I promise this is the last solely-about-graphics update for a while! I’ve been doing a big “month and a half of graphics”, and I’m finally about done with it. A lot of what I’ve been doing has involved redrawing or touching up older sprites that I wasn’t happy with. The old stuff was passable, but I am so much happier with the new, and I think it really does help breathe life into the valley. It’s funny how a seemingly trivial graphical detail can excite the imagination and evoke a sudden thrill, drawing you into the game world on a much deeper level. I know I’ve experienced it and loved it, and it’s something I’m hoping to achieve with Stardew Valley.
Here are some of the things I’ve done recently:
- Completely redrawn, taller Player Character and NPC’s.
- Player Character customization (As shown in Mini Dev Update #2), clothing, and hats.
- Redrew nearly everything in the mines, and raised the height of the mine “diggable walls” to fit the taller character.
- Added several new types of mine level (some with suspension bridges spanning across deep ravines).
- Redesigned and redrew much of the exterior landscapes, including some better looking buildings (not completely finished), taller cliffs, trees, flowers, and a few little touches here and there. (Screenshot below)
- NPC portraits, each with at least 4 expressions. (not entirely finished, but staying on schedule)
- Intro sequence (not really related to graphics but I did it anyway). The intro is part cutscene, part interactive, and include a couple of new country ditties. I will eventually add the option to skip it altogether.
- Redrew and redesigned nearly every interior in the game. (Screenshots below)
(click to enlarge)