Brightness standards for profile backgrounds

[Sakura]

This problem just annoys me wildly. Why do almost all good and beautiful backgrounds look very dark and dull? It feels like it's not backgrounds at all, it old pictures that have been lying 10 years in the basement on the floor.
For example, this is why there are practically no girls here?
http://steamcommunity.com/market/listings/753/569970-Ayaka%20%26%20Serenity?filter=Chosen%202
At the same time, Steam has a similar background with bright pictures:
http://steamcommunity.com/market/listings/753/338060-School%20Girls?filter=pretty

Why do some developers give an opportunity to make bright and beautiful backgrounds, and others do not? I'm more than sure that the first background was brighter, but it was not allowed to be original. Why do dark and ugly backgrounds get into the Steam?

[Gwarsbane]

Blame the creators of the backgrounds which are the devs/publishers of the games. They are the ones who you need to talk to to get them to brighten them up.

Valve doesn't need to set any "minimum" or "maximum" brightness for backgrounds. If people don't like the look of a background, say something to the developer/publisher of the game the background is for.

Valve has only made the ability for emoticons and backgrounds, beyond that the developer/publisher is 100% responsible for making them. I think the most Valve will do is check it to make sure it doesn't break any of their rules (no nudity, swearing and stuff like that), other then that they don't care about brightness because thats the design choice of the developer/publisher.


So in other words, go post in the games discussion area, maybe you can convince them to update the background and make it brighter.

[HEART]

Originally posted by Sakura:

This problem just annoys me wildly. Why do almost all good and beautiful backgrounds look very dark and dull?

That's a helluva generalization for what amounts to a selection of over 25,000 backgrounds.

Also, go here and click on "brightness"... http://steam.tools/backgrounds/#/ There's plenty that are more than bright enough.

"Almost all"....LOL

[Sakura]

Originally posted by Gwarsbane:

Blame the creators of the backgrounds which are the devs/publishers of the games. They are the ones who you need to talk to to get them to brighten them up.

Valve doesn't need to set any "minimum" or "maximum" brightness for backgrounds. If people don't like the look of a background, say something to the developer/publisher of the game the background is for.

Valve has only made the ability for emoticons and backgrounds, beyond that the developer/publisher is 100% responsible for making them. I think the most Valve will do is check it to make sure it doesn't break any of their rules (no nudity, swearing and stuff like that), other then that they don't care about brightness because thats the design choice of the developer/publisher.


So in other words, go post in the games discussion area, maybe you can convince them to update the background and make it brighter.

Steam has a lot of rules about creating backgrounds and many of them lead to the fact that the brightness of the picture on the background has to be reduced. So I was explained on the forms devoted to the development of the game. I would not raise this topic if it was an initiative of developers.

[HEART]

Originally posted by Sakura:

Steam has a lot of rules about creating backgrounds and many of them lead to the fact that the brightness of the picture on the background has to be reduced. So I was explained on the forms devoted to the development of the game.

This is a load of ♥♥♥♥. Someone was shining you on.

[Gwarsbane]

Originally posted by Sakura:

Steam has a lot of rules about creating backgrounds and many of them lead to the fact that the brightness of the picture on the background has to be reduced. So I was explained on the forms devoted to the development of the game. I would not raise this topic if it was an initiative of developers.

Thats a bunch of bull. Who ever told you that lied to you. There are no rules about the brightness of a background. Why would there be? That makes no sense at all.

Here are a bunch of backgrounds that are nice and bright.
http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/212480/960294356284802e4cadabe2b3f7f2621935ab5e.jpg

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/332480/cb824eb29e775171254ea482c5a8b8110948c2b6.jpg

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/434610/7cf697650cb3bff3308780c2f07c8e86f1cac871.jpg

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/275470/32f3e065ddde7d795017232fc390d2d108a35bd6.jpg

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/265170/19bdc1ecdc2e81270ec75487fc83ea2db200b872.jpg

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/207150/0c622175d389e78a67fba0d43ac058cf77f24139.jpg

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/275510/bdfa6f5ea421f957844e1c4323e0380fa8e52f40.jpg

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/354850/df4b8edcc82b9feeb161c4def4ac40eac63f9164.jpg

These are just ones in my own inventory. Everyone of them has bright colors.

Again, its 100% up to the developer/publishers of the game to create the backgrounds and emoticons, and as long as they pass the rules that everyone on Steam has agreed to (no swearing, nudity, racist crap and stuff like that) it can go up as a background.

Again it makes no sense that valve would tell them "Sorry but its too bright, it has to be darker" when there are a ton load of very bright backgrounds up on steam.

[DeXP]

Originally posted by Gwarsbane:

Thats a bunch of bull. Who ever told you that lied to you. There are no rules about the brightness of a background.

It was me, who said him about that. But please do not call me a liar. Some quotes from https://partner.steamgames.com/documentation/tradingcards :

Profile Backgrounds
NOTE: Transition at least the sides and bottom of the image to black so there are no visible edges to the backgrounds.
...
Do not use bright imagery, backgrounds should not distract from the profile content
Use dark imagery that blends into black

Maybe, something changed since 2015. But in 2015 I got clear comment from moderator:

Please ensure the profile backgrounds use dark and subtle imagery tailored to the space. The current images are too bright. The art should be secondary to the profile itself and not compete with the profile content or interfere with legibility.

8 March 2017 I got this comment:

Backgrounds - Make sure that the edges are all feathered out so that there are no hard edges or white lines leftover.

Yep, there is no words about brightness. But when I darkened all image - it passed the moderation.

[Sovietball]

Originally posted by Sakura:

This problem just annoys me wildly. Why do almost all good and beautiful backgrounds look very dark and dull? It feels like it's not backgrounds at all, it old pictures that have been lying 10 years in the basement on the floor.
For example, this is why there are practically no girls here?
http://steamcommunity.com/market/listings/753/569970-Ayaka%20%26%20Serenity?filter=Chosen%202
At the same time, Steam has a similar background with bright pictures:
http://steamcommunity.com/market/listings/753/338060-School%20Girls?filter=pretty

Why do some developers give an opportunity to make bright and beautiful backgrounds, and others do not? I'm more than sure that the first background was brighter, but it was not allowed to be original. Why do dark and ugly backgrounds get into the Steam?

It should just have a brightness slider.

[Gwarsbane]

These ones seem pretty bright to me and the ones I mentioned earlier are are from many different years.

Dead Rising 4 Released March 4th 2017
http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/543460/97642eba4428c4802885a8dbe938ac515fb9535f.jpg

Toukiden 2 Released March 5th 2017
http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/items/363130/1b84c7354ecbbebb2aa6efd35df48300f0e882c1.jpg


I still fail to understand why Valve would say "no it has to be darker" Anything in the middle is blocked by the profile, anything on the edges is just an image that while yes distracts, is easily ignored to look back at the profile.

[DeXP]

Originally posted by Gwarsbane:

I still fail to understand why Valve would say "no it has to be darker"

Because of Steam OS and "Big Picture" mode:

NOTE: There is no need to hide the imagery that flows behind the profile content, it will be visible in SteamOS profiles.
https://partner.steamgames.com/public/images/Documentation/tradingcards/background2.png

[Black Blade]

How did the images look before you darken them?

[HEART]

I remember this thread. I still find it hard to believe given one of my favorite backgrounds. It literally makes you turn away on some monitors.

http://steamcommunity.com/market/listings/753/96100-Gauntlet%20Entrance?filter=defy%20background

this one too, which is ironically called "shine bright"
http://steamcommunity.com/market/listings/753/324470-Shine%20Bright%20Like%20a%20Opportunity