(wip) Indie Game tiles.

[Kren]

Well, I have been working on this for two weeks now, and since this is the best place for pixel critiques I hope to get help :


The test are at x2 because the game will be played at x2 with gba resolution... sorry for posting it at x2 I will change that later.

[Jiisuki]

Well, my only comment is to get rid of the black outlines, especially on the tree..
The rocks works with it, but I think they would look alot better without them too..

[JonathanOfDrain]

It looks like you made each piece for a different tile set. The atmosphere is wonky, I know few trees would be so vibrant from growing in rocks. I understand this could be in a fantasy world but even in the most outrageous worlds there is a level or realism. The grass doesn't fit at all.

[tehwexxl0rz]

It looks like you made each piece for a different tile set. The atmosphere is wonky, I know few trees would be so vibrant from growing in rocks. I understand this could be in a fantasy world but even in the most outrageous worlds there is a level or realism. The grass doesn't fit at all.

I agree; the style is very inconsistent. But I like the rocks very much. Although, some of the rock tiles seem unnecessary or redundant. I don't understand why you alternate those two tiles on flat areas. It doesn't make it look more natural, but it makes the tiling more apparent. Also, you're kind of "cheating" in several place by overlapping tiles. Concerning the black outline, either use it consistently or get rid of it.

[ndchristie]

seconded the bit about the flat tiles, if you use them in the same pattern, all you do is increase the size of the tile, not the organic quality.  let them go more randomly instead of in rhythm.

[alspal]

Other than what other people have said, there also seems to be some problems with the tree. The tree seems to lack form, it appears to me that is quite flat, perhaps you shouldn't have highlights in every area of the tree.

[yosh64]

hey

Yep, looks pretty cool, well I like where it's going.

Anyhows ye, the grass looks very unatural and unrealistic.

I think the palette can be improved alot, and more unified and balanced or something. Well the grass looks a bit bright and the color of the tree trunk looks like it can be better also, dunno exactly what to say. But yea, maybe just play around with the palette and see how things go, otherwise ya might wanna wait for someone with better knowledge to help improve on this.

Hmm, I'd imagine after working on it for 2 weeks ya would be a bit or something hehe, so maybe if ya take a break from it and work on something else for a bit and then come back and ya might better see how things can be improved .

But yea, don't get down about all these crits , I can kinda imagine ya might after working 2 weeks on the thing, but I dunno, hehe.

cya

[Kren]

@Jiisuki & JonathanOfDrain: Thanks yeah I know what you mean, hmm I decided to remove the rocks at the bottom of the tree, still I don't knoww hat to add there.. I was thinking in the roots? what do you think?

@tehwexxl0rz & ndchristie: OKay, Decided to remove the alternating.. yeah you are right.. hmm thanks for making me realize about it, Tried to make it more organic as ndchristie( Adarias? new name? nice!) said.

@alspal: okay yeah you made me realize about it I hope it looks less flat the tree!

@yosh64: what grass do you mean? the tall or the small dark one? if you mean the tall, you are right.. I am having a hard time fixing that. I hope you like the new tree and tall grass colours. and Haha, yeah it is alot but still I was expecting this from Pixelation, these c+c are what I need since in pixeljoint they didn't helped me that much as here.l




so what do you think rightnow? removed the black outline in the rocks and tree. and Changed the palette in the tall grass and tree.

[chriskot]

The trees look far better now.

I would say the first thing that you should do at this point is fix the grass. I think that the short grass is good as far as shape is concerned, but it could use another colour or two to give it more dimension. The long grass could also use some more colour variation and it could also use a bit more bend. It's looking a little too mechanical at the moment. Needs to be more organic.

Secondly, the ground below the trees. When JonathanOfDrain was talking about the rocks and the trees, I don't think that he was suggesting that you should remove the rocks from below the tree (or maybe he was, that's just not how I understood it). I have two little issues with what you've done there:
1) The ground texture just sort of falls off. If you are going to remove the rocks under the tree, you could sort of ease into it somehow. Possibly make a ground tile with roots or something? Just an idea. I'm not entirely sure if it would work, but it might be worth a try. That or maybe creating a couple more tiles where the rocks thin out.
2) The grass on top of the blank tile has pieces of rock at the bottom. When I first looked at it, I thought that the roots of the tree were peeking through under the grass.
Personally, I would just put the rocks back under the tree. If you're concerned about the idea of a tree growing in rocks, remember that the tree is a background object and that the ground could be less rocky back there (you just can't see it).

Overall, I quite like it. The rocks look nice. The tree looks nice. The sky will eventually need more detail and the palette may need a tiny bit more fine tuning to make everything look more cohesive, but I like where it's going. Keep up the good work.

[Arachne]

The first thing that bothers me is the contrast between the dark ground and the bright sky. I'd darken the sky a little and add a brighter shade to the ground so that it's not as harsh. The tree could use some work as far as shape is concerned. Give it some branches. I'd also get rid of the highlight on the trunk since it's a background element, so it shouldn't pop out too much. Save highlights for the foreground so that it's easier to distinguish from the background. The use of highlights on the leaves has already been mentioned. Try not to mix the brightest shades with the darkest so much. Instead of grass, maybe some plants with more pronounced leaves would work better? I also edited the palette a bit, especially the green ramp, to make it more even.



Hope that's helpful.