A few months ago I ran into the word "kismet" somewhere. I thought: "That's it! That's my next level title!" It's a word that means "destiny."

I spent a while making a sequel to Shalev to thank a user here for adoring Shalev, which truly has moved me and pushed me to bold creative heights. That level was called Shamira. And that user? Rosa Parks. No actually, play the level and find out, I thank them at the end.

So what do you do after you make a level that was basically a super emotional thank-you? You make a really random epic level, I guess.

Kismet will be my most epic yet, hopefully coming at at least 500 screens but we'll see. Because I always struggle to choose which powerup order to use in my levels, I decided to make a level with a randomized powerup order. I shuffled and drew pieces of paper to determine the order, and if this gives you any idea of just how random it is: the first three powerups are red key, eye, and yellow key. Yeah. It will take a little while to get run, but just imagine how good it will feel when you get it!

Random powerup order=random ideas. So far I've made a spooky graveyard, a medieval kingdom where everyone speaks in "Shakespearean English," surreal and brutal death scenes, a record store, an area based on the US state of Colorado, and more!

Oh, and there will be lots of challenges to please the ChallengeBoys(tm).

The actual plot is this: when knytts turn 23, they go on a quest to find their destiny. Juni is on her quest, and she can get five or so good endings and some bad ones too.

I am really, really inspired by the Clash album known as Sandinista. It's one of my all-time favorite albums and it represents pure all-out creativity--four guys and like 30 session musicians trying everything they can think of and then releasing a triple LP of it all. Go listen to it! It's way better than London Calling (says like 5% of Clash fans including me).

Hopefully Kismet will be out this year!

I made this very quickly after I finished Calexico. Pie_Sniper and I were at a Korean restaurant with another individual named Glenn and we were discussing a documentary called The Deepest Breath which was about people who go "freediving" with no scuba equipment and of course someone died. Then I went on a pro-safety rant which was honestly embarrassing, my eating companions gently made fun of me, and the idea for this level was born.

The upshot is that a knytt died after being scared to death by a ghost, and powerups are now banned.

After this I am going to take a break from making story-heavy levels and work on my sequel to Shalev, which is called Shamira and will have almost no dialogue.

https://knyttlevels.com/levels/Lucinda%20-%20No%20Gameplay%20Allowed%21.knytt.bin

With my first few levels, I imagined myself to be a person who "just doesn't do preview threads" because "I would rather just put out the level!" But after seeing some other people's recent previews, I've realized that making an announcement about it could be a good way to commit to finishing my current project, especially since I'm starting graduate school soon and might get distracted.

To put it simply, this level is a "desert adventure." It's strongly inspired by my own travels in the southwestern United States, but it's made for everyone to appreciate, even people who live in icy European tundras. No insider knowledge required.

The story takes place in a country called Calexico, which borders another country called Sonora. Like in the southwestern USA, there's some political tensions at the border.

With this level I'm throwing out my entire rule book. Instead of tons of backtracking, this level will mostly be a straight line and have design that makes it impossible to backtrack. Instead of tons of story, there will be a super simple story - Juni has to go to her friend's wedding and so she's going there. Of course, as she crosses the landscape I will be throwing in some micro-stories, because my background is writing and I can't ever resist. (I am at least 4 personal transformations away from going full abstract like Polana.) And there will be lots of enemy and jumping challenges, but I intend to make this my easiest level yet.

Some stuff this level has so far:
-Moving wind turbines
-A casino
-Border patrol cops
-A crystal shop
-An underground crystal cult run by a man who calls himself Father Derek
-A part where you temporarily switch to playing as an NPC
-A deserted wasteland with a "flashback" to when it was not a wasteland

I'll post updates here! If you made it this far, cool!

Presenting my third level for Knytt Stories, eight months in the making. This graphics-focused open world adventure was intended to be in the style of my first level, Shalev, but with a sentimental story. It evolved into a massive sound and tileset feast with many people contributing work, including some legit musicians I respect very much.

The story concerns the character from Knytt Nano in her first full-length adventure. I named her Alexandra as it's a name that works both in America (my country) and Sweden (no explanation required). She’s a college student who has recently been dumped by her best friend, Adam. She then finds a portal into a surreal dreamscape. While inside, she and other knytts deal with traumatic memories about death, illness, and heartbreak. It might be over the top, but I'm kinda new to storytelling through games, so whatever!

Have fun! And thank you all for being my friends and supporting my level creations over the past year. I didn't think I would ever make another level for Knytt Stories after Shalev, but here I am.

Version 2:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N6m9X44C-pNud-Cq2nJpXp1PuT2KU0Kv/view?usp=sharing

Duplicate link from archive:
https://knyttlevels.com/levels/Lucinda%20-%20Iasthai%20v2.knytt.bin

Version 2 fixes some small bugs like wallswims and makes it slightly easier/more fair with things like extra saves. I also added a way for a wallswim to turn into a major speedrunning skip, with the aim of tempting DonDoli and Gliperal.

Also, disclaimer: I made some sprites out of Niffcommunity people and put them in the game, but for the most part they're not meant to literally be them. Imagine it's like me using your physical likeness to tell my own story! Now I just seem like a jerk, oops.

