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Thursday, October 31, 2013

Making Games Prettier


     Now that I've gotten the hang of making mobile games, I've been looking at my apps and comparing them to the others on the market. Until this point I've been looking at poor examples and striving to be better than them. Now I'd like to look forward and see what little touches I need to add to stand next to some of the best. I've made a little list for myself to review for my next few apps in order to improve their quality.
 
      Take a look t it below the break.




     I spent a lot of time considering what subtle details make other apps look and feel so much more real than mine. It's mostly in the graphics and feedback. I'm not an expert artist but I can learn a thing or two just by eye.

 

     My inner artist is kicking in and hyper-analyzing these things. I'm noticing differences in lighting, shadows, bolder outlines, fluidity in animation, and fanfare for player input. I figure a few shadowy edges and more extreme gradients will go a long way. I should also practice coloring in shadows and lighting as well.

    

I feel like my 5th game coming up will make the most use out of these, but I'll be sure to practice with my upcoming game.

Here is the list of improvements I need to make:

  •  Bold Outlines
  • Frame Shadow
  • Gradients on Everything
  • Icon Object can Come Out of Borders
  • Android Icons can be Transparent
  • Have Thin Shadows on Outside Edge of Icon
  • Faint Pattern in Background of Icon
  • Main Focus on Foreground Object on Icon
  • Make Icon Frame Thicker
  • Give Sprites a Slight Shadow Outline (2-4% Bigger Than Original)
  • Lighting on Everything (Color Shade & Shine)
  • More Extreme Gradients
  • Give Buttons Same Treatment as the App Icon
  • Custom music
  • More iconic sound effects

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