30th SM63 Level Designer Contest

[MessengerOfDreams]

I plan on trying it. Maybe after I get better we can duel with single-levels.

[Karyete]

I'm shocked I did so well. Surprised I lost so much score just because of the level's difficulty, I'll be sure to work on that in future.

Congrats to everyone who placed!

[MessengerOfDreams]

Fun fact: I gave you a 15 on my first play through but when I replayed it I realized it was kinda ♥♥♥♥' elegant.

[Karyete]

Fun fact: I gave you a 15 on my first play through but when I replayed it I realized it was kinda ♥♥♥♥' elegant.

I'm overjoyed you found it was worth replaying, and that the little secrets didn't go unnoticed. I was referring to Raiyunni's score mainly.
Even if I didn't place, my score was still high. That's something, right?

[Charcoal]

I plan on trying it. Maybe after I get better we can duel with single-levels.

Tbh, I want to take it easy with LDing. I'm not too keen on doing duels.

[Oranjui]

You called it, so here it is.

You've brought us two days of progress, and yet this stage shows lots of potential. There's the ridiculously open and clean stage format. There's these critters and eye-candy, this sign speech, the Hitchhiker reference. The platforming, despite being on the easy side, is not so too much.

The level is already one hell of a sight as it is, and there's even further room for tweaks so it'll get extra slick. On the first sector, you could add a few stone objects to the side edges of stone tiles, as they look a bit off as they are. The Great Indoors would surely benefit from some extra polish, so that it looks extra great and... indoors. But wait - these few songs you've listed in two days of progress already grant this playlist's spot among the contest's elites. Y'all, bow down to DJ OJ.

Well, now it's your turn. Get to work, crystal clod!

<<<<33333333333333333333333333$

[Yoshi Boo 118]

Congrats to everyone! Shroom pretty much called it with his speculation.

I focused more on the Other section than I used to, since pretty often I'd just leave it blank. I looked at Oranj's level too so LOOK INSIDE OJ.

30th LDC Judgings: show

Notes: I haven’t been really paying too much attention to who’s part of a collab, so unless you mentioned it in the vault, I might have not listed both names. Apologies in advance. Also, you will see varying scores for alternate music. Depends on how well I thought it fit each respective entry, or if it made a difference.
Also, geeze there was a lot of people choosing Undertale for their alternate music. Great music, although I’m not sure if people picked it just because it was Undertale. Well, as long as it fits the feel of the level…


A Farewell to Arms- MoD and Veso
Total: 16.5/20
Fun: 8.5/10
A very good entry to start off the Vault. I have to say that, while at first I didn’t really get that sense of “finality” the LDC centered around, the more I played I got it and it became clear. The platforming was pretty simple yet provided sufficient challenge. While there was some lag, and although dying became a real pain coupled with the loading times, I don’t think it was enough to be significant issues for this level. A few tweaks could have been made here and there (e.g. in Part 2 there was nothing to stop you from going underground first in the city and ignoring the upper area), but overall I felt the story was enjoyable, and the well-chosen music set the tone nicely. Oh, and I appreciate putting in the extra effort for the 2 paths in Part 1.
Graphics: 4.25/5
It’s not a level designed in part by MoD if there isn’t an abundance of beautiful scenery. Although, there were a few things that added up to bring the overall score here down a bit. To me, I feel the mixing of different tile sets is very hit or miss, and that was reflected at parts here. A few floating signs I noticed, and in two different parts I noticed areas with a clear cutoff between two bodies of water items. Overall though, the level was well put together, especially with the effects of the ship in part 2.
Other: 3.75/5
(+.5) The music only helped add to the excitement and tension.
(+.25) That fake out effect with the 1st Shine Sprite in part 2 was neat.
A great entry for this LDC, and I’d be interested to know how you two split up the work in this level. I’m used to MoD’s handiwork, but Veso’s is pretty much new to me. What I know for sure is that this team works well together.

