Note that I comment on time limits being too short in a lot of the levels. This does not cause me to remove points from my votes as I know the CCLP1 staff will address these issues. As such I add this feedback to help them judge how much time should be fair IF the specific level is included.
1 - Fisherman's Maze I - Simple maze level with chips, land, and water. Borders were touchable which gives the sense that the level takes place outside, but aesthetically it might be sensible to add proper borders in the "land" area. The extra chips were a nice touch but it felt kind of monotonous with the large walking areas.
2 - Lakeside - While it seems like an easy dodging challenge to the experienced player, a new player might find it intimidating with the tendency of gliders to get stuck in specific loops caused by the thieves. This concept might work better if the gliders were routed by the theives to not get stuck.
3 - Dynamite - A very nice block-bombing level. Maybe some gravel would make it look even more interesting. The block pushing felt a bit excessive with the number of buttons involved, and it could use a higher time limit for beginners who aren't in practice with the arrow keys.
4 - Sampler II - The elemental rooms here worked very well and this is the sort of thing that seems spot-on. The "power button" concept was also amazing. My only concern would be that the fireball room may be hard for a beginner to follow with untrained eyes.
5 - Chip's Goal - Nice aesthetically pleasing lesson level. The text in the title and hint seems a bit cheesy, however, and could sound a bit more elegant?
6 - Chain Reaction - It is worth noting that I ran out of time searching for the last chip here. In my opinion it should be possible to take this level at a slow and steady pace (easier for beginners to get the hang of) as the teeth are not exponentially cloning.
7 - Subliminal - Not sure how I feel about the removing dirt from the fireball room. Even with trained eyes it took me a few attempts to get right, and as Ajmiam mentioned, that kind of monster timing is actually quite annoying. The tank trick was also a bit tricky and had me stumped. Besides those things I really enjoyed the elemental straightforward nature of this one too. We definitely need a lot more time here, as I screwed myself in the last block pushing section due to time pressure with less than 30 seconds left on the clock.
8 - Crescent ISland - A bit difficult, but a very creative but simple (and aesthetically interesting) block-pushing strategic level. It would fit well toward the end of the set where manually making a map would be encouraged by beginners who are less likely to naturally look in the editor to quickly find a solution.
9 - Five Twelve - Very straightforward. Reminiscent of a JoshL2 level but much easier and simpler. I didn't quite understand the hint or title but this won't affect my scoring of course.
10 - Blocking - Nice idea with the block placement to move the tanks out of the corridors. The last into-exit timing may be a bit of an obstacle for a beginner so some redundancy with a bomb to kill the tanks might help.
11 - Cruise - What is great about this level is that it requires the player to actually think about their next move. It is not just a mindless itemswapper, but a puzzle that involves proper management of the available resources (blocks, teeth, etc.) to accomplish the needed tasks, and this does a good job of capturing some of the techniques from CC1.
12 - Chain Capturing - I have never played this level before, but I can tell with almost total certainty that it is a Josh level, knowing his style really well (I was informed after the fact that this is actually not a Josh level). The double-button cloner is really intuitive. I didn't have to wait at the end (like the hint said) as the water was already filled in to dirt. The tank-button block pushing section was a bit tedious and it might be a bit confusing to beginners as there were no tanks visible (might be better to use a straightforward clone button here).
13 - Lesson the 8th - This lesson level combines the ideas of extra chips, bombs, and blocks together really well. I don't think it is a good idea to introduce partial posts this early into a beginner's game, especially seeing as many original players from CC1 were confused even at level 138, and so unfortunately I cannot rate this level highly unless it were to be removed. Not that partial posts shouldn't be in the game, but that if we want to make a good challenge out of them we should introduce them in the mid-late level range like CC1 did.
14 - Route 101 - Getting ridiculously plomped by the block, of all things, on the last slide, is hilariously annoying. However, my big issue is the fact that you have to block-slide it, as that does not seem like a concept that should be forced of a beginner (especially early on). It seems very possible that it would simply escape their minds, unless a hint or some direct reference from a previous level were given (many people learned about it from the CCLP2 level BlockSlide). I would love to give this level a 5 for the awesome tank slide but I must rate in favor of beginner accessibility.
15 - Cube and Square - This level does a very good job of capturing the spirit of beginner play, starting with a simple but intuitive maze, followed by some easy block pushing and a simple invisimaze. Returing to the start at the end was also a really nice addition of exploration. This is one of my favorites up to this point in the set.
