Spoiler: show
Judgings for the 25x25 mini-LDC/25quared contest:
blackyoshi:
with Spooky Silverstars
Fun – 7/10. I actually enjoyed that, especially some of the platforming in particular was great. But… ugh, it was very easy IMO. Instead of letting us freely search the level for silver stars, it was almost as if the boos were telling where each one was. The bottomless pit in particular, I think I played it the first time round before there was a sign telling me about it, and I when I’d gotten 4 silver stars from around the level I was wondering how I was to get the 5th and so I riskily jumped down the pit, and to know that I could be transported secretly across really increased the fun for me. Also, you had the chance to spice things up with the three boos leading you to different destinations, and their word was true, which is ironic because boos are supposed to trick you!
But despite all these issues, I still found it an entertaining level and one I won’t forget.
Graphics – 5/5. I can’t see any flaws here, and trust me, I’d know if there were. Nice job! I would usually perhaps suggest using more décor, but it’s difficult to do in a level based with this kind of theme.
Other – 3.25/5.
Note – I like some of the minor humour in the signs. XD
+0.25 – The almost face-like creature at the start point in the level is quite well done. There’s some innovation right there. I’d also like to point out that I found the green solution (a.k.a: flipped bush) very inventive.
Overall – 15.25/20.
This was a pretty good level, fun, well designed and inventive. Not as good as your others, but what can you expect, this is only a 25x25 sized level contest. I still continue to believe you are a great level designer.
MKSTAR26:
with Split
Fun – 6/10. The platforming was very interesting in cases, but also very simple. It was fairly fun, but unfortunately quite easy to forget. But a good attempt I suppose.
Graphics – 3/5. The graphics … well, there’s not really much of them. The whole level is just platforming, no real décor or effort shown for graphics. It’s around average so I’ll just leave it like that.
Other – 2.75/5.
Note – Although the uneven number of silver stars (most commonly 5 are used) confused me a bit, I still think there wasn’t anything majorly wrong with that, so this just stays a note and not an actual deduction of points.
-0.25 – Having to wait for the clock to come round was very frustrating, especially when it had just passed you and you missed it by the tiniest length. Maybe next time you should have two going round in opposite directions.
Overall – 11.75/20.
A nice attempt at a slightly puzzling level, though it wasn’t pulled off so greatly, I still think you definitely kept the correct atmosphere.
MessengerOfDreams:
with Saffrosa Shivina
Fun – 9/10. I really enjoyed that. Great to look at, great to move around on, and just in general great to explore and the platforming there was, that was quite a lot of fun. The silver stars blended into the environment quite well, and while they were fairly easy to retrieve, they weren’t in plain site either. Reminds me a little of an SM63 silver star challenge, so very well done. Perhaps in the future you add a little more platforming, and a few more challenges, to spice things up. But I did like the hidden green platform to the right of the level.
Graphics – 4.75/5. That is just… beautiful. :’D Being serious. The décor was excellent, the jungle tiling at the bottom with the jungle blocks hidden behind it was subtle yet absolutely brilliant. Only thing that prevented me from giving this 5/5 was a bit of uneven tiling at the top of the level, where you collect the shine sprite. For me personally, the bricks sticking out of the jungle tiles in the corners of the ceiling were kinda messy, and I didn’t really like that. But otherwise, it looks great. (also just noticed some of the castle walls had been mixed around, which looked a little messy)
Other – 2.75/5.
-0.25 – Lag, but thankfully bearable.
Note – Since I should really round to the quarter point, I’ll just leave this as a brief note. But the story was quite good, even considering the level was so short.
Overall – 16.5/20.
This seems to be the definite winner of my judgings, I will be surprised if this doesn’t do well. Although some people could think the décor was over the top, I really loved that in particular in this level.
KABOOM:
with 25pace★25tars
Fun – 8/10. Platforming was quite fun to get around on, also quite difficult in areas, but not incredibly tricky either. I think gameplay was your strongest area in this level, I found that enjoyable.
Graphics – 3.25/5. The graphics weren’t too great for me personally … I love seeing tiling in levels, and this level was basically made up of random platforming items put together, and sometimes they kinda contradicted each other. Plus it just didn’t feel very space-based. It was more like random flames and ice blocks floating around in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps with a minor storyline covering it I would like it more, but in the way it is now, I just don’t really see the point to so many random items. Could be rich coming from me, but it’s how I personally feel right now.
Other – 2.75/5.
-0.25 – Sometimes if you shoot from the sling star at the beginning, you get hit by a flame immediately, which can really affect your health depending on how directly you were hit. I got hit quite bad once, and unfortunately caused me to lose the level within the first silver star.
Note – Some platforming techniques were mildly inventive, but only a little bit, which is why I left this as a note.
Overall – 14/20.
