3D Game Level 1 Feedback 2 | 4/30/19

For the second iteration of my introductory level, I added more platforming, improved the enemies, and added acid. Previously, the level I had was extremely short, and took a minute or two to complete. However, with the addition of new enemies and the new platorming section, this level took around 5 minutes to complete.

This new improved map has a new platforming section at the end of the original level. These floating platforms are placed strategically to make the player carefully guess how to jump between them. Should they fall, they die and must restart from the checkpoint. These platforms are all above a river of acid. This teaches the player the danger of the neon green-yellow acid, and also teaches platforming. With an increase of enemies, players thought it was a good challenge for an introduction level. Previous playtesters said that the level was more fun with the new platforms, and still kept the difficulty at an introductory level.

Door Concept Art

For this iteration, there were still plenty of improvements I could make. For one, the ending could have a bit more than just a few enemies. I also hadn’t improved the initial platforms in the first room, so that became another improvement for the next iteration. My players liked the quick puzzle at the beginning of the level, however they wanted to see more of the puzzles. This iteration of my map still needs improvement with the enemies, however it was still an upgrade from my first map. I think adding more enemies in more strategic locations throughout the map would make it more enjoyable. Players also wanted to see a variety of enemies (of the two kinds we were given in the asset package). I only used the chomper enemy, however playtesters liked the idea of having the spitters as more of a challenge enemy and to help teach more combat skills to the player.

I believe these improvements could help make my level more enjoyable. By adding a variety of enemies, I think it will make for a much more interesting experience. I like the idea of possibly adding pressure pads to a few of the platforms to unlock a door further on in the level. As I said with my last iteration, having enemies that are not just puppy guarding switches and pressure pads would definitely make the level more interesting to play.

This level is a good level as an introductory level.The enemies are not too strong, and have a good difficulty to defeat for a first time player. Their range of sight and attack strength aren’t too overpowering for the player, so they do not just kill the player upon contact. The platforming was a little challenging, however was extremely doable for any player. The puzzle was still extremely easy, but definitely helped introduce the mechanic to players.

The critical path of the level was extremely obvious. In the second room, the level branches out, however if you just look around enough there’s almost no way to get lost. The flow was good, with areas of rest between the two groups of enemies I had placed in the level. Doors served as loading zones to prepare the player for the next room of the level.

The two main rooms acted as the main path for this level, with the first room leading straight towards the next room, and the second acting as a split in the path. Both had areas that acted as resting points to prepare for the next set of enemies. The doors were loading zones, giving the players some time to observe and rest. This level was very straightforward and easy to play.

3D Game Level 1 Feedback | 4/22/19

For this introductory level, I had a total of 3 doors with a small handful of enemies blocking one of the switches and one of the pressure pads. There were 4 total rooms, the first room having one pressure pad, and one switch. The next room had a second switch and two doors. The third room had a pressure pad in it. The fourth room was the final room. It had a very simple puzzle built into it, and was extremely straightforward.

A lot of things went right with this level. It was an easy level, as to introduce the game to the player. Enemies were not difficult, so learning the combat mechanic was easy. The puzzle just consisted of understanding the first switch in the first room was connected to the second one in the next room. There was a small bit of platforming involved in order to hit the first switch which players found fun and a bit challenging.

Overall Level

My level also had plenty of flaws. Unity’s asset package was not fully complete so certain blocks allowed players to pass through them, however a little bit of knowledge of Unity fixed the problem quickly. My level was extremely short, so players were able to finish the level in a couple minutes. This could be considered good for a quick introduction, however my level was far too simple. The puzzle was quite simple, however many players thought having more intricate puzzles (still on an introductory level) would make it more interesting. Having more rooms with more platforming was something many players wanted to see, so adding obstacles such as high drops or acid pools to new rooms would be a good addition. The inclusion of enemies close to where you spawn guarding the pressure pad was not a good idea to the players, as it presented too much of an immediate sense of danger. However, it is still a good inclusion, and only needs to be moved. The last thing people noted was the invisible barriers I had to put on the tops of the walls so that players couldn’t get outside of the map. One playtester noted just having another wall stacked on top would be better.

Level Concept

There are many improvements I want to make to this level. For one, the length is the first thing I would change. Adding more rooms with new puzzles will allow players to enjoy the introductory level much more, and having more platforming in these rooms will add to the challenge. Another improvement I want to make is the enemies. There were a few, however the level could use more to add to the challenge. I also forgot to make them move around, so adding movement would make the game more immersive, as to not just have guard dogs puppy guarding the switches.
 I think the difficulty of the level was good as an introductory level. The enemies died at a maximum of 3 hits and had a reasonable sight and attack range. Their attacks were not very strong nor very frequent, so defeating them was relatively easy. The puzzle was extremely easy as to not confuse the player, but enough to give the player an idea of the type of game they are about to dive into. The platforming was a little challenging, but nothing so difficult that people would give up playing because of it.

The critical path of the level was extremely obvious. In the second room, the level branches out, however if you just look around enough there’s almost no way to get lost. The flow was good, with areas of rest between the two groups of enemies I had placed in the level. Doors served as loading zones to prepare the player for the next room of the level.

The two main rooms acted as the main path for this level, with the first room leading straight towards the next room, and the second acting as a split in the path. Both had areas that acted as resting points to prepare for the next set of enemies. The doors were loading zones, giving the players some time to observe and rest. This level was very straightforward and easy to play.

I think my level was a success as a very quick introductory level. For my next iterations I will definitely be expanding on my ideas, as my players enjoyed what I had and wanted to see more from it. I enjoyed building this level and look forward to continuing to build on it.

