New Maps for Guardians of RPG v1.02

Hello everyone! I know it has been a while since I gave another update, but that doesn't mean I have stopped working on the game. In this update, I wanted to tell you all about the progress that I've made with the visual style of the game.

Previous Rendition

In version 1.01, I would try to split the png images from the sprite into their own separate tiles, and generate the tileset from there. This would work out fine, but I would often run into issues with the images not being perfectly divided, and the results from some of the sprites would have images overlapping on screen (this was most notable in the player sprites and the interior designs). Another issue this cased was that the images would be blurry when they needed to be scaled, and this was also not ideal. 

Another thing I did in this current version was design the map by myself with 0 references. Well that's not entirely true, I used references for some of the interior buildings, but for places like Tiro Town, the map was completely designed "free hand": I had a concept in mind (shape the town in the form of the letter T) and I just made a map that looked passable to me. 

That's a problem lol.

This time, I wanted to look at other games that use these assets or similar assets to my own game, and took inspiration from them to help develop the maps, as well as implement other features.

New Project Map Process

Inspiration

I have taken inspiration from the creator of the assets themselves by means of the screenshots that they provide. I have also taken a look at early Pokemon maps and discovered some key aspects that I believe made the game engaging and fun to explore.

Sizing

The maps in version 1 are just way too big. Not big in size, but big in space.  The game needed to be large in a sense that there was life and moving parts, but instead it felt empty. In the upcoming version, locations will have buildings and other objects closer together, but large enough to where the world doesn't feel small.  Paths will also be less uniformed so as to indirectly inform the player of the progression they should be making.

Leveling and Layering

For the upcoming project, I have made an effort to include leveling into the map's structure. Leveling helps gives my maps more depth, making the outside environments more "realistic" (For example, in a grassy terrain, you would expect there to be hills and valleys). I have also took the extra time to stagger the trees and other objects in game using multiple layers to give the outside environment a more visually pleasing and less uniform look to the previous version.

Re-imported Sprites

Another thing that I did was use different versions of the assets that I could manipulate and split up in either rpgmaker or using the unity palette already provided (I didn't know I could do that before) and this resulted in sprites that were much less blurry not matter the scale, and sprites with no overlapping images in them.

2D Lights in Game

I know that having light sources in a game is not a new or foreign concept, but when I implemented them into the upcoming version, I was surprised by how much more visually pleasing the game looked in comparison. It has the ability to change the game's atmosphere by a lot, which is a great tool in a game with a lot of narrative structure.

Upcoming Maps

Since the next update will be featuring the upcoming chapter (Chapter 2: Toxic Trails) the following maps will be added to the game:

• Toxic Trails (Path 1 through 7)
• Old Man's House
• Tower of Elixir (Floors 1 and 2)

Additionally, the following maps  from the current chapter (Chapter 1: Tiro Town) will have a complete redesign or be added to the game:

• Player's Backyard
• Tiro Town
• Town Hall (Floors 1 and 2)
• Pirate's base (Floors 1 and 2)

The other maps not mentioned will most likely remain the same design wise, with a few updates in terms of lighting, and assets used. So far a lot of these maps have been done design wise*  but of course, more work needs to be done. In the meantime, I'll see you in the next post.

*See picture for side by side comparison of previous Tiro Town map (left)  and upcoming Tiro Town map (right)