>>32369644The tiles used for most GSC route maps are the same in the vanilla game, so it's all about layout, unless you want to create custom tilesets (which is definitely doable, Polished Crystal does it). I feel like a good early-gen map is one that has a clear flow to it. You want the layout to be such that you, as a player, imagine what's actually going on in the map as you go through it. Route 45 and 46 always stood out to me in this regard. The entire map is one way and there are tons of ledges. It gives me the impression of the player hiking down a very steep mountain. As you get closer to the bottom things get a bit less steep, allowing for patches of grass, a small lake, and some berry trees close to the bottom. It's also a map that players are incentivized to run through multiple times due to there being trainers on different paths and the player being unable to battle them all at once in a single trip down the mountain.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, think about how your map works as an actual location in the region, not just how it is in a vacuum. Think "what would the area in this part of the region be like?" and then map it accordingly to try and imprint that design on the player. Little details like how the path from Ecruteak to Olivine becomes increasingly paved and neat the closer you get to the latter, since the latter is a port town with a lot of traffic, and a similar thing happening with the Route 35—a route between Johto's largest city (with a train connecting it to Kanto's largest city) and a major landmark and tourist attraction—help make a path stand out in the player's minds.
Beyond that, make sure at least part of a path is able to be viewed on the GBC's 10x9 screen no matter where the player goes on the route for better flow, use ledges to shape your routes, and if you have a river or sea near your route consider using bridges to point it out. Routes 12/13 and 32 both stand out as "near the ocean" maps to me due to the bridges.
