Emoji blobs or construction vehicles? Help me choose my game's visual identity | 😊 vs 🚜 |
In my nation-building game Country Architect, worker teams roam the map building infrastructure, transporting resources, and defending territory. Each team has different states (idle/working/drafted/charging) and can be equipped with multiple specialized vehicles. (Eg. One team could have several excavators, and a few drones to help defend itself).
I need to decide: Should teams be represented as emoji blobs or a construction vehicle?
- Emoji blobs show team state at a glance (happy/working/alert)
- Construction vehicle feels more professional but less expressive
Poll (no signup): https://linkto.run/p/Z5UY3MPQ
Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4136240/Country_Architect/
I'd love some input. Which would you prefer in a game like this?
How about construction vehicles with a cute little indication of their status... some suggestions:
"tired" becomes a little tornado cloud coming out from the bubble.
Idle is zzzs coming from the bubble
You could use these kinds of marks, as inspiration.
This is an awesome idea. And then the lightning symbol when it's charging. Thanks.
I find that stuff like emoji blobs or too cartoonish characters prevent me from immersion and prefer the right amount of realism to "silly graphics". Wouldn't call that a necessarily a universal rule though.
Depends. How are you defining your art style?
I have some vague concepts of an idea, but they seem to change every once in a while. I'd like a modern vaporwave rusty industrial pastel fabric 80s lighting look.
Yeah. I know.
So you probably want a top-down image of a piece of equipment then? Neither a blob nor an icon.
The construction vehicle looks a bit more visually legible. I do like the cute emojis, but perhaps a moving icon is not the place for them.
Though if it makes sense for the type of vibe you are going for, they could still work as an alternate skin kinda like lichess/chess.com alternate pieces and tilesets
I've always liked some of the stuff that Kenney produces:
https://www.kenney.nl/
Might be some inspiration there
What and absolutely gorgeous website and assets! I may indeed take inspiration from these.