Feedback on art style for a simple top down game

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by Destined, Sep 8, 2013.

  1. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H79zx74m_e4

    I am looking for feedback on if the level looks good enough. I am not really an artist but I have been trying to work within my limitations to create a visually appealing level.

    I haven't textured the character yet and the buttons are obviously temporary.

    For those interested in gameplay, it is a simple you have to find the cube then have a set time to get back to the lift before it goes into lockdown. Touching any object or wall puts the place into lockdown and you lose. Obviously levels will be more challenging than this You just touch the screen in the direction you want to move the character and he moves.
     
  2. EvilArev

    EvilArev Well-Known Member

    Mar 24, 2011
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    Play with lights. A lot. While keeping the assets fairly simple you'll achieve some interesting atmosphere. Try goind bold with it. Bake some Ambient Occlusion onto the lightmaps. The objects themselves could use some more detail. Specifficaly not being all rectangular. That is unless you're making you game Minecraft-style ;) You may also try adding some objects that would mildly obscure player's view of the ground - pipes mounted just below the ceiling, some steam coming out of a ventilation shaft, etc.
    Let us know what you've came up with.
     
  3. nocanwin

    nocanwin Well-Known Member

    Jun 11, 2009
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    IMHO, if you lose by hitting objects then I would go with an orthographic camera or pull the camera back and go with a narrower fov. The way it's distorting the geometry is going to cause frustration.
     
  4. BlindAlbino

    BlindAlbino Well-Known Member

    Dec 19, 2012
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    I am Co-Founder and Art Director for Blind Albino,
    La Habra Hights, California
    I agree with both EvilArev and nocanwin. Play around with the lights. Try a few extreme experiments to see if you can create some transformations in mood. If you were planning on making the environment more detailed, consider adding depth to your scene with holes and layers in your obstacles and walls. Here again, I also agree strongly with the idea of adding pipes and other elements to give the sense that the viewer is looking down through/into this world below. These elements could utilize some parallax scrolling to further enhance that depth. On a side note, I see there is a jump button. That could be problematic with a game that plays from a straight down perspective.

    Hope that helps!
     
  5. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    Thanks for the replies it is much appreciated. You have given me a lot to think about and interesting to read. They do however go against part of what I was trying to create (I wanted flat colours on every surface).

    Yes the jump is a little tricky at first, but people are able to jump over trip wires okay with my tests.

    I definitely don't want an orthographic view but I will try making the camera tighter. If I wanted ortho I would of just made a 2D top down and used sprites.

    Thank you all for taking the time to give me feedback even if I am confused now! lol
     
  6. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    I think you are in the wrong thread, otherwise I have no idea what you are on about!
     
  7. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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  8. Muppetpuppet

    Muppetpuppet Well-Known Member

    Sep 5, 2013
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    Applied Game Developer
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    I really like your flat and tight design, wouldn't try to embellish it too much. But it could do with some atmosphere. Something hard and sharp. (fake geometry type shadows maybe). I wouldn't use lightmaps per se, as they would add soft shadows and gradients to the really crisp design you have already.

    I would for the same reason not use realtime lights. but perhaps use geometry with an additive of subtractive shader. That dims and lights specific area's of the map (like an overlayed multiplied sphere layer in photoshop, but then with a mesh). That's also a lot faster than using lights.

    Perhaps you can also simply add some darkness to your textures, you need a bit of contrast in your map, Like say the elevator, that bit of black on color contrast makes it the most standout feature of your design right now.

    If you'r using Unity3D I've got some real easy shader code to add the new free hard lights to your unlit world. Some hard realtime shadows would really add to the atmosphere. (limited to directional light only though, so probably top down shadows)
    I'm running it in my game without too much of a perfomance hit. (and you can always turn it of for pre-4s gen devices).

    hit me up with a PM and i'll send you the code. I did a blog-post a while back on using the real time shadows on mobile, that also contains the code at http://blog.littlechicken.nl/

    anyhoe, liking it and keep it up.. nice 'n tight design.
     
