This is a ghost house level.
In this level, there is a few puzzles you have to solve. Try to get all the star coins.
Some NPC has decimal value for their speed, so use LunaLua. Also the level has a starman.
Pros
This is a pretty great ghost house, if you ask me. It feels very much like a callback to SMW's ghost houses, especially the one in Valley of Bowser. I really liked the confusing maze-like puzzle layout and the clever use of warps, where the player can end up getting sent back to where they were before, requiring the player to almost think outside the box and do stuff out of their way to get all the Star Coins, in which their placement took advantage of the layout to really test the player's limits, thus bumping up the replay value by a lot. Speaking of puzzles, there is almost a different feature to every room, ranging from a springboard hunt, a moving floor, and hitting a P-switch, and all the features are executed pretty well. You also attempted to really take advantage of the haunting factor of the level as well, as there are Boos and other NPCs, including a Rinka, attached to blocks, which made it look as though the blocks and NPCs were "possessed" which I really liked seeing. The sudden changes to things in sections as you did certain actions also added some spice, such as moving away from a block and it starts moving, and this was rather well-executed.
Cons
The level is really good on its own, but judging from the characteristics in the level, it shows you tried to be ambitious, but failed at some points. You used Lua to great effect to create a timer, there is no indication how long the timer is (500), and thus the player will probably get killed without realising it if they take too long. I would make the timer start from 500 and count down to 0 rather than the other way round, or indicate how long the timer lasts in the level itself. Alongside this, the underwater section is kinda bland and could do with more decoration and enemies, and speaking of bland sections, quite a lot of the other sections are rather bland and suffer from a lack of BGOs, while the landforms look flat and barren to boot. However, it's rather hard to avoid as it's a ghost house and the tileset is rather limited. The next thing I'm going to talk about is the Rinka. Although I mentioned the Rinka earlier as being a very nice addition, especially being attached to a Boo, it doesn't fit in with the ghostly atmosphere, and it would be better if it were replaced with something to fit in with more with the atmosphere. The blocks attached to Boos are a nice addition, as stated earlier, but it can get to the point where you can get crushed by them. This is a problem in the moving floor room as it's hard to align yourself so the blocks don't crush you.
Final Score
This a very awesome ghost house, but there are still issues that need to be fixed, and most, if not all of them, are listed under the "Cons" section of the review. Take light of this, and improve your levels, and you'll be on your way to being a great level designer.
Pros
This is a pretty great ghost house, if you ask me. It feels very much like a callback to SMW's ghost houses, especially the one in Valley of Bowser. I really liked the confusing maze-like puzzle layout and the clever use of warps, where the player can end up getting sent back to where they were before, requiring the player to almost think outside the box and do stuff out of their way to get all the Star Coins, in which their placement took advantage of the layout to really test the player's limits, thus bumping up the replay value by a lot. Speaking of puzzles, there is almost a different feature to every room, ranging from a springboard hunt, a moving floor, and hitting a P-switch, and all the features are executed pretty well. You also attempted to really take advantage of the haunting factor of the level as well, as there are Boos and other NPCs, including a Rinka, attached to blocks, which made it look as though the blocks and NPCs were "possessed" which I really liked seeing. The sudden changes to things in sections as you did certain actions also added some spice, such as moving away from a block and it starts moving, and this was rather well-executed.
Cons
The level is really good on its own, but judging from the characteristics in the level, it shows you tried to be ambitious, but failed at some points. You used Lua to great effect to create a timer, there is no indication how long the timer is (500), and thus the player will probably get killed without realising it if they take too long. I would make the timer start from 500 and count down to 0 rather than the other way round, or indicate how long the timer lasts in the level itself. Alongside this, the underwater section is kinda bland and could do with more decoration and enemies, and speaking of bland sections, quite a lot of the other sections are rather bland and suffer from a lack of BGOs, while the landforms look flat and barren to boot. However, it's rather hard to avoid as it's a ghost house and the tileset is rather limited. The next thing I'm going to talk about is the Rinka. Although I mentioned the Rinka earlier as being a very nice addition, especially being attached to a Boo, it doesn't fit in with the ghostly atmosphere, and it would be better if it were replaced with something to fit in with more with the atmosphere. The blocks attached to Boos are a nice addition, as stated earlier, but it can get to the point where you can get crushed by them. This is a problem in the moving floor room as it's hard to align yourself so the blocks don't crush you.
Final Score
This a very awesome ghost house, but there are still issues that need to be fixed, and most, if not all of them, are listed under the "Cons" section of the review. Take light of this, and improve your levels, and you'll be on your way to being a great level designer.
