Help with Cave tileset for platformer [C&C][WIP]

[Tidbit]

Hey gang, I've been working on a platformer with a friend for a while and I've finally gotten around to making some proper assets for him to use. I currently have four-five character animations and a cave tileset in the works since caves will be the main area focus for the game.
Here are the tiles, and here is a very early mockup of the tiles in action
 
(the spikes and other assets are just placeholders)
They are 16x16 and use a total of five colors so far. I've already noticed some repetition in the ceiling tiles but I think I'm in the clear for the others so far. I'm going for a bit of a classic-ish feel for the tiles but I'll gladly change the style if it fits the character better.
Any ideas and or suggests for BG tiles or things I can use to help fill out the levels aesthetics would be much appreciated.

[Tidbit]

Minor update on tiles and example:


Would really appreciate some feedback guys, this thread has close to a hundred views already and I'd be shocked if there was no one on this board that had at least something to say  .

[pudman]

Just a thought but I would shoot for a multi layered background, something that scrolls at different speed to the foreground or even 2 layers of the background that scroll at different speeds to each other an the foreground. That way you can do simple 'fillers' but they look a million dollars.

[PypeBros]

Well, your tileset is very generic at the moment. It also feels like you rotated one block (either vertical or horizontal) to get every angle you needed, which makes it feel very unnatural.

[Tidbit]

Well, your tileset is very generic at the moment. It also feels like you rotated one block (either vertical or horizontal) to get every angle you needed, which makes it feel very unnatural.

The rotated tiles were for a placeholder while I worked on the real angled tiles. Do you have any suggestions to break up the monotony of the tiles? I've never done cave tiles before so I'm a little unsure of what direction to take.

edit:

Alright, I finished the angled tiles:

Just a thought but I would shoot for a multi layered background, something that scrolls at different speed to the foreground or even 2 layers of the background that scroll at different speeds to each other an the foreground. That way you can do simple 'fillers' but they look a million dollars.

I believe this is what you meant doing? I altered the original sheets colors and then made three other copies with darker hue-shifted versions of those tiles to be used in the background. I think my tiles were really helped with the addition of the more natural looking slopes as well.

[pudman]

Parallax scrolling was what I meant (the name came to me as I toddled off to bed). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RZRE0M3Hvc is not my video but a great example of it. I think the last pic works great just needed to have greater contrast between your fore and background to bring out what the player is on. As for monotony rocks are not the only things in caves, lamps/torches, bats, glow worms, spiders, tree roots, water, just a few ideas to add to your foreground. It will really depend on gameplay as well and the type of game you are making.

Excuse the crudeness of the art but it was a rush job. Just a few ideas hopefully it will help you out.

.....don't know how to post pictures on here yet hahaha, so you just have to imagine how great it was.

Ok reading the faq helps

[PypeBros]

Do you have any suggestions to break up the monotony of the tiles? I've never done cave tiles before so I'm a little unsure of what direction to take.

http://sylvainulg.deviantart.com/art/art-of-rayman-caves-of-Skops-289262119
http://sylvainhb.blogspot.be/2011/12/art-of-shantae.html

Essentially, select environment which you find interesting and study why you find them interesting. Then try to apply those results to your game. A backstory may greatly help.

[Wanyo]

While I agree with the tileset being a little less than exciting (I agree with the others, look at game tilesets you find interesting and see what you like about it), the differing styles of the character and the tiles are most jarring to me. I assume you were going for a separation between character and interacting tiles but it's so far detached that it feels like a completely different style. It probably has to do with the sharp maroon/brownish border that is far more saturated than everything else while all the rest of the colors are far less saturated.

[Decroded]

While I agree with the tileset being a little less than exciting (I agree with the others, look at game tilesets you find interesting and see what you like about it), the differing styles of the character and the tiles are most jarring to me. I assume you were going for a separation between character and interacting tiles but it's so far detached that it feels like a completely different style. It probably has to do with the sharp maroon/brownish border that is far more saturated than everything else while all the rest of the colors are far less saturated.

agreed it needs work but dark saturated red hues are quite good to make a sprite pop from background.

[Wanyo]

agreed it needs work but dark saturated red hues are quite good to make a sprite pop from background.

Very true, I like that it helps it pop while at the same time it feels unnatural stylistically here.

Maybe if the dark saturated reds were just on the borders instead of throughout or perhaps change the dark saturated colors to match the insides of the sprite?

WTB extra time to make edits for people! >_<