My thoughts so far...

[rockdet]

[img]<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2017_10/blog-0553348001372539959.jpg.f3f28ebf1552870d62870987dc126b82.jpg[/img]After yesterday's stream of Giraffe set, discussing with other players and reading your thoughts on what I've already played, I feel that I have to write this. I've pointed out issues in the stream itself, but with 3 watchers, I was not expecting a miracle, also given the fact that they're in the CCLP1 staff so they probably already have some form of consciousness about the whole thing as well.



First point and most important point to make, if you had to read and remember only one thing about that whole charade, that would be it. We're making a community pack, so everything should be in there. Someone's favourite level isn't necessarily a best fit for CCLP1, and so far that's what I've noticed with you guys. I feel too many levels are currently victim of their "hit or miss" factor, making them absurdly low in the rankings just because they don't happen to be of the right type...



So, liking a level doesn't mean it fits in the mould, and disliking it doesn't mean it doesn't. Before going ape about a level (because you don't like the type or you haven't gotten the gimmick), you might want to stop and understand its purpose, and analyse what it could bring to CCLP1. I've seen way too much negative things about pearls, just because it doesn't suit one's particular taste. Also, dying in a level shouldn't make the rating go down. Dying has to be expected, and who wouldn't die while playing the original 149? I dare say no one. So we could probably do with a little more thinking and a little less selfishness, perhaps, maybe, question mark?



As part of the staff, I'm going to tell you right now that our first priority in building this set will always be variety. Again, we're making a community pack. As veterans, we probably all hate playing a long and basic maze. But truth is, we still need some of those. Why? Try playing 100 itemswappers in a row, and as you blaze through, just realize how your mood would wear off. Yeah, exactly, the magic slowly dies and the whole thing gets heavier and heavier. This is why we certainly don't want to go "this-level-is-the-best-let's-have-149-copies-of-it-into-the-product". But wait, more than that : we have some of those mazes in the voting, and they're pretty darn gosh good! So why voting them down just because we don't like playing them?! That feels so selfish to me... What I like to do when playing a level is comparing it to the best levels I know of this particular type. If it's a dodging level (and you know I love them dodging levels), I'll ask myself if it's the best we could do for CCLP1 in terms of dodging. Same goes with every other type.

How about I give you some personal favourites now? These are some levels that in my opinion are worthy of CCLP1, from what I've played so far (which is not a lot). They're not all there, some I've loved a lot as well, but here's at least some thoughts about some particular levels I've enjoyed a lot :



-- From Giraffe



Sleeping Dragon : Amazing concept, I haven't seen enough levels where you have to drain the exit path. The only thing I had against that one is the partial post trick involving the blocks, which makes me place that in late game situation.

Cross Over : A very creative maze, not much else to say. Very well crafted.

A (Mostly) Simple Maze : When I finished this, I stopped and thought "what did I just play?!" We need something like that in the early game, and I love the fact that you can solve it 358 different ways.

Finding : It felt like one of those Hidden Danger ones, where you just keep on rambling everywhere not exactly understanding what's going on and eventually find yourself collecting everything. Pretty great.

-- From Cardboard



Blobs on a Plane : Was it to be expected from rockdet or anything?! Despite dying quite a lot when I played it (which isn't a bad thing), it was exciting and deserves a spot in the major league for me.

Courtyard : I never praised this level enough, everything about it screams win.

-- From Flouncy



Balls. : This level reminded me of Four Square, it really made me smile a lot.

Secret Passages : An amazing level, a maze without feeling like a maze. I'd be clearer with the chip hint thing, but nonetheless a fantastic composition.



This is rockdet signing out, keep up the good voting job folks!

[geodave]

I second and third the variety point. The fact that you and I almost never agree on what levels we like is a GOOD THING. In the original CC it never seemed like you were playing two similar levels (except TOTALLY UNFAIR -- and that had a point.) We need to strive for that kind of variety. We don't need super-complex levels like those in CCLP3, but we do need to present the player with all the vast possibilities available from what is really a pretty small starting set of game functions.

[jblewis]

The only two "similar" levels that I'd be interested in seeing in CCLP1 together, though not consecutively, are "Brickwalled" and "Brickwalled Again," both of which just happen to be in the Baguette Pack by complete random chance. (No joke!) Both are wonderfully designed blue wall mazes that remove much of the frustration of having to push on every tile in the map by defining much of where the player can go with its bricklayered blue wall layout and slightly open floor tile space. The former is just a simple key-swapper with a few keys, but the latter amps up the difficulty a bit by removing the keys, putting in a bunch of chips scattered around the map, and most notably, adding a few bugs to the mix, which create a challenge that is interesting without being annoying. The open floor tile space allows for some dodging without confining the player to a dead end in a corner if a bug approaches, unlike levels like "Fleep" (Shampoo #14), where the player would be trapped. All in all, I highly recommend these two levels.