My Review:
Remember, you asked me to do this...you know what you were getting yourself into.
Atmosphere [0/5]
Definition of "abandoned": having been deserted or cast off.
By the literal definition, you cast aside your own atmosphere by having a legion of ghosts inhabiting this level. Some of which don't do anything less than confuse the player or haunt blocks.
The remaining comments I have only rest in the fact you used Ghost House tileset, which is the only thing consistent in this level.
In addition, why is there even an underwater section? How does this section even relate to the ghost house..and why do I need to be punished by this annoying section anyway.
Level Design [0/5]
This was the absolute worst level I've played since the new year. This level incorporated only one gimmick: did you pick the right door? No, well tough shit; go through the same section 10 times until you get it right.
I am absolutely serious, look at this section: http://imgur.com/AgOZrrP
90% of these doors lead to the same god damn section filled with water, a super fast boo and fish. You have to figure out which is the right door out of 19 identical doors. Let us not forget the fact that there are remarkable features in the section itself, so chances are you'll get lost just getting to the right door.
I couldn't even complete this level. It pissed me off so much that I went into PGE and SMBX to track down the applicable warps and check the rest of the sections. Honestly, I can safely say I am glad I never finished this level to begin with. Not only is it still confusing after this section but the level offers absolutely nothing interesting outside of "Oh hey, ghosts".
Graphical Continuity [0/5]
The carpet of boos at the top of the screen, in most sections, is super confusing. Especially since there isn't a ceiling what-so-ever in order to gauge how big the section is. On top of this, multiple boos exist in this level. One in particular is roughly invisible if you look at it, only being able to see its annoying smirk. Combining this terrible graphical choices with a visually bright background means that the player won't normally see this npc. Lastly, there's the god damn swooper boos. I didn't see this coming at all, nor am I able to tell them apart from regular boos.
BGO Placement [0/5]
The only BGO that I can note is the usage of doors, and there is already too many anyway. If you are going to spend the time to call this a "house" then make it look like one.
NPC Placement [0/5]
Read "Graphical Continuity"
Difficulty / Replayability [0/5]
Not only could I not muster the patience to finish this, I would surely never recommend this to another person. In fact, this level serves as a PERFECT example as to why I avoid Ghost Houses entirely, since just about nobody understands how to make a fun one.
-It isn't about making it hard.
-It isn't about using annoying puzzles
-It's about using "death" as your element. Its about using the unknown to your advantage, not to make a room with 19 freaking doors and say "go nuts, you figure it out."
As much as I hate to make a purely negative review, there is an equal amount of negative things being spawned, and exist, within this level. I really don't have any constructive criticism other than go play some of Chad's levels from Super Mario Star Expedition until you fully grasp what makes a real level. Because, as I see it, there isn't anything you can do to this level other than use this as a basis of what to avoid in your future levels.
Overall Score: 0/30
Final Score: 0/10
Judgement: Trash Can
as303298 wrote:
This level incorporated only one gimmick: did you pick the right door? No, well tough shit; go through the same section 10 times until you get it right.
I am absolutely serious, look at this section: http://imgur.com/AgOZrrP
90% of these doors lead to the same god damn section filled with water, a super fast boo and fish. You have to figure out which is the right door out of 19 identical doors. Let us not forget the fact that there are remarkable features in the section itself, so chances are you'll get lost just getting to the right door.
Thanks for the review, just one question. Did you check the info box in that section? It told you the hint to find the right door.
I'm not saying your opinion is wrong or anything, just gonna explain a few things that may, at least, take a shot a changing a few opinions here and there...
Actually each area of the ghost house was suppose to have a different puzzle:
Area 1's puzzle was suppose was that the right door was to the left.
Area 2's puzzle was suppose to be like the puzzle in SMW which you're suppose to use the p-switch to find the right door.
Area's 3 puzzle was suppose to be either the easiest or hardest area, depending if the player bothered to read the info box.
Area's 4 didn't have a puzzle, but used some moving layer gimmick.
Area's 5 puzzle was about using an item to get to the right door.
I would suggest at least replaying the level again with this in mind.
Overall, I will considered what you said in your review and try to improve the level.
Last edited by TDK on Thu Mar 31, 2016 6:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
You still don't understand. A ghost house doesn't give you the excuse of making puzzle just for the sake of it.
It isn't the fact that the player can't figure out your puzzles.
It is the fact that nobody will want to play a level like this. It was filled with nothing but tedious design choices and poorly executed puzzles. Take the p-switch section for example. Why does the player need to go into such a small section just to use a p-switch and go into another door. This is exactly why this level gets a 0/10 because it is nothing but a door hunt, which isn't fun. This type of design isn't a "level" but rather a physiological test for people everywhere.