This level was quite surprising, though it didn’t really fit a space theme, the platforming was quite strong. At least you know how to improve now.
Star king:
with High Hoists
Fun – 7.5/10. I quite enjoyed it. Not immensely, but it was like a good book on a rainy day. While the atmosphere felt a little plain and unoriginal, the platforming definitely proved me wrong. However, there was a section of platforming surrounded by blue metal platforms, that didn’t make much sense to me, as it was rather pointless.
Graphics – 4.25/5. The graphics were very good, I liked most of the tiling a lot indeed, and you definitely succeeded with a city feel (if that’s what you were trying to pull off :3). But I still felt it a bit awkward that you mixed jungle cut-off tiles with desert tiles, it was pulled off quite well, but it still felt like cut-off, and I didn’t really like it much for that. Also, most of the décor was hidden under the ground. I have no objection with that, but I would also like to see some overground. XD (and no worries, I did notice some of the translucent background tiles :3) Also there was a tree branch sticking out to some falling logs towards the top of the level, which is a bit of item cut-off.
Other – 2.5/5.
-1 – I’m sorry, but I experienced waayy too much lag in this. MoD’s lagged a fair bit, but this lagged way more for me. His was down to 8 fps at the lowest, which is about the same as Universitas part 1 (not part 2, that was 1.5 fps :3) and yours started off at 16 fps and decreased down to 2 fps.. o.o
-0.25 – I found the cannon challenge a bit too tricky, I couldn’t always aim right and then would have to warp back down again.
+0.75 – However, I was impressed with the usage of invisible blocks and faded background tiles. I think that you covered up a bug well there, as I jumped up to the flipped blue platforms and expected to be lifted high up into the air and wasn’t, so congratulations on that.
Overall – 14.25/20.
This level could’ve been a lot better to be honest. I feel the score was a bit too low, but I can’t think of how to change it without being biased. But I shan’t worry- there are certain styles of level that some level designers just don’t suit and we all have to see that at some point. Just take this as a way to improve on your current skills.
Bomberman101:
with The Mystery Of The Beach Resort
Fun – 7.75/10. There wasn’t much new and interesting platforming-wise, but the level itself was quite fun to play and explore. However, I think it would’ve been much better if you didn’t request us places to go to first, and let us search freely. Look below in “Other” for some bugs I picked out that relate to this issue.
Graphics – 3.75/5. Again, jungle cut-off mixed with desert tiles like in Star’s level, no me gusta, sorry. However, the island the bully was perched on, although it was tiny I couldn’t help but feel that was my favourite bit of the level. The small underwater section was a bit messy, it could’ve been surrounded by beachy bricks to make it feel more … possible, if that’s the right word. And more décor and in general more interesting tiling in the houses/rooms, but other than that, graphics seemed okay.
Other – 2.75/5.
-0.5 – While it was okay to have a final room with a final silver star and shine sprite (and have you warn us about it, which was acceptable) I still don’t think it was necessary to have it as a one-way journey. You could’ve easily had a door lead back to the beginning, otherwise it just seems plain lazy.
-0.25 – I didn’t like how the invisibility cap was in a room that was recommended to go into first, when by the time you get 4 silver stars, it runs out anyway. It’s just rather pointless.
+0.5 – As opposed to this, I noticed a few problematic bugs that could’ve taken place that were patched up pretty well.
Overall – 14.25/20.
A pretty decent level indeed. Places still to improve on, but a pretty good attempt. Congratulations.
CrazyMario:
with Jungle Adventure
Fun – 4/10. It wasn’t that fun … the sign at the beginning was balanced on some pretty mediocre platforming (and to be honest, within the level there wasn’t much good platforming as a whole) and all the sign said you had an obsession with red coins. How does that have anything with a Jungle Adventure, like the name says?
Graphics – 3.25/5. While there was no cut-off, the tiling was very boring and continuous throughout, and there was no shape variety either. Way too predictable for me. A small amount of décor, but this is JUNGLE tileset, it should be filled with décor. I’m gonna leave it at just over average, as there where it currently feels most comfortable.
Other – 3/5.
Note – while there were an awkward number of red coins (9 instead of 8) it didn’t make too much a big difference to the level and how it was played, so this will just be left as a quick notice for you. Otherwise there’s no bugs here or anything that I can really comment on.
Overall – 10.25/20.
Needs more work, if you work on these points I’ve given you, I’m sure you could make a pretty good LDC level.
Volcove:
with Bullet Hell
Fun – 8.25/10. I found that pretty fun to play actually. Though it took me a while to play the whole thing and survive due to health problems and regaining it (I think it was half the health at the most you could regain, which was rather frustrating) I actually loved watching it most of the time. The more entertainment for me was just sitting back and watching the synchronisation of the bullet bills. So IMO this was very entertaining. XD
Graphics – 4/5. While the tiling could have been improved, I LOVE LOVE LOVED the big mix of colours you saw when the bullet bills went past you. The rainbow chaser bullets at the end were a real great finish to the level and the detail in the movement was fantastic. I applaud you. Thankfully the items and tiles balance each other out to a secure 4/5.
