Okay, I made the level original for a contest two years ago and never submitted it. Later, The Thwomp King hosted a Factory Contest around July or August, 2015 that I won first place in with this level! lua does help, but it does include a few jokes. (Most of these jokes are attached to the stars and were to make a judge give a biased score in my favor, but never reviewed). Anyway, here is the level, enjoy.
I like the usage of "Crate Balls of Fire"'s theme from "Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex", but that's about all I can really say about what I like for the level. You were certainly quite lucky to get in first place with that level.
Enjl wrote:The youtube comments sum up my thoughts about this level pretty well.
Same here.
Mechdragon, I would recommend you to make the water less flashy, since it's epileptic and eyeraping.
If I ever get to review this, I'll immediately make the water less flashy and I'll keep that in mind for my review. (so like... automatically 1.5 points down the drain)
Enjl wrote:The youtube comments sum up my thoughts about this level pretty well.
Same here.
Mechdragon, I would recommend you to make the water less flashy, since it's epileptic and eyeraping.
If I ever get to review this, I'll immediately make the water less flashy and I'll keep that in mind for my review. (so like... automatically 1.5 points down the drain)
I do not know why neither judge in the contest mentioned that... (When I submitted this, it was an attempt at a joke level, so yeah. I got a dimmed down version of the graphic from bossedit8 though.)
I recommend rather than making the water flashing at all, you should have it becomg brighter in multiple steps before turning harmful. If the player messed up his timing and is swimming near the edge of water, he's still getting a change to live this way.
Enjl wrote:I recommend rather than making the water flashing at all, you should have it becomg brighter in multiple steps before turning harmful. If the player messed up his timing and is swimming near the edge of water, he's still getting a change to live this way.
Thank you Emral, that is a suggestion I can agree with.
Overall great job everybody. Music was executed in everyone's levels pretty well, and it was nice to have you all participate. I expect great things from all of you in the future.
Congratulations to MECHDRAGON777 for winning this contest!!!
The Thwomp King wrote:While we have the Bramble Contest in progress, I'm thinking of hosting monthly contests of different level themes. There will still be the Bramble contest going on, so this one will have a due date either the end of June or early July. Hopefully this theme will be much more appealing to people as well following the more complex theme of brambles.
Rules:
Don't put your name in any of the files
Don't post any screenshots of the level nor a download link in the comments
You must submit your level before the deadline.
You may only submit one level, if you send two levels the second will be disqualified.
No joke levels, joke levels will not be judged.
Give your level a unique name. Nothing random or funky though.
Level can end in any fashion.
Factory Theme Required
(Considering there aren't too many factory graphics by default, it's recommended to use custom graphics)
Custom Music is optional
Adding a boss is optional
Judges:
The Thwomp King
MECHDRAGON777
witchking666
TheKingofBoos
I love the music! It's so suiting for this level and I enjoy it! The power ups in the beginning are deceiving because I initially thought they were bad to touch. This is a pretty hard course, and it really requires quite a bit of trial and error to do. It's fast pace and really gets you panicking when your in a tough spot. There's little room for error in this where you must always stay closer to the right side otherwise you'll trap yourself and get killed. The ending of this level is mad hard too, and there's no additional power up besides the needless one at the very end (the level's done so it won't help much) and the two in the very beginning. The level did seem a little short too, but I guess in a way it's like a level in Geometry Dash where you'll be playing it multiple times just to beat it. In the end you collect your star of David and you end the stage. Overall the stage looked great with its graphics and the music was fitting, but it still needs plenty of work. If the difficulty was changed as well as having the level be given another concept or length, then I'd rate it higher.
