Hatsune Blake's Level Showcase

[Blake Izayoi]

You could... move the warp further left so that there's basically double time for the player to react. Or is there some important reason why the exit is in the middle of the room and not on the opposite sit of the arena from the boss?

Good idea, will update the level to do this! I'll edit this post when the update is live.

Update:
Forest Fortress has now been updated to have a more proper entrance to the boss room, hopefully preventing cheap shots. Cheers!

[Blake Izayoi]

Another level has been added to the post, this time a SMW themed forest / jungle level! Have fun! <3

[WildW]

About the unfair boss fight, you could also probably set up an event that spawns the boss one second after you get into the room if you want to keep the door in the middle. Maybe it would also be nice to add an indicator for where the boss will appear when it does if you decide to do this.

Edit: I see you already fixed it, didn't see the edit on your post

[Blake Izayoi]

Another day, another new level, this time a sequel to Skydaku! All you SMW lovers should like this level. Have fun, and remember to drop any feedback here so I can improve as a level creator! Thank you. <3

[Bullet51]

The 1st player's starting point in Skydaku 2 is misplaced:

[Blake Izayoi]

The 1st player's starting point in Skydaku 2 is misplaced:

Thank you so much for pointing this out! I've patched the level so it has the correct spawn now. Cheers!!

[Blake Izayoi]

A new level named Sky Castle has been uploaded and released! I hope that you consider trying it.

[Emral]

Pretty neat. Few things I noticed:
- Elements don't get a proper introduction (ball n chain, snake block). I think the section's elements could've been re-ordered a little to introduce some safer setups at the start
- Level sometimes feels like 2 levels competing for attention. The long, unsafe sections interspersed with short, safer sections (generally good for reprieve, but they feel a bit disconnected). Mixing thwomps into the former and automatic snake blocks into the latter could've lent both more variety while mixing them better, and would've allowed some of the shorter sections to be closer to the rest of the level in terms of feel. The part where the block moves below a shorter section was a cool twist.
- With this music, I expected the outside to be a bit more dramatic looking, or at least nighttime
- the exclamation marks during the boss fight don't warn the player of the location where the boss spawns. easily fixed by moving the boss onto the spikes.
- at times i found the path of the blocks to be a bit odd or unpredictable. I wonder if making the redirectors visible would have a positive impact on that, and if that would also have allowed for more intricate paths.
- podoboos sadly fall victim to level amnesia, appearing briefly near the start and then only once later, with none in the second half due to the sky-high setting, making the second half easier.
- i think the concept of automatic snake blocks was definitely worth exploring more. there are plenty of single-block sections to the point where you seem to spread the variety of ball n chain setups out very thinly. i think the 2nd half could've played more with variation in how the snake blocks move. if you're not interested in more automatic snake chains, consider this: when you step on a snake block, all on-screen snake blocks of that ID activate, which could lead to a section where you have to keep track of multiple at the same time.

don't let this feedback distract from the "pretty neat". i think generally the level was good, just at times struggling to piece itself together.

[Blake Izayoi]

Pretty neat. Few things I noticed:
- Elements don't get a proper introduction (ball n chain, snake block). I think the section's elements could've been re-ordered a little to introduce some safer setups at the start

Hmm, so perhaps just a Snake Block over a small pit where you can jump out of if you fall down, and perhaps I could've introduced the Ball n' Chain on it's own instead of alongside the Snake Block.

- Level sometimes feels like 2 levels competing for attention. The long, unsafe sections interspersed with short, safer sections (generally good for reprieve, but they feel a bit disconnected). Mixing thwomps into the former and automatic snake blocks into the latter could've lent both more variety while mixing them better, and would've allowed some of the shorter sections to be closer to the rest of the level in terms of feel. The part where the block moves below a shorter section was a cool twist.

Noted! I did want to try and mix Thwomps with Snake Blocks, but I honestly couldn't really think of a good set-up for them, so I'm leaving that idea for a potential sequel to this level, hopefully by then I'll have a good idea on how to make a good Snake Block + Thwomp & Thwimp set-up.

- With this music, I expected the outside to be a bit more dramatic looking, or at least nighttime

Noted, in the future when I choose a music of this style, I'll do a recolour of the background(s) to make it night time.

- the exclamation marks during the boss fight don't warn the player of the location where the boss spawns. easily fixed by moving the boss onto the spikes.

Spoiler: show

There actually is! There's a fourth exclamation mark on the right side of the boss arena, although I can understand how some players might potentially miss that. I'll update the level and move Ludwig onto the spikes for easier communication.

- at times i found the path of the blocks to be a bit odd or unpredictable. I wonder if making the redirectors visible would have a positive impact on that, and if that would also have allowed for more intricate paths.

"Odd" and "unpredictable" is honestly what I was going for, you need to be paying attention to the Snake Blocks properly in order to maneuver yourself accordingly. The unpredictable path of the Snake Blocks is actually why the 2nd section of the level has a 7-block Snake path instead of a 5-block Snake path like in the first part of the level.
I can understand that an unpredictable path wouldn't be enjoyed by all players, and I know it was easier for me as I'm the one who placed the redirectors, so I had a bit of a sense where it was going.

- podoboos sadly fall victim to level amnesia, appearing briefly near the start and then only once later, with none in the second half due to the sky-high setting, making the second half easier.

