Island Design Inspiration/Theme Thread

Bitty

Chocolate Milk Drinker
Joined
May 9, 2014
Posts
103
Bells
383
Switch
0026-1456-6911
WHO IS EXCITED, soon we get our islands!! Honestly the landscaping option FLOORED me and to me it looks to be one of the most transformative aspect to this game. I gathered inspiration from breath of the wild and harvest moon kinda? I think id be hella fun to have a thread of anything (doesn't have to be a map) that is going to give you inspiration for your island: Mood boards, colour palettes, drawn images, maybe a update of your new leaf town. (I don't know if this has been done (probably has) but the New Horizons hype is getting REAL, and I figure this is just kinda fun?)

This is Wisp Isle (name is still kind eh rn)
HappyIslandDesigner_1583947435240.jpg

I want to have it kinda themed in a mushroom forest type way with lots of plateaus and waterfalls.
 
Olympus.jpg

I didn't use the island creator web app since it just recently came out. I made mine in paint a few weeks ago. My town will be Olympus, and the river will be based on a trident, for the Greek God of the Sea Poseidon. The theme of my island will be royal/Greek mythology etc. I do enjoy your inspiration coming from Breath of the Wild! One of the best games ever made.
 
i haven’t used any of the island creators but i’ve begun to have a general idea of how i want my island to look - at first, i was going to try and implement 3 different themes in my island but i think i’m going to go with the one that i like the most. my island will be full of fruit trees of all kinds and so many flowers (not sure which kinds, yet, but leaning towards tulips lol). i haven’t really decided anything beyond that but i just want my island to be vibrant and full of life aha
 
It seems like your shopping area will be really pretty!

It's a good idea to start a mood board for your island, I might just do that and post back later.

But for now, I've decided to called my island St. Mara, and my theme will be ancient and mysterious with an old magic, celtic feel. I haven't yet tried the island editor, all I have planned so far is an ancient forest area, with a cliff overlooking it and a Stonehenge type stone circle tucked away on the cliff. Or open area, as stone circles tend to be. Think Brave, the pixar film! But I will also try to make it feel warm and welcoming somehow.

It feels strange to be building ancient relics that would naturally be there before my islander arrives, but I love having the option.
 
I'm too impatient to use the island map designer tool, so I'll just vaguely post my theme for my island: rustic mountain village
 
I like your organic looking river. Not too over produced.
I got carried away with my river. There's some things I really like about my mock up and somethings I want to change. It was fun to get them down on a map so I can decide if I like it or not! :)HappyIslandDesigner_1583900478339 (1).jpg
 
View attachment 232056

I didn't use the island creator web app since it just recently came out. I made mine in paint a few weeks ago. My town will be Olympus, and the river will be based on a trident, for the Greek God of the Sea Poseidon. The theme of my island will be royal/Greek mythology etc. I do enjoy your inspiration coming from Breath of the Wild! One of the best games ever made.

Love this idea. Can't wait to see it for real.
 
View attachment 232056

I didn't use the island creator web app since it just recently came out. I made mine in paint a few weeks ago. My town will be Olympus, and the river will be based on a trident, for the Greek God of the Sea Poseidon. The theme of my island will be royal/Greek mythology etc. I do enjoy your inspiration coming from Breath of the Wild! One of the best games ever made.

Ironically enough I'm doing an undergrad of classical history so, I ADORE your theme! Especially with all the statues you can get in game that you can now place anywhere! Your island is going to look beautiful!

- - - Post Merge - - -

Honestly I was planning on doing the same thing, but the landscaping feature really got me gone lol. But I usually make my towns that way, the look of a more organically made town is something that always appealed to me.

- - - Post Merge - - -

Thanks! I figured I'd be there a lot so I want to make it something that looks nice. Ooh the idea of a celtic, old magic, brave-like theme is really cute, and it seems like a really cool thing for visitors to your island as well. being able to explore the ruins! You should try and see if you can get all of your villagers to were kilts lol.

- - - Post Merge - - -

so, if you dont mind me asking, are you going to give your island a lot of plataues for the mountain theme? or is it going to be more like a village in the middle of mountains?
 
