SLIGHTLY OT:
First let me say use of pattern - great
use of shading and local values - great
attention to detail with minimal tiles - great
use of lighting - nonexistant!!
think of all the great horror films that used lighting to create mood. You've got drab colors, but there's no crazy interplay of light and shadow.
Here's a sketch of a great way you can mess with lighting to create mood done in photoshop because the pixelling will take a while, can do an example if you like the idea, but do not look at this as a way to make the pixel art better:
this is just monochromatic too, you can use full color. Basically I added in bright light from the doorway and a candle, an intermediate zone (where details show up), and then deep shadows. Like I said, lighting like this is not as hard as it sounds (chrono trigger and other games do it well, though it's subtle). You can define simple regions on the floor where characters are visible, black, or nearly white (outside). If this is really survival action/adventure-horror in the "i have 5 bullets and one key surrounded by zillions of zombies" kind of way, the use of light and shadow can make the game so much more intense:
(not specific to zombie horror, but this is what im thinking from):
- keep character in shadows to avoid attention (zombies have bad eyes)
- hide enemies in shadows for HOLY FUCK ZOMBIE DIE DIE DIE action
- use light to blind zombies by opening windows or lighting candles
- hide objects in shadows so that if you move to fast you might accidently make noise and all the zombies are like, oh, there you are, i didn't see you"
and just in general, this lets you make room after room of the same tiles without making the character feel nearly as bored as they normally might so long as the lighting and key objects change!
anyway, you don't have to listen to any of this, i just think it might make for something a little more fun.