Mega Man Level 2 Feedback | 4/18/19

For this more intermediate level, I further expanded the length of my level. I added more screens, more enemies, and new mechanics. I added two new weapons, the Nado and the Super Arrow. I also added weapon blocks, which requires the player to find the respective weapon capsule to break the block in order to progress. With the added enemies, obstacles, and length, I think I built a relatively successful level.

I think this level was a good intermediate level. There was an increase in the amount of enemies, as well as the variety. This presented more of a challenge for the players, but also made it more fun with more things to attack and figure out how to defeat them. I also included the Nado and Super Arrow. In order to utilize the super arrow, as the weapon block did not break when shot with the super arrow, i created a wall with a platform on top that was too high to reach by jumping normally. By shooting a super arrow at the wall, it created a platform that the player could jump on and from there jump onto the platform. One of the more prominent features I put into the level was the footholder that travelled above a row of spikes. I think this definitely added to the challenge of the level.

The majority of this level went pretty smoothly. My playtesters said the level was fun, and had a good amount of enemies. They enjoyed the water aspect, mixing it up from the usual platforms and ladders. However, there were still some aspects that weren’t perfect.

"This part seemed like a death drop"

One of the more common notes was that having two enemies in the first screen was too much for an initial screen. Another thing that was noted was that the health powerups were a bit too easy to obtain in the level. By either placing less or strategizing where I placed health powerups, I think it could make the level a little more challenging, while also making it more fun.

For my next iteration of this level, I’d add more screens as I feel that there could be more obstacles utilizing more enemies and the weapons of choice. For example, having more platforms that required the use of the super arrow would make it seem less useless. I really liked the addition of the footholder being utilized as a moving platform above obstacles. I think it could also be used to create hidden rooms with bonus powerups. I definitely want to add more puzzles to my level as well.

I think this level was perfectly balanced to be an intermediate level for a first time player. It has a good variety of enemies, different obstacles, and puzzles. The enemies are not too difficult to defeat, and the obstacles are challenging to overcome. The puzzles are pretty straightforward, but still offered a little bit of a challenge for first time players.

The critical path for my level was very obvious and straightforward. The flow of the level was smooth, with the ladders serving as loading zones for players to prepare themselves between the first, second, and third rows of screens. There were no hidden rooms for players to find, as to not confuse the players.

The circulation elements mainly consisted of the ladders, which acted as loading zones, checkpoints, and platforms. The ladders leading from row to row acted as a loading zone, to give the players a bit of rest from all the action. The lobbies gave players time to prepare for the upcoming fights between them and the enemy. The rooms acted as the path, as it led straight through the level to the end.

I think this iteration of an intermediate level was successful. With the right combination of enemies, obstacles, elements, and puzzles, it created a nice challenging level for first time players. I can definitely improve on this level, as well as expand on it, and make it a more enjoyable level.

Mega Man Level 1 Version 2 Feedback | 4/1/19

My level was still a fairly simple introductory level for new Mega Man players. It contained twice as many screens for a total of 20 screens, more enemies, spikes, ladders, health powerups, and an energy element to end the level. The level was straight forward with no hidden areas or over complicated puzzles.

I think this level was a good introductory level. I created a level that I thought I would enjoy as a first level, as I am creating a level from the perspective of an inexperienced player myself. The enemies only took 1-3 hits to defeat, to keep it simple. I added a variety of enemies demonstrate some of the kinds of enemies one might encounter in a Mega Man Game. I included ladders to demonstrate the climbing mechanism, and to also demonstrate to the players how they can use height to their advantage. Spikes were put into place to demonstrate jumping. I scattered health powerups throughout the level to keep the players alive as they played though the level.

Level Start

I think this time around my playtesters enjoyed my level significantly more. With more than twice the amount of screens as my last level, it was longer and much more fun to play. I introduced new enemies, all with different abilities and ranging difficulties. There are more spikes in the level, which not only introduces jumping, but also provides a bit of a challenge for the players. I noticed in my previous playthroughs that you can just run through the level and just shoot and you could probably get through a lot of the level by just doing that. By adding new enemies and obstacles, this issue is easily resolved and makes the player slow down a little and observe. 

My new level definitely still needs work. After playing it so many times I noticed it was still relatively short, so in my next iteration, I will definitely be extending the level and making it more difficult with new obstacles and enemies. Due to the assignment's limit on the enemies and weapons we can choose from, I will need to get creative and be more strategic about the placement and frequency of enemies and obstacles. I think that a water element will help slow the level down and add a new element to the level. 

I think this level was challenging, but not too challenging, for new players. I had fun designing and playing my own level. With the addition of new screens and more strategic placement of enemies, I think new players will no longer feel rushed or overwhelmed with enemies, but rather a steady pace so they can learn the controls and world of Mega Man.

The critical path for my level was very obvious and straightforward. The flow of the level was smooth, with the ladders serving as loading zones for players to prepare themselves between the first, second, and third rows of screens. There were no hidden rooms for players to find, as to not confuse the players.

Level End

The circulation elements mainly consisted of the ladders, which acted as loading zones, and lobbies, or “safe” zones, where enemies could not see or hurt the player. The ladders leading from row to row acted as a loading zone, to give the players a bit of rest from all the action. The lobbies gave players time to prepare for the upcoming fights between them and the enemy.

I think this second iteration was much more successful than the first one. It got much closer to the 10 minute mark and the level was more fun to play. There were new enemies, new obstacles, and a more satisfying ending.