YAY, it's open!
thanks dj (now i just have to make something worth uploading...)

my friend is off to china as well... doubtless you'll see him as china is such a small place
good luck on whatever you're doing there

one more and then im off to bed
this guy is a evil midget scientist holding a power rod of some sort(dont ask; im very tired )

im happy to help; hopefully they will work
here is herodude with a bazooka
oh, and i fixed up the other two a bit because they looked odd(making that a total of 5 edits )

those were just a couple of random sprites i pulled out of a folder to help express an idea.
i could try making so real sprites if you'd like, but it would be easier if you were a little more explicit as to what kind of character/pose and all that you want as i have very little imagination
EDIT: that so should be some. this new keyboard is very odd sometimes

HOPEFULLY A HELPFUL SECOND EDIT: ok, here is a monochrome hero of sorts facing right. does that type work, or do you want something a little less tween-aged?

A THIRD, SLIGHTLY MORE INQUISITIVE EDIT: these are just being used for stills, right? is there a reason you cant use text sprites? that would make things a whole lot easier

FOURTH, SOMEWHAT SELF DEPRICATING EDIT: wow, that wasnt what you asked for at all(and here i am telling you to be more specific ). ok, here is the same fellow, but less cheerful and more fight-oriented(and in a profile view to boot)

im happiest with the screen resolution.
it will allow all the detail of 16*16 tilemappers without the incredibly crowded feel they cause on ti models. it will also make spriting easier(for me, at least) because i can only make sprites look decent when they're small. furthermore, 4 times the screen seemed fitting for 4 times the processing power =D.

ninca leece-on top of the world(brilliant video here)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXCbWKqgyoU

other than that, my music selection is very diverse(grouped according to similar-ish genre):
The Flaming Lips/Arcade Fire
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes/Freelance Whales/Mumford and Sons
The Protomen/Anamanuguchi
Delorean(not the death metal one)/Animal Collective/The Postal Service/Passion Pit
Nifflas/Dan Deacon/nujabes
Gregory and the Hawk/Jaymay/Jenny Owen Youngs/Florence and the Machine
Amiina/Múm/Sigur Ros/Jonsi
Ugly Casanova/Modest Mouse
Tow Waits/Avishai Cohen/Cab Calloway/Helen Jane Long
Neverhood ost/Machinarium ost/flashygoodness/katamari damacy ost
Oingo Boingo
They Might Be Giants
Susumu Hirasawa/Yoko Kanno
and a megaton others(around 5k)

that's pretty sweet!
unless you find some way to radically increase the speed of the sweeping, though, i'd leave it as it is. pausing screen update would ruin the gray, and the only other way i can think of doing it would be storing the data in a different spot and then copying it all over after the sweeping process is over(which adds a bit of unnecessary code). oh, and a suggestion: you should try making scrolling maps larger than the screen, as nobody has ever done that either, and it would make your sweeping effect more useful. good luck!