Over the past three weeks, our team has officially entered the alpha phase, whereas before, we were still in an exploratory stage. Regarding the art direction, we decided to focus on enhancing the game’s atmosphere. As a result, we revised some of our art plans—for example, we postponed animation work in favor of spending more time refining assets. To streamline the process, we created a shared asset list document, allowing us to track and edit necessary assets at any time. Additionally, since another team member, Akira, will assist me in creating some assets, the shared document also helps us distribute tasks efficiently：

(asset list)

As the first milestone approaches, I need to complete the primary area's assets to ensure the first prototype is fully functional. I started by creating some ground tilemaps, following the art style principles we established in the first three weeks: low contrast, medium saturation, and clear shapes.

Since the last time I worked on pixel assets was back in my first year, I wasn’t sure what canvas size to use. To resolve this, I collaborated with our member Deegan to gather references from other assets and determine the number and types of tilemaps we needed.

For the revised version, after receiving feedback that the grass on the ground was not distinct enough, I added some light-colored shading to make it more three-dimensional.

References:

Additionally, I created some props, mainly as decorative elements for the grassy areas:

Based on our map design, our main area, the Forest Grove, features a village. To align with this, I created some villagers and treehouses, incorporating ideas suggested by our member Tamara.

References:

For the Seed UI design, we need:

• Shows total seed slots (3)
• Displays the current selection of seeds
• Max 2 Spring/Vine seeds & 1 extra of either
• Growth Ability is separate (unlimited but uses mana)

I came up with an initial concept and drafted a rough design to indicate whether a Seed is currently in use. Since Seeds have a limited duration, I also included a countdown timer, allowing players to clearly see how much time they have left before the Seed expires:

Even though we are not working on animation, we still decide to have different sprites that tells the player where Sprout is facing (avoid confusion) :

Finally, I designed the main menu cover, depicting Sprout exploring the forest. In the background, I added a Mushroom Person waving goodbye, as this character will frequently appear in our game. This also helps enhance the sense of interaction within the game world:

In the future next few week, i will continue to work on more assets and focus on our playtest report.