19-Jul-2016, 11:48 PM
Another pack down, and there's quite a few interesting levels to talk about here. Spoiler alert!
#2 (Slide of 25 Trials): I'm always on the lookout for concepts that haven't really been touched on in previous CCLPs, and this level takes something that could be potentially annoying and makes it fair while not overextending the idea. I enjoy seeing levels that explore several implementations of one concept, and this one fits the bill well.
#4 (Blue Tooth): I was inspired to make this level as a response to two self-prompts: make a blue-themed level, and make a level in which three different tiles are mixed together in pairs with a consistent design element woven throughout. The result was the "plus sign" sprinkled throughout and used in different ways, sometimes in different sizes. This is one of the few levels I submitted that I'm honestly hoping to see in the final set.
#12 (Disjunctive Syllogism): This is a fun idea, but I think it was done better as a puzzle in Corresponding where you actually had to figure out what blocks were used where. With the doors here, this almost becomes a little too easy when you can simply eliminate where you can't go at any given time.
#13 (Ice in a Blender): I really enjoy this ice maze for the same reasons I enjoyed Snow Patrol: it's scaled very reasonably, it's challenging to navigate, and there are hardly any pointless paths to worry about.
#21 (The Genie Lamp): On principle, I'm solidly against including levels in CCLPs in which [a] you barely have any room to explore and experiment, and you have to deal with a mechanism that you can't really see. The only exception I'm willing to make for that second rule involves mechanisms that are simple (see: Periodic Lasers) or that you can see after the fact. But here, it's not only completely hidden from view, but what constitutes "rubbing the lamp" isn't really explained.
<strong>#24 (Dungeon):</strong> There are some levels that make you go, "What was I actually supposed to do there?!" after completing them, and this was one of those for me. I still can't figure out what the designer had in mind for the ice section at the beginning - are you really supposed to push one block down, then make it hit the other while the other is going left and bounce back down? And then there are the completely pointless block cloners and the end sokoban which seems lifted right out of the MIX UP playbook, only way easier. Not exactly a fan.
<strong>#25 (Wanted Dead or Alive):</strong> One of the other guidelines I've been using for voting - particularly since this will be the fourth community-produced level pack - is how innovative a level is. I love a good melee level, but this one is just a bunch of monsters thrown around with some chips scattered all over the place. No offense to the designer, but there are about 50 custom levels out there like it. We need levels that bring something new to the table.
<strong>#26 (Way of the Paramecium): </strong>As mentioned earlier in my notes for Slide of 25 Trials, I enjoy when the breadth of a concept is explored, and that goes for a game element as well. Here, you get a number of challenges - and I don't use the word lightly - involving paramecia. Some of these are fairly difficult dodging vignettes, and I appreciate how non-linear the structure is, allowing you to choose the room(s) you find tough first before tackling the others. This is thoughtful level design that doesn't sacrifice difficulty but provides a way to handle it without anything feeling terribly tedious. None of the rooms overstay their welcome, and the ending challenges are a welcome "victory lap" breather.
<strong>#28 (Lean Thinking):</strong> This is absolutely one of my favorite levels ever in voting. It takes the compression idea seen in levels like Compaction and crafts a legitimately difficult but manageable puzzle out of it. I appreciate how many solutions there are to this: according to Miika (I think?), diamond and rhombus-esque shapes are possible to end with when all the walkers are compressed. I've solved this level a few times with different shapes; in the past, they were asymmetrical, but this time, I managed to exit with something that looked like a penguin. All in all, a wonderfully crafted implementation of a fantastic idea that deserves a place in late CCLP4.
<strong>#29 (Just Glide Through This Level):</strong> Psst! Here's a potential breather level for the late game right here.
<strong>#34 (Triple Tickle): </strong>I'm a little confused by the block cloner in this level. Is this actually the intended solution - bridging up to the fireballs and blocking off the whole mechanism? I enjoy the concept in this level as it stands without this making the entire puzzle a moot point.
<strong>#38 (Gimmick Isle): </strong>I spent several hours the other night just on this level. Whew! It's a beast of a puzzle to crack and very satisfying to solve, but I wish only one thing had been changed: the fireball nailing section. I don't think dexterity needs to be mixed in with something in which the focus is a giant brain burner. Other than that, the rest of the level was fun to solve (though sometimes frustrating to execute), particularly one section in which realizing the solution changes quite a few things done beforehand. Perhaps my most embarrassing moment trying to solve this was not realizing that you could just use the nearby block to blow up the bomb next to the green door: instead, I tried to use the nearby fireball to do this, which required making the stream of fireballs going into the water to clone frequently enough that the one fireball could bounce off of them, go back, and give me enough time to open the green door.
<strong>#50 (Islander): </strong>I haven't yet solved this level, but it hasn't left the best first impression so far. I don't quite know what the objectives are, how rigid or loose this is supposed to be, or what the intended solution even is. It comes across as a level in which the designer had a very specific order in mind but didn't include many measures to make it evident.