Other – 3.25/5.
+0.25 – I quite liked how when the ice blocks smashed, they released 5 coins, that automatically regain back one of your health sectors.
Note – Just paying attention to detail, but I’m sure only one of the ice blocks had 4 coins in, unless that was a minor bug. It just felt out of place. XD But it could’ve been done purposely which is why this is just a note and no point deduction.
Overall – 15.5/20.
This level, although based around bullet hell (literally), I loved the synchronisation and real detail that you could tell from this. I usually quite dislike bullet bills if there’s so many coming at you, because it does cause a fair bit of lag, but this worked pretty well. Good work!
Master1.0:
with XERO (The Boss At The End!)
Fun – 8/10. I really enjoyed that. The platforming was great, almost hidden by the décor, but the atmosphere reminded me slightly of Space Colony and that is a huuuuuge J’ADORE!
Only thing you should consider is cutting down on triple jumps. They’re okay once or twice, but I had to use them quite a lot throughout.
Graphics – 4.5/5. The graphics were really good! I think the disabled blue bricks definitely helped with the buildings, as there aren’t many background bricks you can use walk through, sadly. But you succeeded well with that. As for the décor, excellent again. I think there could’ve been a little more on the cave areas, and perhaps a little more variety of some in other sections. But still great.
Other – 2.75/5.
+0.25 – Great mini-blosses, are they eyes? Even if I’m not sure what they are, they move around so naturally and smoothly and you seem to have nailed the acceleration perfectly.
-0.5 – However, the flames are an issue. They are important at times for a boost up and to get underneath the tiling for a silver star at one point, but on the opposite side to that I made the mistake of thinking I could land down there and collect something important as it looked as though I could, but it turns out I just fall off the edge of the level. I think you should, in the future, make it clearer it’s like a dead-end. Just so people don’t make the same mistake as me.
Overall – 15.25/20.
Great level, great graphics and gameplay. Very well done. Another great level from you!
I’mCrazy:
with What’s Happening?
Fun – 5.75/10. The green platforms were quite cleverly altered to go in all different and weird directions, and I found that enjoyable. In fact I enjoyed the platforming a lot. Do you know what ruined it? The quiz at the end. It was pointless, and to be honest, quizzes never pass well in levels. They’re a bit of a newbie level designing feature, and so I’d definitely avoid it in the future.
Graphics – 4/5. I liked the graphics, tiling was good, except for the bit with the shine sprite, it just caused messy jungle tile cut-off. Another thing I noticed, was the jungle tiles weren’t always used correctly. There’s meant to be some shadowy sections underneath some of the tiling on the slant, which is possible to use, and you didn’t. Décor was great, except for one bit where there were tree branches upside down that caused item cut-off (what was that?), but otherwise pretty good. This was definitely your strongest area so far.
Other – 2.5/5.
-0.25 – Minor lag throughout.
-0.25 – Pretty pointless sign, it took effort trying to get there to see it and it said nothing important.
Overall – 12.25/20.
The level could’ve been great, but you really let it down with a few silly mistakes and ideas. Next time, be aware of this!
Nwolf:
with Fire Spiral
Fun – 6.75/10. I wasn’t too interested in this level … while it was a lot more unique than all the other levels I’d played so far, I think you could use platforming challenges and maybe some bullet bills just shooting through the spiral as a bit of an extra challenge. And with the FLUDD, it made it quite easy, tbh.
Graphics – 3.75/5. The cave spiral feature was pulled off really well, and though there wasn’t much décor, it still looked pretty good. To get higher next time, you could use some different tiling in places and more décor too.
Other – 3/5.
+0.25 – I like the red green traffic light system. I thought that was quite inventive.
-0.25 – However, at the very bottom of the spiral, you can still fall out of the level even though you patched it up with blue metal platforms.
Overall – 13.5/20.
This really did need improvements, but as a whole, it was a unique and unusual idea, and I like to see that in levels.
BrawlerEX:
with Silver Stars In Space
Fun – 9.25/10. I found that really fun. Really fun. It was difficult, but also pretty well organised. It was a great puzzle basically, and you definitely pulled it off well. Having to go back and forth a lot wasn’t very fun, but that shouldn’t weigh down the score too much.
Graphics – 4.75/5. Great graphics, much better than your 19th LDC entry. As always, the piranha plant boss really impressed me. However, you should try something different next time, or it’ll be a very common repetition in your levels and it will stop shocking us. I suppose you got away with it this time. And perhaps a bit more décor too.
