Two mock up screenshots showing a possible graphical style for the game:
#1
#2
Screenshot #1 has 8x12 sprites for the enemies, while screenshot #2 has 8x8 sprites. Which should I go with?
Bigger sprites may look nicer, but they may not lend well to a strongly tile based game, since their heads cover up half of the tile above them.
Still no idea how to draw a good sand tile (dig through it and it disappears)
You know your hexadecimal output routine is broken when it displays the character 'G'.