Freedom For All! -1018peter
Total: 14.75/20
Fun: 7/10
I thought the idea of this story was really interesting. The platforming chasing section was very cleverly designed; the big issue is that, while you can tell people to zoom out, then you get significant lag, which messed me up. The pipe to the right of that section maybe could have been placed a bit closer to where you first start that challenge. I was so busy trying to chase the platform that I didn’t even notice it until I used the LD. Back to the lag…that became a pretty annoying issue in the area of underwater pipes (which, again, was designed in a very intricate and well-thought out way), even when not zoomed out. I was playing at about 7 fps through that whole segment. I felt that coupled with the lag, some parts became too frustrating to complete at times. I also like the option of the secret ending…although there’s no way I’d ever get there without cheating. This level in general had a good premise, but the aforementioned issues prevented it from reaching its maximum potential.
Graphics: 4/5
While the tiles were very nicely placed, I felt some more background scenery with cave plants and the like would have really made this level shine. Also, the area with the underwater pipes had minor cutoff between two items of water.
Other: 3.75/5
(+.25) Some nice technical tricks done with the fire pillars.
(+.25) I like the use of “clones” in the normal ending.
(+.25) The songs for each ending I felt were very spot-on.
This is a good level, Peter. My advice? Ease up on the difficulty in the future. Even you said in your vault post that this was intended to be “gimmicky hard”. But in my opinion, judges are more likely to get frustrated with those types of levels. Definitely keep being innovative with your challenges for sure. Just make sure to get enough feedback from others too. I’m always available for feedback if you need it.

The Escape of Firey Wastes- FlorescenceLight
Total: 15.75/20
Fun: 7.75/10
I don’t know if I’d say this level has a “finale” kind of feel. It feels more like a kind of standalone showdown, to be honest. But regardless, it has plenty of merits. While some backtracking can be involved since you don’t necessarily know where to go the first time, the challenges felt pretty fair and balanced. The only annoyance I’d say is with the second part and the Bullet Bills; it becomes hectic trying to stop bouncing around long enough to enter pipes, get the camera to change focus, etc. It was well-made and fittingly intense, though. Indeed, I greatly enjoyed the 2nd part with its quick pacing and well-chosen music. You made sure to keep lag to a minimum, too. Good work overall.
Graphics: 4.5/5
Some parts perhaps could have used some extra sprucing up, with just a bit more touch of scenery. But other than that, I think the tile set here works and there was no glaring cutoff. So good job for that.
Other: 3.5/5
(+.5) I feel that 2nd part deserves some extra notice for its creativity challenge, while having no lag in it. The music also seemed to go along well with it too.
A solid level overall. The “finale” theme may leave a bit to be desired, though.

Fake Reality? –Amp
Total: 18.75/20
Fun: 9.5/10
I had a hell of a good time playing this level. It was quite the journey over 3 parts. The story was pretty interesting, but I feel it was really the overall gameplay and intricacy of the level design that made this entry shine. The obstacles to overcome always felt like something new and fresh, with a fair balance. Travelling deeper to get to Blackworm and having essential a whole block boss level. And doing all that without any real lag either? It’s sort of hard to express how much I appreciate this level, because it’s all in the little subtleties here and there. It’s sort of rare that the graphics and little extra effects has a significant impact on my enjoyment of the level, but everything sort of blends together and it all just feels so thrilling. Fantastic work.
Graphics: 5/5
This level looked phenomenal. No noticeable cutoff and every part was aesthetically pleasing to look at. If I had to nitpick, I’d say the layering can look a bit weird at times with scenery on top of the breakable blocks (in part 1). But that’s not significant enough to detract from the overall look and feel of this entry. A great use of different tile sets for each part too. It really makes you feel like you’re on a grand adventure. Kudos for that.
Other: 4.25/5
(+.25) All those really cool technical effects (double jumps, traps, the ankh, etc.) helped make this level standout.
(+.5) That ride with the machine in Part 2 was spectacular. Hell, even though Mario could fall out in the first segment, it was funny watching him faceplant slide slowly down the hill afterwards.
(+.5) I can’t stress enough how cool Blackworm was, especially with the descent after defeating it.
A wonderful job. This deserves to be a medal winner for sure. What more can I say?

