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Creating new maps, updating old ones, and more

I'd like to start this blog post off by saying one thing: "Woo!" I'm incredibly honored and humbled to be spotlighted on the main page. Thank you to everyone for your support! It's really helping me to make the final push to completion, even as I juggle having a job and being a full time student.

One unfortunate part of game development that I'm sure the vast majority of all developers experience is the overwhelming urge to constantly redo early sections. If one gets stuck in the cycle of constantly remaking things, the development process can be unnecessarily extended. This is a trap I'm trying my best to avoid, but still there are maps that are no longer up to par.

My game's first major dungeon is a forest/cavern combo. While the overall design of the dungeon is good, the graphics are in need of an overhaul. I don't want the quality of my endgame maps to be so drastically different from those of the beginning: I want players to be hooked and blown away at the start! As such, I've decided to remake the first dungeon, which consists of two very large maps and a few smaller ones.

I plan to remake only two dungeons so that I don't wind up endlessly remaking maps just because I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I may post comparison screenshots when these maps are remade to show the progress I've made since I first started making this game in 2011.

Not only am I remaking old dungeons, though! I'm also working on the game's penultimate dungeon. Being the second to last dungeon, this one needs to be ridiculously epic. It is set in the interior and exterior of a forsaken castle, located atop a snowy mountain. The map's design is inspired by the Boletarian Palace in Demons Souls and the Undead Burg in Dark Souls. Like those maps, I plan for this one to loop around itself in surprising ways. The player will find himself constantly creating new shortcuts as he weaves in and out of the large structure. As always, despite it's large design, the main path will always be clear to the player.

Here's a sneak preview of this work in progress!







Don't worry about the lack of detail and the numerous empty areas, it's not quite finished yet. More structures, cliffsides are still to be added. And, of course, plenty of puzzles. Some areas may be condensed as well.

That's it for today! I just thought I'd give you guys a quick update as to what I'm working on at the moment. I'd like to leave you with a question: Do you guys often find yourselves being constantly unsatisfied with the early bits of your game, as well?

Posts

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That map looks fantastic... I really like how solid all of the castles and landmasses seem in all the game's images. I also think it's interesting that you're taking level design ideas from something like Demon's Souls.

This game looks quite sophisticated in scope and design so it's way more advanced than anything I could make haha. I just know that I try (after failed game attempts) to get as many details as possible fleshed out before I even start to make the graphics. It's different to the issue you have but if I don't have the plot outlined properly, the game idea usually falls apart so I'm left with a bunch of graphics and not much else. So now I really try to focus on a handful of game ideas at once, revising plots until I have something workable for a game.

Anyway, comparison screenshots would be interesting to see!
author=deth
One unfortunate part of game development that I'm sure the vast majority of all developers experience is the overwhelming urge to constantly redo early sections. If one gets stuck in the cycle of constantly remaking things, the development process can be unnecessarily extended. This is a trap I'm trying my best to avoid, but still there are maps that are no longer up to par.

I plan to remake only two dungeons so that I don't wind up endlessly remaking maps just because I'm a bit of a perfectionist. I may post comparison screenshots when these maps are remade to show the progress I've made since I first started making this game in 2011.

Yeah, this is way too relatable. XD

I don't think there's anything wrong with updating old material, as long as it genuinely helps to make the game a more polished, coherent experience. As long as you can have the self-criticism to know when "enough is enough", so to speak.

Especially in the past few years, this game has a really great atmosphere going for it, and a strong use of color. The maps also have a great stylistic consistency...for example, the screenshots below all look like they could have come from the same source:

I wouldn't mind for the old locations (especially the maps using the Suikoden II tiles, which are much different in style) to be updated to be more like these areas. Or at the very least, edited so they're aren't just direct rips.
Looking good. Cool setting for a dungeon area.

Sometimes I want to remake early graphics too XD
Your idea of what looks good and my idea of what looks good are almost the exact same, and that makes me happy.

I'm going to uselessly echo what Blindmind said: those older Theo-based maps are good looking but they need some love. So much of this game has a wonderfully cohesive aesthetic, it's a shame to interrupt it anywhere.

The news maps are looking great!
I've already recreated a bunch of my early maps. I realized that the last half of my game looked much better than the first half. The dungeons also improved in quality. I don't want it to be this way - I want the game to be consistent the whole way through so that players aren't put off in the beginning before they get to the good parts.
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