I usually go for video game themed towns as well. Though I'm still not sure if I want to go with an updated version of my Stardew Valley themed town or create a Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, but these are the general layouts I've been thinking about,
HappyIslandDesigner Stardew.jpg
HappyIslandDesigner Santa Monica.jpg
 
Last edited:
I like your organic looking river. Not too over produced.
I got carried away with my river. There's some things I really like about my mock up and somethings I want to change. It was fun to get them down on a map so I can decide if I like it or not! :)View attachment 232076

Thank you! and yea I really like the map generator, its nice to have some sort of foundation. and I love the lakes and rivers you have planned, I dont have anything near as complicated planned lol! You did a really nice job balancing space well, and I love the campground area up on the water fall.

- - - Post Merge - - -

I usually go for video game themed towns as well. Though I'm still not sure if I want to go with an updated version of my Stardew Valley themed town or create a Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, but these are the general layouts I've been thinking about,
View attachment 232082
View attachment 232083

haha ngl! I did not think Vampire of the masquerade would be someones theme, but I'm living for it.The stardew Valley layout is a really awesome idea too tho, the pathing you have planned throughout it looks really natural and fits well.
 
I haven't drawn anything out yet on the designer app that I've saved. I definetly want a shopping district in a valley if possible, with several waterfalls in the background ending in either small lakes or a wide canal. I want to dress it up in a more wooden/foresty type looking valley, with a little square between the shops with a sitting area. Maybe I'll fence the canal off, to create the illusion it takes children running around the shops in consideration. Kinda like a park/shopping centre/social hangout spot all in one, but kinda rustic. It makes sense in my head, I hope I can actually make it look ok.
 
This is my island so far, well I only really care about the river openings; the rest I can work with.
I was just enjoying the hype but in all honestly everything will probably change from this plan.

dds7mb0-55d922ed-791c-4ab5-a7b9-03f7c7b0ba20.png
 
haha ngl! I did not think Vampire of the masquerade would be someones theme, but I'm living for it.The stardew Valley layout is a really awesome idea too tho, the pathing you have planned throughout it looks really natural and fits well.
Yeah, it's why I'm having a hard time deciding. Stardew Valley has that cute natural small town astetics and I can create a farm house for my character that I can customize as I like. But I also enjoy trying to create something unexpected in the Animal Crossing style. I had a lot of fun making a post apocalyptic Fallout New Vegas town in New Leaf.
 
Here's my dream island, Pawfritter! Sadly, I don't think this will work out with the river mouth and beach restrictions now : (
 
Last edited:
Yeah, it's why I'm having a hard time deciding. Stardew Valley has that cute natural small town astetics and I can create a farm house for my character that I can customize as I like. But I also enjoy trying to create something unexpected in the Animal Crossing style. I had a lot of fun making a post apocalyptic Fallout New Vegas town in New Leaf.

Ye I see what you mean, maybe you could mold it into a combination of everything. Or perhaps a dark version of stardew valley? anywho, your ideas are hella creative

- - - Post Merge - - -

This is my island so far, well I only really care about the river openings; the rest I can work with.
I was just enjoying the hype but in all honestly everything will probably change from this plan.

dds7mb0-55d922ed-791c-4ab5-a7b9-03f7c7b0ba20.png

thats a really cute little island, and honestly true. I'd LIKE to do these things to my island, the possibilities are questionable but it's TOO close and I've been TOO patient for TOO long

- - - Post Merge - - -

I would love to do a big forest like that but I don't have the tolerance for that kinda thing. I don't know if you did it on purpose but the museum kinda reminds me of a zelda temple. but I didn't know about river mouth and beach restrictions? what are those?
 
Wanna make a quirky japanese town, the stone plaza part will be like a market with some fun stuff, the bunch of houses and forest on the left will be more rural
HappyIslandDesigner_1584187469372.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/pTDlFWM.png
-edit-
also, you can actually design stuff like this right? I've only really seen people build the island taller as it goes further back, like how it's been for every previous game, we can actually make standalone layered parts right?
 
Last edited:
Wanna make a quirky japanese town, the stone plaza part will be like a market with some fun stuff, the bunch of houses and forest on the left will be more rural
View attachment 232182
https://i.imgur.com/pTDlFWM.png
-edit-
also, you can actually design stuff like this right? I've only really seen people build the island taller as it goes further back, like how it's been for every previous game, we can actually make standalone layered parts right?

Yep, looks great!
 
Back
Top