"Busy" levels

[Hornlitz]

I'm fine with those types of levels, in fact, I like it when there's less space. I really like levels like Tom's "Special?!" and my "What a Mess".

In terms of if someone puts lots of puzzles just to fill up space, I'm still OK with that. Just as long as the puzzles aren't practically impossible and they aren't right at the end.

I guess in wide open levels I never know where to go...

[BitBuster]

I guess in wide open levels I never know where to go...

Yeah, "We'll Be Right Back" is sort of tricky in that sense...

"Once Upon A Troubadour" is a great example of a compact puzzle that's still entertaining to solve and complete. It never feels cluttered, and the "distractions" aren't graituitous.

[BigOto2]

When making levels I often try my best to make the most efficient use of space. For example, when designing Pressurized Plasma, I accomplished all my goals I had in my head for that level but there was only a half of the level filled. However, this didn't stop my creativity and I went on to add two giant rooms, one of which looks a lot like a lake with a beach on the other side, which not only makes use of the space but makes for a fun aesthetic. Other times, in smaller levels I simply fill unused space with walls and sometimes artwork such as giant question marks, my username, or even some other stuff.

[AdrenalinDragon]

I'm fine with those types of levels, in fact, I like it when there's less space. I really like levels like Tom's "Special?!" and my "What a Mess".

Cool! You liked special too? I thought I was the only one. It took me the longest to make. The trouble is with a level like that, it's easy to get busted annoyingly.

[Hornlitz]

Cool! You liked special too? I thought I was the only one. It took me the longest to make. The trouble is with a level like that, it's easy to get busted annoyingly.

To tell the truth, I never actually played it much, but I liked it enough to make a 'spoof' of it

[jblewis]

I feel like CC1 also made the mistake of "let's fill the playing area with as much stuff as possible," but in a different way: overextending certain concepts way beyond their welcome. "Rink" and similar levels are good examples of this.

[rockdet]

But take levels like Wars?, Metastable to Chaos, Suicide, Lobster Trap, Teleblock and Victim, for example... They give you A LOT of space to work with, and that's sort of what I didn't like of CCLP2 and CCLP3. That's also why I love levels like Cloner's Maze, Stress Fracture and Time Bomb, while I hated levels like To Catch a Thief and Manic Depression, and also the Frog level everyone around seems to love...

[geodave]

But take levels like Wars?, Metastable to Chaos, Suicide, Lobster Trap, Teleblock and Victim, for example... They give you A LOT of space to work with, and that's sort of what I didn't like of CCLP2 and CCLP3. That's also why I love levels like Cloner's Maze, Stress Fracture and Time Bomb, while I hated levels like To Catch a Thief and Manic Depression, and also the Frog level everyone around seems to love...

It seems you have opposite tastes to me (I left Stress Fracture to almost last.) But that's good, and it shows the diversity that can be in CC.

Have you tried Instable (geodave3.dat level 80)? Simple idea, plenty of time, and lots of room to work with.

[quiznos00]

But take levels like Wars?, Metastable to Chaos, Suicide, Lobster Trap, Teleblock and Victim, for example... They give you A LOT of space to work with, and that's sort of what I didn't like of CCLP2 and CCLP3. That's also why I love levels like Cloner's Maze, Stress Fracture and Time Bomb, while I hated levels like To Catch a Thief and Manic Depression, and also the Frog level everyone around seems to love...

Teleblock? A lot of space?

No.

Anyway, I've been trying to do make wide open levels recently, and they've been turning out pretty well. My latest level was originally smaller, but since it didn't take up much room, I decided to make it larger and expanded some of the room sides. I would encourage everyone else to do the same if they have small levels. Opening small levels to the outside is always neat too, like in Lemmings. I've found the amount of openness in Force Square interesting too.

Also, I really didn't find any of the levels you mentioned memorable or fun (except Metastable to Chaos and Victim), but I may be the minority. I'd consider Slide Step as the greatest open level.

Man, if only the map weren't restricted to 32 x 32 squares...

[rockdet]

I'm going the other way around. I want to make at least one level saturated enough that I'll be satisfied with its looks, which isn't the case right now, Unicorn Rabbit being the closest I've ever been to that objective.

After that, I'll be back to standard open stuff with lots of dodging B)