Pixelation
Critique => Pixel Art => Topic started by: untiedgames on April 25, 2016, 07:11:14 am
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Hello! First time sharing work here. I make pixel art tilesets regularly, and this is my newest: Molten Foundry! It's an industrial-themed area with lava everywhere.
I also record the making of them! Here's the making of this tileset: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGta6XvFNJ8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGta6XvFNJ8)
(http://i.giphy.com/xT1XGU3sKTPL2RNYCk.gif)
Hope you like it! If you're curious, I use Pyxel Edit and a little Photoshop.
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Looks great!
Just a small nitpick: you need to work on readability a bit. It's probably a bit too hard to distinguish which platforms can be walked on and what's background. For example, I can't figure out whether the hook assembly is something I can jump on (it has a bright edge) or not (it uses the same palette as the background). The green platforms are better, because they use a distinct palette, but I still feel like the background is so busy, it makes even the green platforms a bit hard to read.
I'm sure these work in a game, but making it clearer reduces eye fatigue and makes the game faster (it's easier to make split decisions, so you can make the gameplay faster in turn).
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Thanks for the feedback!
I did intend for the hook objects to be something a player could stand on. I think both issues might be solved if I darken the pillars in the background slightly. That would bring both the hook and the green platforms into the foreground a little more.
If some parallax is used, it also brings them to the foreground:
(http://i.giphy.com/26AHrK7JmnbumftK0.gif)
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Yeah, the parallax does help a fair bit and I agree that simply darkening the background a bit is probably the way to go.
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It would also be possible to place an object or enemy on the hook platform the first time it appears, that way the player knows it is not part of the background. Of course, this is not the ideal solution for a tileset meant for other developers.
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Really cool tileset man! I agree that the background could be a little darker, and maybe the lava could have a bit smoother animation.
Do you have a place where I could see all the other 28 tilesets as pictures? :)
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I think the lava is very busy. It might not matter depending on what kind of game it is (if the game is fast enough, you probably won't spend much time looking at the lava animation), but I can see it sticking out in a slower game or slower segments.
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For the lava, to make it a bit smoother, the trick is to make several lava animations that all tile together and randomly use them. Even two or three would work probably. I always show these as a proof of concept:
(http://art.game-designer.org/portfolio/pixel/MOCKUP_grass.png) (http://art.game-designer.org/portfolio/pixel/MOCKUP_desert.png)
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The "lava" being transparent makes it look like boiling tea rather than lava - it looks almost like you should be able to swim in it for a little while before it kills you, rather than the insta-death that it probably is.
Molten rock and molten metal are opaque. Plus, they're that colour because they're glowing, so even if they were translucent, the glow would still make them effectively opaque because it would drown out anything darker that's seen through them.
Edit: This it off-topic, but I love the crane as a level design element, since it gives the player both a quick pathway that requires control finesse, and a slower way that doesn't.
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What Eishiya said regarding the lava being too bubbly. It looks like water. Maybe if it had fewer bubbles? Maybe if it 'peeled' open like lava does? Or, what if the lava moved in larger motions, since lava has very high viscosity?
Or maybe its not worth it being realistic. Being realistic isnt that important
PS great description Eishiya re opacity of molten metal and rock. A+ would read again.
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I think the lava looks fantastically stylized, almost like a red counter part to boiling acid hazards.
While it doesn't look realistic, it fits really well. And if you look back at some older platformers you'll see the same kind of lava.
Like in Zero Mission
(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tAsFAVp60RY/hqdefault.jpg)
Or Fusion
(http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/metroid/images/2/26/Ladder.gif/revision/latest?cb=20100628192529)
Edit : Wow those pictures are really low quality, but hopefully you get the idea.
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I think this look fantastic, overall! My only comment would be that I appreciate the highlight on the underside of the mid-ground pipe edges; and I'd love to see the same effect on the green platforms, considering they're so close to the lava.
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Wow, lots of comments! I'll try to respond to everyone.
Do you have a place where I could see all the other 28 tilesets as pictures?
I do! A full list is available here: http://untiedgames.com/assets/ (http://untiedgames.com/assets/)
For the lava, to make it a bit smoother, the trick is to make several lava animations that all tile together and randomly use them.
I think the lava is very busy.
The random variation is a great idea. If I do a second version of this tileset, I'll try and make it smoother. I think I either need more frames, or less violent motion of the lava in order to smooth it out and reduce business.
Molten rock and molten metal are opaque. Plus, they're that colour because they're glowing, so even if they were translucent, the glow would still make them effectively opaque because it would drown out anything darker that's seen through them.
Yup, I'm aware of this! It was a stylistic choice to make the columns stand out through the lava. In the tileset I also include a version of the lava that is opaque, so people can use it any way they want. (And that WAS a very good description of lava!)
What Eishiya said regarding the lava being too bubbly. It looks like water. Maybe if it had fewer bubbles? Maybe if it 'peeled' open like lava does? Or, what if the lava moved in larger motions, since lava has very high viscosity?
In terms of peeling open, do you refer to the bubbles when they burst? I could try tweaking the animation to do this, it might make it a little less abrupt when they pop.
I think this look fantastic, overall! My only comment would be that I appreciate the highlight on the underside of the mid-ground pipe edges; and I'd love to see the same effect on the green platforms, considering they're so close to the lava.
I definitely agree with you there! Realistically, there should be a highlight on the bottom of those platforms. Usually I try to make the highlights in the terrain indicate where the player can stand and collide with the terrain, but I think I can figure something out to get a highlight on the underside without detracting from the appearance of collision.
Thank you for all the feedback! ;D
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I think making a "highlight" that's not very light in value but has a warm hue would work nicely for showing the light from beneath without reading like a playable area.
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First i wanna say welcome and i love this mockup its great :y:
Some ideas.?
Gil makes good points on readability that is obvious to many of our eyes but im torn about the idea of darkening the pillars as i think they add great intensity to the scene.
Instead how about restricting that brighter gold colour to the lower areas where they dont cross the playable area?
And u can maybe fade to much darker near the top and experiment with another hue such as purple-blue (orange's compliment).
I do like the strong vertical element though so good to try to maintain that imo.
Re watery lava an idea is that we can't see so much detail of the framework through the liquid.
Instead we see vague lighter areas blurred by viscosity.
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hey just wanted to say this is very very very awesome!!!!!!!! im in love with it.
regarding the bubbles, a break in uniformity would probably go a long way.
dont worry about what is correct and natural too much. we already get it is lava. focus on making it look and feel good