Block Boulevard, Act I

[IcarusBen]

The first level in my new project; Block Boulevard, Act I. Not anymore it isn't XD. Inspired by the first level of SMB3. It's not terribly long or hard, just something to get people adjusted to the world.

Spoiler: show

Download link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/94fu9829big5c ... d.lvl?dl=0

[Imaynotbehere4long]

It's not terribly long or hard, just something to get people adjusted to the world.

If that's the case, shouldn't this go into Casual Levels? The normal Levels sub-forum is for people to try to make the best level they can (and for others to be very critical about everything), whereas the Casual Levels sub-forum is just for showing your level to others. In other words, if you post your project's first level in the Levels sub-forum, it probably won't make it beyond Average.

[IcarusBen]

Not really. I want people to try my level and give their honest opinions here.

Though, this is no longer the first level of my project, I need to swap that out. Oopsie.

[Shadow Yoshi]

It's not terribly long or hard, just something to get people adjusted to the world.

If that's the case, shouldn't this go into Casual Levels? The normal Levels sub-forum is for people to try to make the best level they can (and for others to be very critical about everything), whereas the Casual Levels sub-forum is just for showing your level to others. In other words, if you post your project's first level in the Levels sub-forum, it probably won't make it beyond Average.

Levels aren't judged on their difficulty.

He was saying that it's not long or hard because it's one of the first levels of his episode (i.e. "get people adjusted to the world").

[underFlo]

It's not terribly long or hard, just something to get people adjusted to the world.

If that's the case, shouldn't this go into Casual Levels? The normal Levels sub-forum is for people to try to make the best level they can (and for others to be very critical about everything), whereas the Casual Levels sub-forum is just for showing your level to others. In other words, if you post your project's first level in the Levels sub-forum, it probably won't make it beyond Average.

Levels aren't judged on their difficulty.

He was saying that it's not long or hard because it's one of the first levels of his episode (i.e. "get people adjusted to the world").

Agree, the only part if difficulty that should be judged is consistency. Where it is in the project doesn't matter and thus the general difficulty shouldn't be judged.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

That's not what I meant.

What I meant was that, if the level is made solely to get players "adjusted to the world" in an episode, it probably won't hold up well as a stand-alone level. I admit that this is not always the case and that I haven't yet played the level, but in my experience, this is true more often than not; that's why I asked if it should go into Casual Levels instead.

[underFlo]

I haven't yet played the leve

Do I need to say any more?

Besides, while it's totally possible for a level to be falsely in Casual levels (aka the creator does want feedback but didn't know how to get permission), it's way less likely for one to be falsely in Serious Levels, since for these you have to ask for requests. If he posts it here, he willingly wants feedback, even if it may be harsh. After all, feedback is the only thing that can help you improve.

[Shadow Yoshi]

if the level is made solely to get players "adjusted to the world"

He didn't say that, though. He just added that to support the fact that it's one of the first levels of his episode.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

Okay, I've played the level, and it's pretty much exactly what I expected, thus confirming all of my preconceived notions that you were trying to argue against, but I digress.

And now, my review:

FOR AN EPISODE'S FIRST LEVEL, it's not too bad. The terrain isn't terribly flat and uninspired and the NPCs are relatively varied, although there's no midpoint and it's a bit short.

FOR A STAND-ALONE LEVEL, it's waaaay too short. The level doesn't really do anything to make it stand out, but then again, there's not much room for the level to do much of anything. The block placement is very plain and simple; nothing notable. There are pipes occasionally, but none of the pipes lead to any bonus rooms of any kind, and even if they did, there's no challenge involved in reaching said secrets. There are a few pits and NPCs here and there, but they don't pose any threat to the player, ultimately making this another forgettable Basic Grass Level. The only thing in the level that was the least bit interesting was having red Koopas on the stacked sizables, but again, it didn't really add anything and was just kinda there. I will say one thing, though: having a star at the end instead of the standard SMB3 roulette helped to mix things up a bit, but not enough to affect the level's score.

Summary:
GOOD:
-Music choice is fitting.
-Graphic choices aren't terrible.
-There aren't any poor level design choices (but then again, there aren't many level design choices to begin with).

BAD:
-The level is short, even for a project's first level.
-The uninspired block and NPC placement ultimately makes the level boring and forgettable.
-No midpoint, but it doesn't really matter since the level is too short to even think about having one.

In conclusion: I'm yet to see a stand-alone level that is advertised as being a project's first level and isn't generic and boring; this level is no exception. I'd say this deserves a 4.5/10.

[underFlo]

FOR A STAND-ALONE LEVEL, it's waaaay too short.

This part of your review is quite similar to the part if your review of one of my older levels that bothered me.

You declared my level as too easy, and upon my claim that it's supposed to be an early level, you said something along the lones of "since it's standalone I can't judge it, so it's too easy." But that's not how one should do it. It's about if the level would actually fit into an episode, no matter where. The level is easy? As long as it's not too short and the difficulty is consistent, why not? The level is too hard? As long as it's consistent, it's not bad. Only extreme cases should get their points reduced. In your opinion all standalone levels should have this one average difficulty and length, everything higher or lower then that is bad. But that's the wrong approach. If you don't know where it is in an episode, you can't judge it, but if it would fit well in an episode, you'd be able to place it without much trouble as to where it belongs
If the length contradicts the difficulty (aka a short but really hard level), it wouldn't really fit in an episode. But as you said yourself, its difficulty and length are ok for an early level, and that's how you should judge it. You can't expect all levels to have this one difficulty.

[Imaynotbehere4long]

I just wanted to point out that I didn't complain about the difficulty; I complained about the level being bland and forgettable, and the reason that the level is bland and forgettable is because of its short length and uninspired block & NPC placement. The fact that the level is easy is merely a byproduct of its uninspired block & NPC placement.

FOR A STAND-ALONE LEVEL, it's waaaay too short.

This part of your review is quite similar to the part if your review of one of my older levels that bothered me...The level is easy? As long as it's not too short and the difficulty is consistent, why not?

Here's the thing, though: it is too short; that's literally what I'm complaining about in the quote you used. In fact, near the end of the review, I say that it's too short "even for a project's first level." Did you miss that?

You declared my level as too easy, and upon my claim that it's supposed to be an early level, you said something along the lones of "since it's standalone I can't judge it, so it's too easy." But that's not how one should do it.

That isn't what happened. What happened was I complained about the level's "secret" star being too obvious and requiring too little effort to really qualify as a secret, stand-alone or not. It didn't really add anything to the level; it was just kinda there. The main reason I didn't think your level deserved to be in Pretty Good is because of the fish that block the player's path, forcing him/her to wait for the fish to move out of the way, but I digress.

It's about if the level would actually fit into an episode, no matter where...If the length contradicts the difficulty (aka a short but really hard level), it wouldn't really fit in an episode.

That also isn't the proper way to judge levels. A level can be short, difficult, and Pretty Good, and a good example would be this. In fact, I would argue against long and difficult levels because if a level is too long and/or difficult, it would become tedious.

[IcarusBen]

Well, I'm happy that I at least got to Average. My last level ended up in the trash can.

[MECHDRAGON777]

In conclusion: I'm yet to see a stand-alone level that is advertised as being a project's first level and isn't generic and boring; this level is no exception. I'd say this deserves a 4.5/10.

What about the first level of my project? "Video in my signature"?