Favorite level: Lean Thinking
Least favorite level: Dungeon
#2 (Slide of 25 Trials): I'm always on the lookout for concepts that haven't really been touched on in previous CCLPs, and this level takes something that could be potentially annoying and makes it fair while not overextending the idea. I enjoy seeing levels that explore several implementations of one concept, and this one fits the bill well.
#4 (Blue Tooth): I was inspired to make this level as a response to two self-prompts: make a blue-themed level, and make a level in which three different tiles are mixed together in pairs with a consistent design element woven throughout. The result was the "plus sign" sprinkled throughout and used in different ways, sometimes in different sizes. This is one of the few levels I submitted that I'm honestly hoping to see in the final set.
#12 (Disjunctive Syllogism): This is a fun idea, but I think it was done better as a puzzle in Corresponding where you actually had to figure out what blocks were used where. With the doors here, this almost becomes a little too easy when you can simply eliminate where you can't go at any given time.
#13 (Ice in a Blender): I really enjoy this ice maze for the same reasons I enjoyed Snow Patrol: it's scaled very reasonably, it's challenging to navigate, and there are hardly any pointless paths to worry about.
#21 (The Genie Lamp): On principle, I'm solidly against including levels in CCLPs in which [a] you barely have any room to explore and experiment, and you have to deal with a mechanism that you can't really see. The only exception I'm willing to make for that second rule involves mechanisms that are simple (see: Periodic Lasers) or that you can see after the fact. But here, it's not only completely hidden from view, but what constitutes "rubbing the lamp" isn't really explained.
<strong>#24 (Dungeon):</strong> There are some levels that make you go, "What was I actually supposed to do there?!" after completing them, and this was one of those for me. I still can't figure out what the designer had in mind for the ice section at the beginning - are you really supposed to push one block down, then make it hit the other while the other is going left and bounce back down? And then there are the completely pointless block cloners and the end sokoban which seems lifted right out of the MIX UP playbook, only way easier. Not exactly a fan.
<strong>#25 (Wanted Dead or Alive):</strong> One of the other guidelines I've been using for voting - particularly since this will be the fourth community-produced level pack - is how innovative a level is. I love a good melee level, but this one is just a bunch of monsters thrown around with some chips scattered all over the place. No offense to the designer, but there are about 50 custom levels out there like it. We need levels that bring something new to the table.
<strong>#26 (Way of the Paramecium): </strong>As mentioned earlier in my notes for Slide of 25 Trials, I enjoy when the breadth of a concept is explored, and that goes for a game element as well. Here, you get a number of challenges - and I don't use the word lightly - involving paramecia. Some of these are fairly difficult dodging vignettes, and I appreciate how non-linear the structure is, allowing you to choose the room(s) you find tough first before tackling the others. This is thoughtful level design that doesn't sacrifice difficulty but provides a way to handle it without anything feeling terribly tedious. None of the rooms overstay their welcome, and the ending challenges are a welcome "victory lap" breather.
<strong>#28 (Lean Thinking):</strong> This is absolutely one of my favorite levels ever in voting. It takes the compression idea seen in levels like Compaction and crafts a legitimately difficult but manageable puzzle out of it. I appreciate how many solutions there are to this: according to Miika (I think?), diamond and rhombus-esque shapes are possible to end with when all the walkers are compressed. I've solved this level a few times with different shapes; in the past, they were asymmetrical, but this time, I managed to exit with something that looked like a penguin. All in all, a wonderfully crafted implementation of a fantastic idea that deserves a place in late CCLP4.
<strong>#29 (Just Glide Through This Level):</strong> Psst! Here's a potential breather level for the late game right here.
<strong>#34 (Triple Tickle): </strong>I'm a little confused by the block cloner in this level. Is this actually the intended solution - bridging up to the fireballs and blocking off the whole mechanism? I enjoy the concept in this level as it stands without this making the entire puzzle a moot point.
<strong>#38 (Gimmick Isle): </strong>I spent several hours the other night just on this level. Whew! It's a beast of a puzzle to crack and very satisfying to solve, but I wish only one thing had been changed: the fireball nailing section. I don't think dexterity needs to be mixed in with something in which the focus is a giant brain burner. Other than that, the rest of the level was fun to solve (though sometimes frustrating to execute), particularly one section in which realizing the solution changes quite a few things done beforehand. Perhaps my most embarrassing moment trying to solve this was not realizing that you could just use the nearby block to blow up the bomb next to the green door: instead, I tried to use the nearby fireball to do this, which required making the stream of fireballs going into the water to clone frequently enough that the one fireball could bounce off of them, go back, and give me enough time to open the green door.
<strong>#50 (Islander): </strong>I haven't yet solved this level, but it hasn't left the best first impression so far. I don't quite know what the objectives are, how rigid or loose this is supposed to be, or what the intended solution even is. It comes across as a level in which the designer had a very specific order in mind but didn't include many measures to make it evident.
Favorite level: Lean Thinking
Least favorite level: Dungeon