Devlog #4: Tilemap finishing. The main map is ready

Hello everyone, and welcome to Week 6 of the Pixel Valley devlogi! This week was packed with work. After a short summer holiday, I returned to my main job, fixed a couple of bugs, and participated in some meetings. It’s great to be back!

At the same time, I didn’t forget about the game. My indie game development journey continues! I made huge progress with my main island map: I improved the ground and water shapes, added trees, rocks, and flowers, and last but not least, I started to dive deep into collisions: how my hero walks on the ground, bridges, and water. Let’s dive into each aspect a bit more.

Finishing the Map Shapes

You saw the first version of my map. It was a square of ground surrounded by some water. And a house :) I thought about it a lot. I wanted the island to have a more “natural” shape. So, after a couple of hours, I definitely liked the new starting island. It has a natural-like shape. How did I do it? I just let my imagination do its job. I tried combining different types of tiles, and voila—a very nice main island with some smaller ones appeared. This is a single layer of tilemap right now (a bit more about it later).

Working with the map objects

As I already mentioned, I want to have a nice “natural” world. So, I added some more objects (a lot :D). Trees and stones are static game objects with a collider (the same goes for street lamps and fences). Green plants, mushrooms, and flowers are a bit simpler. They are game objects but without a collider. I want my hero to be able to walk through them without any blockers. My map probably looks a bit overwhelmed, but I like it. Let’s keep it like this, at least for now.

Starting to Think About Walking on Water

I had no idea how to prevent my hero from walking on the water. My first thought was to use some empty objects like invisible walls. But (thanks, Gemini) fortunately, there’s a simpler way to do it. I’ll add a new tilemap layer for water and rocks. I’ll be able to use a collider to block these areas for my hero. Also, I guess I’ll have to fix my tiles a little bit.

Conclusion

Thanks for following along with this devlog entry! I learned so much in Week 6, and I have a lot more to come. As usual, the latest game build is attached below!

Download latest version