Other – 1.5/5.
Note – I’m afraid this isn’t going to pretty, as you all know what’s coming next. Bugs, bugs and more bugs.
-0.5 – You know you can actually break bricks through walls if they’re thin enough? That was a major problem in this level, and it seemed that was the only way I managed to actually collect the shine sprite. It was a cheat, to be honest, and not a very well thought out one.
-0.25 – When we’d activated the switch, in some rooms there were breakable bricks that were covering the green platforms, that would’ve been really useful if we were told about this so we didn’t have to wait for it to run out.
-0.5 – One route underwater with metal cap was impossible to traverse because if you miss the green platforms, you have to wait a hell of a long time for them to go back, and by then your metal cap runs out too. Then it just becomes pointless. In fact, metal cap was pretty useless in this level, to be perfectly honest.
Overall – 15.5/20.
Damnit damnit damnit… D: This level was looking so great, and it was great. But again you got let down by bugs. I seriously suggest you get people to playtest for you, or make it so you have enough time to spare to be able to playtest yourself in a lot of detail. Because I’m being serious, the score was looking one of the highest I’d ever given until we got to Other. If you want, I can playtest for you, as I don’t get many bugs in my levels unless there has been a major problem, like I wasn’t trying to fix any or I wasn’t playtesting.
Canine:
with Castle Coins
Fun – 5/10. While it was simple, it was actually quite fun to play, although incredibly easy too. Some better platforming challenges and more unpredictable places for doors to lead to (yeah, it was quite obvious as all the rooms were lined up in parallel I noticed) I think you could have a pretty neat level. But at the moment, it only really shows a bit of potential.
Graphics – 3.5/5. I thought the tiling was quite predictable and boring, for me personally, I’d love it if you could make a castle unlike Peach’s … and this was very much like it. However in the top room you had some pretty nice décor, and I loved how the shine sprite appeared in the middle of all the stars on the wallpaper. Nice touch. ^_^
Other – 3/5.
First time I’ve ever had to dismiss points addition/deduction here. I seriously can’t find any bugs or anything noticeable that belongs here. But I suppose that what comes with simplicity.
Overall – 11.5/20.
Very simple level, and very traditional castle-based too. Nothing too wrong there.
Yoshi Boo 118:
with Kooky Clock Coins
Fun – 8/10. I liked this style quite a lot, it certainly felt kooky. I was impressed with some of the platforming, however some did annoy me, like really fast flipping platforms. But you did a good job of making it slightly crazy, and caused me to laugh quite a lot while playing it. XD
Graphics – 3.75/5. I like the décor and tiling most of the time, however at times it feels a bit out of place. Cave in a clock? It’s not quite right, inventive, but feels a bit awkward. Also some parts do need a bit more decoration to help it along.
Other – 3.25/5.
+0.25 – Nice mini-bloss in the centre of the level … what was that by the way? XD
Overall – 15/20.
Luinikex:
with Door Labyrinth
Fun – 3/10. It was really not fun. To be perfectly honest. There was nothing interesting, a random door labyrinth that seemed pretty impossible to get through without a plan of it, and the platforming in the rooms were only basic. It was also annoying when I accidentally entered doors back to rooms I’d already been to when I tried to press up to jump to get a silver star.
Graphics – 2.5/5. There was no décor, no interesting tiling, and in general really disappointed me. It just wasn’t pretty and very, very basic. However there was no cut-off.
Other – 2.75/5.
-0.25 – A bug I recorded in fun, I think. Sometimes you have to jump to reach the silver star, and by pressing upwards you end up sending yourself to another room, and you can’t always get back, which is very frustrating.
Overall – 8.25/20.
This level was … meh. Labyrinth levels such as these hardly ever work, to play a decent labyrinth level you could try out Savage Labyrinth by Volcove.
Venexis:
with Gyraris
Fun – 7.5/10. Very clever, I feel like I can use the phrase “icwutudidthar”. Flipped four times? That was brilliant. When you first load up the level, you think that you’re not going to expect anything that great. But you thought outside the box, and I admire that. However there was still a lack of platforming, which could’ve been improved on.
Graphics – 3.75/5. Tiling was interesting, but there could’ve been more décor. I think that’s the main improvement that needs to be done for now. But the rest is pretty good, well done.
Other – 3.25/5.
+0.25 – After finding the first hidden pipe, it became a clue of how to get round to rest of the level. I liked that.
Overall – 14.5/20.