16 - Super Swap Meet - The hint says "just take your time" but it seems quite easy to blaze right through as an experienced player! Not much mental power is needed here so if anything it would be a very early level.
17 - Generic Ice Level - Some chips are readily available, while others are faster to obtain via block in bomb, and others are required for a block to be pushed into a bomb. I wouldn't call this generic, but actually very unique and fun!
18 - Lesson 6 - While this is more elaborate than its CC1 predecessor, mirroring CC1 too closely feels boring to me.
19 - Reverbation (Doubt) - I love the random name and everything besides that pesky bee room which could be a bit of a frustration.
20 - Tagliatele - The structure of the appearing wall/real wall maze here is executed very well, but it got a bit tedious across the entire level, although the abundance of chips certainly made it quite fun. Also, we are definitely not short on time here!
21 - Promise To Water The Flowers - Although there is not much wiggle room in between monsters, the concept was great. However, the fireball cloning part at the very end caused me to die, and I don't think a beginner would know what is going on until they die because of it. As you guys all know I think deathtraps right at the end only remove from the fun of a long level such as this one. For now I will not take points off for it with the assumption that the trap will be removed with designer permission.
22 - Hampton Palace - with Ghosts!! - The blind ice slides with water and blocks lost me on this one.
23 - Maze of Death - The only part that I felt a bit uneasy about was the block and force floor section which might be a bit too flashy for untrained eyes, but it was really well-crafted so that avoiding being squashed by a block is easy. The title fits the level perfectly and I like the way it all circles back to the middle.
24 - Whirlpool - The deathtrap in the lower right corner (because of the socket) was annoying. Otherwise, nice concept with having to push blocks in the corner but also making good use of them to figure out where to go.
25 - Puzzlerama - Another deathtrap in the toggle and tank section, where I got stuck between two tanks. One of the important things that I think we should see in CCLP1 is less things in a level that could cause a player to have to restart with no way out, as most CC1 levels were "recoverable" after a mistake unless it somehow defined the level (such as Cellblocked). I really liked its linear nature and the ending with the green key was nice.
26 - Exhibit Rooms - The tank only screwed me over twice, and I don't think it would hurt to not have it there. The teeth room didn't help either.
27 - Broiled Quesadillas - The first part of this level was originally from PB Gourami and could use some cleanup (I don't know why I didn't do so myself before voting, I guess I was just lazy with this one). However, the itemswapper and teleportation is very creative.
28 - Gridlock - A very unique dodging challenge, and makes good strategic use of pop-up walls. Of COURSE I died trying to get the last chip because I was trapped in by two teeth, but I blame this on my not using the pop-up walls enough (and it certainly won't lose points just because I failed).
29 - Compaction - This concept works surprisingly well even though the blobs do not express proper squishy qualities. The concept is also very unique and it is hard to screw which makes it ideal.
30 - Lesson 1 - Chips - Is this supposed to be a ghost from PacMan or something, or just a random shape?
31 - Sokoban Memory - As cool as it is to combine concepts from two levels, I feel like the way these are combined comes out quite tedious, and it seems quite intimidating. Of course it could always be a late-in-the-set candidate.
32 - Frozen Pipelines - An interesting spin on a typical ice level.
33 - Wreak Havoc - These Lemmings-style levels are always fun. I would really like to see a fair number of these in CCLP1, where lots of orderly guarding monsters must be disrupted and disposed of in order to accomplish a goal.
34 - Two-by-Two - The concept here was unique, but the block pushing part was boring. It could use some fleshing out of concept.
35 - Slime Slider - Nice blob-dodging level. Not too hard but not boringly easy, so I can easily see this making it in. On a slightly unrelated note, I hate how blobs always seem to kill you when you are right next to them even if they have 3 other squares that they can go to.
36 - One Block - Very cool, levels that require one to take it slow and think about how to achieve each goal are great for the later section of the set. The only annoying thing is only having 9x9 view area which restricts open-spaced levels like these, but of course that won't lose points.
37 - Forced To The Rear - While it certainly requires more than one attempt to know where all the bombs are, it works out perfectly here especially with the room for error with the extra chips. It is also great when you can see the safe squares below and can strategize.
38 - Flyers - The gliders and pop-up walls made for an enjoyable strategic dodging challenge. The key swapping felt a little bit like artificial difficulty, however, and I'm not sure a beginner would notice it right away which might cause frustration.