At some point I started wishing there was a website that gathered every KS resource in one place. Across the Juniverse by Spriteclad and OpenBooks does that job partially, but I wanted something even more expansive and detailed. So, without further ado, here's my attempt at such a website.

https://www.catherinesinow.com/knyttresources

To tempt you, let me list the categories I've included:
Get Knytt Stories
Get third-party levels
What level should I play?
Help, I'm stuck on a level!
Level making assistance
Game sprite extractions
Custom content packs
Speedruns and TAS
Just for fun
Other fan sites

Have fun

The verdict is in!

SECOND PLACE
StraightFlame - Gustav's Planets https://nifflas.lp1.nl/index.php?topic=7367.msg76420#msg76420
This is a very funny level. It's intentionally bad in every way possible: void screens, plants on layer 3, getting warped to the sky, mixing up Sign and Sign Area, cheesy names ("Planet Lunasky"), creatures walking on air, and misspellings. It also employs high effort attempts to make the level shitty, such as a modified powerup that you don't acquire upon touch. File this next to Badly Built Level and Museum of Bad Lvl Design. It also serves as a commentary on lunatic game physics exploits, almost like a message to Gliperal. This level seems like it was made quickly, and you can feel some of that "fun" element where StraightFlame was flying by the seat of his pants. It's a close race but I am ultimately awarding the first place to Polana, as her level was a high-effort affair and Gustav's Planets comes off as more of a quick, fun project.

FIRST PLACE
Polana - Gustav's Abstraction https://knyttlevels.com/levels/Polana%20-%20Gustav%27s%20Abstraction.knytt.bin
This is basically a remake of Liquid Soap in the style of Gustav's Daughter. The wavy colors tileset is genuinely amazing, and some of the small CO details truly made the level--like the flickering portals, the first implementation of Fubaka's black save points, and the enormous amount of recolored enemies. It's a very well made, high-effort project with great challenges and graphics, but I think due to its two influences, this level lacks a distinct identity. Like Gustav and Juni in the level itself, this level is caught between two worlds. I also found the Nifflas music a bit ineffective in some parts. I did like the use of the waterfall music, as it seemed like a direct tribute to the original waterfall in GD. Also, the hard version is damn hard! People who primarily like KS for its challenges should definitely check this level. A really solid effort overall.

THE VISIONARY AWARD
Shreeps - Gustav's Retribution https://nifflas.lp1.nl/index.php?topic=7391.0
Shreeps ignored my suggestion to keep the level small. He created a truly enormous level that is one of the biggest that this entire game has to offer. Thus, I was not able to finish it, although I did play some of it and watch Anton stream the truly lunatic ending. That's why I'm not ranking it, but giving it its own special category. What I did see was some of the most shockingly creative stuff ever made for this game. For example, the way you "chop down trees" with a key-axe and then collect the logs, which are artifacts; and the "flying" powerup made via invisible wind. I also took note of the way Kilicool64 developed an intense interest in this level and wrote a combined 7,000 words of feedback on the forum (about 13 document pages) and created a nearly 10 hour long playthrough of the level. She also managed to create buzz around Shreeps's previous levels, which haven't been played enough. Thus, I am also giving Kilicool64 an award, which I am calling THE EAGLE EYE AWARD. StraightFlame tested this level, and so he gets a shoutout too.

Participants: if I don't already have your address, please message me yours so I can send you your award.

More submissions are coming too, and they will receive their own acknowledgements.

Original post:

Challenge: make a level inspired by Gustav's Daughter. Some people have already done this, and at least one of them has done an awesome job at it. Now we will continue telling the story of one of our most beloved NPCs.

Rules:

-Must be called "Gustav's ______"
-Gustav must have something or someone locked in his storage room and you need to go on a quest to find the key. So it's a challenge level I guess
-Must have some of those stalactite umbrella jumps like in the original level's cave
-Should probably be on the smaller side--if you want to make a gigantic level, it'd better be pretty impressive
-Must use a "world map" setup. You can use any existing world-mappy tileset or make your own. I attached a few things to help out
-You must start this level from scratch
-These "rules" are all pretty flexible

Prizes: first and second prize and maybe even third prize will receive a handwritten postcard from Lucinda, as long as you live in an area that accepts mail from the United States. It is also possible I may make you a beaded necklace

Presenting my second level, and my first level in five and a half years!

This level is about a small, post-apocalyptic village whose entire culture revolves around obsessing about not going to a nearby area called Vleindergurk. Juni, a teenager in the village, decides to rebel and secretly go.

This level features a lot of baroque classical music, plus a traditional folk song from the far future. And there are no two knytts in this level that look alike!

Download the NEW UPDATED VERSION here which has bug fixes, totally redone cutscenes, smaller file size, and additional polishing.
https://knyttlevels.com/levels/Lucinda%20-%20Vleindergurk%20v2.knytt.bin

Update! Fancy new GC version for 2024! Download here! This KS+ version requires 50 golden creatures to win. I also added a few new rooms, some more graphics and ambiance polish, normalized audio, a previously unused song buried in the level files, and many other small tweaks for a subtly improved playing experience. I received help from Lit Knob and Kilicool64.

I plan on releasing a vanilla v3 before too long.

-------Original post-------

My first level for Knytt Stories, about two months in the making. Explore a lost society and discover its most prized artifact! You'll find a treehouse, a palace, a farm fueled by waterfalls, and some mysterious ruins...

Download here. (Version 2 with some tiny changes!)

Music by Unwell
Art by Minnow and Caroline Li

Thank you so much to ixMarcel, SilasMann/xZilas, and egomassive for beta testing (especially egomassive due to his keen eye for detail)