4.5/10
Entry 2: Electrical Enchanted
Okay I open the level to hear another awesome song I'm unfamiliar with! The level has some really unique graphics to it, and some interesting new enemies too. I would've like the rupee graphics to be the same as the new coin graphics too. The concept with the arrows is brilliant and really fun! There are a couple sections with arrows that really require too much precision to avoid dying or getting hurt. It's pretty difficult, and I did wish that I was given a sign that told me how to work the arrows beforehand. The fairy section was a good touch too. I wish the electricity wasn't a one hit kill either; I found it extremely frustrating every time I poorly timed a jump or something and the electricity will just kill me for it. I think hurting the player would've been better, but I saw this replaced the lava blocks so..... I find the boss interesting, but it seems overwhelming having propeller blocks, bombs, mushrooms, all flying around with this guy dancing around trying to kill you too. I understand the intent of this level, and it's very good looking too, but I think the timing and precision required in some parts needs to be fixed.
7/10
Entry 3: Invador of Mr. Nice Koopa King's Factory
Funny name..... I like it. So I'm introduced to the music here, and I just never enjoyed this metroid song; I know the purpose is to have tension and such, but I just get bored when I hear it. It still suits the level so that's fine. I honestly like having humor in levels too. I don't think having some laughs and funny dialogue in an episode or level necessarily makes it a joke level/episode; it brings them more to life by giving things more personality, and that's a good thing. The level did seem pretty short, but I find the backtracking pretty interesting, especially with the added changes with each appearance. I wasn't a fan of the Larry boss fight, and I was hoping for an actual robotic boss (Larry is my favorite koopaling though). But anyway the bosses were just difficult by being in a small space. The rinkas were kinda abused too. I found it frustrating when I was waiting for some platforms when I'm dancing around the rings flying at me. Props for the story too, and I expect you'd make some pretty great and hilarious stories on your future levels/projects. This level could've been more fun in the platforming and boss fights, but it was still not bad. I appreciate the heads up on informing us of what characters work best too. That saves us a lot of time.
5.5/10
Entry 4: Plasma Factory
Nice music yet again for a factory level. The third level in a row (entries 2, 3, and 4) to use slightly similar graphics, and that's okay. No points off for that. I wouldn't have minded your small storage section having more... storage in it, not necessarily more power ups, but just bgos or blocks to make it feel more like it's a storage section. I wasn't a fan of the huge drop off either considering leap of faiths are not always the best thing to have, especially when you have no idea if you missed something to activate more platforms or what not. You also abused rinkas somewhat, and there were quite a few concepts that seemed puked onto this level too. I think this level would be much better if it were longer, solidified its concepts more, and have the boss not be so overly aggressive. I find that so annoying with bosses if I can't even get a chance to run away without being jumped all over the place. It took me quite a few tries to actually beat this boss, and I shouldn't be relieved like that. I like how it'll go after you, but I should at least not be nailed in a cheap manner either. I wish the level really had more of an identity of what it is besides the tough boss fight at the end.
3/10
Entry 5: Witchking fabriek
Unexpected music, but I like it as well. The graphics look appealing, and it's another different layout. I appreciate having the electrical water not kill you right away (even though realistically it would, but I'm agreeing it shouldn't kill you for this level. I got the first star without Luna Lua which was nice, and I assume the arrow platforms are a Luna Lua effect too. I love the concept of using Tanooki suits to prevent damage in the water. I wanted to do something similar to make sort of stealth level, so props to you for finding a creative use for that power up. I love this level a lot, especially for making a trek through water suspenseful and exciting. I like when people really push some concepts together, and this was utter brilliance. There were a couple parts that were too difficult to navigate through, but I still managed to get through unscathed, so maybe it's not as bad as I'm thinking for the standard player. It's funny how you have to really work for that checkpoint too by the way. The very end just surprised me for some reason. I didn't expect the flag animation to actually work, but it did. I thought this was a great level, and I enjoyed practically all of it. Great work!
8.5/10
Overall great job everybody. Music was executed in everyone's levels pretty well, and it was nice to have you all participate. I expect great things from all of you in the future.
MECHDRAGON777's scores Featuring Ludwig Von Koopa Entry 1
This was a decent and fun level, but the auto scroll was a bit to fast.
Ludwig von Koopa: 7.4
MECHDRAGON777: 7.9 Entry 2
This was a very fun level that used lightning as lava, which is a no! On the other side, the Red blocks over jelectros was a nice touch.
Grammar is the only issue!
