Art Standards and Implementation
Tetraforce is Highly inspired by Link’s Awakening for the Gameboy / GBC- and so inheritently so, we are looking to achieve simplistic sprites that are akin to this style.
Color is a more unique aspect for this project, as we are not confined to the limitations presented in the Gameboy Color- and as such, we won’t force that limitation upon ourselves. Gameboy Color was able to pull up to 56 total colors per game and load a small amount of those per screen. (from what little research I did, I could not find a better explanation, if someone has more info on that, I’m highly interested!) With that all being said, Link’s Awakening, being originally on the Gameboy, even with the DX remake, was only capable of 12 colors total.
I have created a base color palette to draw inspiration from, and to attempt some consistently across all sprites. However, this does not mean this palette has to be used exclusively. We will review sprites beyond these colors also- so long as they fit the environment.
TertraForce Color Palette:
If you are working on code and require an asset, please send requests through the #assets Channel on Discord. Leave a detailed description of what you require and send a shout out to @Elginive so that it does not accidentally get overlooked.
If you are creating and submitting your own assets for the game, please see some of the rules of thumb to follow below before submitting anything to ensure you make at easy as possible to get your asset approved. Upload samples / sheets to #assets and shout out to @Elginive with details attached for review. If any changes are required, everything will be discussed within that channel. Once all changes have been finalized, your asset will move over to #approved-assets for implementation and easy access.
One limitation that will be adhered to is the use of only three colors on all entities, such as enemies, players and NPCS. This includes the black (Which is present on all sprites) – the Off White, which is present on most sprites but optional. And the third choice of any color. Such examples can be seen below. Most objects (enemies, pickups, tiles, etc) should be 16x16 dimensions. Exceptions include bosses and significant points of interest.
Tilesets have much more room for creativity- but trying to keep the color choices down to 3-6 colors per asset appears to produce the best results. I have also attached some other examples of these.
The tree uses 6 +Black, which really would be the most one should use per asset. The Rock and Ground use 3 +Black, which should work for almost any tileset / object. Almost all assets use black in some form. Though there are exceptions, most assets will use black in some fashion.
Transparency is also accepted, so there is no need to fake off corners of sprites, or try and assume their purpose and have the background matching.
And other than have fun, that's essentially it! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask within the discord channel- we are happy to help and work together.
PLEASE NOTE There are plans in the future to allow for alternative graphics, new skin packs etc. But at this time we will not be accepting them into the Master Engine. That is not to say that you are not welcome to make alternative sprites for others to use in their own games using this engine- but contributions will be limited to the Link’s Awakening style for now. Thanks!