Hey, I’m making an old, classic styled game, using basic parts, shapes and catalog items. Though, I feel like the map is a bit empty/bland and specifically the buildings look a bit boring, I’m not sure how to keep it simple but good looking.
Any advice?
i am by no means a professional, but from a gameplay standpoint, here are some things that i’d suggest:
other than that, the map looks like a breath of fresh air from all of the other games that use the ‘classic’ building style
You kind of described the problem yourself, lol.
Add more flair to them, eg: pillars, windows, beams, etc.
Currently they look very square, I would do an image search for the type of building you’re looking to make and maybe add some features from the buildings. For example, you could add a roof by using light tan bricks in a pyramid shape (with a little overhang from the wall for the first level) to get a straw/palm roof look.
You could also add cross hatched shades outside the doors for more detail, and maybe give the buildings more complex shapes (L shaped, etc).
What do you mean by cross hatched shades?
I meant this kind of structure:
I often see them on tropical themed buildings, though also just in sunny areas in general.
Maybe you could have those coming off of your buildings, I think they might look nice because they’d be easy to make with the classic style (just two layers of evenly spaced long bricks).
Apologies for the name, I meant that as more of a descriptive name because I wasn’t sure what they were called. (Now I know they’re called pergola!)
You could also add roofs like this by creating thick rings of blocks that get smaller until the top where it’s just one block:
You can also make roofs in the classic style like this:
Buildings need roofs. Add moss growing off of them. Don’t be afraid to set move increment to below 1 more color variation. Make the paths get bigger and smaller to look rough. Add rocks
The color variation is the thing I’m afraid of most because I want to stick to a more classic palette. This is a newer build and I like it but the colors kind of blend it and I’m not sure if I want to add textures, but textures go back to 2009 so it wouldn’t be too bad.
You’re off to a pretty good start for keeping to the classics. Like others have said though, add roofs, you can do a lot while holding true to the classic building style, just make sure everything is roughly 1stud thick and a square.
I would suggest researching as much as possible with old games, try to find any still active that you can play and get a good feel for how they did things. A lot of older games really didn’t have that much environmental building going for them, they were simple block buildings, with basic interiors and exteriors. I think all you’re really missing is roofs, and maybe a few more world elements.
I would also change the trees personally for more blocky ones (if you really want to stick to the classics, a stick with a ball on it is accurate lol)
I had that in mind but I just felt like the shrub hat and the stacked heads made it look more authentic and classic, but I might experiment with some built trees. I’m just trying to think of a way to make roofs without making them take up too much space but still look good.
You can change the colors of the parts
