# Period Levels and Props With Nothing Out of Time > Build a 1980s mall arcade level or a set of 1950s diner props where every object belongs to its decade. Name the era and the place, and Layer fills the frame. --- ## Messages to send, and what they made ### “Create a 1980s shopping mall arcade as a level background for my beat-em-up.” - ![A wide side-scrolling background of a 1980s mall arcade, with rows of arcade cabinets, pinball tables, a snack counter, a payphone, neon signs and a skylit mall concourse](https://media.app.layer.ai/workspaces/9602107e-865b-47e5-b66e-87b1bec5e3d5/files/57a9efb6-e26e-4e1d-ae46-64c791de0ec5/game_asset_a_sidescrolling_beatemup_level_background_set_inside_an-2026-09-26-001934.png) Cabinets, pinball tables, a change machine and a payphone sit under neon and a skylit concourse, with the floor left clear for the fight. It comes as a 4:1 strip, wide enough for a side-scrolling brawl. ### “Make a set of props for the 1950s diner level of my game (a jukebox, a chrome counter stool, a milkshake and a wall clock), each as a separate game-ready asset.” - ![A chrome and turquoise glass jukebox with red trim](https://media.app.layer.ai/workspaces/9602107e-865b-47e5-b66e-87b1bec5e3d5/files/b791341e-ae6c-476f-b94a-83644955db56/game_asset_a_late1950s_diner_jukebox_chromeandglass_mechanical-2026-09-26-001933.png) - ![A chrome diner counter stool with a red glitter vinyl seat](https://media.app.layer.ai/workspaces/9602107e-865b-47e5-b66e-87b1bec5e3d5/files/b6e00843-9ee1-4277-ad5b-47104ac8cbb6/game_asset_a_late1950s_chrome_diner_counter_stool_red_glittervinyl-2026-09-26-001931.png) - ![A strawberry milkshake in a tall fluted soda-fountain glass with whipped cream, a cherry and a striped straw](https://media.app.layer.ai/workspaces/9602107e-865b-47e5-b66e-87b1bec5e3d5/files/b141f8ba-c46e-4be4-b1d3-743a3015f3ff/game_asset_a_late1950s_diner_milkshake_in_a_tall_fluted_sodafountain-2026-09-26-001933.png) - ![A chrome wall clock with a cream face and red starburst points around the rim](https://media.app.layer.ai/workspaces/9602107e-865b-47e5-b66e-87b1bec5e3d5/files/441cae70-6c73-4e8f-8067-e95b131add0e/game_asset_a_late1950s_diner_wall_clock_cream_face_with_bold_black_hour-2026-09-26-001928.png) Chrome, turquoise glass, red glitter vinyl and a starburst clock rim put all four props in the late 1950s, and each one comes on its own transparent background. --- Put a flat-screen TV in the window of a 1985 mall and players stop believing the level. A period setting loses more to one wrong object than it gains from ten right ones, and checking every prop against the calendar is slow work for an art team. Name the decade and the place, such as a 1980s mall arcade for a beat-em-up, and Layer paints it with things that decade had. You do not assemble a mood board or list the cabinets, the payphone and the neon yourself. ## The Decade Lives in the Objects A palette wash alone looks like the present through a filter. A decade holds when its colors, its materials and its machines agree. The late-1950s diner is chrome and turquoise glass, red glitter vinyl on the stools and a starburst rim on the clock. The 1980s mall is arcade cabinets and pinball under neon, with a payphone and a change machine by the wall. Say which version of the decade you want. Most games want the one people remember, brighter and tidier than the real thing. A game set in a real year may want the duller, more mixed period as it was. ## A Background and the Props That Go in It **A strip for side-scrollers** The mall arrives at 4096 by 1024 pixels, with the floor kept clear for the fight. **Props cut out separately** The jukebox, the stool, the milkshake and the clock each come as a PNG with a transparent background, so you place them in the room yourself. Ask for the same mall after closing, or the diner scuffed and half closed, and compare the moods against your level. For earlier periods and invented worlds, see [game location design](/use-cases/game-location-design). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What do I have to tell it? The decade and the place. "A 1980s shopping mall arcade for my beat-em-up" is a complete request, and you do not list the objects. Give a narrower date, such as the late 1950s, when the difference matters to your game. ### How does Layer keep later things out? It fills the frame with things the decade had and leaves out what came after, so there are no flat screens in the 1980s arcade and no smartphones on the diner counter. Check anything you add in your own editor, because one wrong-decade object is what players notice first. ### Is it the decade as it was, or as people remember it? Your call. Most games want the decade people remember, which is brighter and neater than the real one. Ask for period-accurate when your game is set in a real year. ### Which decades work best? The 1950s through the 2000s, where Layer carries the most detail, including each decade's cartoon, comic and graphic-design looks. Older and invented periods work as well, through locations built from a culture and an era. ### Will the props match the background? Yes, when you ask for them in the same conversation. They share one period palette, so a jukebox from the prop set sits in the diner behind it. --- Create a free Layer account and name the decade of your next level. --- [View original](https://layer.ai/use-cases/retro-era-game-art) | [All Use Cases](https://layer.ai/use-cases)