ISRIERI'S PROFILE

Well the event page will be down, yes. But it is only a page, after all. I still have to create the Game Page for Masterpiece Set, and we can all manage after-cutoff date stuff there if need be. Nevermind, Soli can do things, I forgot.

But that won't be an issue either way, since pretty much everyone's levels are now up to snuff!


@Solitayre

-Like Deckiller, I was kind of hoping you'd use this opportunity to make a tougher castle. But OH WELL.

-I really like the way the temple is shaped. All the walls are jagged.

-The section with the moving parts was the best part of the level. Not because you had moving layers, but because that spidey-thwomp was in a pleasantly tricky location!

-The only real gripe I have with this level is in Section 2: The enemies you have there are pretty ineffectual for even a level 1 castle, particularly the piranha plants. The whole section might as well not be there! I'd put some Roto-discs in place of the plants.

-I don't like how you changed birdo's egg effect. I know why you did it, but that sort of "help" irks the hell out of me.


@jackalotrun

-I think it's about done. The only gripe I have is that it's too irritating to make those jumps around the 3 platforms and buzzsaw going in-between them near the top (second buzzsaw, not the first). All you'd need to do is make each platform one block shorter than the last. Same with the final green platform, since if you get stuck in there you can glitch out and get stuck in the wall. Since it's such a small change, I can do that for you if you'd like. Otherwise I think the level's GOOD TO GO.


@apa649

-I tested your boss quite a few times looking for kinks. Couldn't really find any bugs. It works just like it's supposed to.

-I like how breaking some of the yellow blocks can slow the boss down for a while. Good idea!

-Although it's not necessary, I'd make that single brown block two tiles instead of just one. And to not have that single yellow block sticking up at the end of that line. It's not necessary because they don't affect the setup too greatly, but something in my gut tells me to do so.

-But I'm iffy with the donut blocks on the conveyer belt. The player may not jump on 'em or fail to realize their purpose. So if the boss turns around, you have to wait forever as he goes against the current of the belt. I'd just get rid of them, as I think it would be more exciting that way.

-I'm also don't know why the player has to be the one to fall down the pit to escape the boss. It adds a bit of needless walking. I would just have the boss die by falling into the pit down below. And then the player can walk right out to the exit. But since I have no clue how the boss dies when you fall into the pit, maybe it's more trouble than it's worth? I just don't like the idea of the boss dying offscreen for mysterious reasons: It takes you out of the action.

-Other than that, I declare the level READY. Probably a 3 on the scale.


@Blobofgoo
DEADLY DANGER DUNGEON

-At first I was thinking, "Where are those bridges?" but then I found them!

-The bridge section isn't too bad. I like what you did with it. I think the bombs come down a bit too quickly, but you don't have to change it. What I do think you should add are some coins in a few blocks, or even a powerup. It would neater that way.

-You can put dungeon blocks on the sides of the holes you have. So it doesn't look like the ends just got cut off.

-Still kind of long for how bland it is, but it's certainly better than it was before. I think it'll be alright to Approve as a level 1 castle.

METEOR FORT
-It's now pretty darn good! I don't have anything to add so I declare it READY AND DONE WITH. One question: Did you deliberately want the level to only have 2 powerups? If so, that's fine. But it'll bump the rating up to a 2.

Here's at least one guy who's relieved to hear that. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Experimentation is always a good thing. It's a game, after all. Let the players have some fun figuring things out on their own. The discovery is all part of learning and coming up with a strategy that fits your party and the encounter. Plus, its the sense of discovery that contributes most to the fun of RPGs in my opinion.

There's always other ways of teaching the player aside from taking them aside (in the overhead or in the battle screen) to coach them in the fine aspects of your carefully crafted battle system. Take a page out of Dragon Quest's book: Have actual books or scrolls or whatnot lying around that the player can look at. In chests or bookshelves, whatever. Bonus points if you make the books actually fun and interesting to read: It gives players incentive to go poking their noses around in nooks and crannies, and can provide that crucial information all the same.

Tutorial + World Building. Two birds in one stone.

@jackalotrun: When I downloaded your update. It was the same as your last draft only now all the graphics were missing.

Incidentally, I found that it's very easy for the sawblades to get glitched off their tracks, due to the constantly switching blocks. If a block becomes solid while a sawblade's in it, it will come off the track.

The latter half of the tower is also a bit more annoying than I think most people will like: It's way too easy to screw up the timing and fall back down the tower. It's like Elec Man's stage. I think everything past the sawblade that moves across the screen needs to be changed up, but not much.

The ideas you have there are alright. That last line of green blocks before the last door is alright. Having sawblades to dodge while on the platforms is also alright. But having to jump through the platforms isn't working. You should have other platforms or ledges in that part so the player can catch their breath and determine the timing of the jumps better.

Paper Mario Series: Tattle Ability

Of the RPGs I've played (not many) this is the closest equivalent I've found to the "learn by playing" approach taken in more skill-based action games. The tricky thing with tutorials in RPGs is that it's menus and tactics. Not twitch-control oriented or based on timing. The latter is something that a player can learn the basics of in a relatively short time. And they don't change much through most games. So it's easier to teach a game's controls n' things through the gameplay since there isn't as much to learn and remember. It's all about mastering a simple skillset.


The Tattle ability in Paper Mario is essentially a Libra spell that is actually fun to use. It gives you the name of the enemy, it's stats, notes any special abilities, and often contains a useful description or witty remark of said enemy. But most importantly (and I observed this more in Thousand-Year Door) it gives you a tip or outright tells you the most effective way of dealing with that particular enemy.


Like you noted in the OP, the controls and abilities aren't something a player needs to be taught. That's what spell descriptions and things are for. It's all about when and how to utilize those abilities. So the best way to implement a more gameplay oriented approach would be to make the player find out bits and pieces about the enemy either through their own experimentation or through a situation-based Help Manual. But not through an option on the menu that takes you directly to such help. Some kind of action the player has to perform is crucial. Hence why I think the Tattle Ability is so great. I honestly don't think that a true gameplay based tutorial can be done in RPGs. "True" meaning without any textual prompts by the game whatsoever.


The one thing to NOT do would be to have painstaking, detail-oriented crash courses on gameplay. Just pithy little explanations throughout the game, and only when absolutely necessary.