Devlog · Episode 2
The city stopped being an empty map
I redrew the first city from above, with real streets and a square, and it finally started to look like somewhere people live.
The empty map
The first city I made was a patch of ground with scattered houses. You could walk around it, but there was no reason to go anywhere. You arrived, looked around and had no idea where to head.
That bothered me more than any bug. A bug you fix. A city with no sense asks you to start over.
I tested by walking from one end to the other. Every time I stopped in the middle of nowhere, I thought: if I, who built this, do not know what to do here, the player will not know either.
Redoing it from above
I threw the drawing away and redid the city seen from above. First the streets, leaving the square like rays. Then the blocks. Last, the corners where a merchant stops to sell.
A street with a direction invites you to follow it. That is what I wanted. You see the road and your feet are already moving.
That is why the main streets leave the square and run to the city exits. Someone arriving for the first time follows the widest street and, without noticing, walks right past the market.
Corners that ask you to stop
Good streets are not enough. If everything is just a path, the city becomes a hallway. So every important corner got something that holds your eye: a well, a fire, a stall with an awning.
The rule I used: every few steps, something new to look at. It does not have to be big. A barrel, a lit lantern, an awning in a different color already change the pace of whoever is walking.
The square as a meeting point
The square became the heart of the place. It is where the streets meet and where you get your bearings. After passing through once, you already know the way back.
That is where I placed the first people standing around, waiting for you. Anyone with a task to give stays where you can see them from afar, with no need to search.
Still missing people
The city is not crowded yet. It lacks movement, more folks and more life in the windows. But the base is right.
Someone arriving now knows where the market is, where the exit is and what the first destination is. To me, that is already a city.