[38A Level]Dreamy Watery

[MacDuckBeat]

Another level for/from my episode, I'll let you guys play it.

Screenies: show

A big inspiration to Koopa's Revenge 2.

Here's the download: https://www.dropbox.com/home?preview=Dreamy+Watery.rar
Enjoy your time playing this~

[PixelPest]

From the screenshots it looks very bland and lacks good coin placement. I don't think mixing SMB3 with SMW works well here either. It would also be much better if you used underwater enemies for most of the level, since right now it looks like a lot of overworld enemies. I'd also suggest giving the player a power-up somewhere in the Jelectro section and adding more cave tiles to make it varied, block ways in which the player can easily not touch any Jelectros by swimming at the same height all of the way through (top and bottom of the section for a good deal), and it would be more aesthetically pleasing. Basically, overall:

• Better coin and power-up placement, to help with it being bland.
• More fitting underwater enemies (and BGOs).
• Avoid style mixing.
• Work on the atmosphere of the Jelectro section.

[MacDuckBeat]

1. I tried.
2. Hmm... Maybe I should pick only underwater enemies, not overworld enemies.
3. Why the heck I pick SMB3 recolor bushes.
4. Well I make a puzzle part and maze there. Maybe I should add something there.

Thanks for the criticism. I would say that this level was a remake of my old and weird version of this level. It looks crap from the start and a little bit short level.

[Emral]

Avoid style mixing.

I just gotta call you out for this cause the style mixing here doesn't strike me as something bad in this level. Sure it's somewhat awkward if similar assets from different games exist, but how come you dropped no comment on style mixing in, for example, every level in 2k1x episodes which has it? There are many levels there which have not just more noticeable but also more "risky" combinations of different styles, so your comment on this level feels rather nitpicky for the sake of getting another bullet point.

Furthermore I think the other points you address also don't mention the actual flaws with the level which are visible from the screenshots. Your suggestions are shallow and superficial and don't even do a good job at being feedback to make the level more fun. They feel more like a "step 2", skipping the important "step 1": structure.

Water levels in general are a difficult topic to design around because they're pretty slow paced and you have to account for the player being in many more positions than in other levels. You generally want to avoid giving the player options to skip over entire parts of your level while providing a nonzero amount of challenge. The area in your second screenshot is very empty and if the player takes a flat horizontal route, the only obstacle he'll encounter will be the jumping piranha. I don't suggest just simply adding more enemies, though, as that feels tacked on and will get boring and repetitive very easily.
My suggestion - especially when looking at the other screenshot, too - is that you should put more thought into the geometry of your level. Play around with the things the engine has to offer and find some interesting stuff to design around. You introduce jelectros here, yet they're placed in a seemingly random manner, making it seem that you put not a lot of thought into their placement and the way in which the player interacts with them.

As for the level itself, I would love to play it to be able to give more accurate and in-depth thoughts but the link won't let me download. It redirects me to the login page for dropbox (and I don't have an account). Did you forget to hit a "share" button somewhere?

[Waddle]

Topic locked since you already had a level topic. We work with a new system in which levels are sorted by designer, so post this level in your other topic.