these are amazing

PeterAndCompany

Also gave February the updated window treatment:



I'm really liking the look of this method a lot more. I think I'm going to swap out the hi-res versions with this one.

Agahnim

Wow, these are fantastic!

PeterAndCompany

Thanks!

I went ahead and updated the opening post with the latest versions, sort of as a go-to of the entire collection up to the current point. I'm getting started on Wood Man now. More to come.

PeterAndCompany

BOOM, August!



And, of course, the printable PNG version.


And Earthwormadam, a special version for you.

m3nace

These rock! Dudududuuuuuuduuuududu

HugmasterGeneral

Now they're dope, man. I'm really honored you took my advice, and these look fantastic. My Mega Man friend will love them too.

Dances With Magpies

These are great, I can't wait to see the rest of them.

squidbunny

These get exponentially better the more of them there are.

earthwormadam

YEEES

Now I need to figure out a way to get these on paper. That woodman page is so rad it hurts. Hahha oh look at Woodman. I love woodman.

Also having the borders makes a big difference.

Visti

I think that, if you overlook pure nostalgia, the August is the only one that really works for me, because it's the only one with sufficient contrast from the foreground to the background. The other ones kind of hurt my brain to look at.

3dguy3

Those are AWESOME!

I like the tiny icons you added insided the day grid, too!

PeterAndCompany

Thanks, guys!

Visti: I'm noticing that as I get further into the later games in the series, the frames for the level select get more and more complicated, which can make it difficult to read. I still want to maintain the continuity, though. I like that it gives each one its own flavor.



So yes, here's April, themed after Skull Man. The background on this one was a BITCH to figure out. Those freaking rocks are some of the most needlessly-complex tiles I've ever seen.



Here's the hi-res.

Anyone got a request for May? If not then I'll just grab one of the ones from MM5.

Brainiac 8

Ok, these are pretty awesome. Great work. :^:

see317

I really figured Skull Man would be a shoe in for October. But then, I'd have put Wood man in March for the whole Leaf shield / 4 leaf clover thing.

I'm See317, and I'm a horribly nerdy cliche.

Maybe Plant Man for May? Though that would have worked better if you'd gone with Toad Man for April.


These are all looking awesome. The nostalgia makes me feel all warm and squishy.

MagicToaster

Peter, these are looking incredible with their new frames!

PeterAndCompany

see317 wrote: »

I really figured Skull Man would be a shoe in for October...
Maybe Plant Man for May? Though that would have worked better if you'd gone with Toad Man for April.

Aww, man! I was just making them in the order of which ones were my favorites, and matching any requests that came in. I hadn't thought about actually coordinating the Masters with the month. Toad for April and Plant for May is freaking brilliant. It's a quick fix, and I'll switch Skull to October in the meantime. Thanks!

MagicToaster

December must be some sort of ice boss.

m3nace

MagicToaster wrote: »

December must be some sort of ice boss.

like this?
And July needs gutsman
These are terribly awesome and make me wish I had a nes instead of playing on a shitty keyboard.

PeterAndCompany

Changed up Skull Man for October and put it on the front post. I'll make sure to put Ice Man on December. Guts Man and one of the heat/flame bosses needs to go in the June/July slots. Starting work now on Toad Man for April.

HugmasterGeneral

I'm voting June for Heatman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk5tZftg6NY

Edit: I never realized how raunchy those lyrics were. OH WELL

squidbunny

July heat is way more brutal than June heat. I vote July for HeatMan.

PeterAndCompany

Here's April:



And the Hi-Res.

Man, if there's one thing I'm gaining from this project, it's a ridiculous amount of respect for the original pixel artists at Capcom. These backgrounds are filled with so many details that you just don't notice when you're busy blasting your way through each level.

NibCrom

These look great with the new frames. It brings a nice unity to the designs. Yay for people giving good advice in AC for people listening to it. Hooray for Peter. Hooray for school.

Xaquin

these are pretty incredible

earthwormadam

Wooo will metalman make the cut!? Airman, Bubbleman AhhhH! I'm so excited to see more of these...

HugmasterGeneral

Also, if you put Daylight Saving Time on your calendars, remember, no "s"!

MagicToaster

earthwormadam wrote: »

Wooo will metalman make the cut!? Airman, Bubbleman AhhhH! I'm so excited to see more of these...

Man, I seriously want MetalMan, but I don't see him fitting anywhere. In any case, was he at all popular? I have a track record of liking background characters.

HugmasterGeneral

His weapon was the most popular part about him, since it could shoot in any direction, and was really large compared to Mega Buster.

PeterAndCompany

Ohhh, heck yeah. Metal Man is DEFINITELY going to make the cut somewhere. Maybe I'll put him in for September, I don't have anyone planned for that slot yet. Magnet Man is also going up for November, since that's my birthday month and he's definitely one of my favorites.

Here's May, for Plant Man:



And the hi-res.

I'll make a list on the front page of the coming months and who is planned for them. I can keep the list going into 2012, too.

milk ducks

This is fantastic.

PeterAndCompany

Sorry about the delay! We had a bit of a rush at the office with projects coming in, so I'm only just now getting a few days' worth of breathing time. Gonna start cranking through the rest of the months.

Here's June, with Guts Man!



And the hi-res version.