Re: Desert - Dorai Vanilla SMBX 1.4.4
Posted: Fri Dec 15, 2017 7:27 pm
I'd beg to differ. Despite it being a pretty solid level for the most part, I don't think it's quite at a 9/10, which is near-perfect.Shadow_Flame wrote:Hi there, Xilore_Inaba. I downloaded your level and here is what I think after playing it:
- Graphics are top notch, really love them! Pleasant to look at and match perfectly with the background.
- Music fits the level very well.
- The length of the level is OK as it's neither endlessly long, nor super short and it does provide a challenge for players.
- Terrain is random and creative at times. I like the effect of the sinking platforms and the mini-water sections.
- Some spots might be tricky to pass through, especially the ones with the 3 Fire Bros and the one with the last Chain Chomp as it's a very narrow space and that block hits you back, thus making things twice as difficult (not to mention if you're small Mario).
- I like the background of the mini-castle at the end and how you've created the illusion that the player stays inside it.
- It took me some time at first to realise how to get inside that secret pipe towards the end but got a sense of achievement once I figured it out
Overall, this is a very good level with fitting music, backgrounds, challenging moments and enemies. I'd give this level 9/10.
Despite the fact that this level is quite aesthetically appealing for the most part, there isn't much to it. It mostly consists of a romp through your average desert level with a few briefly-used mechanics (such as the large sinking platform, etc.), none of which are built upon and just used on a one-off basis, which makes the level feel a little jumbled and confused, since there isn't a clear focus in terms of a gimmick, though it appears to try to have quite a few. Another issue is the inconsistent flow; for the most part the level is fast-paced, however then you have the section in which the player is forced to ride on arrow blocks without doing anything for a significant amount of time, which causes a notable disturbance to the flow. For the most part though, the level flows quite nicely. Furthermore, like gimmicks, there seem to be a lot of one-off enemies, such as the sand foo (and a few others), which was very noticeable and contributed to the jumbled-ness of the level. I think you would really benefit from watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjHgN5R-HgE since the terrain of the level is great, but I feel like you would benefit from learning some more about how to use a smaller set of enemies to provide progressive challenges for the player. Another enemy issue is around the muncher-resprite chests. It's an interesting idea however I don't think it was used or introduced as effectively as it could have been. The player can take a major hit near the beginning of the level when what appears to be a normal chest suddenly becomes an enemy. I'd suggest introducing this enemy to the player in a way such that they can see that it is in fact an enemy, and not just a piece of scenery, without it being in the main path and possibly causing an unfair hit. For example, you could place it underneath the main path with at least one solid block between the player and the enemy, such that when it jumps it can't make contact with the player, however the player can note that these chests are actually enemies that jump when they get close. It would also be cool to add a little more weight to their use and also use normal chest background objects in the level to keep the player on their toes, so that they tend towards always expecting that a chest is an enemy, but then sometimes they don't actually move (similar to the idea of the piledriver micro-goomba enemies which resemble brick blocks until they jump). You could do a lot with these enemies and the level would really benefit from them being introduced in a more coherent manner. Really this level just needs to choose an idea (and a smaller set of enemies that can be intuitively set up in different ways to provide varying challenges) and run with it, since there are a lot of ideas in the level that are great (such as the chest enemies and the platforms that sink into the quicksand) that could be used a lot more and be built on to make the level much more memorable and enjoyable to the player. Consider also checking out four-step level design (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBmIkEvEBtA) which is what Nintendo uses, prominently in Super Mario 3D World as discussed in the video, to introduce, build on, put a twist on, and finalize a gimmick/mechanic in a level. This level just has so much potential and I'd like to see it revamped a little bit with a consistent idea that it locks in on, since it doesn't have a lot of substance right now behind the veil of all of the graphics used and atmosphere developed. I'd suggest that right now it would be worth around a 7/10, maybe a little lower, but could definitely reach a higher score for sure with a little work!