There ya go.. ^_^
1st place – MoD (16.5)
2nd place – Volcove, Brawler (15.5)
3rd place – BY, Master (15.25)
4th place – YB (15)
5th place – Ven (14.5)
6th place – Star, Bomberman (14.25)
7th place – Kaboom (14)
8th place – Nwolf (13.5)
9th place – I’mCrazy (12.25)
10th place – MK (11.75)
11th place – K9 (11.5)
12th place – CrazyMario (10.25)
13th place – Luinikex (8.25)
with Spooky Silverstars
Fun – 7/10. I actually enjoyed that, especially some of the platforming in particular was great. But… ugh, it was very easy IMO. Instead of letting us freely search the level for silver stars, it was almost as if the boos were telling where each one was. The bottomless pit in particular, I think I played it the first time round before there was a sign telling me about it, and I when I’d gotten 4 silver stars from around the level I was wondering how I was to get the 5th and so I riskily jumped down the pit, and to know that I could be transported secretly across really increased the fun for me. Also, you had the chance to spice things up with the three boos leading you to different destinations, and their word was true, which is ironic because boos are supposed to trick you!
But despite all these issues, I still found it an entertaining level and one I won’t forget.Graphics – 5/5. I can’t see any flaws here, and trust me, I’d know if there were. Nice job! I would usually perhaps suggest using more décor, but it’s difficult to do in a level based with this kind of theme.
Other – 3.25/5.
Note – I like some of the minor humour in the signs. XD
+0.25 – The almost face-like creature at the start point in the level is quite well done. There’s some innovation right there. I’d also like to point out that I found the green solution (a.k.a: flipped bush) very inventive.
Overall – 15.25/20.
This was a pretty good level, fun, well designed and inventive. Not as good as your others, but what can you expect, this is only a 25x25 sized level contest. I still continue to believe you are a great level designer.
with Split
Fun – 6/10. The platforming was very interesting in cases, but also very simple. It was fairly fun, but unfortunately quite easy to forget. But a good attempt I suppose.
Graphics – 3/5. The graphics … well, there’s not really much of them. The whole level is just platforming, no real décor or effort shown for graphics. It’s around average so I’ll just leave it like that.
Other – 2.75/5.
Note – Although the uneven number of silver stars (most commonly 5 are used) confused me a bit, I still think there wasn’t anything majorly wrong with that, so this just stays a note and not an actual deduction of points.
-0.25 – Having to wait for the clock to come round was very frustrating, especially when it had just passed you and you missed it by the tiniest length. Maybe next time you should have two going round in opposite directions.
Overall – 11.75/20.
A nice attempt at a slightly puzzling level, though it wasn’t pulled off so greatly, I still think you definitely kept the correct atmosphere.
with Saffrosa Shivina
Fun – 9/10. I really enjoyed that. Great to look at, great to move around on, and just in general great to explore and the platforming there was, that was quite a lot of fun. The silver stars blended into the environment quite well, and while they were fairly easy to retrieve, they weren’t in plain site either. Reminds me a little of an SM63 silver star challenge, so very well done. Perhaps in the future you add a little more platforming, and a few more challenges, to spice things up. But I did like the hidden green platform to the right of the level.
Graphics – 4.75/5. That is just… beautiful. :’D Being serious. The décor was excellent, the jungle tiling at the bottom with the jungle blocks hidden behind it was subtle yet absolutely brilliant. Only thing that prevented me from giving this 5/5 was a bit of uneven tiling at the top of the level, where you collect the shine sprite. For me personally, the bricks sticking out of the jungle tiles in the corners of the ceiling were kinda messy, and I didn’t really like that. But otherwise, it looks great. (also just noticed some of the castle walls had been mixed around, which looked a little messy)
Other – 2.75/5.
-0.25 – Lag, but thankfully bearable.
Note – Since I should really round to the quarter point, I’ll just leave this as a brief note. But the story was quite good, even considering the level was so short.
Overall – 16.5/20.
This seems to be the definite winner of my judgings, I will be surprised if this doesn’t do well. Although some people could think the décor was over the top, I really loved that in particular in this level.
with 25pace★25tars
Fun – 8/10. Platforming was quite fun to get around on, also quite difficult in areas, but not incredibly tricky either. I think gameplay was your strongest area in this level, I found that enjoyable.
Graphics – 3.25/5. The graphics weren’t too great for me personally … I love seeing tiling in levels, and this level was basically made up of random platforming items put together, and sometimes they kinda contradicted each other. Plus it just didn’t feel very space-based. It was more like random flames and ice blocks floating around in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps with a minor storyline covering it I would like it more, but in the way it is now, I just don’t really see the point to so many random items. Could be rich coming from me, but it’s how I personally feel right now.
Other – 2.75/5.
-0.25 – Sometimes if you shoot from the sling star at the beginning, you get hit by a flame immediately, which can really affect your health depending on how directly you were hit. I got hit quite bad once, and unfortunately caused me to lose the level within the first silver star.
Note – Some platforming techniques were mildly inventive, but only a little bit, which is why I left this as a note.
