Web-based Gamertag/MSN Banner image generator...

I’ve just completed the first pass at a small web-based application that will allow you to select a banner style and enter in either your gamer tag or instant messenger email address and have a generated image returned that you can ‘save as’ for use on your site. (This was done on purpose so that people wouldn’t just pass in a URL and cause my site to be hammered due to having to keep generating images ;-) )

I’m happy that the capability to accomplish this is built into the FCL, however, I did run into a few problems. One, the FCL doesn’t really support the creation of .GIF files, especially those that need transparency. Second, why does GDI+ and Photoshop draw the same exact font so differently? Third, the conversion of an image to a .GIF in GDI+ seems to wash out the colors a bit.

Even though I’m not 100% happy with the results (I’m pretty picky sometimes)… I guess it beats having to build these by hand using Photoshop whenever someone sends me a request :-D

So without further ado, here’s the XboxFriends.com BannerGen application for your enjoyment. (If you have a suggestion for a better font to choose from, be sure to send me a comment.) I should also point out, I’m considering this release a beta release… based on feedback I’ll make improvements over time.

I also want to credit Duncan Mackenzie for the seeding the idea in my brain.