Robotam's guideline to good maps - PART 1

[Robotam]

How important is maps?

To make a game look good you have to make the maps look good first. Everyone wants the places you go to in your game to have lots of details, their eyes want explore another world in your game and therefore mapping skills are one of the most important things in a game. A person doesn’t like to play a game when you're just walking on a simple path when they've got nothing to focus on but this one path. I've seen such mapping in a couple of games and I tell you now, that IS terrible map making!
Today I'm going to teach you how to make inner houses look very fascinating and special.


 Part 1 - Inner houses

In a game you have to have villages, and in a village you have to have houses which you are able to enter. I know a lot of people think that inner maps are really annoying to make and therefore they get careless and just make them simple inners.
Don't you dare EVER do that again!
But when you understand how to make inner maps look really good they won't be so boring to make anymore, trust me.

Let me introduce you to Bob the smiley --->   ":)"
Bob has this extremely boring house I tell you and he sleeps on the floor every night.
You wish to see Bob's house? Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you.
This is Bob's house:


Yeah, it’s not so fascinating. I've promised to design Bob's house to a really special house. And along the way I will teach you how to make Bob's place look really cool!

You always begin with the "lower layer" when you make a map. And I say we still got some lower layer work to do, don't you think?
Bob's house looks way too straight and simple so let's design the house's shape a little.



Looks better, don't you think? Now we're at the main design.
When you make a map you must think a little realistic too, look around your house and see what room you got. In a house there are few have to's, they are kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.
Don't mind the toilet, in games that’s not really a "have to" if you know what I mean.
And since Bob wants an own room too, I will have to make a second floor if all this is suppose to fit into this small little house.
But let's save that floor for later.

Now you should input a bed room and a kitchen to the first floor. Of course you must think a little realistic here as well; you don't place the bed in the middle of the house damnit! That's just an example of stupid things you might come up with if I wouldn't help you out.
When you've input these to the floor you should start with the "upper layer". Design the house's wall with paintings holes and a lot of stuff. And think of placing most of the details against the wall too instead of in the middle of the floor, it looks better that way.
And you must think of what kind of person who's going to live in the house. Is it a plain guy or a really messy guy?
If it is the messy the guy then you should put a lot of things on the floor like for an example books and half-eaten food on the table. If it's the pain guy then do the opposite, have a clean house. Personally I think Bob is a plain guy so I'll make his house pretty clean.
And look at the house when the design is complete!



Can you believe that is Bob's house!? In fact, yes it is the same.
And remember put as many upper layers on everything as much as you can, if you have spilled coffee then put it on the bed or anywhere!
Shall we now move on to the second floor? Yes!

I've seen that almost everyone makes the second floor as big as the first, why I do not know. It doesn't have to be as big, in fact I think it looks much better smaller.
Copy the map and make it a lot smaller and then do everything I said before!
In the end I made it look like this:



Look at Bob's new room, I think he likes it.
Just look at Bob he never been happier --> ":D"

I might have explained bad sometimes, but the best way of learning how to do maps is also to watch how others makes them.

 Up comming Tutorials
 
Robotam's guideline to good maps - PART 2: Villages
Robotam's guideline to good maps - PART 3: Dungeons
Robotam's guideline to good maps - PART 4: Forests

[Red Fox]

Love it

[Ian'sRPGstuff]

:applause:

[Al~Len]

Very nice Robotam. ^_^

I'll be looking forward to your other mapping tutorials.

[Drace]

How can he climb that ladder? Bob has no arms?

Anyhoe, good tut.

[Robotam]

Good question Drace, but he uses his mouth for everything.
Thanks everyone.

[BlackIceAdept]

Robotam>Coolzidane

nuff' said

[InsaneJP]

very nice!!....ive always had problem in makin inside houses look good lol

[Kijuki_Magazaki]

my efing goodness taht is the shizzle!

[Drace]

Shizzle da drizzle kapizzlemelizzle.

[CoolZidane]

This is a good tutorial. It's better than mine, which is just the basics.

Hey! We could pair up our tutorials! I give some basics, you add some indepth look and pictures! It's a good combination.

[Robotam]

Hahah, sure Zidane. I had no idea you were already doing this. `XD

[maxine]

great. Love it, since you are swedish im not surprised it went well

[CoolZidane]

Originally posted by Robotam
Hahah, sure Zidane. I had no idea you were already doing this. `XD

Yeah. If we do this pair-up thing, I'd suggest starting with my town tutorial. My dungeon one isn't good for a pair-up.

[GhostClown]

Nice tutorial, hopefully it will help many.