FIRST PPC CHALLENGE - ROLLING BACKGROUND

I have posted a tutorial on how to make a rolling road or background in PowerPoint. The first PPC Challenge relates to this.

The challenge for all you lovely members is to produce a PowerPoint game or animation which uses a rolling road or background. It can be a shooting game, a maze game, a treasure hunt game, a racing game or any other kind of game. Or, you can get creative with the method to produce a pure animation.

Here are the rules:

1. The game or animation must be posted to this sub-forum, not the main Games or Animation forums. (See the READ ME on how to post games etc)
2. It should be an original work, produced between now and the closing date
3. It can be as simple or complex as you like, but there is a time limit
4. The closing date for posting is 11 December 2017 (I'm willing to negotiate slightly on this)
5. PPC Admin staff and Featured Members are eligible to participate in this challenge
6. This is not a competition. There are no prizes, but you might get praise and constructive feedback from staff or other members (and it must be constructive!)

See the 'Challenges & contests FAQs' for more information on what these are about.

As this is the first PPC Challenge I'll be grateful for any comments or feedback that might help with future ones - and please get back to me if you have any questions.

GOOD LUCK! - Really looking forward to seeing how you can rise to this challenge!

Here's what I was able to throw together, I think it turned out well. When you mentioned repeating backgrounds, I couldn't help but think of the older Hanna-Barbera cartoons like Flintstones, Jetsons, Scooby Doo, etc. These cartoons were notorious for having looped backgrounds. I went with something along those lines, with a different driver behind the Mystery Machine.

Download PowerPoint Animation

It does work really well. I love the way the van and the driver bump along!

I've had a go at using the technique described in the tutorial. Here's the PPTX version so you should be able to get in and see how the animation for the background goes. (Hope the link works - it goes to PowerPoint Online and you can download from there).

There's always more than one way to skin a cat in PowerPoint!

MysteryMachine 2

Here's my contribution. Three scrolling items in all. Countries, clouds and some text that scrolls across after few seconds.

Ever since watching the very first Star Treks on TV, I always had a little chuckle on seeing how the producers made sure that the American audience was always sure that Captain Kirk and crew were 'back home' at planet Earth.

Check it out here:

Planet Star Trek

I just made this over the past two hours, specifically in an attempt to pass this challenge.

I have always been enthralled by that horse intro from "The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time".  Something about that always made me wish I could create something just like it in PowerPoint. 

However, as the technique to achieve this feat did render a little bit risky from a timing perspective, I'd never quite been fully motivated to give it a go until today.

This "Scrolling Background Challenge" just seemed like the perfect chance to "step up to the plate and shoot that puck right through that flaming hoop!"

Now, granted I'm blind enough to be completely unable to draw my own shapes, I did use prerendered images for this ProJect, but I promise you, the good intentions were all there.

Anyway, please enjoy, and "HAPPY JADING!"

You can download "Beach View 2 With Horse" here!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4cnun75vrum39ok/Beach%20View%202%20With%20Horse.ppsx?raw=1

Good for you. Great stuff!

The speed of the scrolling background and the horse match really well.

Really appreciate you taking on this challenge. Have you done scrolling backgrounds before, or was this something new for you?

Incidentally, I'm finding that watching this kind of continuous loop animation can actually be quite relaxing!

Jade, I agree with John. Your looping background syncs well with the horse. Great job, especially if this was your first time trying this technique!

Uh heh heh heh, thank you both!  This in fact WAS my very first time creating this effect, and now that I know just how easy it is, I can't wait to start implementing it into my various future game engines!

By the way, John, yes!  I totally agree, it's INCREDIBLY relaxing!  I literally sat there and watched it for quite some time until I got hungry for lunch; all the while having been utterly soothed to complete contentment.

Here's something quick I've made using this technique. This is my first time with rolling backgrounds, and I have to say it's pretty cool this can be done in PowerPoint.

GuyOnRocket.pptx

@rusnakcreative and JadeJohnsonGames: Both of you guys' animations were fantastic and relaxing to view. I guess the continuous smooth animations somehow instill that sense of relaxation.

I love it Tim.  I love it, I love it; I LOVE it!  Not only is "Guy On Rocket" relaxing, but it's cute too. 

Although, this whole challenge adventure has led me to think that I should launch a sort of relaxation slash meditation streaming service that would happily reside in its own section of "The JadeShop" called "LULL", for which developers could even go the extra mile and add soothing music, calming sounds, and maybe even some meditation guidance or yoga lessons.  What do you think about THAT!  Eh?  Eh?

Nicely done Tim! The scrolling background and the movement of the rocket man look great. The only suggestion I would make would be to have the bottom clouds as full coulor rather than transparent as they seem to be at the moment. This would put the rocket man in front of some clouds but behind others - unless of course you intended for him to be flying through the clouds, in which case I'd make them bigger to make it clear that's what's happening. A next development could be to have one or more rocket men with 'fly-in' (or motion paths) to and from the outside of the screen.

Jade: Regarding the relaxing attributes of this kind of animation, I also had the thought of having some kind of section for them. Naturally though, I thought about them being posted to this forum first!  

Btw - can anyone work out how I made the revolving planet Earth on Planet Star Trek above?

I'm guessing you used "The PowerPoint Spice Spinning Globe Trick".  Eh?

Funny you mentioned PowerPoint Spice, I invited her to check us out and hopefully share some cool tricks of the trade. 

Spicy, if you're out there, drop on by and say hi!

But yes, I fully understand about having a section on this site for "LULL" type animations.  Think of it like this.  I'm still doing it my way, but you guys are totally welcome to join the JadeShop developer crew by posting your animations to a service whose links allow for direct downloads and address copying (think DropBox, PowerPointGames.uk, etc), and then giving me your expressed permission to add your title to the JadeShop catalogue. 

Just be sure to alert me as soon as any links change so I may update them.

Right now, we have the Animations forum which would be the ideal place to share these animations. If and when we gain enough activity, I'll consider having a sub-forum with relaxing animations.

I get it, I've got it; and I'm good!  Thanks for the reassertion.