39 - Chiptropolis - The open-exploration city style works very well here and is very enjoyable. As you (Tom) foresaw, the fireball room is in my opinion too tricky without any hint or direction. The level could also benefit from a LOT more time (like 300 seconds or more) as I was running to push the last blocks in the water and get the exit with less than 40 seconds on the clock.
40 - Go Slow - As creative as this idea is, the inability to see the teeth while going through the spiral makes it really confusing. The hint is also completely misleading as it makes it seem like you must wait there for a while to hear a boom, when in reality you must wait for a few seconds and then return. I'm afraid this one doesn't make the cut for me seeing as the playing window is just too small to see things happen which would make it more fun.
41 - Animal Farm - Very cool but simple dodging concept where you must go to the middle after releasing all of the monsters.
42 - Hornet's Nest - Another nice dodging concept which involves exponential growth. The aesthetics match perfectly too. Definitely a high rater.
43 - Moving Sidewalks - Nice but overly simple with a lot of waiting. Could be useful to introduce the concept, if a hint were added.
44 - Who's The Boss? - Very intuitive teeth-outsmarting action here.
45 - Toxin Factory - Nice aesthetics and dodging challenge. I'm not sure if I approve of the finish as it might be a bit too hard (yes, I said it, deal with it). What would make it better IMO is a little bit of gravel but a way for the blobs to go in the water and die. I am all for something like this otherwise!
46 - Over and Under - This one frustrated me a bit as it is impossible to see the movements of the teeth while in the other room, which a beginner would have a really hard time with anyway.
47 - Lesson 3 - Footwear - Typical lesson level.
48 - Icefail - The tricky secret here had me stumped. Not sure whether it would be an asset or an annoyance to CCLP1 if it were included, as such things can be fun but also take forever to figure out.
49 - Chip Mania II - While collecting tons and tons of chips can be fun, it kind of bores us experienced players (not that it would do the same for a beginner). I think it would be better to have these on a smaller-scale. The weird open area in the upper right along with the lack of proper borders made the levels seem just a tad bit rushed.
50 - Graveyard - A simple and unique task with a background story which helps make it more interesting, although tedious to try every wall which can be boring and not the most memorable for a player.
The levels that I gave 5 stars to in voting are: Cruise, Cube and Square, Generic Ice Level, Gridlock, Wreak Havoc, and Hornet's Nest.
[img]<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2017_10/blog-0836600001371836260.png.6c1b1c5393a33714634ae70adefbd7eb.png[/img]There's a thread on this forum dedicated to what we as Chip's Challenge players called certain game elements when we were younger that really intrigued me upon first glance. Some of the names given to the various monsters have been quite funny. (For instance, I didn't know that thieves have been called both "firemen" and "policemen"!) But I feel like another one should be made about the misconceptions we had concerning certain game behaviors when we first started playing. Wouldn't that be interesting? Perhaps part of my perspective stems from being only 5 years old when I first started playing the game, so reading the help file provided only limited understanding compared to engaging in actual gameplay and the experimentation that came with it. I'm assuming that's the case for most first-time players, though. I didn't understand what "following the left wall" meant for bugs - I just assumed that the game programmers somehow instilled set paths for them - nor did I understand that all grey walls were actually permanent. When I tried Nuts and Bolts for the first time, I saw the thief and the bombs above the opening area and thought that there was supposed to be some way to break through those walls to get to them! But no - the only walls that I could break through were blue, of course.
Why do I bring this up? Because we've taken upon ourselves the rather awkward task of evaluating and voting on levels for a level set whose target audience is comprised of people who are the exact opposite of us veterans. These are the people who will struggle not only with understanding the game and its elements, but also with being able to control Chip to begin with. These are the people who will make the mistakes that we forgot we once made when we first started playing. These are the people who would lose patience with the game if the CCLP1 of today were constructed exactly as CC1 was, with a level like Nuts and Bolts throwing newcomers into the fire and steeply escalating the difficulty curve immediately after the tutorials. And sometimes, I think it's difficult for us to cast aside our veteran sensibilities and remember how these people feel - how we felt - upon playing the game for the first time.
