Once again, a general thanks to everybody for the comments!

I've been a little gummed up on one section of the level (so... many... shifts...), but I wanted to send out a few more screen shots for anybody who was interested.

But first:

@Dragon MC: If you like the level enough that you want me to design something for you some time, just say the word -- countless side projects FTW!

@shawnachu: I might wind up using a couple of custom tilesets before I'm through. I don't like the look of the gray claws in the lava area from the first batch of screenshots, so I might use something custom there, and in some spots I'm finding I want bits and pieces from more than 2 tilesets, so I may make a couple of custom mash-ups.

Also, I figure it's good to share design ideas and motivations, so I wrote up an article about the reasons why I built the first few screens the way I did. It's a long article and I wouldn't fault anyone for not reading it, but if anybody is up for it and finds it useful or interesting (or useless and boring, for that matter), I'd be glad for any comments about it. The article is at my blog (linked in my sig).

Ok, on to the screens:
#1 - A straightforward but spikey jumping challenge
#2 - The east side of the summit of the mountain; this is above the entrance to ruins from the last batch of screens
#3 - The volcanic craig that explains why the ice in the previous shot is melting
#4 - Part of the broken ruins that runs through the volcanic caves

I've recently gotten back into playing Knytt Stories after abandoning it in favor of silly real-life nonsense, and this time I thought I would try my hand at building a level or two.

Really, this level is mostly about level building for its own sake, but I do have a story rumbling around that will probably get played out before the level is finished (it's very standard: betrayal, ancient ruins, older ruins under those, and the disgruntled spirits of the dead). I'd like the level to be challenging without being frustrating just for the sake of being frustrating -- I'm not sure if I'm on the road to achieving that yet or not.

Anyway, screenshots are below (and more are available on my website / blog if you're interested):

#1 - A suitably grim opening
#2 - The obligatory lava area (or is this a magma area? it is underground)
#3 - Part of the road to the double jump (this screen needs polish; it's a little sparse at the moment)
#4 - What you don't see here is the devious jumping puzzle immediately before this room