29-Oct-2016, 12:05 PM
It's been a while! I've been taking a break and playing through about three other puzzle games, but I'm ready to tackle the second half (okay, not quite a half) of CCLP4 voting. Let's do this!
#3 (Fission Mailed): This is absolutely my favorite Easier Than It Looks-style level in voting, though unlike its predecessor, which practically allowed Chip to blaze through a fairly straightforward path, this level places Chip in quite a few impossible-looking situations only to reveal that the safeguards were there all along. It's somewhat reminiscent of the "Path of God" trial in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which placed its title character in a similar predicament. I also appreciated how the entire level was not about a lot of build-up to only one big trick. I would love to see this as a late CCLP4 entry, if only to provide some thematic congruence and mess with players' expectations even more.
#5 (Sandstorm): I love the concept here, but good gravy - this level's scale is far overextended. If we're going to compare levels with blocks and 2x2 rooms, I think AMSTERDAM is much more reasonable for its size because you can easily zip around, and the task of pushing blocks inward and collecting the chips in every "house" isn't terribly tedious. Here, everything feels very slow and dry - no pun intended - as you have to go in, clear dirt (er, sand), go back out, push blocks inward, remember which you haven't yet pushed in some cases, and so on. I'd love to see a smaller scale version of this, perhaps with a bit more of an arrangement puzzle involved.
#15 (Dual): My personal favorite in the "tiny level" category. I think I had mentioned in a previous pack's commentary that a lot of levels in this vein tend to veer off into "cram as much garbage in a small space as possible" territory, but here, even though there is some claustrophobia, everything is at least readable. You can actually tell that you need Item A to collect Item B, and Item X to collect Item Y, and from there, piecing together the proper order is doable. A fun, satisfying challenge that I'd love to see make the cut.
#16 (Shrub): I really enjoy the aesthetics here. The green door / dirt / gravel combination is very effective at throwing you off when it comes to what is "safe," and the entire map is open enough that you don't feel like you're having to watch every single step you make. I'm looking at you, Zabriskie Point.
#20 (Kamikaze): I had a lot of trouble solving this, and much of it can be attributed to frustration with teleport parity, the time limit, and how tanks behave in MS...which is almost all of the level. It's an interesting idea, but one that I think could've been refined further.
#23 (The Three Trials): This is the kind of level I really enjoy when I'm looking at introductory candidates for CCLP4. None of the "trials" on their own are particularly difficult, but they accomplish two things: first, they do a great job of reintroducing veteran players to CC without any mean early-set surprises; and second, the block-pushing segment serves as a great teaching tool to condition players to start thinking in terms of using items across seemingly unrelated areas in a level. Very well designed and very fun.
#30 (Teeth Tamer): I liked this idea more when it was called "My Friend."
#32 (Combinations): Like Chipster, I'm surprised this didn't do well in CCLP1 voting - and I'm hoping that's only because some people thought that the deduction involved would be too difficult for that set. For CCLP4, though, this level, much like The Three Trials, does an excellent job of taking familiar elements and bringing them together in a way that actually teaches the player something - this time, to observe the environment and make conclusions. I also love how no two combinations of boots are the same. Overall, an excellent level worthy of an official set inclusion.
#46 (State of the Art): I'm really torn about this one. The design is neat, and it's a fun, breezy level that could be placed early in an official set. But, it's also mindless - there's nothing stopping Chip from walking around to each door, opening it up, and grabbing every key without any consequence. Perhaps this could have been more effective if it had either been in very early CCLP1 or if there were some sort of limitation (collect only three of each color, perhaps?).
#49 (Mein Mmmpf): This is a brilliantly designed blue / invisible wall maze, in no small part thanks to its refusal to conform to the space-filling tendencies of its brethren in voting. The subversions of the initial blue wall zig zag pattern are also quite clever without going into full-fledged "if it looks like a maze..." territory. There's even an entire section in the lower area where you zig zag down a path...only to discover that the entire thing is a dead end. Level designers, take note.