At the time of this post, there have been 10 voting packs (500 levels) for CCLP1 released and nearly 6,600 votes cast. Although the voting process is far from complete, I've begun noticing an interesting trend in the results - most of the top levels so far are either hodgepodge or "themed" levels with some degree of variety and (usually) moderate difficulty - though for a beginner, many of these levels would probably be fairly difficult and would fit right at home in the last quarter of CCLP1. In contrast, most of the CCLP3 top levels were those that obviously involved a lot of time and effort spent to build them, which typically meant that they were also the hardest of the bunch. A lot of these levels were also hodgepodge or themed levels as well, or at the very least, they were non-homogenous. But the irony of this penchant for non-homogeneity in individual level design was that by primarily using the voting results as the determinant for what was inducted into the final set, CCLP3 was a rather homogenous set when viewed as a collective whole. "Puzzle," "long campaign level," and "hodgepodge" would probably be the three main descriptors players would give CCLP3 if asked what kind of level best described the set. On the other hand, it's hard to nail down a specific type of level that CC1 featured a lot, mainly because the set itself had so much variety. (The same may be said of CCLP2, though some people might answer "invalid tiles" if asked that question.)
So how can we avoid making the same mistake with CCLP1? Thankfully, the CCLP1 staff will be making the final decisions on what's inducted into the set and what's not for the sake of variety and the establishment of a friendly difficulty curve. I think this is important for any CCLP for the former reason, but it's especially important for CCLP1 for both reasons. But since we will be using the voting results as a guideline, we need some way to know what levels everyone enjoys besides the aforementioned hodgepodge and themed levels. If voting continues to go as is, there's going to be a huge mass of levels below the top tier that are averaging around 4.00 or so and a whole bunch of easy levels that aren't even reaching that point. So here are a few tips that I thought I'd pass on to all of you voters out there that I thought might be helpful to keep in mind when rating levels - especially when it comes to making sure easy levels get their due:
-Not every level needs to be "extraordinary." It's true - the CC community of today is a very, very tough crowd to please. For the most part, we have a tendency to play and rate levels based solely on how interesting we find them. And we've seen and played so much that even our level design tendencies can often reflect this; many levels out there today try to outdo each other by trying to include just one more trick in their compositions than the last one. Again, though, there's an irony in this, especially with respect to designing for beginners. The easier levels that we often deem "boring" are most likely going to be the ones that newcomers would find interesting, whereas those that we find interesting would probably also be intriguing but sometimes frustrating for first-time players. The other major takeaway from this point ties in with the above bit about CCLP3: individually great levels do not necessarily make a collectively great set. A set composed entirely or even primarily of "epic" levels would get frustrating and repetitive after a while (in fact, some people would say that CCLP3 was exactly this), even if they weren't all difficult. Easier, smaller levels do have their place, even if they may not seem quite as engaging as the epic ones.
- Try to avoid comparing apples and oranges. It's very easy for us to look at the easy, simple maze we're playing and think about the thrilling campaign level that included every game element or the level that reinvented the wheel for a familiar concept to which we awarded a 5. But why can't all three levels succeed on their own terms? While a collection of individually great levels doesn't necessarily make a collectively great set, a collectively great set is composed of individually great levels - specifically, a variety of levels that do a great job being what they were designed to be. Almost no one would say that it would be fair to compare Sampler with Four Plex from the original game; yet both of them are often praised - the former for being an excellent, simple itemswapper, and the latter for being an excellent campaign level. Is it fair to give that excellent maze a 3 just because it doesn't feel quite as thrilling as that giant hodgepodge level? For instance, I've given Chip Be Steady (Lipstick #50) a 5 out of 5 rating. It isn't a mind-blowing level that left me with a sensation of "Whoa!" when I solved it, but in the context of being a maze in which you had to avoid touching toggle buttons and a level that beginners would find inventive, it succeeded. The only other levels I'd even be thinking of when looking at it would be similar mazes in which the player isn't allowed to touch the "walls," not the campaign level with every game element included that I may also enjoy too. The reason why this one in particular stood out was because of its symmetrical "border" with the colored doors and teeth waiting to be released, which made it look a lot neater than similar levels.
- When evaluating easy levels, don't look for the interesting - look for the uninteresting. Yes, you read that correctly. But it deserves a bit of clarification. The aforementioned designing tendency to outdo other levels by including more "tricks" in them is especially harmful to easy levels. As veterans, we tend to frown upon levels that feel more minimalistic - though not necessarily trivial, even for a beginner. Maybe this is because we've played the game so much that so little feels original to us anymore. We play through a level and immediately turn to one of those prepared level categories we've already created in our head so we can file it away under something like "blob level" or "ice maze." We may also turn to our preconceptions about those categories as well, some of which may be negative, even if the level would be ideal for a level set targeted at beginners. Sometimes, we may even have specific levels in mind that the ones we're playing remind us of, so much so that we're willing to discard them just because they feel like yesterday's news to us. But there's a difference between a level that's a blatant ripoff and one that does a commendable job being simple and generic, either by presenting its concept in an approachable way or by demonstrating some degree of artistic merit. Many of CC1's levels accomplished both of these objectives well. The problem with us is that we not only want to throw away these types of levels out of comparative instinct, but we also prefer easy levels that are inherently more complicated because they feel "more interesting." In many cases, these levels would be an inappropriate, muddled teaching tool for beginners and would be too uninteresting for later portions of CCLP1. Don't be afraid to give a deserving easy, generic level a good rating because it's generic and does a fantastic job being so, especially when that level excels with respect to design quality and playability.
