1-1 Petal Plains 1 (NEW VIDEO by Wraith)

[Fuyu]

No, the title isn't a joke. This is the first level for the new project I'm working on and currently has no name, so, for now, I'll be referring to it as Petal Plains 1 in honor of the world it belongs to and I hope you guys do the same (looking at you judges). Anyway, I decided to post this level in order to show off how's the project going to be, although you won't be able to tell that much without actually playing the level or watching the video (thanks to Dog of Annoyance by the way).

Screenshot

Spoiler: show

Video (by Dog of Annoyance)

Spoiler: show

Video (by Wraith)

Spoiler: show

Yeah I know I ain't showing that much, but I'm terrible at taking screenshots, so I decided to take a screenshot of the beginning of the level where none of you can complain about the lack of enemies or coins, booyah!

I would also like to take a moment of your time to read this, there is another reason for me to post this level and that is to recruit team members for my project. As of now 26th February 2016, I have none so if there's anybody interested in joining please PM me. Keep in mind that I'm looking for gameplay and aesthetics that match that of this level or, at least, camouflage well within my project. If you're not so confident about your level designing skills there's also a LunaLua programmer spot free for anyone experienced on the subject. Regardless of how you desire to contribute be sure to PM me.

With that said you can download the level right here (UPDATED)!

You can download the missing mask right here!

[Waddle]

I liked this level. It was short and sweet, and overall really solid. I do have a few complaints, however;
- If the player chooses to enter the cave area, they are placed past the checkpoint, which might be a bit confusing.
- Either I'm really dumb, or there really is no way to solve the little shell + no mario block puzzle in section 3. Unless the player is supposed to carry a koopa shell from section 1 to section 3, but if you're going through all that a fire flower doesn't really make up for it.
- The masks for hit special blocks are different; one has a square mask, while the other mask misses corners.
Aside from these 3 points, this level was a lot of fun! (and wow, I actually felt bad when hitting blocks. They looked so sad :C)

[Fuyu]

Good to know you liked it, it means I'm doing a good job designing the levels. :)

- If the player chooses to enter the cave area, they are placed past the checkpoint, which might be a bit confusing.

Well, the player is supposed to know he got ahead of the pipe he entered to access the cave area. I thought the player would've gone back to check if he missed anything because curiosity and whatnot.

- Either I'm really dumb, or there really is no way to solve the little shell + no mario block puzzle in section 3. Unless the player is supposed to carry a koopa shell from section 1 to section 3, but if you're going through all that a fire flower doesn't really make up for it.

I was actually not going to place a Fire Flower for the entirety of world 1 really, I wanted to stick to Mushrooms and in world 2 bring the Fire Flowers, but then it hit me. if I could give the player the chance to get them earlier would they do whatever they could to obtain them? And yeah, you're supposed to bring a Koopa Shell from the previous section, specifically the one laying in front of the pipe to section three.

- The masks for hit special blocks are different; one has a square mask while the other mask misses corners.

Oh damn it, forgot to add it. I updated the main post and added the missing mask.

Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it.

[Waddle]

No problem C:
And having to take that shell from section 1 makes total sense, I can't believe I missed that.

[Dog of Annoyance]

https://youtu.be/EZa83BmCa5o
Made a video of your level.

[Fuyu]

Forgot about this thread, sorry everyone! =P

@Dog of Annoyance: Thanks for the video, you missed a lot of shit, though. I'll be adding the video to the main post, although I would prefer it to be just the level and not the entire program. If you could record another video of the level with the level as the main focus I'll gladly update the thread and put it there.

[as303298]

Guess I am the lucky one to play this level. Originally, I wanted another LJ to touch this since I seem to steal all the cool level. But...guess not.
So, here we go then eh?

My Review:

Atmosphere [5/5]
No issues whatsoever. I would name this to be closer to like "Flower Fields" or something more akin to what was in the level itself. "Petal" just seems to be unfitting since the level is dominated by hills more than flowers/petals.

