Ossu and good morning! Got a new episode coming up over here.

https://youtu.be/FRJwljf__Us


This week we're having a look at:

Cascade - ultramarine13
Prismatic Whereabouts - monkeybebe
Wonderful Canyon - rud-54
Fast & Frustrated 2 - Muskwa_1
Colorful World - adan127

Once again we got tagged with Level of the Day-itude on Colorful World. Get out of my head Sumo! Still, a fun set of levels, and a relatively painless episode to put together. Give 'em a play when you've got the time.

Behind the Curtain stuff: :Got episode 36 wrapped up yesterday, which is good. i mean, the buffer gives me some safety in case a rod gets thrown or something, but it's nice to not need to worry about it. On the other hand, seeing a level get picked up for LotD, or get featured on lsrs, and know that my own episode won't be out for another week or so...well, the heck with it, no reason to complain, really.
Quite happy with how the set turned out, there were a lot of moving parts to wrangle, but it was fun. Now, i went and kind of buggered it up adding stuff to it for episode 36, which is another reason i'm happy it's over and done. i think i do still have a clean version of the set at least, if i need it again for something else.
Really need to get a touch quicker with LBsP. i keep running into levels that look like they'd fit the bill faster than i can actually make episodes, so my possibles list is overflowing now. Again, of all the problems i could have, this is probably one of the best to need to deal with.

As always, thanks to all of you for all the support! It's a bit hard to credit that we're almost at the 9month mark, and that's all up to y'all. Have yourselves a great day!

Okee dokee, Tuesday Takeaway time!

Cascade - ultramarine13

The break in the level that i pointed out in the PiP made a comeback, which really cheesed me off since the gods of physics seemed to really be smiling on me this time. The level is a feast for the eyes, and as something to noodle over, though constantly getting stuck behind some of those blue bumpers could really get on my nerves. It is quite long as well, well longer than what was shown in the video; so if it doesn't break on you, it can wear a little.

Prismatic Whereabouts - monkeybebe

That first puzzle was a bit odd, even with the warning in the level select, it just didn't click for me; this is decidedly odd, because monkeybebe makes a pointed effort to mention it right up front. Knowing where everything was made for a much quicker go around this time. It's still overly dim (i really don't get that at all), and the cameras are definitely a touch wonky in some areas, but i feel like i left with a better opinion of it in the end this time.

Wonderful Canyon - rud-54

Man, i just fell in love with this one, and i so wish it were longer. Even though some of the stickers (and the background as well, i think) aren't from the Canyons, it so nails the feel of that area. That it works really well as a beginner's level (just slightly challenging, with things clearly marked out; while maintaining a smooth momentum) is really icing on the cake. i'm really looking forward to more from rud-54.

Fast & Frustrating 2 - Muskwa_1

i wouldn't want to play levels like this one all the time, but sometimes, a body just gets that itch. It's just so tightly put together, most everything feels fair; and it really puts you through your paces. Even though you're getting flung around at top speeds, it feels like progress is dependent on your reactions, and you do have a fair amount of control over what's happening. That seems to be an issue with some rag-doll platformers, you're often very passive in how you interact with the level. There's very little of that here.

Colorful World - adan127

i can see the argument that the playfield is a touch too deep in some areas, though adan seems to do a fairly good job in disguising that with cruft. i do lean a little bit that it's maybe more flat plane running than entirely necessary, but at least there is some verticality to break up the flow a bit (break up the flow in a good way, that is to say you don't always feel like you're doing the same thing). My feelings didn't really change much this go around; it's still quite charming, and the last bit in space still feels fairly superfluous.

So that's the that this go around, no real clunkers, and even the red triangle was kind of a green circle. Everything ought to get a least a try.

Behind the curtains stuff: a bit behind schedule again this week, but nothing serious (i figured it was better to get LBsP - 012 done). The cameras and dialogue should be done today, so we're still on track for a Thursday finish. Something weird came up making the hub this go about, and maybe y'all can tell me if i'm crazy? There were a pair of Japanese mask decorations in The Islands stuff, right? One red one, and one white one? They exist, right? 'cause i couldn't find them in my poppit, and i should have everything. Not having them isn't going to screw anything up, but, they would've looked good here.

Feedback Request

So something that came up with Mijinko, but also in some other episodes, is granularity of gradings at the end. When i started up the series, i wanted to keep things fairly simple and easily parse-able, so the idea of doing the ratings around stoplights felt right. Something someone could see the meaning of at a glance, even if they didn't go through the trouble of watching the whole outro. We added in the the Blue Cloudy-thing, but that hardly sees any use; and later the White Skull, but again, if Entropy is favourable (ha-ha!), we shouldn't need to see that one much either.

The problem is, we run into a fair enough number of levels that aren't really Red Triangles, they function, there's some fun in them, but then they're not really Yellow Squares either in that they've got some major flaws in design or presentation. Because the Red Triangle is so negative, they end up being Yellow Squares by default. i've been thinking of adding in an interstitial rating, an Orange something (i know the shape, but forget the name, you know when they show Leviathan at the end of Hellraiser 2? That shape). i feel like it would give the granularity i need, while still being fairly clear in meaning. The only thing i worry about, i guess, i ratings creep? i don't want to, over time, end up with so many that you'd need a guide to figure them out?

So, let me know your thoughts here, yeah?

Thanks as always for everything, folks. i really appreciate the interest, and i'm glad you're finding something good here. Oh, yeah, i got contacted by StevenI, and that was cool! He wanted to know how i was finding my levels for LBsP. Hrrmmm....