Ludwig von Koopa: 8.3
MECHDRAGON777: 7.9375 Entry 3
This level was quite boring for me since it haves you going through Bowser's Bomb factory and explains the story of why he always captures Peach. The going through all of the sections the second time was a nice touch though, even if it does feel unfinished.
Ludwig von Koopa: 6.7
MECHDRAGON777: 6.125 Entry 4
This level was not pleasant at all and reaks of cutoff, blind jumps, and unfinishedness. I did not enjoy this at all.
Ludwig von Koopa: 4
MECHDRAGON777: -5 Entry 5
This is my level
Atmosphere [5/5]
For one, actually name your level. The best part of a level is comparing how the level acts to the way it is named. The fact this has no real name aside someone's name kind of disappointed me. However, being an electric
Level Design [2/5]
This level fell short in quite a few ways. For one, the level holds you hand with platforms with arrows on it, which are also not used correctly, yet they don't actually seem to help you anyway. I highly suggest removing these platforms or at least getting rid of their arrows if you have no intention on using the as moving platforms like Chad did.
Next, the water. You used Metroid Fusion Sector 4's gimmick of having electrified water. However, this isn't conveyed graphically in the correct manner. You would've had a much better chance having a re-textured water graphic in which the meniscus of the water is being electrified rather than having the water flash. Having the water flash is also pretty bad in case someone is not very good at dealing with flashing colors, such as myself. Also, the water itself is setup in a way where it is only in the way, yet the methods to avoid it are a lot more dangerous than being inside of it. Take for example a lot of the "air" pockets in the later part of the level. A good chunk of these areas have koopas or "Water" bars which only hurt the player if they stand in it too long. It is much faster to simply take the hit from the electricity and gain some progress instead of waiting around to get smacked in the face.
Lastly, if you level is going to incorporate secret stars, have the individual sections for these stars be a bit more immersive. Having just a single 1-screen room is really a let down considering actually getting to these rooms doesn't require much skill to being with. Also, I really feel like the level ended off on a poor note, especially considering how weird the rest of the level was (weird in a good way). Ending in a flag pole AND star is rather...weird, I highly suggest removing one of these.
Graphical Continuity [4/5]
My issues rest in the water itself. I highly suggest having electrical nodes in the water to signify the reason WHY it is being electrocuted to begin with. Also, electricity flows along moving water as well, meaning waterfalls will still conduct electricity. So, in a section where two pools exist in the same vertical area, don't have water pools leading to the next one. This just makes no sense scientifically.
Then there is also the platforms with arrows on it. I commend you for using these as signs for the player, but after playing one of Chad's levels I must say your usage of this graphic is poorly executed. I recommend just removing the arrows since they serve no real purpose.
BGO Placement [4/5]
The BGOs you used were pretty well used, although some pieces of the BGO look like regular blocks and can end up tricking the player. Plus, on top of this, the later parts of the levels stop using support beams entirely in favor of just using chains and lamps, which I find incredibly weird. It is almost as if the last part of this level was incredibly rushed, and the ending is only more evidence on the fact.
NPC Placement [1/5]
So let us go into debugger mode....there are exactly 3 coins. THREE? And after looking into this more, they are just the dragon coins too, which there should always be 5 of these little guys, not three. The only enemies you used were koopas, easily avoidable, and water bars, incredibly difficulty. The fact these two don't mix at all was incredibly annoying...having such a major gap in how they were used. The water bars themselves are only used in order to kill the player rather than be creative and use them to force the player to do something else. I would've loved if these water bars were attached to blocks via layer attachment. This way you could've had some cool level design choices open up if you experimented with them like this.
Lastly, these cursed water bars are placed in such annoying spots. In fact on portion of the level requires you to jump out and back into 2 water pools with only one air gap in between these two pools. In this gap, of course, is an unavoidable water bar just ready to smack you in the face. I assume you expected the player to never get hit once and only use the statue's ability to avoid it, which is a weird assumption but it's the only one I possess.
Difficulty / Replayability [4/5]
The difficulty is unreasonable at times, but I probably play this level again. I have no other comments other than fix the issues from above.
