Still working on this one, too, although I do have to admit I got pretty sidetracked by making two entire, new, small levels in the past few months, and starting to conceptualise my next big project, too.

Five new screens since last count; unfortunately still having major issues with the actual level design. I don't think this will ever be anything but an (interesting? hopefully?) mess.

I thought I'd commented on this already but maybe that was in the course of a conversation in some other thread. This was one of the first bigger levels I played on my return to KS after ten years, this summer, and it's a great one. It has a very classic feel, in all the best ways - an austere and meditative beauty. Will probably replay sometime soon, just to take in the atmosphere again.

One night Juni gets up to get a glass of water, and finds that instead of her apartment, outside her bedroom door is – The Night Building.

The Night Building is vast. It is a dream/nightmare of the Brutalist-Gothic sublime. It is architecture made of architecture; architecture grown rampant. It confounds ideas of “inside” and “outside”. Its architecture becomes landscape. Its landscape is architecture. Were its mountainous walls and cavernous halls built or grown? Who can tell? The Night Building’s windows and doors are endless but you will never find another soul in it.

***

This will be an exploration level with meticulously designed screens, but this time I’m trying to do it with an overarching concept, a strong sense of visual cohesion, and hopefully even a little bit of “gameplay” beyond the pure exploration.

The level size will probably be around 200-300 screens, although of course it’s hard to tell, this early. I have concepts for around 30 different areas at the moment, but not all of them may make it in; and more/others may be added. Also, area size will vary.

This level wears its influences on its sleeve. Tsutomo Nihei’s Blame! is in there (more strongly in some parts than others); Limasse5’s exploration platformer NaissanceE, itself a tribute to Blame!, is in there, too (again, more strongly in some parts than others). In lesser known influences there is certainly a fair bit of “La Structure”, from the short-lived (but maybe some day to be continued? I live in hope...) French comic Ascensions by Bouss – this latter most notably in the way the Night Building, unlike Nihei’s megastructure, is teeming with vegetation (at least in some areas).

Most of all, though, this level comes from my dreams. Throughout my life, every once in a while I’ve been dreaming of strange, disorienting, vast architecture. They’re eerie dreams, eerie places, though not exactly frightening. I enjoy them. They feel Important. This level is the first thing I’ve ever managed to put them into.

(I'd like to add two gifs to the preview pictures, but they're too big so I'm going to have to make them separate posts.)

ETA: Or can I add them like this....
ETA2: No, I can't. Ok, until I figure out how to actually make them appear in this post or another, here's links to them on Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1re4F8TCHKQaAi4uP6vlTpeIoy7-dnMns/view?usp=drive_link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-t_vr5_ZqonINv0_RgLgYMTrv12BwbSI/view?usp=drive_link

Already said this elsewhere but: I like this! As a challenge, it's well designed (even if a few areas were pretty tough); and I enjoy the visuals, too, especially of the blue pixelated area and the two circle-segment based areas.

I'm very curious now about the haunted house version that might have been, though! That's a great looking swimming pool!

Updated version! One new secret! For details, see start of thread.

Thanks, Polana!

There are five endings and two locked rooms, in total.

Quote from: Hmpf on November 25, 2023, 12:18:32

So, I think the tileset was used very well here, both the choice of making the ground/walls consist of lots of separate blocks and the placement of plants, and I especially appreciated the underwater plants. (HOW??? The water object seems to be the default one, so it shouldn't be transparent..?! What am I missing?)

It's because of the overlay function in KS+, I put the plants on layer 2 and water on layer 4, enable overlay and voila - plants underwater. I use this function quite liberally in my upcoming KS+ level

Seems like that is one KS+ function I urgently need to learn about...

and emulate it in my also upcoming KSEx

K...Sex? o.O

(I'm sorry, that was the part of my brain that is eternally 13 years old. But also, I really don't know what that means. Anyway, probably more of a convo for the Discord. )

level because water without underwater stuff now looks so boring to me. Be careful though because it makes objects on layer 7 literally untouchable.

Also I'm really glad you like both of these two levels.

It's great to come back to so much great stuff!

I haven't quite finished playing this yet (got the "normal" ending and have collected one of the other two additional keys so far) but I can already say that this is one of the most gorgeous and unusual-looking KS levels I have ever played. Takes me right back to Andalusian summer holidays!