Level Design [3/5]
I don't like the fact that this player is this linear, but it is a grass level so I won't really dock points off.
What I am docking points for is the Star Coin's placements, as they reside mostly in the air instead of in their own sections. You have no many pipes in this level, yet you didn't utilize the opportunity available.
The Star coin's placements are as follow:
-One right in the beginning
-One hiding in a cloud
-One residing high in the air

I found it rather weird that the level didn't incorporate too many blocks to hit with powerups and coins. I highly recommend placing some more, as some people like to spend the extra time hitting blocks; like bossy ;3.

You could easily place these in separate sections to not only help reduce the linearity but section off each one into its own area and solidify the required actions for them.

Graphical Continuity [4/5]
The clash is a bit off-putting, but I find it to be a very cute choice. However I have two issues:
-Clouds do not have their own outline
-The hills do not have an outline nor do they really mesh with the level's graphics. The stripped ones fit pretty nicely, but the solid color ones feel much too out of place.

BGO Placements [5/5]
No issues whatsoever. However, don't hide coins behind this graphic.

NPC Placements [5/5]
No issues whatsoever.

Difficulty / Replayability [4/5]
I loved the level, but the linear design does make this level pretty dull to replay again. It is a simple "hold right" type of level, which isn't a problem for a grass level but the comment still stands in this category.
I highly recommend placing the star coins in their own sub-sections as well as build more onto those Mario-X blocks, as I feel that gimmick wasn't built on too much.

Overall Score: 26/30
Final Score: 8.6/10
Judgement: Pretty Good
Video:

Spoiler: show

[Fuyu]

Atmosphere [5/5]
No issues whatsoever. I would name this to be closer to like "Flower Fields" or something more akin to what was in the level itself. "Petal" just seems to be unfitting since the level is dominated by hills more than flowers/petals.

I guess I could do something to make the name more fitting, like use a parallax.

Level Design [3/5]
I don't like the fact that this player is this linear, but it is a grass level so I won't really dock points off.

Well, I'm afraid most of my levels for my upcoming project will be somewhat linear, I want to focus on other things ya know?

Spoiler: show

What I am docking points for is the Star Coin's placements, as they reside mostly in the air instead of in their own sections. You have no many pipes in this level, yet you didn't utilize the opportunity available.
The Star coin's placements are as follow:
-One right in the beginning
-One hiding in a cloud
-One residing high in the air

Again, the level is supposed to be linear. Also, there are enough pipes, the level doesn't need to be chuck full of those. Lastly, there IS another section you can enter where you get a 1-Up. It's not completely linear.

I found it rather weird that the level didn't incorporate too many blocks to hit with powerups and coins. I highly recommend placing some more, as some people like to spend the extra time hitting blocks; like bossy ;3.

Blocks aren't everything, besides if I were to place more the level would be cramped with those and I'd rather not.

You could easily place these in separate sections to not only help reduce the linearity but section off each one into its own area and solidify the required actions for them.

Linearity is the name of the game.

-Clouds do not have their own outline

Why should they? They are clouds, not solid matter.

-The hills do not have an outline nor do they really mesh with the level's graphics. The stripped ones fit pretty nicely, but the solid color ones feel much too out of place.

I'm actually going to fix that for when I release my project's demo one that should come out in a couple of days.

BGO Placements [5/5]
No issues whatsoever. However, don't hide coins behind this graphic.

Nice!

NPC Placements [5/5]
No issues whatsoever.

Nice!

I loved the level, but the linear design does make this level pretty dull to replay again. It is a simple "hold right" type of level, which isn't a problem for a grass level but the comment still stands in this category. I highly recommend placing the star coins in their own sub-sections as well as build more onto those Mario-X blocks, as I feel that gimmick wasn't built on too much.

Linearity is the name of the game.

Looking forward to your video. ;)

[as303298]

Video installed into review.

[Fuyu]

Thanks a lot for the new video. Added it to the main post!

[Waddle]

One thing I didn't mention; I love the way the gimmick is introduced early in the bonus area. I don't know why, it's just such a nice little touch.

[Fuyu]

Why thank you. I actually thought it was a bad thing, nevermind then. XD

[DarkDragon94]

where to get the background?