The Rampage- Supershroom and Jumbo
Total: 17.25/20
Fun: 8.25/10
I’m glad this entry was made to be good as a standalone instead of having to play the rest of the series to enjoy it. I’d say at first everything seemed pretty simple, but things really got exciting the further I progressed, especially in part 3. At the first invisibility section in part 1, an arrow to show where to restart the challenge would’ve been nice. There’s also the fact that I didn’t realize I had to make the switch last through the transition and back in part 2. While at some parts the difficulty was a little on the tough side, in general it wasn’t overly excruciating. The overall lag was bearable as well- although it felt weird to being playing from 12 fps at some parts to over twice that in other areas. But yeah, overall the story was simple but the gameplay was clearly the main focus here, and you made it work well.
Graphics: 5/5
Everything seemed solid here. No cutoff and a great mixture of tiles to give this level your own personal touch. Nice work.
Other: 4/5
(+.25) I liked the waves of pillar flames as part of some of the challenges.
(+.5) The Bully boss himself was pretty neat, and I liked seeing him from different angles in Part 3.
(+.25) The alternate music fit pretty well.
A great entry, you two. Putting your skills together really paid off.

Bowser’s Last Stand- awesomeguy
Total: 15/20
Fun: 7.5/10
It’s sort of hard for me to give a general consensus on this level. It was more a bunch of different implemented ideas that, for the most part I liked. From a coin hunt to a power-up hunt to a boss fight, it had some nice pacing and challenges. A con: That Thwomp in the first part (near a transition) felt really random- it just ended up glitching me through the transition and killing me. In Part 2, using those tiles to indicate where to hide from the flames had a nice effect. As a side note, I liked the way you implemented backtracking in some of the parts, like in part 2 with trying to get the shine while hovering. I appreciate the effort you put into the little mini challenges of the 3rd level. Although I have to say, after getting Turbo Fludd, the chase area becomes incredibly easy. The story was pretty run of the mill, but you made the level pretty enjoyable with its gameplay.
Graphics: 3.75/5
I felt at times there were odd design choices. One area in part 2 had background tiles all except in one column. Sometimes scenery placement goes through tiles and looks sort of strange. The floating door inside the mansion house…I’m not sure if you did that because the door was levitating on the outside, but to me it just didn’t look right. I also think that, in part one especially, there could’ve been some more coin placement because, even with all the scenery, some parts feel barren without more items. Although I did notice you put in a good effort even with the aforementioned issues.
Other: 3.75/5
(+.5) I thought the use of talking to people mining rocks was pretty clever.
(+.25) Are you trying to appeal to my taste in Undertale music? Because it’s working…but in all honesty, it fits your levels fairly well.
A solid level overall, but I think I few tweaks (particularly with the graphics) could help make it stand out.

Pikmin 2: Final-cliffy987
Total: 10.5/20
Fun: 4/10
I respect you trying to pay homage to Pikmin 2. I’ve played the level this is based off of, and I can see the resemblance. The big issue here is that the level is just too simple. I think there are other ways you can either replicate the Pikman cave exploring style, or stray from it and just do your own thing while just mildly resembling it. Here it lacks substance. I’ll admit though, the end was pretty cool, but the path to getting there was really straightforward with no real challenge. Speaking of which, at some parts, it feels really easy to fail the level and miss a Red Coin, depending on where you fall at certain points. I had to zoom out to make sure. But…yeah, not much more to say here.
Graphics: 3/5
You did a good job avoiding cutoff. But again, the graphics feel a bit simple here. Not a lot of items nor scenery like trees, rocks, etc. Maybe you could argue the original Pikmin level was pretty barren…but for the sake of level designing, it’s okay to deviate to show your skills and creativity! So this is really a case of what you didn’t do that you should work on next time.
Other: 3.5/5
(+.5) I liked what you were going for with the Titan Dweevil boss at the end.
I like the idea, but this feels like the start to a good level. You need to build on and explore, and looking around the level portal is a great way to get started. I believe in you to do more and do it better. Good luck, and feel free to ask fellow users (including me) for help.

