dana1971 wrote:Natty Dread: I will fall off my chair if you ever like this map, because at it's core it is a simple dissection of a cow that tells people where their meat comes from.
But maybe one day I'll meat your approval. "No pun intended"
You'll "meat" my approval simply by making a map with a consistent theme, that isn't just an excuse to have a map about a cow. A map where the gameplay and graphics are consistent with the theme.
dana1971 wrote:The cow itself needs to be clear and graphic so it's easy to play on. So I've stayed away from making it look photo-real.
It doesn't have to be photo-real, but it should look like a cow. You can make it look like a cow while still making it clear and easy to play on.
dana1971 wrote:I was thinking of replacing the flies with a symbol of a delivery truck, like a logo for the people who made the map.
Replace the poo with a few bottles of milk, and I don't think having grass on the map is unrealistic.
Ok, these ideas are all just more of the same - trying to do some cosmetic changes to keep the same basic map you have unchanged.
Nobodies called you the most open-minded mapmaker he's seen, and now's the good time to show it - show that you're open to feedback, open to making changes and not just sticking to what you have because you think it's perfect already. Show us that open-mindedness you were so lauded about.
Why would there be a piece of grass on a poster about cow cuttings in a butcher shop? "Free range" is a poor excuse - it's not something that's immediately obvious or intuitive to the players, it's just a bit too far-fetched. It's not immediately associable - players are not going to go "aha, the grass is there because it's free range, how clever", rather they'll be "grass, wtf is it doing in a butcher shop"?
As for bottles of milk - since when is milk being sold at a butcher? Butchers sell meat products. Have a meat counter there with sausages and such, those would be theme-appropriate. You'd have to make some gameplay changes to fit them in but you're going to have to do those anyway, because there's just no way you're going to keep the gameplay the same if you're going to properly develop the theme for this map.
Symbol of a delivery truck - that just seems too abstract. If it was an actual delivery truck, if you could somehow represent it as being outside the butcher shop, then it'd be ok. But you'd have to draw more of the butcher shop for that to work, and it'd mean making the map bigger. You may end up having to do that anyway, but a truck may be just a bit unfeasible.
dana1971 wrote:It terms of making it more butcher shop looking, There is one very easy thing you all seemed to over look that I could do to let people know the map was on the wall of a butcher shop.
Drum roll please..... Rename that map "Butcher Shop" or Butchers wall"
Ok yeah, that's fine and all, but that alone is not going to cut it. If you have to label something for people understand what it's about then you've failed - think of poorly made political cartoons.
You should be able to convey to players that the map is about a butcher shop even without them reading the title. The map should speak for itself, so to speak.
Anyway, looking forward to seeing some real progress on this one. I'm not against this map, but I want to see it developed properly, with a theme that is strong enough to stand on it's own, without relying on the novelty of "ha ha, there's a cow on this map".