Page Content

• Mood Analysis

• Sprites

• Level Art

Mood Analysis

Vampire Killer mood is set in a dark and creepy castle with the cold atmosphere of central European territories, in this case Transylvania, from vampire stories such as Dracula from Bram Stoker. Related to this horror genre style, the game includes several enemies that are very present in popular culture such as the creature from Frankenstein, Medusa from Greek mythology and much more. Despite the restricted color palette disponible for the MSX2, the pixel art in Vampire Killer greatly uses contrast between colors to show shadows and objects shapes, as well as difference from the varying backgrounds.

Art/Concept Art

Simon Belmont - Main Playable Character

Dracula - Main Antagonist and Final Boss

The Old Crone - Trader / Merchant

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Bosses

Bat Boss

Medusa

Mummy

The Creature

Death

Normal Enemies

Zombie

Bat

Black Panther

Merman

Knight

Medusa Head

Slime

Ghost

Bone Pillar

Skelleton

Hunchback

Raven

Eagle

Bone Dragon

Axe Armor

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Objects

Chest

Yellow Key

White Key

Ring

Wings

Money

Potion

White Bible

Black Bible

Boots

Candle

Castle Map

Holy Water

Hourglass

Wand

Shield 1

Shield 2

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Covers & Promotional Art

Japanese Cover & Back

European Cover & Back

Promotional Art for MSX Magazine

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Sprites

The used sprites and spritesheets for the game are here.

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Level Art

Image & Analysis	Level
	Level 1
Level 1 can be divided in five areas separated by doors. The first one and where the game starts in is the Castle's garden, a section that includes the drawing of green trees in the background as well as white mossy statues on the foreground and a big entrance door to the castle. It connects the introduction scene where Simon enters the yard to where the action will start.	Level 1
The following section has wide columns, blocky red windows, large red curtains and a teared age-worn detailed white wallpaper that serve as a background that conects and has enough contrast to the yellow blocks that are in the foreground for the player to interact with for the whole stage. A secret room can also be unlocked by destroying one of these blocks that will lead tho unlocking the next area's door.	Level 1
This section has a top part with the same blocks as walls and floors as well as the previous wide columns but changes the background wall with stone brick walls that have holes and windows, but the most interesting part is the bottom one, that has a cluster of water that has allowed moss to grow under the yellow floor. Some steel fences, which probably retained this water, can also be seen. The next section uses the same style as the first one and leads to the end of this stage, where the final boss is encountered. This last room matches the second section's top part background and includes the columns, the stone wall and the fence.	Level 1
	Level 2
Level 2 does not vary as much in its background art style as the first one does between sections, but it changes little details such as adding arches that project shadows onto the walls, giving a sense of depth that adds to the game so it does not feel plane and lame. The main characteristics of this stage are worn-out big granite brick walls, windows that face the dark blue night sky, granite brick columns instead of white ones (from stage 1) and it replaces the blocky floor and walls to make them more rocky and natural-looking.	Level 2
The major changes in this stage are placed in the last section, where you face Medusa. You can find some spiky traps that will descend from the celling while on your way to the fight. Once there, there's a red statue on the middle of the room that will behead itself to transform into the boss enemy and in the background, instead of open windows, there are stained glass windows that resemble the ones from churches but colored with bright red and blue	Level 2
	Level 3
Level 3 uses wide stone bricks for the background walls (and the columns), that include small windows, big ones from where the skyline of a forest can be seen, holes made from usage and vines that climb troughut the walls of the entire level. The interactable floor and walls are made of a brownish rock that makes great contrast with the greenish stone a vine leaves.	Level 3
Around the middle zone of the stage, we can see the same black skyline that was visible from previous windows but with great details added. Appart from the pine-like trees, zones of the castle that are far can be seen. These are towers or similar, that include yellow, red and white pixels simulating the fact that there are windows on those towers that let the light from torches be seen from far away, where we are. This stage's boss room changes the height of the background bricks and makes them a bit bigger and darker, but the vibe is conserved overall.	Level 3
	Level 4
Level 4 can be divided in 3 different zones. The first section is set on a cave that has water in its bottom part. The background color is blue and black, where blue is representing the reflection of the water onto the stalactites and stalagmites that form the cave's walls and black the shadows of cave openings or passages. On the foreground, the floor, walls and moving platforms are given a gray rocky appearences that will be mantained throught the level, there are also gray stalactites growing from the top and piles of skulls and bones in some platforms.	Level 4
After getting out of the cave, a new section with blue bakcground and what seem as mountains in the distance is presented. In this section, water tides and destroyed detailed gray and blue columns that come from there are seen through the horizon. There are also some columns that connect at the top with a furnished silver arch.	Level 4
Finally, the section that leads to the creature boss, has blue bricks that decrease in size the taller they go as the background, columns with the same color and black doors that connect different rooms in a laberinthic way. The final room shares the same big bricks and aesthetics of the last section but adding two new blue and red columns with the same pattern from the ones of the second section	Level 4
	Level 5
Level 5 can also be divided in 3 different zones. The stage starts off in what seems as a catacomb and the place where prisoners have been retained, this due to the fact that there are piles of bones and skulls, hanged skelletons, hanging handcuffs and red jail doors in the background. The back wall is made from big square blocks of light gray rock and some striped gray columns. The interactable floors and walls are made from big natural brown rocks in all the stage.	Level 5
The second section's background is made of natural grey rocks that vary in size and includes the same columns of the previous sections, black windows, some red coffins with a cross, shelves full of potions with different colors and sizes an finally what seems as a mummified body which its being experimented with.	Level 5
Before arriving to the boss section, another bit of catacombs is seen, but later the background changes to dark grey rohumbuses that form the back walls, the columns change to have a detailed pattern and a shiny silver color. There are also paintings of dracula with and without beard that have silver and gold frames.	Level 5
	Level 6
Level 6 is the entrance to the clock tower. The stage starts with destroyed towers with windows that are interconnected by bridges that will lead to the clock mechanisms. A forest skyline can be seen from these bridges as well as the dark sky. The towers and background are made from gray stone bricks, some of this bricks include bright green vines or patterns and arches if they are below the bridges. The interactable floors and walls are made from small yellowish rocks.	Level 6
After making your way through the bridges you enter an enclosed section with the same colors and adding columns of the same material and some yellow fences. Climbing a bit will lead to seeing the clock tower's chains and gears, some of which are interactable. The difference can be told by the color: the big horizontal yellow gears can be jumped on but the smaller gray ones are in the background.	Level 6
	Level 7
The last level, level 7, starts in the castle keep and ends in Dracula's throne room. We enter the castle keep by going up some stairs while having a view of the night sky with a waxing crescent yellow moon. Once there we are presented with shabby light gray stone walls as a background and dark red bricks as the foreground floors and walls.	Level 7
After some parkour, we arrive to the throne room. There, a big square painting of Dracula's asleep face lies, the red bricks become lighter and then the painting eye's open as you start the fight with the count	Level 7

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