Month: May 2019

No Jump Good Arrow Hologram by Moogthedog

1ls0b10 | “No Jump Good Arrow Hologram” by Moogthedog @26kmgd | Traps, Casual

This level is quite creative. The swoopadoop puzzle took me a minute to figure out. I love the puzzle with the switches, as well as the package delivery mechanism. It clear that you spent a decent amount of time putting this level together.

I’m not sure if I would label this level as casual, however. I know that when I see a level with a ton of hazards on screen, even ones that later turn out to be decoration, I assume it’s a 3 or 4 diamond level. Additionally, a lot of the inventive uses of components function differently than what a casual player might be expecting.

I think if you want to do something more towards new players, I would take a single concept, like the surprise sky wrigglers or the package launcher, and build a whole level around that. Start with a simple intro that gates the player until they figure it out, then continue to escalate the difficulty, one bit at a time.

That all being said, this level is way more creative than most, and I look forward to seeing what you build next!

Through The Whatever!! by Retro Banana Man NL

0wmrrtw | “Through The Whatever!!” by Retro Banana Man NL @kdkswt | Clever, Quick

Through The Whatever is a great example of what an engaging beginner level should look like. It provides a direct route for speed runners, it provides lots of jems for high score seekers, and it provide plenty of checkpoints for casual players. It’s short, but engaging with interesting puzzles. For me it took 75 seconds the first time exploring, and 33 second speedrunning it.

Geronimo!

I really liked the surprises and exploration aspect. Players are encouraged to jump off a cliff into the unknown. There is a mega jem just barely poking out. There is a hidden cache of explosives. All of these things encourages players to explore, gives the non-speedrunner somthing to do, and they all make the player feel smart.

Introducing flipwips!

Other brilliant touches is the use of multiple paths in the first puzzle, forcing players to cover the same physical space in multiple ways. I love that there is multiple ways to deal with the flipwip enemies, providing a way to explode them, fight them directly, or completely avoid them.

Another smart piece is the gating mechanism. Retro Banana man uses a package cam to lock the player into the last section of the map. This is great for subtly guiding new players.

Overall, a fun level that meets the needs of multiple audiences. A concise example of good level design. Popdonk Recommends!