SMIC’s 23rd LDC Judgings
MP3’s The Science War
14.75/20
FUN – 7.5/10
You prefaced the series by saying that you couldn’t make the gameplay flow well, and sadly I’m going to have to say that I think you were right. I’ll start off with what I liked gameplay-wise and then go on to say what I didn’t like.
The sections where there was platforming had smooth, fun, challenging platforming. I particularly enjoyed the way up the rocket as well as some of the challenges throughout the second level. They were innovative, ingenious, and executed very well and it was all patented with MP3 style. The theme of Science heavily relied on the story, which is acceptable, and you used checkpoints sparsely and effectively.
However, the reason why your Fun score is not as high as it usually is was because the story and the gameplay did not “marry” each other very well. I remember times in the level when I was getting really bored of the story because it was choppy – it was like, gameplay segment, then a lot of signs I have to read over 1 or 2 level transitions. Rinse and repeat. It was annoying, and I found most of the story did not actually add to the effect and atmosphere of the level.
I suppose my advice would be that you really have to plan and decide how you’ll corporate the story into your level. You can’t litter signs with story segments in places which interrupt the flow of the level, it becomes annoying and tiresome. Take Dark for example: story segments only come and should only come after completed platforming challenges and events in a level. Essentially, it should follow the format:
Start level >Story introduction>Uninterrupted Platforming Challenges>Story Break>More Platforming Challenges>Story segue>Finish Level.
You’ll find that the most successful story levels use this format, including Tearing Paper, Ethereal Mansion, and Timpani and Blumiere.
The other thing that bugged me was the quality of the story. No doubt, I have seen marvelous and grand stories come out of your mind, but this one felt rushed, cheesy, and messily executed. There was nothing much unique about the story and major events were just dropped on us without any preface or suspense leading up to them. For example, the part where the guy and the Sgaol were in love was not only extremely cheesy, but it just happened. Suddenly, this guy started sneaking off at night and then they were in love. You took like 2 consecutive short scenes to get all of this information out instead of playing it out slowly and letting the player enjoy the experience. The plot felt rushed and therefore had almost no effect on the actual level for me.
You also have to keep in mind that you have to show the story in the level. Story is not something to be limited to the signs; you have to reflect the story in the level. Actually, you could say that the story is dependent of the level. Either way, I still felt I was playing a level and then taking breaks from it to read a loosely related story. They weren’t connected internally for me, and I couldn’t enjoy the story. Another sidenote is that if you are talking about characters in signs, it’s best you have some physical representation of them, such as a disabled koopa or the like.
I also didn’t feel the boss was as boss as it could be. I expected a grand finish with some epic block maneuvers, and while the chase scene was exhilarating and executed very well, I didn’t get a fight against the elder Sgaol and I got a cheaply written explanation to how I trapped it.
GRAPHICS – 4.75/5
I’m happy that your graphics were still marvelous, it was really nice. A 5/5 would’ve been some extra touches… I mean, it was nice, but it wasn’t the most beautiful thing I’ve seen.
OTHER – 3/5
+0.5 No loading time
+0.5 No lag
+0.5 I really liked those clouds with snow filler tiles – that was smart. This point also includes other graphical designs such as the moving blocks ones.
+0.25 Alternate music enhanced the level to a small effect.
-0.5 A really big problem that showed a lack of playtesting was that the signs cut-off text. Some of the signs end in midsentence because you put too much in one sign.
-1 Parts of gameplay experienced technical issues, such as the “zipline” gimmick. Sometimes if you went to where the arrows pointed to you would not trigger the desired effect. There were also instance of moving blocks using horizontal squishing which send you to the bottom of the level where you die.
-0.25 When using a bricked up level transition next to an endless cliff the player can reach, it’s important to keep in mind that if the player holds the right arrow key they can go past the transition only to die shortly. You have to brick up the bottom of the transition with a size 128 stationary block.
OVERALL – 15.25/20
Alright, I’m going to go through this one step at a time.
Even with its flaws, I still enjoyed the series. The platforming challenges offered great amount of fun, and the harder ones elicited a feeling of bawsness when completed. (:3) I also read it would be a while before you do story-driven series again, and I want to recap my tips:
First, make sure the story and the level connect to each other so the original intention of creating an atmosphere is executed. Show the story in the level and let the player enjoy the experience.
Second, make sure to place story segments where they should be placed. Not in between every single platforming/puzzle challenge, but after a series so it feels smooth and has flow.
Third, don’t try to cram so much stuff in your story unless you have a longer series. Keep it simple, keep the concepts new and smooth.
And finally, although you already know this, playtest playtest playtest!
-SMIC
by JSlayerXero » March 23rd, 2013, 7:26 am 
