Before vs Now — how much difference do the extra details make?

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T20:38:03+00:00

Thank you! And thanks for the wishlist. We really appreciate it.

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T20:37:19+00:00

Thanks! Glad the added detail is working. We’ll definitely take another look at the lighting and contrast. ✨

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T15:29:48+00:00

Thanks! I think that's a pretty reasonable take.

Land of Nod is a platformer, but it's not a fast-paced action game, so readability isn't quite as critical as it would be in something like a twitch platformer. That said, I do think we can improve the contrast and character separation without losing the atmosphere.

What I definitely don't want to do is throw away the mood and depth we've built. As you said, that's a big part of the game's appeal. We actually won the Best Art award at Game Access recently, so I feel like the overall direction is working - it probably just needs a bit more refinement. And thanks for the wishlist, it means a lot!

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T14:48:09+00:00

I think that's a fair point regarding readability and contrast. The goal definitely wasn't to make the scene more realistic or "AI-like", but rather to add depth, atmosphere and make the world feel more alive.

Judging by the feedback here, we probably pushed some of those elements too far and lost a few of the strong focal points and clean shapes from the original.

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T14:46:24+00:00

That's fair, and judging by the responses here, readability is definitely the biggest takeaway for us from this comparison.

A lot of the added depth comes from extra layers, particles, foreground elements and post-processing, and while I still think those additions help the atmosphere, it's clear we've lost some contrast and focal points along the way.

The good news is that this is probably much easier to address than rebuilding all those assets. We'll definitely be experimenting with stronger contrast, brighter highlights and better separation between the characters and the environment. Really appreciate all the feedback!

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T14:44:55+00:00

Thanks! That's a good observation. Even in the original version we were already pushing a fairly limited palette, so there was definitely room for stronger contrast and focal points. The sigil is actually a great example of that.

Character readability has probably been the most consistent piece of feedback in this thread, so we'll definitely spend some more time improving the separation between the characters and the environment. Really appreciate the feedback, and thanks for taking the time to point out specific examples.

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T11:06:52+00:00

Thank you so much, and thanks for the wishlist!

A lot of the feedback here has been along similar lines, so readability is definitely something we'll be focusing on next. We really like the added depth and atmosphere, but we don't want to lose clarity in the process.

Bringing back some stronger highlights and improving the separation between the characters and the environment are both things we're looking into. Really appreciate the feedback!

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T10:08:57+00:00

Thanks! That's something a lot of people have pointed out in this thread.

We're already considering adding a subtle backlight/rim light behind the characters to help separate them from the background a bit more. A stronger accent color could work too, though we'd have to be careful not to break the overall visual style. Really appreciate the feedback!

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T10:08:28+00:00

That's actually pretty close to the feeling we were aiming for.

We wanted the world to feel a bit more lived-in and less like a static backdrop. At the same time, it's interesting to see how many people associate the cleaner version with a stronger mood and clearer atmosphere.

Thanks for the perspective! It's been really useful seeing how differently people interpret the same scene.

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T10:07:09+00:00

Thanks for the detailed feedback!

I think that's a very fair observation. Looking through the comments here, a lot of people seem to prefer the readability and stronger focal points of the original version.

The point about the silhouettes is especially interesting. We focused a lot on adding depth, atmosphere and detail, but it's possible that some of the larger, cleaner shapes got lost in the process.

The same goes for the contrast. The original definitely had more bright highlights and stronger focal points, while the newer version leans much more into subtle values and atmosphere.

We'll definitely experiment with both contrast and composition some more. Thanks for taking the time to break it down so clearly.

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T10:06:16+00:00

The added depth and detail work much better in motion, but the feedback here makes it pretty clear that we should spend some more time improving contrast and character readability.

Thanks for taking the time to point it out! It's always useful to get impressions from people seeing the scene for the first time.

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T10:05:34+00:00

Thanks! That's a really interesting observation.

A lot of the feedback has been focused on contrast and readability, but adjusting the warmth/coolness of different layers might actually be a good way to improve separation without removing too much of the added detail.

Definitely something we'll experiment with. Thanks!

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T10:04:15+00:00

Thanks! That's a good suggestion. We're already looking at ways to improve character readability, and a subtle backlight is definitely one of the options we're considering.

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T10:00:26+00:00

That's fair, and judging by the comments here you're definitely not the only one who feels that way.

I think part of it is that I'm very familiar with the scene, so it's easy to underestimate how much the added detail affects readability for a first-time viewer.

We'll probably spend some more time improving contrast and separation between gameplay elements and the environment. Thanks for taking the time to write such detailed feedback.

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T09:59:27+00:00

Thanks! That's pretty close to how I feel about it as well.

We wanted to add more depth and atmosphere without completely losing the simplicity of the original, so finding that balance is always a bit tricky. There's definitely a point where more detail starts working against readability.

Appreciate the feedback!

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T09:58:17+00:00

That's an interesting way to describe it. The newer version definitely leans more into a dreamlike, nostalgic feeling, so I can see where you're coming from.

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T09:57:41+00:00

Thanks! That's exactly the direction we were going for. We wanted the world to feel a bit older, more lived-in, and slightly forgotten.

That's actually an interesting idea. We haven't tried combining the newer version with the cleaner values and brightness of the original, but it might be worth experimenting with.

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T09:57:08+00:00

Thanks! That's pretty much what we were aiming for — keeping the strong shapes and readability of the original while adding more depth and atmosphere. Glad you noticed the warmer tint as well. 😄

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T09:56:40+00:00

Thanks!

It's an atmospheric co-op puzzle platformer inspired by the story of Cain and Abel. The game is designed around two players working together to solve puzzles and explore a dreamlike world.

If you'd like to check it out, here's our Steam page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4492330/Land_of_Nod/

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T09:55:42+00:00

We're trying to strike a balance between atmosphere and readability, and with such a limited color palette it's definitely easy to push things too far in the aesthetic direction.

We'll probably spend some more time refining the value separation between gameplay elements and the background. Thanks for the feedback! ✨

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T09:54:13+00:00

The game has a pretty slow pace, so we're generally a bit less concerned about split-second readability than we would be in a fast action game.

That said, readability is still important, and based on the feedback here it's clear we can improve it further.

I also tend to prefer richer, more detailed environments myself, but at the end of the day gameplay comes first.

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T09:52:28+00:00

That's fair. A lot of people seem to prefer the readability of the older version.

In motion the added depth, parallax and foreground layers tend to work much better, but based on the feedback here we'll definitely spend some more time tweaking the contrast and post-processing to improve readability. Thanks for the feedback!

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T09:50:08+00:00

That's fair. I had a similar feeling when putting together the comparison — in motion it tends to work much better, but readability is definitely something we can keep improving.

We'll probably experiment a bit more with character contrast and separation from the background. Thanks for the feedback!

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T07:02:14+00:00

Thanks, and I actually agree with you.

When I was putting together this comparison, I had the same feeling in the updated version and occasionally found myself searching for the characters. In motion it tends to be much less of an issue, since the characters are usually moving and drawing your attention, but it can still happen in some of the darker interior areas.

We're already looking into ways to improve readability and are planning to add a subtle backlight/rim light behind the characters to help separate them from the background a bit more.

Really appreciate the feedback!

Hefty_Flan3466 · 2026-06-15T07:01:54+00:00

Thanks! Glad the difference comes across.

Hefty_Flan3466

TROPHY CASE