Overall – 14/20.
This level was quite surprising, though it didn’t really fit a space theme, the platforming was quite strong. At least you know how to improve now.
with High Hoists
Fun – 7.5/10. I quite enjoyed it. Not immensely, but it was like a good book on a rainy day. While the atmosphere felt a little plain and unoriginal, the platforming definitely proved me wrong. However, there was a section of platforming surrounded by blue metal platforms, that didn’t make much sense to me, as it was rather pointless.
Graphics – 4.25/5. The graphics were very good, I liked most of the tiling a lot indeed, and you definitely succeeded with a city feel (if that’s what you were trying to pull off :3). But I still felt it a bit awkward that you mixed jungle cut-off tiles with desert tiles, it was pulled off quite well, but it still felt like cut-off, and I didn’t really like it much for that. Also, most of the décor was hidden under the ground. I have no objection with that, but I would also like to see some overground. XD (and no worries, I did notice some of the translucent background tiles :3) Also there was a tree branch sticking out to some falling logs towards the top of the level, which is a bit of item cut-off.
Other – 2.5/5.
-1 – I’m sorry, but I experienced waayy too much lag in this. MoD’s lagged a fair bit, but this lagged way more for me. His was down to 8 fps at the lowest, which is about the same as Universitas part 1 (not part 2, that was 1.5 fps :3) and yours started off at 16 fps and decreased down to 2 fps.. o.o
-0.25 – I found the cannon challenge a bit too tricky, I couldn’t always aim right and then would have to warp back down again.
+0.75 – However, I was impressed with the usage of invisible blocks and faded background tiles. I think that you covered up a bug well there, as I jumped up to the flipped blue platforms and expected to be lifted high up into the air and wasn’t, so congratulations on that.
Overall – 14.25/20.
This level could’ve been a lot better to be honest. I feel the score was a bit too low, but I can’t think of how to change it without being biased. But I shan’t worry- there are certain styles of level that some level designers just don’t suit and we all have to see that at some point. Just take this as a way to improve on your current skills.
with The Mystery Of The Beach Resort
Fun – 7.75/10. There wasn’t much new and interesting platforming-wise, but the level itself was quite fun to play and explore. However, I think it would’ve been much better if you didn’t request us places to go to first, and let us search freely. Look below in “Other” for some bugs I picked out that relate to this issue.
Graphics – 3.75/5. Again, jungle cut-off mixed with desert tiles like in Star’s level, no me gusta, sorry. However, the island the bully was perched on, although it was tiny I couldn’t help but feel that was my favourite bit of the level. The small underwater section was a bit messy, it could’ve been surrounded by beachy bricks to make it feel more … possible, if that’s the right word. And more décor and in general more interesting tiling in the houses/rooms, but other than that, graphics seemed okay.
Other – 2.75/5.
-0.5 – While it was okay to have a final room with a final silver star and shine sprite (and have you warn us about it, which was acceptable) I still don’t think it was necessary to have it as a one-way journey. You could’ve easily had a door lead back to the beginning, otherwise it just seems plain lazy.
-0.25 – I didn’t like how the invisibility cap was in a room that was recommended to go into first, when by the time you get 4 silver stars, it runs out anyway. It’s just rather pointless.
+0.5 – As opposed to this, I noticed a few problematic bugs that could’ve taken place that were patched up pretty well.
Overall – 14.25/20.
A pretty decent level indeed. Places still to improve on, but a pretty good attempt. Congratulations.
with Jungle Adventure
Fun – 4/10. It wasn’t that fun … the sign at the beginning was balanced on some pretty mediocre platforming (and to be honest, within the level there wasn’t much good platforming as a whole) and all the sign said you had an obsession with red coins. How does that have anything with a Jungle Adventure, like the name says?
Graphics – 3.25/5. While there was no cut-off, the tiling was very boring and continuous throughout, and there was no shape variety either. Way too predictable for me. A small amount of décor, but this is JUNGLE tileset, it should be filled with décor. I’m gonna leave it at just over average, as there where it currently feels most comfortable.
Other – 3/5.
Note – while there were an awkward number of red coins (9 instead of 8) it didn’t make too much a big difference to the level and how it was played, so this will just be left as a quick notice for you. Otherwise there’s no bugs here or anything that I can really comment on.
Overall – 10.25/20.
Needs more work, if you work on these points I’ve given you, I’m sure you could make a pretty good LDC level.
with Bullet Hell
Fun – 8.25/10. I found that pretty fun to play actually. Though it took me a while to play the whole thing and survive due to health problems and regaining it (I think it was half the health at the most you could regain, which was rather frustrating) I actually loved watching it most of the time. The more entertainment for me was just sitting back and watching the synchronisation of the bullet bills. So IMO this was very entertaining. XD
Graphics – 4/5. While the tiling could have been improved, I LOVE LOVE LOVED the big mix of colours you saw when the bullet bills went past you. The rainbow chaser bullets at the end were a real great finish to the level and the detail in the movement was fantastic. I applaud you. Thankfully the items and tiles balance each other out to a secure 4/5.
