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Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Venexis and myself, welcome to Destinations.

Thanks for seeking this miniseries out. As of now, it's been four months since we first sent remnants of Destinations into the 16th LDC Vault. Since then, it's won that LDC, as well as the Winter 2012 Runouw Votes Award for best LDC entry. This is actually the second Venexis/MoD collab to pull this feat, the other being Alignment of Fates, which won the 10th LDC. It also was named the Best Level of 2011 by the WITBLO Committee (not necessarily myself, lol, namely Volcove, SMIC and Master1.0).

And it really was a joy to create. The idea was one I teased as a possible Halloween LDC entry, but I had a feeling it could really become something more. The initial idea was the level "Final Moments", a dream-like level that would eventually set the tone for Destinations.

As I went along, I kept Ven in talks, for ideas and such. Eventually we decided that this level was good enough to enter into the 16th LDC, but then we came up with a plan that would build off of this level to create something truly epic. Thus, the whole series came into conception.

Crossroads Castle in part 2 was, graphically, my creation. I just decided that I wanted to make the Lloyd Wright of castles, something with a lot of abnormal shapes and unusual beauty. I feel that this castle accomplished this, and I still find it to be my best graphical creation yet. Inside was a team effort, for the most part. Ideas were tossed back and forth and executed. The ♥♥♥♥ room (so eloquently coined by Venexis) was his creation. You'll know it when you see it. My intent was to bring little room-size snippets of classic platforming that I used to do all the time.

Neil Du Mal is my personal favorite part of Destinations- he takes what should be an entirely black and white situation and brings the gray area to it. I wanted to make him a normal enough magikoopa who had the same dream Mario had... in an entirely different way. Without him, there would be no true story.

Part 3 was where Ven shined- his execution of the nameless boss was simply marvelous. I still can't even program anything block related properly- TWO YEARS LATER. Yet here's Ven, and he can program a block boss like a musician plays a piano. It's quite amazing if you ask me. The color schemes he put in the boss echoes through the earliest parts of part 3 as well.

Part four was a team effort- he activated the earthquakes, and I added our story's conclusion. Deciding how to conclude it was the most difficult part of the level, but ultimately we wanted to give a sort of inconclusive ending- after all, our intent is to get you to think when playing the level, and we wanted you to question things. *SPOILER* Was the world truly fated to end? Does Neil's death show that fate is a non-issue, or does it mean that if it weren't for fate, Neil never would have had to die? That is something you must ponder, because no one, us included, will get a straight answer about fate. Ironically, this was more of an Alignment of Fates than the original AoF! XD

Overall, I look back at this with the utmost pride. Not only am I proud of the level, I'm proud that I was able to do this with Ven. Working with him was a joy- he had many great ideas and worked synergistically with me. I wouldn't have done this with anyone else, and I'm glad I was able to do this with someone who was not only a fantastic designer but a valued friend.

Thank you for all your support. If you have yet to play this, I do hope you'll enjoy playing as much as we enjoyed creating it.

Further details of the level can be found below.

~MessengerOfDreams

In the third part, there is intended lag in one part of the level. You'll know where.

You are SUPPOSED TO DIE WHEN YOU GET THE SHINE

The music in the level will suit it very well for the most part, but for better effect, skip to 4 minutes in on part one, start from the beginning on part two, from 5 minutes on part three and four. Very optional.

ALWAYS HOLD UP WHEN FALLING

If you're still into music for levels, here's what song we won with: Waiting for a Train by Hans Zimmer.

Also, if you can't open the signs in the level, here's WHAT YOU READ WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER NEIL DU MAL THE KOOPA and HERE IS WHAT YOU READ ON THE SIGN OF THE MINICASTLE.

On behalf of Venexis and myself, thanks again for playing, everyone.

~MessengerOfDreams

So we're kind of the best level of 2011. Just saying. Here we are.

MessengerOfDreams wrote:In the third part, there is intended lag in one part of the level. You'll know where.

You are SUPPOSED TO DIE WHEN YOU GET THE SHINE

............. And I thought I was the first one to come up with this kind of thing- *is shot*

Sorry Harmless. Your incorrectness will cost you one review on this series.

DAMN YOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU Oh, ok.

This will take a while...

For now, all I can say is that Part 1 a large- ♥♥♥ loading time, but the serious in-depth storyline and awesome graphics really make up for it.