Creating maps
This document is addressed to contributors that want to create maps for the game. This document is here to fix some guidelines to creating maps. When creating a map, you don’t have to do it from A to Z, do what you want. You can also edit a already existing map if you think you can make it better.
There are some expectations about maps, that depends on the type of map (indoor, outdoor, city, route…). Note that before merging the map with the rest of the game you’ll have to pass through reviews that might ask to change some things. Reviews can be debated, the only objective is to have the best level design possible for the different maps: don’t take negative reviews too personally.
These are the easiest ones since they have the least expectations. Just follow the guidelines specifically asked for the map and everything not mentioned you have complete freedom on it.
Cities and towns will have a list of elements to have in it. However, you’re highly encouraged to add other things if you think it’ll improve the player’s experience. You’ll also have to respect a given atmosphere for the city; to help you in this you’ll have pictures of real-world cities or Pokemon cities that inspired this one, with a list of things to change or keep.
Similarly to cities and towns, each route will have a given atmosphere, but also a particular objective to follow, since routes basically act like "dungeons" the player has to go through. One particular thing to keep in mind is that routes have to be created to be done in both ways, since the game is much more open world than Pokemon games. Don’t hesitate to add a lot of small details so the player can explore everywhere and be rewarded for it. There will be more detail on routes later, when their main goal will be more defined.
There will be big natural zones in the game. They can extend on several maps. They’ll be the more challenging maps to create; they have to be big non-linear dungeons with a lot of details and secrets to find (rare creatures, items, events, npcs, challenging trainers…). The main goal of these areas is to offer a great sentiment of exploration. These areas will also be the main scene for important story events, like battle against antagonists and gym leaders equivalents, so plan some specific routes to follow for these events (this will be more detailed when the story will be decided).
Expectations for other maps will be detailed in their issue.
When creating maps, you might have some ideas that can’t be implemented because of the lack of resources (tilesets, textures, sprites…).
You can search for resources on the Internet to add them to the project. However, please ensure their license is compatible with the one used for the resources! Also don’t forget to credit the original author by creating a Credits.md inside the directory (or editing it if it already exists).
You can also create resources yourself. Remember that if you add them to the game, they’ll be under the same license than the rest of the resources. You can credit yourself in the Credits.md of the directory (you can create it if it doesn’t exist).
OpMons (creatures)