Lo-res Sci-fi Tileset help?

[Shanenopolis]

I'm working on a low resolution, low detail science fiction tileset. It's 16x16 and I'm trying to emulate the visual style of Superbrothers, Hyper Light Drifter, Kingdom, stuff like that. I normally work with more detail and colors, though, so I seem to be having a hard time with this. No matter how much I reduce the detail and color count (down to 3 or 4 for most elements), it still feels too detailed for the style I'm looking for. When I try to reduce it more, I feel like it loses the definition and you can't tell what's what.

Here's a sample:



I'm hoping someone has some suggestions for maybe how to get the clean feel I'm looking for without losing the science fictiony feel I'm also looking for. Maybe there are small things I can do to break up an otherwise single-color flat wall that hint at high tech without much detail? I don't know, I'm kind of struggling here.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Gil]

Individual tiles look pretty good to me, but I can't read the mockup at a glance. I have issues telling at a glance what is a wall, what is a floor, etc. The issue seems to be that everything is almost the same value (brightness), and while you have some tiles that have dark and light variations, you don't seem to use them in a way that helps indicate a light source. Lots of games solve this in lots of different ways, and you'll need to find a solution that suits you.

[Shanenopolis]

Ok, I'm still working on it, but I think it's looking better:

[Decroded]

Edit: feedback was targeted at original image but still posting because much of it still applies.

Main problem is with how horizontal and vertical planes are portrayed.
horizontal planes should by default be "lighter" than vertical wall.
Tricky thing to get the hang of is keeping visual priority low since open floor is generally irrelevant to gameplay and u want to make sure it doesnt compete with sprites.

Another problem is that everything is made of the same sized blocks which really makes the grid obvious.
U need some more parts where 2 or 3  tiles combine to something so u can vary sizes and add some organic shapes such as cables and pipes.

In regards your detail issue...u dont need detail everywhere.
Try having areas of flat colour with artistically places bits of detail.
The door is a detail and having detail on either side of it competes for attention so suddenly door doesnt stand out so much.
For me it took specific practice to get the feel of when less is more.
Its also a style choice though. Some games pack in loads of detail but use colours to control priority.
Also in a sea of detail, something with a LACK of detail can take priority over its surroundings.

[Gil]

The new one doesn't have the same problem for me. It's very clear what is floor and what is not at a glance. I like that you made floors low-detail and walls high detail. I can walk on the low detail stuff, but not on the high detail stuff.

It has this 60's scifi feel, which I like, but I feel like you're missing random techno gadgets. I would now add some gadgets, like small monitors or patch panels with cables. Some sort of bold detail color might be fun too. Let's look at the iconic Star Trek set for help:



As you can tell, the red they use, really brings it alive and all of the monitors with random data bring out the tech feel in a major way.

[Shanenopolis]

Decroded: Yes, the door needed some work. I'm liking where it's at now, fits much better with the surroundings, but also stands out.



Gil: That's an interesting note about the bold red trim. I might be able to work something in like that to help bring attention to certain objects or areas (like the yellow caution stripe in the doorways). And yes, the miscellaneous tech stuff (consoles, cables, and crates) are coming up. First I want to finish the floors and walls. The next step is some stairs/ramps, which I'll post soon.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys!

[Decroded]

Hey who knows if u mockup a larger section someone might edit in some cool ideas for misc tech stuff.
Probably wont be me though sorry I'm pretty devoid of cool ideas  and cant get on computer anyway

[Shanenopolis]

Ok, I've made some progress over the weekend. Here are some depictions of a utility ramp (going to put a sliding cargo lift in that slot), and 3 angles of stairs. I've also got a railing implemented, as well as a floor tile variation. Do you guys think the detail levels are in line with the floor/walls? Again, I'm trying to go for a clean simple look (a la Hyper Light Drifter).

[Decroded]

HLD is not pure pixel art.
It starts to become a little difficult for some of us to really comment what is appropriate if the whole thing is going to be changed with overlays and lighting effects.
But providing some examples of with and without ur intended lighting effects would be a good place to start.

As it stands i find the colours really boring and the designs lack 3d form.
For example the walls are all just flat with a few little bumps and lines and dont have any real structure to them.
There's some little projection issues too like the number of pixels the door recedes at the bottom doesnt match the top.
I'm only viewing on my phone's 5" display @ 2,560 x 1,440 and at 100% its still noticeable.
I'd encourage u to literally think outside the boxes and "paint" in some larger structural parts.
Do some design work, use references, watch Aliens and Dark Matter and stuff to get ideas.

By the way the wall above top ramp, the light fall-off is rendered very boringly.
Try to vary the size of colour bands in these situations, same goes for rendering cylinders and spheres.
Someone posted this recently which is a good overview of what I'm talking about with shading - https://youtu.be/V3WmrWUEIJo

Another thing that helps is have more actual forms where there are lights instead of flat things . Scifi is perfect for this because u can make all sorts of strong lights and darks and different colours to an extent u can only really get away with in this genre so make good use of it!

[Shanenopolis]

That was a pretty good video, thanks! You're right about the added lighting effects I would plan for the game, though, which is why I'm trying not to shade too much. I also worry that adding more detail will lose the flat surfaces I'm going for.