Zone Control- Karyete
Total: 14.75/20
Fun: 7/10
The premise was simple, and although I didn’t really get the “finale” theme here (but I get it’s part of something you wanted to finish), it still overall presented a nice challenge. It was fun going through each area, and while I appreciate the different styles of each zone, I feel like there was something missing that really made this level stand out, especially without any story whatsoever. But, the difficulty was just right, and virtually no lag. So in general while it was enjoyable, I felt you could have done more considering the theme.
Graphics: 4.25/5
I definitely noticed you trying to add scenery and coins, but I felt some areas got better treatment than others. Although I didn’t notice any cutoff, and there was still a good effort otherwise to make the level look nice overall.
Other: 3.5/5
(+.25) Nice little effect with the flames behind the Shine Sprite at the end.
(+.25) The music helped to create some excitement and tension.
A good entry, yet it doesn’t feel like it tries to set itself apart from the crowd.

The End of SM63-Nenefun4534
Total: 10/20
Fun: 3/10
I thought the premise was out of the box, having your level be the end of SM63. But…it doesn’t feel like there’s much effort here. It feels like pretty basic, beginner-type level designing. Like a lot of levels you’d see as people’s first levels. Nothing in here really feels like a finale, and the challenges were pretty simple too. Also, the last part was pretty much just enemy spam. It’s not a terrible start, but I’d recommend you get some more practice in and take a look at other levels you can take full advantage of what the Level Designer has to offer.
Graphics: 4/5
Well, I didn’t really see any cutoff, and you did try putting coins and items around.
Other: 3/5
Nothing I can really say here. I didn’t see anything to make the level stand out or detract points here.
I hope you continue to do more level designing. Just ask for feedback, and you can make great levels.

X-illusion (Judge only part 2 and 3)
Total: 13.5/20
Fun: 6.25/10
Sorry that, per the rules, I can only judge based on parts 2 and 3. I think they were solid overall. The challenges were fun and varied, and I like what you did at the beginning of part 2 with getting to the first switch and back. I just don’t think the level really feels like a finale, though. The boss felt just like a normal level, and I didn’t feel like it went above and beyond to impress. It’s a fine level, but I think making it longer and expanding on some story could have helped it significantly, even besides the fact part 1 wasn’t included.
Graphics: 4/5
What you did with the tiles was nice, and I didn’t really see cutoff, but I felt you could have added more scenery here and there. It’s another case of some areas looking emptier than others, which can easily be fixed with some more plants and rocks here and there. Pretty good in general, though.
Other: 3.25/5
(+.25) I like the effect with the Shine Sprite and the “X” and “End?” showing up. (Amp did the same so it’s only fair to give points to you as well)
You’ve got something here, but putting in more time will make this level even better. And try to start a new project so you can submit all your levels for an LDC instead of me having to skip one.

Switch Factory: The Finale- Christian07
Total: 15.5/20
Fun: 7.25/10
I have to admit, I was pretty surprised with some of the tricks you used with this level. I didn’t realize what was going on at first with the green platforms and thought I ran into a dead end (because I carelessly die a lot), but it was cool to realize they stayed in place even after going through a transition. The room with the bouncing and flames was also interesting. I enjoyed how with the boss you’d ascend to fight another version of its machine. Again like some other entries, I feel this fits the theme pretty loosely, but you still put some good effort into making me have fun through it all.
Graphics: 4.75/5
It really shows that you put a lot of working into making this level look nice. A lot of good tile mixing, including the background. I also like what you did with the blocks to indicate where flame pillars would appear. I would only suggest to add a few more items around, because it feels like there’s only a few coins here and there (especially for the boss level) and it fills up the space well.
Other: 3.5/5
(+.5) For overall neat use of the green platforms to open up a path, and other technical tricks.
A pretty good level overall. Just fix what I said about the graphics.

