DAY 45
Happy happy, joy joy, guys. Today marks the following: the first iteration of the entire second level is done. Well, 95% done. I'll explain below what happened to the other 5%. Also, brace yourselves for a megaton of screenshots.
And of course no iteration is spared from the rigorous Almighty Tester. After playtesting it from start to finish for the first time, the level felt...a little underwhelming.
The good: It feels dynamic, adventurous, at times tense, almost awe-inspiring at key moments, well-paced (could be better)
The bad: I kind of zoned out a bit during the second half of the level. It felt like I played on autopilot, but in a bad way, like completing it for the sake of completing it. I did not feel as engaged at the end of the canyon as I felt at the beginning of the canyon. Some jumps are frustrating to make, partially because of the model collision, part because of some weird physics with the player character (uncontrollably bouncing off walls during some jumps). Pacing can do a lot better here.
The ugly (and the real problem): over reliance on 2 mechanics. Let me break it down for you:
1) There are 42 (yes, forty-two) grappling hook targets in this level alone. It is no exaggeration to say that this level over-relies on this mechanic alone. I can definitely do with fewer.
2) There are 26 collapsing platforms in this level alone. I'm on the fence in regards to this. Maybe I can do with fewer.
3) There are only 5 ziplines. I think those are enough.
4) There are only 2 ropes...that are still not working.
That's all great, because this iteration failed, so that means it's only going to go up from here.
And what did we learn today, kids? "Over reliance on 2 mechanics does not make a fun level". In all seriousness, I can definitely use at least 2 more mechanics. Jump pad mechanic can certainly be used here, as well as the wall climb mechanic. Jump pad mechanic is pretty much in the bag, but the wall climb mechanic is not.
Most likely, I'll playtest this level again tomorrow and Sunday as well, taking notes as I go along. This means that I won't actively work as much on the game, except to remake the dam. If I'll be rigorous enough, I'll throw multiple test cases at the level with different mindsets: "breaking the level" mindset, "quality pass/how can I improve this level" mindset, "feel pass/what and how do I feel playing it" mindset.
Amidst this not-so-good outcome from testing, something interesting came up. Playtesting also revealed that the grappling hook is still fun to use, even after 42 times. Which is obviously great, since I've tried this level over and over again (in chunks, though), at least for the past 2 weeks or so and the mechanic still was fun to use. So this is a small (but big) win.
Some tunings are definitely needed on certain grapple targets, though, because the player lands smoother on some targets than on others. A simple adjustment of the character landing point would do the trick, nothing too fancy.
Remember when I told you guys earlier to brace yourselves because a megaton of screenshots is coming your way? Here they are:
I've added a placeholder for a dam. This dam will serve as the transitional area between this level and the next (duh!). At first, it sprang into my mind to implement a light puzzle on the dam, something like "solve a 4 digit combination lock; the clues are spread over 4 control rooms" or something to this effect. It really didn't make sense, because who tf ends a platforming level with a puzzle??? (quietly hopes no one here points out a level in a good game which ends with a puzzle and said game is not Limbo or Inside)
The dam is also the reason why 5% of the level layout is not done: I made the dam, but I forgot to make the bridges that serve as the levels of the dam and I also forgot to cut holes in the BSP's to make rooms in the dam.
And naturally, there are no gaps in the bridges where you can put a ladder and climb through from one level to the next. And naturally there are no rooms you can enter. So yeah, brain farts galore today. It will certainly be re-made so that there will be gaps through the levels and has some rooms on each level. Probably tomorrow or Sunday.
That's enough for today, guys. See ya in the next post. Bye. Have a good one.