March 2015 Create Competition - Rulings

[M11k4]

Results!

I ranked all the levels separately according to rule set:

Lynx:

Swiped Away - Syzygy


Squares - IceyLava108


Sea of Keys - eric119


Attack of the Keys - Chipster1059

Specific Gravity - J.B. Lewis

The Keys to Failure - Cyberdog

Delayed Post - Ihavenoname248

eXceLleNcY - geodave

Sub Station Alpha - Syzygy

Bonfire - IceyLava108



MS:

The Power of Slide Delay Compels You! - Ihavenoname248


The Bugs Who Couldn't Think for Themselves - eric119


Deprogression - chipster1059


Serendipity - Syzygy


Suffocate - IceyLava108


Mining - IceyLava108


Skeptic Debunked - Syzygy


MiSery - geodave

Chips' Challenge - RB3ProKeys



Ram It Down - Cyberdog

Sand Boxes - Syzygy

Seaweed - Syzygy


The Second Most Insane Level In All Of Space! - RB3ProKeys



So how do I reconcile these into one ranking for the participants? This is something I didn't really consider when I started this competition. I kind of assumed everyone would just send in one level and I could rank them all in one list even if they were not in the same rule set. However with this many submissions and most participants making levels for both sections, it didn't feel right. Now I will weave the above two lists together in some reasonable way.

This means there is a tie for first place! Congratulations to Syzygy and Ihavenoname248! You both made great individual levels and all your levels were still impressive, so you totally deserve this. The next tier is IceyLava108 and eric119, so you are awarded a tied third place. The next place on the lists are held by eric119 and chipster1059, but as eric119 is already ranked, chipster1059 gets fifth place all to himself! Continuing like this, we get the full results, as well as some guys getting some credit for their bonus levels:

1. Suzygy & Ihavenoname248__ 13
pts each

3. IceyLava108 & eric119____ 9
pts each

5. chipster1059______________ 7
pts

6. J.B. Lewis________________ 6
pts

7. Cyberdog & geodave________ 5
pts each

9. RB3ProKeys________________ 3
pts

10.random 8 & M11k4__________ 2
pts each


You have to admit, that competition was a blast! I did some extra work to put together a new release of all the levels here. They should now be easier to try and you should definitely check out the bonus levels too! All comments on any of the levels are still welcome!

-Miika

P.S. Here are bonus comments for all the bonus levels:

[Click to Show Content]

School 4 2 Rules (both rule sets) - Syzygy

I like this simple level a lot. It has some hidden information, but not enough to be annoying. Particularly the final area is very well built, where you can figure it out on your first time through in either rule set if you just pay attention. I also like the length of the level, and this level is a fine addition to any custom set.


Silhouettes de 101 Apparitions (two versions) - Syzygy
It took a long time for me to get around to playing this level because in the editor it looks pretty daunting! I have played it now, in both MS and Lynx, and again it took quite long to solve. As with some other long levels, I like many of the individual areas, but the combination is very arduous. If each section could just be simplified simplified simplified, I would like this level more. There was a lot of block pushing (back and forth!) at the starting area, the water-hidden-under-water is pretty mean in the ice area and doesn't add to the later area either, and the other parts are also pretty full of stuff (thin walls in many areas feel cramped). As for the comparison between MS and Lynx (since that's what this competition was about), I think there is more to the idea of having separate versions of a level than I first thought. I prefer the Lynx version (less hidden info), but the MS also presents some fun stuff that are similar to Lynx but still different. Maybe there is design space unexplored in this vein, where you have two versions of a level and make them feel the same but work differently. For this level though, I think the right choice would be to make one version that works in both, just because this is so long, or to split it into several smaller levels that explore the rule set differences in smaller chunks. Overall, I am glad I finished this challenge (thanks for sharing it!), but if a set has more than a handful of levels that look like this, I will probably skip the whole set.


Standard Email Attachment Limit (Lynx) - Syzygy
I like this short level as well. Well, I do think the time limit should be increased just to give the player some time to think instead of having to just try stuff if they want to solve it on the first attempt. Though Syzygy originally made this level for Lynx, he withdrew it from the competition because he "found that a blue button made the level solvable in both and will be including it in my next update for the E-Trilogy set." Overall I think the puzzle is nice and the level was fun to play.


Hidden Agenda (MS) - M11k4
I made this level years ago and I was going to include it in my set funfair0 (where it kind of still is, but not one of the main levels), but I didn't quite like that it was only solvable in MS. I was happy to find a fitting place for it here, among other similarly handicapped levels. The level tries to play around with invalid tiles in a confined space, but I don't think the end result is particularly fun. Finding the solution is probably pretty difficult, particularly if you do not look at a map for some of the hidden things. This was the very first level I ever made with the method "just open an editor and start drawing something" and the first version was ready in about three hours. At that moment I told myself that this sort of designing is very inefficient (at least for me) and I have tried to plan out my levels a bit more carefully since then at least half of the time. I would be very interested in hearing if anyone solves this one or how far you get before you think it's time to move on to other levels.


Squared Bonfire (Lynx) - IceyLava108

Above, I talked about perhaps combining IceyLava108's two Lynx submissions into one, and here is the result. I like how the reduced the number of bombs in the bonfire as well as the changes to the key swapping too. The thief area is still symmetric (which I previously thought could be more interesting if it didn't repeat), but I guess it's not a big deal and it is not easy to keep it a square and not make it symmetric. I think this combination is an improvement overall and pretty fun.


1200 BPM (Lynx) - random 8
I am very happy to see this level. It was submitted a few days late, so that is why it wasn't included in the actual competition. I feel this is a shame and more a shortcoming on my part in rushing to release all the levels. I am still so so so glad random 8 shared this with us, as the level is something truly remarkable. It is by far my favorite level that this competition produced. I would award you the win if it wasn't unfair to the other participants, but as it is I can only justify shared last place. I don't think I will say anything more about the level, so everyone can go and have a look and experience it for them self.