Aetherial Garden-Oranj
Total: 13.25/20
Fun: 5/10
Well, let’s see here. I think you’ve got a really nice foundation to something that can be a great level/series based on what you’ve managed to do in the first part alone. For a small area you put a lot of creativity with the challenges and how each time I came back to the same area, I could reach a new place. I think it’s a nice change of pace that you didn’t just put the checkpoint in a very obvious place while also making them pretty accessible. I just wish I could’ve seen more, and because of its length it will get a lower score here, but if you continued the rest of the level and it was creative as this I could easily see it get a score of mid-8 or higher for Fun. The main issue becomes things like Fludd that don’t go away in the same level, so you’d have to split it up into parts because once you have something like Rocket/Turbo Fludd it can break the rest of the level. It obviously works here because it’s so short right now, but you know what I mean.
Oh and I liked the secret alien bully. AYY LMAO.
Graphics: 4.75/5
Based on the first area, I would definitely give this full marks. It has abundant scenery without cutoff. It really feels like a garden. But, I feel the second area is just a smidgeon emptier (understandable considering it’s not done). Layering is weird sometimes but I know the designer messes it up sometimes. So good job so far here. As a side note, some of the signs have the weird box formatting that shows up when your computer doesn’t recognize a symbol (See [img=http://puu.sh/m1pnl/fb77ab2a7f.jpg]here[/img], next to slippery). Just something to keep in mind. I saw it a few times while playing.
Other: 3.5/5
(.5) Some nice music to fit the mood.
As it stands, it’s a very good beginning. If the rest of your level was complete and had the same quality, I could easily see this as a top 3 in the contest. Keep working on it! I’d love to give more feedback when more progress is made.

[Oranjui]

You're not the boss of me, stop trying to control my life

As a side note, some of the signs have the weird box formatting that shows up when your computer doesn’t recognize a symbol (See [img=http://puu.sh/m1pnl/fb77ab2a7f.jpg]here[/img], next to slippery).

I have actually no idea how that got in there at all, lul. I don't think I did anything weird with formatting or anything. But thanks for pointing it out, I'll remove it when I get more time to work on it.

[Harmless]

Congrats to everyone for participating (and of course our winners)! I'm actually slightly regretting not participating this one, a good idea popped in my mind but I'll probably never be able to put it to full use at this rate. That idea was having the player themselves be the final boss throughout the series.

Judgings: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Iaz ... eQrko/edit

Harm! You too with the google docs! ~Doram

MoD/Vesoralla - A Farewell to Arms Full Judgings

Gameplay: I really don't know where to begin here. To be completely honest with you, I felt like I just got hit by a train and my thoughts scattered everywhere. I really don't know what to make of this level, but I'll try my best to give the best judging I can (or one that's appropriate anyway).

It started off a little slow in the beginning of the first part, but then rapidly picked up the pace once you got to the warzone. There was really no predictability in the level, as I didn't even know the split pathways made a difference on what dialogue you had until you really tried both ways (which is a plus in Misc. that I'll be going into more detail later). With all the giant leaps and the upward-downward motions you put in the level, it really felt fast paced even if I decided to take it slow sometimes. Basically, everything was timed really well.

But I'll be completely honest, there was a major element in all of the parts that I could not stand. The bullies. Every single one in the parts was a literal brick of frustration. The worst part is, in the first part, you had them placed in all the inconvenient locations - on top of small platforms where even stomping on them could make you fall off, on top of ledges where you couldn't jump high enough over them, on top of moving platforms even... or even on solid ground, they would be an absolute annoyance. And this stems mostly from the inability to kill them without Lava or a bottomless pit being present (which even then would make it worse because you'd be removing safe ground in the level). Basically, all of my deaths came from them, and I died somewhere around 12 times in the level (it's an estimation, but it's not too far off from the real count).

And that's what kinda frustrates me. Because in the second part, I had the exact same feeling - the level layout was fantastic! The platforming aspects, objectives in line with the story, and basically everything was absolutely amazing. But then the bullies ruined the experience for me again, constantly pushing you into danger no matter how you approach them and there's nothing you can do about it. Please, use bullies with moderation, or even sparingly! They aren't even a difficult enemy, they're a very frustrating one. If you had no bullies in the level/replaced them with other enemies, your score would've been significantly higher because the level would've been so much less frustrating. This isn't even from a personal perspective, the bullies really are a pain in the rear to deal with.

The final part, much like the first, started out kinda slow in terms of gameplay, but slowly and surely sped up the pace on the final segment towards the last transition. That was a very well played last segment, it felt like a movie came to life in some aspects.

