Redesigning the Creatures 1 Honey Jar
CAOS has taken a little bit of a backseat while I just enjoy playing Creatures 1 again, although it hasn’t been forgotten! I’m currently in the midst of updating the C1 honey. The actual scripts for the honey jars are not too difficult, whereas I still need to work on the bees and beehives. What has always irked me is the actual honey jar, though. Do players in other countries still see the word “Honey” printed across the front? So I decided to test my spriting skills! In this image, the left set is the standard jar, the middle set is the standard jar without any text, and the right set is my own creation. Which do you prefer?
Spriting in Creatures 1 is very different from the other games because the game is limited to 256 predefined colors. Despite this challenge, it’s still possible to create nice images with shading! There are just some colors that have less flexibility. Fortunately, the oranges and yellows are definitely not lacking! My attempt at a jar is a little less red, and is also just a bit narrower. I originally wanted to attempt to put a bee on the outside, but there really isn’t any room for it. I’m still no artist, yet I’m decently proud of the shading. It looks mildly three-dimensional, right? … Right? Ha ha!
I also have other image drafts, where I tried to find a way to show just how much honey is left in the jar. I wanted to make it easier for players to know when to make a stop to the hives, although I haven’t found the best option just yet! I had the idea of using a clear jar, where the honey level will go down with each meal. Simulating clear glass is no easy task, though! This is definitely not a finished product, but just an idea. I also tried working on a dribble of honey that will slowly make its way down the jar. When the jar is full, there will be no visible honey, but as those messy Norns and Grendels eat, the dribble will travel further down.
Feel free to share your feedback and preference! I could go any which way with these sprites, even sticking with the originals. It’s really the functionality that I want to fix, yet the honey jars do look like they could use a little updating. Comment away, and be on the lookout for more updates about this Creatures 1 project I hope to finish up in near future!
I like your jars best and the dribble idea is excellent. That said, I think that if you with the dribble, empty jars should have no dribble at all. I think that makes it easier…and would only require two sprites.
Thanks for the feedback! Likely I’ll post exactly what I’m talking about with the dribble, using some more polished sprites. Basically it will “move” each time a Norn or Grendel eats from the jar, so you know the further down it is, the less full the jar is. Empty jars will lie on their sides, so there won’t be any question about when that trip to the beehive is necessary! I’m hoping to get a little more feedback, and if the dribble idea sounds like one that should be explored, I can share all of the sprites that will be used. Luckily, making the dribble isn’t too terrible… My draft just needs to look a little better first! Thanks again!
I think that the honey dribble is a really good idea! I also think I like the original sprite or the one that’s like the original sprite without the writing, but that’s probably just because that’s what I’m used to seeing haha
Makes sense! I think I might move forward with the new jars just to see where that takes me. If they turn out to be absolutely hideous, at least I’ll know there’s something to fall back on. Thanks for sharing your opinion!
I Think it’s really smart to show how much honey there is left in the jars so you know how much there is left.
Sorry for the bad English but I really like your blog, keep up the good work!
Your English is excellent! Thanks for your feedback. It sounds like that dribble of honey will come in handy, especially after I work on that first draft some more. Thanks again for leaving a comment!