Game & Map Screenshots 12

@alice_gristle Yes, they're animated.

@TESTOSTERONE Thanks, and yes, that is a book XD

Looking to get some feedback - in my innkeeping game, the player will find various collectibles (some of which are valuable) that will be displayed in the inn. Which do you think is preferable: having items displayed on tables as on the left, or in display cases on the right?

I feel like it's nice for the player to clearly see what they've collected in the game, but logically a visitor could just steal these items unless they were secured in a locked case!

@SeaPhoenix I think the player can adequately see the items in the cases. Having them open on the table where they can be stolen just doesn't make sense to me.

On a different note, I think that map is far too big. You could easily take a row of tiles out of the top central block so that it is the same size as the one on the bottom. You could also make those two blocks narrower.

The other thing that struck me was one of perspective. The items on display at the top of the map (tables or cases) are clearly up against the wall. The items at the bottom are equally clearly not. In the centre, you could use shift+click mapping so that it looks as if the carpet runs up to the wall, and move the armour down one, showing only the top tile of it.

Would an inn have 2 patterns of carpet in the same location? What do they do for lighting at night? I would have expected candles or lamps on the walls.

@SeaPhoenix I vote for tables, 'cuz I want to see and notice things, plus maybe stealing really isn't an issue for these people? :biggrin: Or if it is, you cud always turn it into an additional quest. Like, "Milly, I can scarce believe it, but some unhinged criminal has stolen one of our precious trophies! YOU ARE OUR ONLY HOPE, GET IT BACK"

If they bought from a carpet-maker, chances are erry carpet wud be different! :biggrin: But that's probs too much to ask from a tileset...:kaoswt2: Or maybe they just chose the red carpet 'cuz it matches with the cloak on the armour, and it wuz the only red carpet they had? THIS DETAIL CLEARLY HAS LORE SIGNIFICANCE! :biggrin: :wub

You could be right here. I was going to say that it might have been chosen because it matches the stair carpet, but I checked back before opening my big mouth, and no, it doesn't.

Its kinda hard to get the full feel/scope of the maps i make from just screen shots as i do paralaxing, with some doodads thrown in along with the events. Ive included the video tests of my recent work on the ruins. The first meeting video is a test run of dialog, busts and events working with the map environment. Of course nothing is ever truly finished... its game deving.. we are constantly in a state of progression. So please know that while some style choices are shown, its not final.

Thanks for the useful comments, @Kes and @alice_gristle! Based on feedback it seems most respondents prefer the items on the tables, but I also got some great suggestions on Reddit to make the display cases a purchasable upgrade and the frames more transparent.

I'll make the map shorter. I'll change the rug and suit of armor too to better reflect the perspective, but I still want to display the collectibles in full, so I might just move the surfaces of the tables/display cases down a bit.

I actually think it would be difficult to find rugs of all the same type from a store, unless they're custom-ordered... which happens to be so in my game! ;) The player can choose the type of rug; I personally like different rugs in different areas - sorry to disappoint, but no particular lore here, @alice_gristle. :)

Regarding lamps - I prefer not to put them (and bathrooms!) in my games unless I have lighting. Partly because every house then would have the same lamp due to limited resources, and I prefer to use the real estate for other things. I also don't have a day-night cycle where it would matter more.

Thanks again - the feedback is helpful!

Here's some dialogue for a part of my character design that I felt was important to share in relation to a specific party member's initial abilities (or lack thereof) in terms of her true biological nature. I felt in my project that I had to include a character quirk that references potential means for the mitigation of even the most severe of disabilities which is a criminally underrepresented subject in video games, inspired by actual research into BCI technologies (as in brain to computer interfacing, for those who are unfamiliar with what I'm referring to).

Hi, is this parallax mapping (photoshop or stuff) or it can be achieved in game engine map editor?

@sleeperer it can be done in the editor, plus some cunning fog/lighting.

@Zepharex Nice map. The only thing I noticed is your steps to the right. An additional tile would make them look more like steps and less like a ladder.

Severed Cord is a To The Moon and The Witch's House inspired game.



Teaser video can be found here:

Decided that I wasn't going to stay reliant on the RTP for visual design anymore, so I started layering a tileset from a Gary Shaw over on Open Game Art that I modded slightly to better fit in with both the dimensions and specifics for MV tiles, and here are some of the results up to this point:

Adding in more buildings and some elevation to an opening map.

Cool battler! @YeXin. Why not move battle commands all the way to the right?

Thanks! That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out, how to move the commands next to the user :rtear:

Here are some world map style screenshots
Critiques Welcome

This is a particular recent map that I'm fond of - it was so fun experimenting with snow elements. :kaojoy:

@thepsyche Nicely done. I particularly liked the way you handled falling snow, very effective.

For the past couple months, I've mostly been busy with working on expressive character sprites and chapter 2 of my game. Here are some shots from one of the cutscenes I've been making.

@Neonzumi yo cartoony style is just mind-bogglingly cute! :wub I'll be stoked to see all this in action!