I honestly couldn't think of a good way to implement Podoboos into the sky section, because lava would look pretty unnatural floating in the sky. I think a recoloured Podoboo that looks like an angry cloud would've worked in the sky, because it would've fit in with the setting. I'll perhaps implement this idea into a future level.

- i think the concept of automatic snake blocks was definitely worth exploring more. there are plenty of single-block sections to the point where you seem to spread the variety of ball n chain setups out very thinly. i think the 2nd half could've played more with variation in how the snake blocks move. if you're not interested in more automatic snake chains, consider this: when you step on a snake block, all on-screen snake blocks of that ID activate, which could lead to a section where you have to keep track of multiple at the same time.

I honestly didn't know that all Snake Blocks on screen activated at once as long as they have the same ID! This is really good info, I'll be sure to put this to use in the future when making a level that utilizes Snake Blocks.
Also with the feedback about exploring the concept of the Snake Blocks more, I'll take note of that!

don't let this feedback distract from the "pretty neat". i think generally the level was good, just at times struggling to piece itself together.

I'm glad you thought the level was good! With your feedback I'll be able to perhaps make a level that goes beyond "pretty neat" and into "very neat". Thanks for taking the time to write out detailed feedback, I appreciate it very much!

[Emral]

I choose a music of this style, I'll do a recolour of the background(s) to make it night time

Of course it's always "your mileage may vary" with these things, and I'm sure there are official levels where I've felt a similar disconnect, but dark and ominous music calls for a bit of a foreboding setting. Infact on my second run only did I notice that the BG in the first half shows daytime clouds. The castle structures themselves also do a very good job at setting up that feeling. Perhaps an alternative solution would be large castle pillars in the sky BG.

There actually is!

Ah! I've been tricked!

I honestly couldn't think of a good way to implement Podoboos into the sky section

Potentially using the player filter blocks and diagonal podoboos could have worked.

and perhaps I could've introduced the Ball n' Chain on it's own instead of alongside the Snake Block.

Funnily enough, you have something of a ball n chain introduction right after the first snake block ride. Swapping those areas around and adding a ledge to be scaled using a revolving snake block should do fine.

[Blake Izayoi]

A new level is up, called Desert at Dusk! It's a desert themed level that's a mix of classic SMB3 action & a "choose your own adventure" style. I hope you enjoy the level, and as always feedback is welcome.

[Blake Izayoi]

Sorry for bumping again so soon, but another new level is out, called Frosting Field! It's most likely my hardest level to date. I hope you enjoy it. Any feedback is very appreciated.

[MrDoubleA]

Good levels, both of them!

[smoke40]

i like frosting field, the progressing difficulty and gimmicks are nice and especially the latter half is really fun and intense, took me a few tries but not unbeatably difficult. desert at dusk i didn't like as much, it wasn't as memorable and the npc usage wasn't as great in my opinion. or maybe i just have a bias for snow levels lol.

[Blake Izayoi]

Finally, another level! It's not much, but please enjoy "Swamp Problem"! It's a SMW themed swamp level.

[Sonya Sanchez]

Hello, I made two Videos showcasing two levels from you

Spoiler: show

[Blake Izayoi]

Hello, I made two Videos showcasing two levels from you

Spoiler: show

Thank you very much! It's appreciated. I'm going to add them to the main post, hopefully you don't mind!

[Sonya Sanchez]

Hello, I made two Videos showcasing two levels from you

Spoiler: show

Thank you very much! It's appreciated. I'm going to add them to the main post, hopefully, you don't mind!

Nah I don't mind at all, add them if you like to do so.

[SuperAlex]

Review of Swamp Problem
Wow but what a good theme at this level. Hatzune You excelled, this level is based on such a complicated swamp so I played as Toad I did a speedrun of between 1:30 to 2 minutes and without collecting 1up mushrooms it can be a challenge.
Reviews:
-> The Big Bertha must be SMW style, well, you must look for it in Deviantart SMM Big Bertha and color.
-> If I played it again I see that when you shoot the enemy with fireballs, coins come out.
-> It is a true remake of SMW.
-> I could need those codes for my project, keep it up.

Score:
Design: 8/10 [Big Berthas and Green Swamp Style]
Aesthetics: 6/10 [Another section using star coins]
Gameplay: 20/20 [Little fun but like the duration of an SMW level]
Originality: 8/10 [Forest Parallax]

[Blake Izayoi]

Review of Swamp Problem
Wow but what a good theme at this level. Hatzune You excelled, this level is based on such a complicated swamp so I played as Toad I did a speedrun of between 1:30 to 2 minutes and without collecting 1up mushrooms it can be a challenge.
Reviews:
-> The Big Bertha must be SMW style, well, you must look for it in Deviantart SMM Big Bertha and color.
-> If I played it again I see that when you shoot the enemy with fireballs, coins come out.
-> It is a true remake of SMW.
-> I could need those codes for my project, keep it up.

Score:
Design: 8/10 [Big Berthas and Green Swamp Style]
Aesthetics: 6/10 [Another section using star coins]
Gameplay: 20/20 [Little fun but like the duration of an SMW level]
Originality: 8/10 [Forest Parallax]

I'm very happy you enjoyed my level! Thank you for playing it.