Other – 3.25/5.
+0.25 – I quite liked how when the ice blocks smashed, they released 5 coins, that automatically regain back one of your health sectors.
Note – Just paying attention to detail, but I’m sure only one of the ice blocks had 4 coins in, unless that was a minor bug. It just felt out of place. XD But it could’ve been done purposely which is why this is just a note and no point deduction.
Overall – 15.5/20.
This level, although based around bullet hell (literally), I loved the synchronisation and real detail that you could tell from this. I usually quite dislike bullet bills if there’s so many coming at you, because it does cause a fair bit of lag, but this worked pretty well. Good work!
with XERO (The Boss At The End!)
Fun – 8/10. I really enjoyed that. The platforming was great, almost hidden by the décor, but the atmosphere reminded me slightly of Space Colony and that is a huuuuuge J’ADORE!
Only thing you should consider is cutting down on triple jumps. They’re okay once or twice, but I had to use them quite a lot throughout.Graphics – 4.5/5. The graphics were really good! I think the disabled blue bricks definitely helped with the buildings, as there aren’t many background bricks you can use walk through, sadly. But you succeeded well with that. As for the décor, excellent again. I think there could’ve been a little more on the cave areas, and perhaps a little more variety of some in other sections. But still great.
Other – 2.75/5.
+0.25 – Great mini-blosses, are they eyes? Even if I’m not sure what they are, they move around so naturally and smoothly and you seem to have nailed the acceleration perfectly.
-0.5 – However, the flames are an issue. They are important at times for a boost up and to get underneath the tiling for a silver star at one point, but on the opposite side to that I made the mistake of thinking I could land down there and collect something important as it looked as though I could, but it turns out I just fall off the edge of the level. I think you should, in the future, make it clearer it’s like a dead-end. Just so people don’t make the same mistake as me.
Overall – 15.25/20.
Great level, great graphics and gameplay. Very well done. Another great level from you!
with What’s Happening?
Fun – 5.75/10. The green platforms were quite cleverly altered to go in all different and weird directions, and I found that enjoyable. In fact I enjoyed the platforming a lot. Do you know what ruined it? The quiz at the end. It was pointless, and to be honest, quizzes never pass well in levels. They’re a bit of a newbie level designing feature, and so I’d definitely avoid it in the future.
Graphics – 4/5. I liked the graphics, tiling was good, except for the bit with the shine sprite, it just caused messy jungle tile cut-off. Another thing I noticed, was the jungle tiles weren’t always used correctly. There’s meant to be some shadowy sections underneath some of the tiling on the slant, which is possible to use, and you didn’t. Décor was great, except for one bit where there were tree branches upside down that caused item cut-off (what was that?), but otherwise pretty good. This was definitely your strongest area so far.
Other – 2.5/5.
-0.25 – Minor lag throughout.
-0.25 – Pretty pointless sign, it took effort trying to get there to see it and it said nothing important.
Overall – 12.25/20.
The level could’ve been great, but you really let it down with a few silly mistakes and ideas. Next time, be aware of this!
with Fire Spiral
Fun – 6.75/10. I wasn’t too interested in this level … while it was a lot more unique than all the other levels I’d played so far, I think you could use platforming challenges and maybe some bullet bills just shooting through the spiral as a bit of an extra challenge. And with the FLUDD, it made it quite easy, tbh.
Graphics – 3.75/5. The cave spiral feature was pulled off really well, and though there wasn’t much décor, it still looked pretty good. To get higher next time, you could use some different tiling in places and more décor too.
Other – 3/5.
+0.25 – I like the red green traffic light system. I thought that was quite inventive.
-0.25 – However, at the very bottom of the spiral, you can still fall out of the level even though you patched it up with blue metal platforms.
Overall – 13.5/20.
This really did need improvements, but as a whole, it was a unique and unusual idea, and I like to see that in levels.
with Silver Stars In Space
Fun – 9.25/10. I found that really fun. Really fun. It was difficult, but also pretty well organised. It was a great puzzle basically, and you definitely pulled it off well. Having to go back and forth a lot wasn’t very fun, but that shouldn’t weigh down the score too much.
Graphics – 4.75/5. Great graphics, much better than your 19th LDC entry. As always, the piranha plant boss really impressed me. However, you should try something different next time, or it’ll be a very common repetition in your levels and it will stop shocking us. I suppose you got away with it this time. And perhaps a bit more décor too.
Other – 1.5/5.