#3 (Fission Mailed): This is absolutely my favorite Easier Than It Looks-style level in voting, though unlike its predecessor, which practically allowed Chip to blaze through a fairly straightforward path, this level places Chip in quite a few impossible-looking situations only to reveal that the safeguards were there all along. It's somewhat reminiscent of the "Path of God" trial in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which placed its title character in a similar predicament. I also appreciated how the entire level was not about a lot of build-up to only one big trick. I would love to see this as a late CCLP4 entry, if only to provide some thematic congruence and mess with players' expectations even more.
#5 (Sandstorm): I love the concept here, but good gravy - this level's scale is far overextended. If we're going to compare levels with blocks and 2x2 rooms, I think AMSTERDAM is much more reasonable for its size because you can easily zip around, and the task of pushing blocks inward and collecting the chips in every "house" isn't terribly tedious. Here, everything feels very slow and dry - no pun intended - as you have to go in, clear dirt (er, sand), go back out, push blocks inward, remember which you haven't yet pushed in some cases, and so on. I'd love to see a smaller scale version of this, perhaps with a bit more of an arrangement puzzle involved.
#15 (Dual): My personal favorite in the "tiny level" category. I think I had mentioned in a previous pack's commentary that a lot of levels in this vein tend to veer off into "cram as much garbage in a small space as possible" territory, but here, even though there is some claustrophobia, everything is at least readable. You can actually tell that you need Item A to collect Item B, and Item X to collect Item Y, and from there, piecing together the proper order is doable. A fun, satisfying challenge that I'd love to see make the cut.
#16 (Shrub): I really enjoy the aesthetics here. The green door / dirt / gravel combination is very effective at throwing you off when it comes to what is "safe," and the entire map is open enough that you don't feel like you're having to watch every single step you make. I'm looking at you, Zabriskie Point.
#20 (Kamikaze): I had a lot of trouble solving this, and much of it can be attributed to frustration with teleport parity, the time limit, and how tanks behave in MS...which is almost all of the level. It's an interesting idea, but one that I think could've been refined further.
#23 (The Three Trials): This is the kind of level I really enjoy when I'm looking at introductory candidates for CCLP4. None of the "trials" on their own are particularly difficult, but they accomplish two things: first, they do a great job of reintroducing veteran players to CC without any mean early-set surprises; and second, the block-pushing segment serves as a great teaching tool to condition players to start thinking in terms of using items across seemingly unrelated areas in a level. Very well designed and very fun.
#30 (Teeth Tamer): I liked this idea more when it was called "My Friend."
#32 (Combinations): Like Chipster, I'm surprised this didn't do well in CCLP1 voting - and I'm hoping that's only because some people thought that the deduction involved would be too difficult for that set. For CCLP4, though, this level, much like The Three Trials, does an excellent job of taking familiar elements and bringing them together in a way that actually teaches the player something - this time, to observe the environment and make conclusions. I also love how no two combinations of boots are the same. Overall, an excellent level worthy of an official set inclusion.
#46 (State of the Art): I'm really torn about this one. The design is neat, and it's a fun, breezy level that could be placed early in an official set. But, it's also mindless - there's nothing stopping Chip from walking around to each door, opening it up, and grabbing every key without any consequence. Perhaps this could have been more effective if it had either been in very early CCLP1 or if there were some sort of limitation (collect only three of each color, perhaps?).
#49 (Mein Mmmpf): This is a brilliantly designed blue / invisible wall maze, in no small part thanks to its refusal to conform to the space-filling tendencies of its brethren in voting. The subversions of the initial blue wall zig zag pattern are also quite clever without going into full-fledged "if it looks like a maze..." territory. There's even an entire section in the lower area where you zig zag down a path...only to discover that the entire thing is a dead end. Level designers, take note.