This week's episode stumbles into the room here.

We're taking a look at

An Adventure in Cardboard - TheTrueBurntL
Lost in the Enchanted Library - agentztyler
Stück für Stück - ellkos
Davinci's Spider Lair - HELLYEAH1982
The Molten Mines - shookie_monster

Peeking behind the curtain time...this episode was cursed. The hub was supposed to be just a simple interstitial thing because i hadn't gotten an idea for how to get back into the regular hub, that somehow ended up taking almost 2weeks to put together. Everytime i sat down to record, something would come up. Prompts for Mei and Frank that were working fine in Create Mode, would suddenly not work in Play. Trying to record the hub bits and i kept flubbing my lines, like i mentioned last post. And to cap it off, i screwed up the editing not once, but twice (don't ask). i'm hoping i've used up the 6episodes of bad luck in this one.

Still, i'm pretty happy with how it turned out, and hopefully my pain (mostly sarcastic here) will translate into your enjoyment (that part's honest). The levels we picked up were all pretty fun, and benefited from a more thorough look. i'm glad i'm getting the chance to bring them to y'all, hopefully you're finding a few that you get some fun out of.

Thanks for everything, folks! i appreciate all the support and feedback.

Thank you for sharing. I recommend playing Little nightmares by ramkibainu. His level to the game of Tarsier studios is great!

Ossu! Time for the Tuesday Takeaway!

An Adventure in Cardboard - TheTrueBurntL

Like we said in the video, this is a solid first level from TheTrueBurntL. For the most part we see none of the usual first level mistakes on display. There's a coherence to the level, a smattering of gameplay elements, and a few nice, simple flourishes to give it a little distinction (putting the stickers on wobble bolts was a nice touch). There are a few issues that could be polished up. In a few areas, the field is probably a bit deeper than entirely necessar;, in the starting area it's easy to miss the music switch because of this, and the later issue with the checkpoint not triggering. Still, it's a promising start, and is a fun, if short, experience as a level itself.

Lost in the Enchanted Library - agentztyler

i did appreciate this one a bit more the third go through. It's a solid Toggle level, which, really, how often can we say? The presentation of the moving elements are all pretty cool, the books were all rocking. The level presentation itself, could definitely use a little polish. There are thin layer bits behind some of the platforming elements that aren't quite big enough to cover up gaps, for example. It's not a big thing, but it is noticeable. We see layer launcher issues here, as well. i'm starting to think they should just be written off, to be honest, they seem to throw the player out of level somehow in almost every level i see them. One thing of note, the music, while pretty cool, may not be a real good match for the kinda-sorta-spooky theme tyler seems to be going for.

Stück für Stück - ellkos

This one kind of went int he other direction for me. The animated elements are still pretty cool, and i appreciate the music still...but the lack of direction (or the presence of misdirection) is kind of grating even knowing the general layout of the stage. It feels like there could have been a bit more playtesting done, making sure jumps weren't too pixel perfect, and making sure things are relatively clear to the player. While i don't think it's bad to have a variety of elements that serve the same purpose (here i'm thinking the climbing bits), the more there are, the more clear they need to be, i think. If you've got lots and lots present, it's easy for things to get confusing, and important details to get lost in the cruft. i do think the level is worth a look, though i think three times through is enough for me.

DaVinci's Spider Lair - HELLYEAH1982

i have to say, it was a lot of fun to say the creator's name in the episode. i don't think my feelings shifted overmuch here, and the issues present in the video are still there; though who knows? Maybe it'll get updated. i do think a little more thought could've been put into checkpoint placement, though. It's hard to say quite what i'm thinking here, but...i think obstacle areas can be considered coherent set-pieces, linked by a particular type of hazard or gameplay element. Checkpoints should (to my mind) be placed at the beginnings of these areas, so death doesn't require the player to cross too much unrelated ground. i'm not sure if that's getting across well, i'm going to have to prod it a bit more in my mind, i think.

The Molten Mines - shookie_monster

A solid, professional looking level here. Something i found interesting was it seemed to be set up almost like a Story Mode stage, not intended to be well played the first time through. i think the idea here is you need to go through at least once to get a good idea of the layout, and how the puzzles/obstacles are going to be working. It's the second or third playthrough where things are really going to click. i don't know how many players will return to a community level after a go through. i wonder, if it weren't required in order to get all the collectables, how many players would go back to the Story Mode levels, for that matter (that's not intended to be snark about their quality, although i feel a little snark could be thrown at times). With the plethora of available great games to play, how many folks will return again (or again and again) to something already beaten (and no, Isaac doesn't count, because it is the greatest...Nier: Automata doesn't either, 'cause it's freaking art). Oh...back to the stage. The recurring, slightly tweaked and altered obstacles and hazards...this is a simple, but very good technique for building out levels.

So...there it is. We're in the midst of putting together this Friday's episode, it's a much easier one to set up, so i don't feel nearly as much stress as last week. This is good, because even clearing Nier's 5main endings, i find myself hooked for a completely fresh playthrough. Oh, and also, i got Persona5. i may have been drunk, though this has turned out to be a good choice, 'cause P5 is pretty great.

Everyone, thanks as always for the support. i'm glad to hear these are still being enjoyed. Our halfway point is coming up in episode 26, and i'm planning to do a double. That is to say, one regular episode, and one behind the scenes one where we'll look at how things get put together and how levels get found/chosen. if anyone has any questions you'd like to ask about the series, or anything really, let me know here, or in a PM. Names will be mentioned unless you ask me not to (in which case, a PM is probably a better choice).

Hope you're all well, and have a great day!