You're getting it backwards, it's not the difficulty that affects the amount of breather screens, it's the amount of breather screens that affects the difficulty. You can alter a level's difficulty by changing that amount, something incredibly useful. Additionally, the save game feature does not exist, at least not for the consideration of level design. The save game feature is there to allow for exit points; if the player exits in the middle of a level section, they're likely never going to come back. If you must rely on things outside of the game, you've failed as a level designer.
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#62
VVVVVV Levels / Re: LSASOUE
March 01, 2017, 02:01:54 AM
And what do you do when you have a linear level without an overworld or hub? See, you guys really have a lot to learn from pattoo. Even if his levels are quite poorly implemented and he gets a lot of things wrong, he gets other things right that I rarely see in other levels, one of which being these breather screens. Now, to be fair, he absolutely overdid it here, but it's not much worse than non-stop difficulty ramping, which just causes player fatigue. This level would be much worse without those screens.
Even the main game has breather screens—look at Green Grotto, Merge, or Wheeler's Wormhole—and it's not to the detriment of the levels! In fact, they serve an important purpose as the lowest points on the game's interest curve, basically how engaged the player is. It would be easy to assume that more engagement is always better, but it's not the case. Every time that is attempted, it only ends up being draining and frustrating, ironically unengaging.
This level's main flaw isn't the fact that is has no-obstacle rooms, but rather that it doesn't use them well. The main problem is that he doesn't have anything to build on, so the interest curve is always too low. It's also overly-long, which doesn't help matters at all—everything past the third level or so could get axed, or just merged into one.
In short, don't mistake this level's use of filler as a reason to avoid no-obstacle rooms. They really do serve an important role in level design, and can take a level out of the gutter. Without breather screens, you can only make utter crap.
Even the main game has breather screens—look at Green Grotto, Merge, or Wheeler's Wormhole—and it's not to the detriment of the levels! In fact, they serve an important purpose as the lowest points on the game's interest curve, basically how engaged the player is. It would be easy to assume that more engagement is always better, but it's not the case. Every time that is attempted, it only ends up being draining and frustrating, ironically unengaging.
This level's main flaw isn't the fact that is has no-obstacle rooms, but rather that it doesn't use them well. The main problem is that he doesn't have anything to build on, so the interest curve is always too low. It's also overly-long, which doesn't help matters at all—everything past the third level or so could get axed, or just merged into one.
In short, don't mistake this level's use of filler as a reason to avoid no-obstacle rooms. They really do serve an important role in level design, and can take a level out of the gutter. Without breather screens, you can only make utter crap.
#63
VVVVVV / Re: Really Bad Jokes
March 01, 2017, 01:04:36 AM
How many dadaists does it take to change a lightbulb?
Just one.
There's nothing special about it, no modifiers to make this funny, it's just fact.
Just one.
There's nothing special about it, no modifiers to make this funny, it's just fact.
#64
VVVVVV Levels / Re: Trinka Obscura
March 01, 2017, 01:00:51 AM
This really would've been a lot better if I didn't have to play through the main game again.
#65
VVVVVV Levels / Re: Another Level
March 01, 2017, 01:00:08 AM
So you're saying it's Sonic the Hedgehog, then?
#66
Everything else / Re: Character Guessing Game
February 28, 2017, 10:45:11 PM
37. Did you know that Batman killed 37 people? 37!
42. "Dear pesky plumbers, the Koopalings and I have taken over the Mushroom Kingdom. The Princess now a permanent guest at one my seven Koopa hotels. I dare you to find her if you can!"
55. O shit it's Odysseus!
EDIT: I'm pretty sure 4. is Knight Artorias, though I suppose it might be Lord's Blade Ciaran too.
6. That one dog from the Shawn the Sheep movie. I had it as my avatar for a while.
42. "Dear pesky plumbers, the Koopalings and I have taken over the Mushroom Kingdom. The Princess now a permanent guest at one my seven Koopa hotels. I dare you to find her if you can!"
55. O shit it's Odysseus!
EDIT: I'm pretty sure 4. is Knight Artorias, though I suppose it might be Lord's Blade Ciaran too.
6. That one dog from the Shawn the Sheep movie. I had it as my avatar for a while.
#67
VVVVVV Levels / Re: Temple Of Spiky Death
February 28, 2017, 10:36:32 PM
To be perfectly candid, there is nothing wrong with his development cycle. It's better that he get the basics down before trying to polish his levels to a mirror shine, as so many of us fail to do. But pattoo, be aware that a good portion of your levels will be bad, but you will be able to make much better ones.
#68
VVVVVV Levels / Re: Another Level
February 28, 2017, 10:33:19 PM
Is it DOOM? Quake? Wolfenstien?!
#69
VVVVVV / Re: Really Bad Jokes
February 27, 2017, 04:53:10 AM
How did the world of Dark Souls II discover trigonometry?
From the Scholar of the First Sin()!
From the Scholar of the First Sin()!
#71
VVVVVV Levels / Re: Cinco
February 25, 2017, 07:43:46 PM
Looks awfully derivative, though I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.
#72
VVVVVV Levels / Re: LSASOUE
February 25, 2017, 07:41:13 PM
The idea of using scores is ridiculous. How do you even quantify something like that? Not to mention, you're focusing way too much on the high-level stuff; get deeper in and criticize the core of the work!
#73
VVVVVV / Re: Trinket Hints
February 24, 2017, 08:24:28 PM
I feel that if you do any trinket hints, they should be in Dark Souls soapstone format: "Try jumping" or "Be wary of miscreant".
#74
VVVVVV / Re: Really Bad Jokes
February 24, 2017, 03:10:16 AM
It's almost ironic; this thread itself has become a really bad joke.
#75
VVVVVV / Re: Really Bad Jokes
February 23, 2017, 07:41:00 PM
But they're so much larger, especially if it's just one color. I got it down to about 2,000 bytes from 3,000,000 just by changing the format!