- CCLP1 may be a CC1 replacement, but it need not succumb to its shortcomings. I remember the very first time I went to a Chip's Challenge website. I was eight years old and was nearly done with the game, with the exception of "Totally Unfair." Richard Field's site had a complete walkthrough that came in very handy, but what was even more interesting than that was the collection of testimonials on the site about the game. Some of the levels that other people listed as the hardest to beat may surprise us today - levels that we as veterans find easy, such as The Last Laugh, Knot, or even Blink. It may seem unbelievable to us that they could be a challenge, but they certainly were. Another common thread from first-time players was that Nuts and Bolts presented a huge step up in difficulty from the lesson levels that preceded it. And I could totally empathize with that sentiment, as Nuts and Bolts took me an entire month to complete. Does CCLP1 need a "Nuts and Bolts" equivalent immediately following its lesson levels, or could there be some space in between to amp up the difficulty a bit before such a large level? Do we need to wait to introduce partial posting until level 138, for instance? Or is there a level simpler than Partial Post that could teach the concept in a different spot in the set? We shouldn't feel obligated to give CCLP1 all the trappings that made CC1 what it was; rather, we need to recognize what made CC1 work and avoid the areas in which it fell short while still being flexible.
- Don't forget about what made you love the game when you first played it. Whenever I vote, this is the principle that I try to come back to - but it's also the one that I so often neglect. That desire to break down those walls on Nuts and Bolts is something that I forget when I play the game now. But when I think about what got me hooked on Chip's Challenge in the first place, it was that. It was that desire to break out of the box, to explore, to see what was around that next corner. In hindsight, I was so thankful that the gameplay window was only nine by nine tiles. I would spend hours trying to figure out the secret to the opening room of Paranoia while looking wistfully at the bugs roaming around in the room on the left. I didn't know what else was over there, but I was determined to find out. Sometimes, I think we now focus so much on dissecting the game, cram in as much content in as little space as possible in our levels, and find it easy to turn to the editor for a level map that we've forgotten the joy of walking around in open space, exploring that newly opened path, and remembering what made Chip's Challenge so fun to play to begin with.
It's my hope that CCLP1 can recapture that sense of awe and wonder for a new generation through top-notch level design and accessible gameplay while still retaining the "challenge" part of the title that kept us coming back for more. Let's not forget about the easy levels along the way that prepare newcomers for those challenges!
A while back somebody suggested a facebook version for Chuck's Challenge. But has someone put any thought into porting Tile World to facebook? If it gains popularity, it'll be a great way to publicise CC as well as CCLP1!
Hello Chipsters of CCZone and welcome to a new game show Michael and I came up with last night on Skype! It's a test of your knowledge of CC official and custom sets, as well as a test of your detective skills. This is
Name
That
Sound!!
In this game show, Michael and I will each post videos in which we play through CC levels in Tile World Lynx mode...but we won't show you the screen. It's up to you to guess which levels we are playing based on the sounds you hear. The levels all come from levelsets or custom packs that are available for download right here on CCZone, so you can play along (or look in your favorite level editor) to figure out what we're playing.
To make your guess, please post in this topic. Be sure to indicate which puzzle(s) in which video your answer(s) pertain to. Also, do not post a second guess for the same puzzle until BOTH I have responded to your first guess AND at least one hour has passed since you posted your first guess.
Michael's Round 1 video : Coming soon! Postponed to Round 3!
Michael will be making the Round 2 video.
Who Got the Correct Answers:
1 - JBLewis
2 - JBLewis
3 - JBLewis
4 - JBLewis
5 - JBLewis
6 - JBLewis
7 - BigOto2
8 - JBLewis
9 - JBLewis
10 - JBLewis
Have fun! In addition to answering, feel free to make more videos of this type of contest and post them here. If you win this contest (Round 1), you will be given the right to release an official "Round 2" video (if you want) or delegate it to someone else or to whoever wants to.
