[WIP] [C+C] Tile set mock-up

[Linaru]

I have been working on the character on another thread and decided it would help if i already had a level mockup, that way i can better match the characters style to the level.

so while i was taking a break from the character i drew up a tile set and made this mockup.

clean:


With rough mock-up lighting:


i was wandering if people had any ideas on ways to improve upon it
at the moment it feels very square
and obviously there is no background.

[Pusty]

I think it looks great!
But the grass/moos looks a bit weird for me and the rocks at the top are kinda repetitive

[Linaru]

yeah i should probably add some more variations of all the flat blocks. but i did not feel i should do that till i was sure all these looked and worked fine.
currently im trying to work out the mechanics for some slopes that make make the over all shape more 'cavey'

[FoxhoundOH]

The first and most glaring issue is that there is so much black in the scene that it looks very stale; there are actually very few games with solid black backgrounds. (A few RPGs come to mind, Final fantasy was always a big offender.) A lot of people do this because subconsciously we know that light isn't penetrating the ground so it's dark down there. Instead I would approach a sidescrolling scene as a sort of cutaway view, in that regard we can see what's in the ground even if our characters cannot.

I've never been a fan of the generated shadow approach in pixel games; it feels entirely out of place even in the best of implementation. The image will become much more appealing once color has been injected into the scene. I've included a sort of mockup as an example. Though it completely lacks detail it should provide a sort of guideline for what a cutaway scene would be like and an example of more dynamic colors than the ones being used currently.

Lastly, this is a very large screen to be packing detail into. Repetitive patterns and empty space will be much more noticeable at the current resolution.

[Linaru]

okay so a little update:

i have started working on 1X1 and 2X2 slopes.. I have done the floor ones but have not finished the vertical or ceiling ones yet.
i also added a few more variation blocks.



i am still thinking about how to deal with the large black areas of the screen.

not really sure what you mean by adding more dynamic colours? the scene is supposed to be quite dark and gloomy and I already feel the colour palette is a little to bright with to much contrast.

[FoxhoundOH]

By more dynamic colors I was referring to colors that would help set a dark, gloomy mood. In this instance they would be something other than brown for the ground. I'n a low light situation such as this the colors of objects would not be the same as they are in full sunlight. I would suggest using purples and/or blues to give the scene a cooled, dark feeling. This can be contrasted by areas of strong light where the ground does appear to be brown; and would make for a nice effect.

Adding the slopes and backround is a major improvement to the scene, much more aesthetically pleasing!

[Linaru]

I decided the outline around the stone looked a bit ugly, started changing up the tile set  a bit :


thinking i will create a second set of tiles in a different colour for the background but i am having trouble picking the right contrast, I want it to be darker than the level tiles so it looks like there is depth but i don't really want the black to be any darker than the current shade of black.
i am also thinking of having some foreground elements to go between camera and player

[RedSuinit]

You really need some hue shifting in this image, the palette feels very stale. Take your darker shades more towards the purple/blue spectrum and your highlights towards green/yellow.

[Linaru]

been working on a background tile set:



the grey background will be some sort of parallax I think. the background tiles that are not part of the parallax will look better once i finish the sloped versions as will the ceilings sloped versions.   

also playing around with water i quite like this simplistic solid colour at the moment


I have made several attempts to tweak the colours and contrast in the various ways suggested but it always ends up looking either awful or so close to the current colour that its not worth changing.
maybe i just don't have a very good 'sense' of how colour works but i seem to disagree with allot of suggestions to increase contrast.

i also created an 'under ground detail' tile to try and break up some of the black area.. though i am not to sure if it looks any good.. maybe there is a better way to break up the black.

[aamatniekss]

I think what the guys meant is that you should ditch the brown colours and go for something like in this recolour. But obviously with better colours and stuff, just not brown.