However, earlier in the final part, during the underwater section... trying to get past that part of the level was brutal. You had literally everything to prevent the player from proceeding - bullet bills, koopa shells, an unforgiving length to go without air/coins, very pinpoint-precise cracks in rotating platforms to swim through, etc... it was basically requiring the player to be perfect in every aspect, and with all that was going on, it was 'practically' impossible. I only passed it once, but then died towards the end due to lack of air. I ended up cheating a bit just to play the rest of the level by moving my start position.

Some bullet bill placements could've also been reworked, some of them shot bullets at you when they weren't even visible until it was too late (moreso in the first part with the green bullets shooting downward onto platforms). But other than that, everything else was well played. 6.25/10

Graphics: Well, bullies and level structure aside, I will say it was overall quite beautiful. The first part, the sandy beach could've used less jungle/grass tiles randomly mixed in with it. I can see how the beach would transition into grass/jungle tiles, but randomly throwing tops of the grass/jungle tiles into the sand was kinda weird looking (looked like cutoff slightly and also took away the feeling that you woke up on a sandy beach).

But everything after that was really well decorated and portrayed, the warzone in the first part especially. My goodness, that was beautiful. The tiles mixed in perfectly, the decoration complimented the level layout, and basically everything complimented eachother.

The second part was even better than that. The city was absolutely spectacular. It captured... well, everything, really. And it made it beautiful! Nothing was really cluttered, nothing was noticeably bare. It was all almost perfect. Granted, the various contrasting colors and destructive scenery was all quite a handful to digest on one small screen, but it was a good handful nonetheless.

And the third part was the best, of course. The airship was well designed, especially on the interior. That was probably the single best airship I've seen in my life. And the segment towards the final transition was unforgettable, not to mention the final transition itself was laid out really well. Honestly, I couldn't really find any graphical aspects that bothered me, aside from that one thing in the first part. Even then, everything more than made up for that. Absolutely beautiful you two. 5/5

Misc.:

Part One:
+ The beginning with all the shy guys and boos and nothing else was a good setup for the segments to come (especially the warzone). (+0.75)
+ I feel like you took the underwater section on the split pathway mark and tested it just to get the timing right. Because it feels consistant with how you nearly run out of air at the end almost every time. And boy, do I give you props for that. (+0.5)
+ Did I ever mention that I liked split pathways that made a difference in what dialogue you got? Yeah, personally you executed that well (+0.5)
+ The dialogue was pretty good, but I still felt kinda lost. Something about the dialogue felt incomplete. Maybe it was story details/background? I mean on one hand it worked to set the tone for the first part, but on the other hand it still made me feel like I could've skipped the first part and still understand the story. (+0.25)

- The beginning with all the shy guys and boos was also a bit of a double edged sword. The shy guys made the level a little monotonous/easy in the beginning, and the boos would sometimes inflict forced damage when you tried to read signs. (-0.5)
- I'll be honest, even if you took out the bullies I would still find that moving block section in the warzone segment pretty annoying. I fell down on that thing a lot just because of how fast/how ruthless the movement patterns were. (-0.25)
- Veery long loading time. (-0.25)

Part Two:
+ Again, really well written dialogue here. Especially liked the long dialogue in the chopper. (+0.5)

- No warnings to many of the flamethrowers after the city portion lead to a lot of needless deaths. (-0.5)
- The enemies in the underground passage will inflict forced damage if you go through the transition, then back again to the left. (-0.25)
- The coordinates for Mario's start position are too far to the right, resulting in the level glitching when you first open it. Centering the start position seems to fix the issue. (-0)


Part Three:
+ That pacing towards the end was phenominal, again. I really need to give you props to that second to last segment. (+0.5)
+ No lag/minimal loading time (+0.25)
+ Around this part I started understanding the story more at this point. The dialogue was also well written, but... (+0.25)