  9. EvilArev

    EvilArev Well-Known Member

    Mar 24, 2011
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  10. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    The difference is the floor, which is a lot different! :) but thats okay. Thank you for watching.


    I am using unity3d, I will check out your blog. I thought about putting some shadows in at one point.

    I think it looks better on the phone rather than large screens. Makes me think it will be a better phone experience than tablet experience. Also I have an old galaxy tab and it doesn't run well on that, but it does run okay on an ipad2. I have no idea what the bottom I should support is.
     
  11. Muppetpuppet

    Muppetpuppet Well-Known Member

    Sep 5, 2013
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    Applied Game Developer
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    A galaxy tab 2 should be supported, its not a slow device.. However there's an android 4.1 or 4.2 update out, that boosts perfomance on unity3d apps tremendously. I suggest you update your tablet first. (some countries haven't gotten the update yet, so install samsung kies and install via that)

    Looking at your game visuals, there's nothing in it that shouldn't run super smooth on a android device. (or a iphone 3gs even).. Its a matter of optimization, Texture resolutions, texture compression (If you us pvrtc for IOS, that will cause issues on android, etc etc, .. Check out the mobile optimizations threads on the unity3d forums..

    I you want your game to succeed on the appstore, support for ipad2 also requires you to make it workable for Iphone 4(which is a butload slower) So creating a good hardware setup with all these devices is a must. (or have lots of friends with outdated IOS devices)..

    Cheers and good luck
     
  12. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    I tried to update the OS and have been unable to even with samsung kies :(

    It works on iPhone 4 fine on my tests too. I don't have a 3 to check on anymore.

    It is the full screen image effect which creates the outlines, I take that off and it runs fine on the galaxy tab. I couldn't find a mobile version of it.
     
  13. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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  14. Muppetpuppet

    Muppetpuppet Well-Known Member

    Sep 5, 2013
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    It looking better at every iteration, personally I didn't care for the soft glowing ring around the pickup.. It sort of breaks the hard edgy style..

    The samsung kies thing is a bitch, true.. You can do it yourself with odin (just google android 4.1+odin+samsung tab2

    But keep up the good work . cheers
     
  15. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    I wanted it to be super clear that is what you needed to pick up. Maybe I should look for a different way.

    I can see why you say that, but I don't have a better idea!

    I will be glad when I can say thats enough time to make levels. I now have 30 sketched out in my notepad. I feel once I get this right it will be easy to make levels quickly.
     
  16. torbokat

    torbokat Member

    Jan 24, 2013
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    Liking it

    I think this is a pretty cool style. You are totally working within your limitations, without going pixel art which can work well but is also starting to get boring. (Not to mention it's not necessarily any easier!)

    The style changed a lot between the second and third iteration. Definitely improving! :) I could also see both styles co-existing in one game. You know sometimes how different levels have different themes? Normal levels and then boss levels for example? Anyway, I think it's working pretty well. I had a bit of a jarring moment when I didn't realize it was a top down view at first, but I'm not sure if that is relevant to the art style.

    I agree the shine around the cube seemed a bit out of style visually. I think it achieves your interaction goals (makes it clear that it's the goal) but doesn't necessarily match the style terribly well. Your choice; that's why they call this art. ;-] Maybe you could use something flatter but reserve a specific color that always indicates "goal" or "go here" - something like orange or red? Could be anything really. This isn't as great for colorblind people, so a specific icon might help like an arrow or star. Or maybe you could find a different particle effect that would match the overall style better. Think you need something more solid / blocky. What about a circle that changes colors or grows and shrinks in size? There's lots of ideas out there. Good luck!
     
  17. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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    Thanks for the comments. I will do a fourth iteration tonight after work taking the particle effect out and trying some different things.

    Good pixel art is really a skill. It takes a lot of time. I want something I can focus on making lots of levels once I have it setup.

    It was a big change from 2 to 3. I had been avoiding adding a bit of colour, but now I have done it has a big impact and allows you to clearly see what you are avoiding. In the next update I will also show off the ground saw/spinning star!
     
  18. Destined

    Destined Well-Known Member

    Aug 11, 2013
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