Hi! I played through all these levels today, and here are a few pointers from along the way.
1) I like the concept of a bunch of ice block levels in a manageable set. There was a good variety of different takes on levels which all used the ice block. I enjoyed the lesson levels that gradually introduced different aspects of the ice blocks. You used invalid tiles nicely knowing that I'd be playing in MS. A pretty good set for a first timer
2) You need to put more effort into the names of the levels. Don't call the first seven "Lesson X"; that's been done and is not descriptive of how your lesson levels concentrate on the ice blocks. Other poor names were 'sokoban' or even 'teeth!' or 'tanks!'. Do I really want to play a level called Uselessness? If you have trouble coming up with your own names, you can ask on the forum by shortly describing your level and I'm sure others will gladly brainstorm some cool names for you to use.
3) Don't release every level you make. If you experiment with concepts but they don't turn out to be fun levels to play, don't make others suffer through them. Do I want to play the level that is Uselessness? You could have improved your set by removing at least five of the most uninspired levels. Once you recognize an idea that is pretty basic and frankly not worth a whole level, even one like Crusher, store it away and maybe some day you can use it as part of a level where it fits.
4) Pay attention to little details. I'll point out a few from the levels.
- Lesson 4 : getting past the teeth is trickier than you might want in a level that on the surface looks like you just want to introduce the concept of tanks and teeth pushing ice blocks. Keep the areas of a level at a similar difficulty range. Oh, and it's possible to simply walk by the other monsters without using the blocks, though I thought your idea to highlight that other monsters get stuck behind ice blocks in the level where tanks and teeth push ice blocks was brilliant.
- Lesson 5 : hiding the exit like this is pretty mean, particularly in a lesson level that clearly introduces other ideas. If the level was called 'Where could the exit be?', it would be fine, but then the main concept is very different.
- Lesson 6 : This requires pretty precise timing. If you could find a way to avoid that, the level would be better.
- Squares : I don't understand what the socket does. I guess it's ok, because I don't understand the whole level either. Thanks for making me run through long corridors for five minutes.
- Chips Challenge 2 Level 2 : What's the button at (9,18) for? Or the pop-ups at the top row? Also the hidden chips were annoying.
- More Uselessness : Don't need to reach the exit from below since you get the skates.
- Icy Blobdance : You realize I don't need the last block since I have the flippers?
5) Though I've given some harsh feedback, I feel the best parts of the set made the experience worth the other parts. Level #11 is clearly the best of the set. It was very enjoyable and displayed a nice variety of concepts. Too bad it wasn't all yours, but I thank you for sharing it. There were other nice ideas too, like #12 (Out of Control), #17 (Cypher), and #18 (Run). Lesson 7 was also quite good.
Hope this year brings along more sets from you
-Miika