- I'll be completely honest, I love the writing, but the story structure just seems very... weird to me. Sometimes it didn't really make a whole lot of sense, other times I had to re-read to fully grasp the motives for some of the characters, and some places I felt additional backstory was necessary. The ending was strong, but on the first time around it felt hollow. (-0.25)
- Having the airship entrance door to the left while having dialogue signs to the right was confusing, and I almost missed the door. The door seemed a little camouflaged too. (-0.15)
- Waait, how did that shy guy get into the airship? All while undetected? I dunno, something about that detail didn't sit with me right. From what I understand, there was practically no way for him/her to get in there. (-0.15)

For All Parts:
+ Did I mention how much I loved the music choices? No seriously, I loved your music choices, because not only were they appropriate for their respective situations, but you chose lots of really good movie scores that really made the levels feel like a really good, suspenseful movie. (+0.75)

Overall: 4.45/5

Total: 16.20/20

Honestly, you did a lot of things brilliantly in this level series, but at the same time you made all of these little (sometimes large) execution errors that just feel frustrating... And no, I don't think this was all Veso/MoD's fault. I don't know who worked on what, but that doesn't matter here. What matters is, you two did a collaborative effort, but somehow still ended up with all of these errors. Maybe the solution is more testing in the future between the two of you? Of course, for all I know I could be talking completely out of my rear.

Take these judgings as you will, but at the end of the day I still think of you two are brilliant designers who just happen to have made some mistakes.





MP3 Amplifier: Fake Reality? Full Judgings

Gameplay: ... Whoooooaaa.

You've created some very nice levels in the past, and almost all the time you would surprise me with innovation and surprises, throwing at us things I have never seen before in any level designer. And all I can say is - you've done it again.

Of course, the level wasn't flawless. At the beginning of the first part I immediately died at the first bottomless pit on complete accident. The bottomless pit just felt kinda random to me, and I'm not even sure if it's necessary at the very beginning of the level. Some of the rocks at the bottom were also slanted weirdly, making them hard to land on. Otherwise, the section was no problem.

But as I entered the factory rooms, I was surprised at the level layout, and in a good way! The rooms were very unique with their own sense of platforming and level mechanics, and often times they were unpredictable in both level design and difficulty. Some rooms were very easy, others were more difficult than I expected, and some rooms took some thinking to get through. It was a very enjoyable way to start the series.

Of course, some rooms had a couple of mishaps. The first room had a fall distance long enough to make me take fall damage after I enter it. Plus, it had thwomps that were difficult to see since they were cut off at the top of the screen, not to mention they moved a bit too fast and were very unforgiving to react to. Finally, the second booby trap was extremely confusing, as I wasn't sure what you meant by 'P' until I accidentally paused the game. Basically, I felt it was a bit too out of common knowledge to activate that second booby trap, especially since you need to be directly in the middle to activate it. But once I figured it out, it was quite entertaining to be bounced up so high.

The second room was a slight doozy, I wasn't sure where to do until I started jumping around and noticed there was a way up through the mountain items. It was a bit unclear exactly how to get up (not to mention a little precise), but I did eventually manage to get up to the top.

The third room was lots of fun Bouncing up and down fit both the mood found at the end of the room and was pretty fun.

The fourth room was very interesting. It's not too difficult, but not too easy either, and had a sense of 'challenging, but not frustrating'. It was well designed, especially considering how you used both sides of the warp pipes for the route to the end.

The fifth room was kinda weird. The timing to reach the moving platform in time was a bit too strict imo, and sometimes the platform would move so fast you couldn't jump off of it. But once you reached the wing cap it was less frustrating because if you fell, you didn't have to repeat the moving platform (which I loved since it didn't put you too far back).

Basically, the first part was a fun introduction to the later parts. It wasn't overly wowing, but it did its job and was a good introduction to the series.

The second part was probably one of the funnest levels I have played in a very long time. Like holy crap, that machine taking you down to the Earth's core was so much fun! It even sped up over time, and I could feel the exhilaration from my chair! And after that, when it was bobbing up and down on lava, it felt like that passage was playtested very well - nothing really felt cheap or unavoidable, and it had a very good balance of difficulty, enemies, and obstacles. It was very well done.

Even after the machine broke down and I proceeded past that point, the innovation didn't stop there. You threw giant rising platforms, narrow passageways, and all sorts of things to mix up the gameplay as the level proceeded, and I can tell you had a lot of fun with this. Likewise, I had a lot of fun playing it. The best part was that it was very well executed - no real bugs or glitches could be found anywhere!

