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Chocolate Level Design Contest 2013: Discussion

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I thought it was okay
Originally posted by Gregor
I played through all the entries as well and am writing my thoughts down for the people who are interested when I have the time. Exams, etc.

Also it has been like a month SNN golly geese.


Then I´d love to hear your feedback for my level! #w{=)}
C3 stuff: http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=viewthread&t=67626 HDMA-Codes and Custom Music included!

1 Island Of Vanilla Feeling: http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=5988

MaSeHiHa World 1: http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=6055

DINGS Demo: https://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=12147

I'd be interested to know anyone else's thoughts about my level.
Alright. Just got done with my last exam for this year as well as the Nintendo Direct and reporting some things to the police. So Rosalina in Smash, what's up with that? But anyhow, here are my personal thoughts concerning the level design contest entries. These might be of use to someone. More to come, etc.

#1 - cocoa level contest entry, Two Tails
The palette, choice of music and tileset came together nicely, resulting in a fairly nice atmosphere. The level itself was unremarkable though. Nothing that hasn't been seen or done before, somewhat short, a bit empty at times.

#2 - vss, darkmario777
First of all, when you enter the overworld, you get a level name that says "Go Left". My inner smart-ass was less than pleased when I was unable to go right, forcing me in fact to go left. I hope you are more considerate of us subversive smart-asses in your future agenda.

The level itself was... You took level 105 and slapped some ugly Boos in it, as well as placing Eeries in less than considerate places (the one right at your landing spot as you get out of the diagonal pipe comes to mind). I have to remark, though, that it was indeed a very scary scramble to beat your level with only 4 seconds left when I was rushing.

#3 - My Level Update, Snowplays
Very entertaining! I am not the biggest fans of autoscroll levels, but you made it work through a combination of fair platforming and clear design. The aesthetics are standard fare, but don't feel downgraded from the original YI like most levels do. Another appreciated detail is the distinction between slippery ice and normal ground. That's something I'd like to see more often.

#4 - Vink2, ColdSnitchz
A somewhat clever gimmick that was mishandled by level design consisting of annoyingly low ceilings and hard to dodge enemies, with a weird fondness for baseball spam. Had promise at first but took a turn towards the not enjoyable much too quickly.

#5 - Sundown Contest Beitrag, Neidave
Visuals that work with each other, a nice song that sets the atmosphere pretty well and level design that's fair and rewarding. Enjoyable.

#6 - Cloudy level, MFG659
From what I remember ('cuz it gone nao) it was a fairly decent level, though the level design was a bit unclear at times, one good example being a falling platform placed where you couldn't see it and without much room for error.

#7 - Clouds and Stuff, Mercurypenny
Pretty standard stuff. Clever little gimmick, though the level didn't really utilize it to its full extent, and a bit short.
Wow, that was the first bad critique I got on this Level. Well, it's nice to see what I can Change in my design. ^^
We're going to aim to have the results up by the end of the weekend now. My last exam is Friday and if I can't plow through the remainder of them on Saturday, then I'm a sad individual.

That is all.
Originally posted by S.N.N.
We're going to aim to have the results up by the end of the weekend now.

Why do you have to keep upstaging me

Originally posted by ColdSnitchz
Wow, that was the first bad critique I got on this Level. Well, it's nice to see what I can Change in my design. ^^

Glad to hear my rambling is of use to someone!

#8 - Nick139's Chocolate Entry, forgot the name
Very amusing. Is certainly one of the most "out there" levels I've played, with the idea, palette and music combining into something quite abstract and funny. The level design was good, though had a few parts that could've used revising, one good example being the part where you get hit by a shell kicked by a Koopa at the top of the screen where you could barely see it.

#9 - Chocolate Replica, Sockbat Replica
I'm not so sure about this one. The level has a lot of split-second reactions going on, often making me die or lose health with barely any warning, which is a shame, because the level design surrounding these moments are clever pieces of work. I recommend anyone, and I mean anyone reading this to look up the term "antepiece". It's a pretty important part of level design and something I found to be very lacking in this particular entry.

#10 - Midnight Meadow, Gamme V
Enjoyable enough. Nothing that particularly stood out in my mind, the graphics were nice, the music fit well, it was neither too hard nor too easy.

#11 - Lespna1's Weird Falling Chairs, some person
Well. The first thing that greets you are some of the worst palettes I have ever seen, which I'm not sure how anyone could pick without getting the urge to claw out their own eyes. The level design is pretty empty and feels unfinished. This feeling was further enforced by all the other rough spots in this entry (the lack of backgrounds, weird enemy behaviour, the ear grating music in the second area). I must say that the gimmick left me in awe, though. I am not lying when I say I have never seen anything like it. Very imaginative and unexpected.

#12 - RykonCLDC, Rykon-V73
THESE THOUGHTS WERE SPONSORED BY SA-1

Really though, this entry is a good example of what can be achieved with the SA-1. The level occasionally ventures into what felt like "hey look how many sprites I can stick on the screen without it exploding" territory, with a few spots that were a bit cruel (the spike parts) but overall is still a pretty enjoyable, polished level. Seriously though those spikes man.

#13 - CLDC2013, tcdw
Absolutely love the level design here. It's certainly a difficult level at times, but at just that kind of difficulty that motivates me to beat the level rather than quit in anger/disgust/boredom/etc, and I think where you hid the Blue P-Switch block was pretty clever, if a bit obvious for veterans. Apart from that, the music and graphics were pretty standard fare.

