But yeah the idea of it all came when I noticed that a lot of contest entries I saw were usually lava overworld levels or lava cave levels or lava space levels or lava everywhere levels. Therefore, I tried to break the norm of lava levels by using an unusual color palette and some new gimmicks. Looks like that turned out in my favor since I got three 9.5 ratings from the judges. That was completely unexpected! (Although I totally understand Valtteri's 7.0 rating for this as well)
Screenshots:
Spoiler: show
Spoiler: show
5. FrozenQuills - Another Typical Lava Level (8.86/10)
- Bomber57 (9.5/10)
- The name is deceptive, for this level wasn't just a typical lava level. The simplistic, almost vanilla graphics were pleasing to the eye and surprisingly fitting for the level. I wasn't sure you could make standard color ghost house blocks work with a lava level, but you did somehow. The level just felt really good to play. There is an interesting gimmick I haven't seen before where there are platforms attached to Podoboos, so the platform jumps out of the lava with them. This gimmick is used in several creative ways throughout the level. The first section is rather linear but the second half of the level is a large-sized exploration section where you have to find 8 red coins to get the star. I groaned at first because red coin hunts are typically boring and painful, but this was actually fun. Each red coin was in a thoughtful location and nothing felt repetitive. The author was even nice enough to keep track of how many red coins you've collected below the checkpoint, which you'll be crossing several times during the search. Thus you can easily keep track of what ones you have and what ones you don't. This level had challenge to it but it was implemented in a fair way, where you can easily say "I see what I did wrong and I'll try not to do that next time." Oh yeah, and props to the music choice as well.
- I really have to say about this typical lava level... it was awesome! I really like what you did with this little level right here with lava surrounding the area, enemy variety and how you did with the whole attach to layer function since how this was executed was really good and on top of that, it doesn't causes unnecessary deaths after you accidently try to kill an NPC since they are actually modified that you can't kill them by accident. There are also multiple pathways and secrets to discover. There were some areas where you can glitch through the blocks due to narrow placements but oh well. At the midway point you have to collect 8 red coins throughout the same section in order to get a star which end the level off but on top of that there is even an indicator as of which red coin you have collected which to be honest, it's very clever and this makes the red coin challenge more fun than it used to be.
- I disagree with the name. This isn't just a typical lava level, but instead something that is extremely well-made. Despite the volcanic setting, the level is quite modest about its usage of lava, and the ghost house block arrangements make the level feel very mechanical, like it's more of a mine than a cave. I'm impressed with how much more you included in the first section than I would have expected from an area with no vertical scrolling, particularly the intersecting split tunnels and skull raft implementation. The Podoboo platforms are extremely interesting too, and the red coin maze is intensely elaborate without being mind-boggling. The red coin placements are great too, and even try some unique things, like making the player anticipate guiding their fall to the left but letting them try again instantly without punishment when they inevitably miss the first time. If you do die from missing the attempt by mistiming your actions and hitting the lava, it's not too punishing anyway, because the level's two halves are pretty reasonably defined. First half is the outer section, second half is the red coin hunt, and neither one is overly long. Creative use is made of the jumping platforms and springboards in these areas as well, and the difficulty is quite pleasant while providing minor challenge. My only minor issues with this were the first red coin to the left of the checkpoint (it's excessively difficult to anticipate both the timing of the Podoboo platform and Rotodisc) and the narrow lava tunnel on the right side (you clearly expect the player to carefully walk across the platform without jumping, but it doesn't go quite low enough to allow that, so you have to duck-jump perfectly). Otherwise, extremely impressive and fun level. I could really feel the deliberate effort and planning from the designer in every spot, and those little design nuances really contribute to the quality.
- I loved the creativity in this level. There's so many unique elements and it truly shows that you put thought into every aspect of your level. The podoboos attached to the blocks were a great example of this and they were used amazingly. The red coin hunt was also fun and the exploration did no harm to the level. Overall, fantastic job!
- This level used some pretty freshening gimmicks, such as the platforms attached to Podoboos and how you needed the Skull Raft to hit the vine block. The music disturbs me. I don't like it. I like the blue/red color scheme the blue ground and the red lava make. It would look even better if the yellow spikes were blue. The level is functional and pretty fun to play. The red coins in the final section are cleverly hidden.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tltjpzcg5pzh2 ... d.zip?dl=0