The fire spewing plants in the beginning did come out of nowhere though. But even then, the pattern was there (even if it was a little hard to see the tiny flamethrowers). After the first checkpoint, it was also not readily obvious a bottomless pit was waiting for me since I still had the thought I was going downward. But overall, very good second part! It was a lot of fun.

The final part was brutal at the beginning. There were a lot of flamethrowers that came out of nowhere that could very easily damage you/cause lots of frustrating deaths. Some of the enemy placement was also a little off-putting. Yet even then, after the opening transition, it felt less frustrating and more actual difficulty as I started tackling Blackworm. The throwbacks to the challenges when you faced Blackworm were all very nostalgic in a good way (there goes your influence again ), and nothing really felt cheap/unavoidable again.

And oh boy, that last segment before you hit the last transition of the level... that was incredible. Almost felt like a "If I'm going down I'm taking you with me" moment there.

All I have to say is - you pulled it off in terms of gameplay. Very well done. 8.75/10


Graphics: Beautiful. The factory really looked like a factory from the outside (with all the small details too!), and the rooms in general were rather well decorated. The bed in the fourth room of the first part was especially neat looking, though the third room was a little bit too bare. Otherwise, the first part in general was pretty good.

The second part was very colorful and had all sorts of decorations. The platforms even would provide nice color to the scenery, and the imagination can run very wild in this part as to what sorts of things could be found in here. Oh yeah, and that last room when you got the shine... honestly I never thought you could enlarge flame throwers that much and still make it look appealing. Yet you found a way to make that work, and I have major props to you for that.

For the final part, I didn't really notice any graphical errors or anything that could be considered cutoff/not well blended with the rest of the scenery. Everything seemed to synergize with eachother really well, and Blackworm was huge and intimidating... plus the throwbacks to the previous rooms were easy to identify, and were very effective. Frankly, I can't really say I saw anything that I didn't find very well executed. 5/5


Misc.:

Part One:
+ Ooh, that ? at the end was pretty cool. (+0.25)
+ I loved how you even had that metal rod pointed up in the first room to make landing on the clock item easier. It's very clear you tested this well. (+0.25)

- I would recommend putting silver stars over the doors so you can't miss them on accident. (-0.25)
- The first door in the ‘minigame hub’ (giving that room an official name I guess) could be mistaken as a backtrack door considering you spawn Mario right over it when he enters. (-0.25)

Part Two:
+ That segment with the machine though... geez, you've seriously outdone yourself. That was very easily the highlight of the series, just rushing down at insane speeds all while praying you don't get sent flying halfway across the map. No seriously, it was very well done. (+0.75)
+ The lack of enemies towards the very end really felt like you were almost at the core. Nice detail, even if it wasn't intended. (+0.15)

- When the machine broke down and all was shaking, it was hard to see because it shook a bit too much. If there's any way to make it not shake quite as violently, then it would be better. (-0.25)

Part Three:
+ I immediately said "What?!" after I read the first sign. I'm pretty sure Mario would've said the same thing had he just recognized fear out of the blue. (+0.25)

For all parts:
- The music wasn't quite as fitting as I was hoping it to be on the first and third parts... the first part could've used something a little more curiosity-inspiring, the third part something more driving. Not to mention it got rather reptitive hearing it over and over again. (-0.3)
- The story was a little too straightforward, and sometimes 'sped up' a bit too much, not leaving much room for character development. I'm not saying the story was bad, but you could've done more with the story admittedly. (-0.25)

Overall: 3.6/5

Total: 17.10/20

As you could tell, I loved it. There were some things that you could've done more with, but in the end, it was very enjoyable. You would very easily take first in my book at least.

[1018peter]

I was originally going to make a Master Hand bloss fight, but I didn't notice how much time I had (To be exact,6 Sundays). To add with the motivation devastation midway through. I scrapped the idea and just make the entire level a fight against Master Hand in his Fortress form. This is why I have red coins contained in force-fields;to pay my respect to the original fight, in which you have to break several weak points to defeat Master Hand.