Note – I’m afraid this isn’t going to pretty, as you all know what’s coming next. Bugs, bugs and more bugs.
-0.5 – You know you can actually break bricks through walls if they’re thin enough? That was a major problem in this level, and it seemed that was the only way I managed to actually collect the shine sprite. It was a cheat, to be honest, and not a very well thought out one.
-0.25 – When we’d activated the switch, in some rooms there were breakable bricks that were covering the green platforms, that would’ve been really useful if we were told about this so we didn’t have to wait for it to run out.
-0.5 – One route underwater with metal cap was impossible to traverse because if you miss the green platforms, you have to wait a hell of a long time for them to go back, and by then your metal cap runs out too. Then it just becomes pointless. In fact, metal cap was pretty useless in this level, to be perfectly honest.
Overall – 15.5/20.
Damnit damnit damnit… D: This level was looking so great, and it was great. But again you got let down by bugs. I seriously suggest you get people to playtest for you, or make it so you have enough time to spare to be able to playtest yourself in a lot of detail. Because I’m being serious, the score was looking one of the highest I’d ever given until we got to Other. If you want, I can playtest for you, as I don’t get many bugs in my levels unless there has been a major problem, like I wasn’t trying to fix any or I wasn’t playtesting.
with Castle Coins
Fun – 5/10. While it was simple, it was actually quite fun to play, although incredibly easy too. Some better platforming challenges and more unpredictable places for doors to lead to (yeah, it was quite obvious as all the rooms were lined up in parallel I noticed) I think you could have a pretty neat level. But at the moment, it only really shows a bit of potential.
Graphics – 3.5/5. I thought the tiling was quite predictable and boring, for me personally, I’d love it if you could make a castle unlike Peach’s … and this was very much like it. However in the top room you had some pretty nice décor, and I loved how the shine sprite appeared in the middle of all the stars on the wallpaper. Nice touch. ^_^
Other – 3/5.
First time I’ve ever had to dismiss points addition/deduction here. I seriously can’t find any bugs or anything noticeable that belongs here. But I suppose that what comes with simplicity.
Overall – 11.5/20.
Very simple level, and very traditional castle-based too. Nothing too wrong there.
with Kooky Clock Coins
Fun – 8/10. I liked this style quite a lot, it certainly felt kooky.
I was impressed with some of the platforming, however some did annoy me, like really fast flipping platforms. But you did a good job of making it slightly crazy, and caused me to laugh quite a lot while playing it. XDGraphics – 3.75/5. I like the décor and tiling most of the time, however at times it feels a bit out of place. Cave in a clock? It’s not quite right, inventive, but feels a bit awkward. Also some parts do need a bit more decoration to help it along.
Other – 3.25/5.
+0.25 – Nice mini-bloss in the centre of the level … what was that by the way? XD
Overall – 15/20.
with Door Labyrinth
Fun – 3/10. It was really not fun. To be perfectly honest. There was nothing interesting, a random door labyrinth that seemed pretty impossible to get through without a plan of it, and the platforming in the rooms were only basic. It was also annoying when I accidentally entered doors back to rooms I’d already been to when I tried to press up to jump to get a silver star.
Graphics – 2.5/5. There was no décor, no interesting tiling, and in general really disappointed me. It just wasn’t pretty and very, very basic. However there was no cut-off.
Other – 2.75/5.
-0.25 – A bug I recorded in fun, I think. Sometimes you have to jump to reach the silver star, and by pressing upwards you end up sending yourself to another room, and you can’t always get back, which is very frustrating.
Overall – 8.25/20.
This level was … meh. Labyrinth levels such as these hardly ever work, to play a decent labyrinth level you could try out Savage Labyrinth by Volcove.
with Gyraris
Fun – 7.5/10. Very clever, I feel like I can use the phrase “icwutudidthar”. Flipped four times? That was brilliant. When you first load up the level, you think that you’re not going to expect anything that great. But you thought outside the box, and I admire that. However there was still a lack of platforming, which could’ve been improved on.
Graphics – 3.75/5. Tiling was interesting, but there could’ve been more décor. I think that’s the main improvement that needs to be done for now. But the rest is pretty good, well done.
Other – 3.25/5.
+0.25 – After finding the first hidden pipe, it became a clue of how to get round to rest of the level. I liked that.
Overall – 14.5/20.
There ya go.. ^_^
1st place – MoD (16.5)
2nd place – Volcove, Brawler (15.5)
3rd place – BY, Master (15.25)
4th place – YB (15)
5th place – Ven (14.5)
6th place – Star, Bomberman (14.25)
7th place – Kaboom (14)
8th place – Nwolf (13.5)
9th place – I’mCrazy (12.25)
10th place – MK (11.75)
11th place – K9 (11.5)
12th place – CrazyMario (10.25)
13th place – Luinikex (8.25)
