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Some Minecraft art wisdom: Complexity scales with the amount of corners from mass in closer proximity.
More vertices == more complexity.
i.e. 3 blocks in a stair formation is more complex than 3 blocks in a pillar formation as that will still have 8 corners.
More vertices == more complexity.
i.e. 3 blocks in a stair formation is more complex than 3 blocks in a pillar formation as that will still have 8 corners.
This can be used in building, by using a lot of more complex blocks in order to increase the amount of corners. The building will look more detailed/complex and often better. But the best builders strike a nice balance between overly detailed and simple.
In models, this observation is also used. In order to make certain models Minecraft-y I take into account how the vertices are spread through out the model. Sometimes a model can have a more compact group of vertices in one space but the rest will be spread out accordingly ->
But this only happens if it is really needed. For example with the Villager nose and Piglin's head details. Second thing that is important is to make sure the model has a square silhouette, We want to make sure the model can roughly fit into a rectangle frame.
This Vertice/Corner balance kinda seems like the true reason we don't have slabs in generation, it would make the vertices much more dense and would increase the world's complexity by a lot, destroying the core scale of Minecraft in the process.
If you look at Minecraft as if each block is a pixel, adding slabs or other common geo to generation it would mean that you're adding more pixels in the mix, half pixels sort of. Increasing the density of the image. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it would change the core a lot.
There are quite a few blocks that are very vertice heavy, and therefore complex. But these are often made in singular context and never en-masse, so the environment balances it out. Sea Pickles for example or the grindstone.
However when it comes to planes, this is not considered anymore, because the object has no mass the vertice rule no longer counts. I can not exactly explain why, but the highly detailed flat shapes in planes in Minecraft just work.
I hope these images and more explanation makes it even more clear :D