#14 - CLDC 2013, levelengine
And again with the "Go Left". You people. But in all seriousness, the aesthetics of this entry was the best part. It was well decorated without being distracting, the pallete was nice (though the blue pillars were a bit too bright for my comfort) and the plants fluttering in the wind was a very nice touch. The level design in the first part was decent enough, if a bit cheap at times. Seriously, there's a moment when your level has more than enough shellless Koopa's kicking shells. The parts after that only built on these cheap moments. The underwater part especially felt incredibly claustrophobic at times and wasn't particularly fun to go through.

#15 - Space Sokoban, Sokobansolver
The intro to this entry is the greatest intro I have ever witnessed. However, I simply can not beat this entry. The first part was easy enough but the part with the rolling rock, I just can not get past. I often find myself struggling with the camera because it can not go too much to the left because if I do the rock despawns and I have to do everything again, but I can not get to the ledge because I can't make enough speed to get there because when I do the rock despawns. Either that was how it was supposed to be solved but I'm not doing it right, or I am just a bigger idiot than I thought I was. I have to say the music is godsdamn awesome though, it really got me pumped. Is it a module file or something? Because it certainly sounds like one.

#16 - Pyramid Grassland, Alessio
Entertaining enough. The SMB3 theme you have going on works well with the level design. Not a lot I can say about it besides that.

#17 - Yoshi's Treasure Hunt, some handsome devil and a great music maker
Obviously the best thing to be found here. Why even bother playing any entries afterwards? They'll just disappoint after this anyway.

But in all seriousness, as an amateur designer it's always interesting to receive feedback on your own work. How others perceive your creation is, I find, interesting. I'm pretty glad that the few people I discussed my entry with found it enjoyable, though one issue came up regularly: the lack of hitpoints. This wouldn't be that much of a problem, I think, if it weren't for Yoshi's weird hitbox. In normal gameplay, it's not as noticeable, but without a plumber on your back it looks and acts a bit weird. I'm afraid I have very little experience in ASM, and I couldn't get anyone to help me make my entry work with the Doki Doki Health patch in time. Apart from that I started getting sick of it, so without hitpoints it is. Oh well.

But I do like the final product. The level design came together a lot better than I thought it would, and I got to do a few things I haven't really seen before. Shame too, the Yellow and Blue Koopa's can make for some nice puzzles, even though I didn't really utilize them to their full extent.

Moose really made the levels shine with his music, I think, making the level a lot more enjoyable. If only I could have polished it a bit more.

#18 - Leafy Reminiscence, Mirann and Oh Hell No
Fairly enjoyable. It has a good balance of difficulty, not being too tough or too easy, though felt like it went on for a bit too long.

#19 - Loli, Ladida
I have to say that while it's technically very impressive, and the graphics are well done, you really overdid it. The screen is often too visually busy or cluttered which isn't very nice to look at. The level itself was pretty short and not really interesting. It felt more like a showcase of the graphics rather than an actual attempt at level design.

#20 - The Tale of Oogtar and the Silly Goose, Tahixham
While the idea is unique and it is executed well, I couldn't help but feel like the level went on longer than it should have. Still good, though.
Originally posted by Gregor

The intro to this entry is the greatest intro I have ever witnessed. However, I simply can not beat this entry. The first part was easy enough but the part with the rolling rock, I just can not get past. I often find myself struggling with the camera because it can not go too much to the left because if I do the rock despawns and I have to do everything again, but I can not get to the ledge because I can't make enough speed to get there because when I do the rock despawns. Either that was how it was supposed to be solved but I'm not doing it right, or I am just a bigger idiot than I thought I was. I have to say the music is godsdamn awesome though, it really got me pumped. Is it a module file or something? Because it certainly sounds like one.

Seriously, I should stop making contest entries that are mainly puzzles. Like, seriously. I can't think of any time that my Kaizo playing peeps played something they liked that other people also liked. If it's not a puzzle, others MIGHT be able to beat it. If it is a puzzle, then it is deemed impossible by everyone except a select few with IQ's in the quadruple digits.
The music was one that I got addicted to for a while and was made by worldpeace.
Legacy custom music
A site with a non-useless dislike button
SMW hacking channel

Quote



#11 - Lespna1's Weird Falling Chairs, some person
Well. The first thing that greets you are some of the worst palettes I have ever seen, which I'm not sure how anyone could pick without getting the urge to claw out their own eyes. The level design is pretty empty and feels unfinished. This feeling was further enforced by all the other rough spots in this entry (the lack of backgrounds, weird enemy behaviour, the ear grating music in the second area). I must say that the gimmick left me in awe, though. I am not lying when I say I have never seen anything like it. Very imaginative and unexpected.


I was afraid people would say the level felt empty, and are you talking about the palette on the overworld and Mario's pallete. B/c I can't help that. That happened when I inserted the palette for the bandits, but I tried to use the tiles and the time blocks. I hope those were good even though I couldn't make you collect the time blocks. I think they were smashable time blocks when I inserted them so that's why they act like that.

I should have kept my original idea for the first room, but I made new enemies for that one.

Also, I wanted to make the bandits take away your time, but like I think I mentioned, I don't know any ASM.
I've finished judging. Once FP sends me the results, I'll have them posted.

In my eyes, it was a tough call between three in particular, but I think the winner deserves it.
..and I've now received FP's stuff. You can expect the results tomorrow at some point.

Sorry for the delay, but that's what university does to you.
Originally posted by S.N.N.
..and I've now received FP's stuff. You can expect the results tomorrow at some point.

Sorry for the delay, but that's what university does to you.


Go go go! #w{=P}
C3 stuff: http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=viewthread&t=67626 HDMA-Codes and Custom Music included!

1 Island Of Vanilla Feeling: http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=5988

MaSeHiHa World 1: http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=6055

DINGS Demo: https://www.smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=12147

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