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Calicara

Guest

Minimap art Vs In Game Art (The Common Misconception)

In this game called Everybody Edits, since the beginning of the game in 2010, EE has been a community which has thrived based on the contributions of others. As a sandbox type game, we the players get the opportunity to build and create whatever comes to our mind. We have the opportunity to explore our imagination. However, when it comes to this building of levels there are a lot of common misconceptions about what should and should not be considered quality, especially in the field of art. Obviously, a level can always be left open to interpretation by others, but just because something is liked, does not make it quality.
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One common misconception among EE players is that as long as the art looks good on the in game minimap, it should not matter how the level looks in game. However, this is a foolish assumption which leads many a quality level to its downfall, because while the art looks nice, the level in itself lacks playability. Let's take for example a level by Skullz 17.
(Note: This critique is not in anyway to criticize the art/artist, but to rather add a new perspective which may lead to more quality level making.)
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Beacon of Fireflies
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The minimap here is fantastic. There are clear value transitions, a unifying theme, and a unique concept. If mini map art were the only factor in making art alone, this would be top notch. However, as we go further into the level.

This becomes a problem, as now the beautiful background have become a definite eyesore, and it's much more difficult to see the arrows to indicate which way you should go or how to complete the mini games.
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Now lets examine a level by SquadFS
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Super Awesome Extravaganza
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This time we'll start with the in game art. Right away we can see a house, which is the starting point. Varying shades of sand to indicate where the top of the ground, and underground, as well as clear transitions from the sky background to an underground background. There are a lot of thing to look at even without the minimap.

Here is the same spot, except on the minimap. It's very ambiguous and looks like little blobs. While the level looks nice in game, it fails to capture the essence on the map.
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Lastly, lets look at a level by Boh
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Siroa Temple
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Here we have me in game. We have a plethora of things to look at, background decoration, plants in pots, a mini waterfall, pillars between rooms. There's a lot to soak in, yet it' not so intrusive where it's distracting to the player. You can get a sense of your location without feeling overwhelmed.

Here we have the same spot, but on the minimap. The building walls and roofs are unique and clearly defined. You still get the pillars and waterfall, though a bit more ambiguous, you can still make out what they are without relying on the map. Boh's Siroa Temple manages to combine a mixture of fun and unique gameplay with nice art throughout, in game and on the mini map.
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As you can see by my examples there are many ways to go about making art for a level, but relying on one aspect too heavily over another, is not always a good thing. It's important to understand, if you're trying to make a playable level, it doesn't matter how nice your art looks on the minimap if you can't make sense of it while you're playing the game. Likewise, you should still make an effort to make a quality minimap so the level plays nice and looks interesting. I hope this guide is helpful to some, but please, don't just assume a level is good solely based on the art on the mini map.

Last edited by Calicara (Mar 7 2014 6:37:47 pm)

Noctis

Guest

Re: Minimap art Vs In Game Art (The Common Misconception)

Very nice. I noticed that using plain backgrounds rather than complex backgrounds is better.

Anch

Member

Joined: 2015-02-16

Posts: 5,447

Re: Minimap art Vs In Game Art (The Common Misconception)

...don't just assume a level is good solely based on the art on the mini map.

This is very true. Many people just totally give up because some nub-artist made terrible art, but the minis in fact might be very good.

mrjawapa

Corn Man 🌽

From: Ohio, USA

Joined: 2015-02-15

Posts: 5,840

Website

Re: Minimap art Vs In Game Art (The Common Misconception)

On larger worlds I focus more on the map art, where on smaller worlds I focus more on the in-game art. But on the map art I try to make it look semi-decent or easy on the eyes instead of having a cluster f*** of a mess...

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Discord: jawp#5123

dragonranger

Member

Joined: 2015-03-21

Posts: 1,162

Re: Minimap art Vs In Game Art (The Common Misconception)

I agree that both are good, I even probably prefer doing In Game Art myself, however my main argument (in the EECCC contest) is in game art is much easier than making minimap art.
It requires less skill, less time, and less effort, which is why I made my point. A contest, should consist of a challenge, and minimap art is much more of a challenge, than in-game art.
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This does not mean it's useless however, and I do agree with most of your points, though sometimes, when making mini-map art, you can't get other backgrounds to use for the right colour, so you can't always blame the makers for using it, but maybe even EE for making those backgrounds.
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Overall, it mainly just depends on your opinion.
If you prefer minimap art- then thats your choice, and you can prefer that
Same with ingame art, and generally anything, if you prefer it can be good in your opinion.
For example, people say RPG's and Ninjas to Code e.t.c are only for noobs e.t.c. But that is only those people's opinions, and are different to other people.
A good point to think about, is "The general idea of what is good or bad is not always right."

Last edited by Dragonranger (Mar 7 2014 7:06:18 pm)

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MyAnimeList | Everybody Edits

0176

Member

From: Brazil

Joined: 2021-09-05

Posts: 3,174

Re: Minimap art Vs In Game Art (The Common Misconception)

I haven't played EE in a while, but as far as I know it's not hard to make both ingame art and minimap art blend together. The problem is that people overdo art - many people add random package blocks that are supposed to be decorations to add more useless shading, which isn't a good deal at all.
With only the basic, glass, factory, brick and metal packs and BGs you can easily make the same or better art than a bunch of sci-fi-mars-candy placed together.

mrjawapa

Corn Man 🌽

From: Ohio, USA

Joined: 2015-02-15

Posts: 5,840

Website

Re: Minimap art Vs In Game Art (The Common Misconception)

I completely agree with 0176... A lot of people try WAY to hard on shading and usually make it look off...

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Discord: jawp#5123

Fdoou

Banned

Re: Minimap art Vs In Game Art (The Common Misconception)

I don't get why you are using the abused dog smiley?

Muftwin

Guest

Re: Minimap art Vs In Game Art (The Common Misconception)

I don't get why you are using the abused dog smiley?

its bcuz shes too busy playing drawing to figure out if her dog is abused or not (it is)

Calicara

Guest

Re: Minimap art Vs In Game Art (The Common Misconception)

I don't get why you are using the abused dog smiley?

To reflect my constant miserable and stubborn attitude toward EE and life.