A lot would have to be changed before I would re-review this myself. Especially considering if all you are going to do is just redo the puzzles instead of making an actual level.
Plus, if you are trying to make a ghost house, try using a consistent background and remove the useless water section. Jumping from background to background is weird and unnatural, even for a ghost house. In addition, try making this feel like a ghost house. Have doors at least make sense: i.e. if you enter a door then you exit from a door instead of thin air. And make the level less flat and remove the beginning section, as I found that to be absolutely useless.
Simply put: if you just redo this level and it is still nothing but a "door hunt" level, then I will never re-review this level.
I'm not gonna drop a super long review, but seeing this drama I did wanna give my 2 cents on the situation.
While I don't consider this level to be an absolute 100% trainwreck, it kind of is a very poorly executed attempt at creating a ghost house level.
While it first not look like it, the puzzle is the same thing repeated over and over: A correct path with either a p-switch or trampoline to guide you through, with doors on the way to trick you.
Rather than focusing on the mistakes you made in this level, I'm gonna tell you how you can change your ghost house design approach so this won't happen in the future.
First and foremost: Less doors. It might be tempting to place doors everywhere which trick the player into entering them and find out it didn't bring them any further, but if you carefully observe ghost houses in games such as Super Mario World, you'll see that they'll sparingly resort to using this trick. It's usually just one room which has this. Placing 3-4 doors just kinda on the correct path doesn't add anything to the level, it just annoys people who enter them by accident.
One trick which you might've mistaken for "just placing doors everywhere" is creating almost identical rooms. It's a far more effective strategy than leading the player in circles, as the new room might have a key element to the puzzle you presented in the previous room. The challenge there is for the player to get back and put the item to use.
While I'm going into structure of the level I'll quickly point out that, rather than a series of small puzzles or rooms, ghost houses are usually one big puzzle which the player has to wrap their head around. Please don't take "big" too literal, though. You're able to sprinkle smaller ideas into your ghost house, as with any other level theme, but make sure that most of them add to the puzzle, rather than existing for themself.
I personally didn't hate the ideas for puzzles you had in this level, however I feel like they lacked a good delivery. Mostly it came down to using screen wrap or not entering the fake door, which is a concept the player learns pretty quickly.
It might help to draw out the layout of your levels, especially with ghost houses. Scribble down where you want what to happen and how all the areas will be connected. It should lead to a much more coherent experience.
So yeah, I mostly agree with Wraith on this level, though you do get some points from me for neat ideas such as the boo-blocks and the maths puzzle, even if they were rather janky and also not well executed.
1/10
I wouldn't call this 'drama', lol. I was explaining a few things in my level.
Anyway, I redone the level, and I removed a lot of the unnecessary doors and things, and I improved the level design.
I have a half mind to not move this level is because of this, it cuts the 25% of the gameplay to easily get to the midpoint.
Overall, this level was sorta decent. In the beginning, brown blocks, seriously, in my opinion, are pointless because if you hit the switch one you won't get one green star coin, which is nothing special. Boo rings (whatever they called) move way too fast, easily can get hit from them. Puzzles aren't that fun, it's switch block hunt and it doesn't make me enjoy it still. Rather make something unique instead. However, the level had at least decent aesthetics, the graphics aren't that bad. There's some creative effort, like in Section 8 and in Section 9, which I liked it. Section 5 would be better if the moving speed of the events had the same speed, so it won't be annoying to pass thru. It's weird how some platforms and coins spin around, when you reach to the end of section 2, but it's acceptable anyway. Overall it's a level that's completable, but not recommended to others.
glitch4 wrote:Title: The Haunted House
Designer: TheDinoKing432
I have a half mind to not move this level is because of this, it cuts the 25% of the gameplay to easily get to the midpoint.
Overall, this level was sorta decent. In the beginning, brown blocks, seriously, in my opinion, are pointless because if you hit the switch one you won't get one green star coin, which is nothing special. Boo rings (whatever they called) move way too fast, easily can get hit from them. Puzzles aren't that fun, it's switch block hunt and it doesn't make me enjoy it still. Rather make something unique instead. However, the level had at least decent aesthetics, the graphics aren't that bad. There's some creative effort, like in Section 8 and in Section 9, which I liked it. Section 5 would be better if the moving speed of the events had the same speed, so it won't be annoying to pass thru. It's weird how some platforms and coins spin around, when you reach to the end of section 2, but it's acceptable anyway. Overall it's a level that's completable, but not recommended to others.
