[Scenic][Normal][Medium] Paradise Maze (Demo)

This is a level that I started working on three months ago, and just finished making a demo which contains the first area of the level. I planned on separating this level into an introduction area and the actual maze part, so that means despite being called "Paradise Maze" this demo doesn't contain any maze elements yet. Aside from some small experiments, this is also the first level I've made

It's a story about Juni who moves away from the big cities to a small, reclusive island, not only to escape from her troubles but also because many sages live on there. Like many other knytts who visit this island for just a short while, Juni is hoping that these sages will be able to share some wisdom with her, maybe letting her understand the meaning of life and why she sometimes has such a difficult time dealing with others.

I'm not entirely sure if I will be able to finish this level. My motivation was highest when I started working on this, and I've found recently that I don't care quite as much about telling this story as I used to. Perhaps this will come back though, and I'll continue my work on the level anyways, just not as quickly as before. (Also, I have a portion of the maze finished already that is about as big as this demo.)

If I do finish this though, the final level will probably have the tags [Misc/Maze][Normal][Large]. The maze also won't be a regular maze as you would imagine it, it will contain many other elements as well! Also, it might just be a little confusing.

Here's the

download link

of the level, and I'll leave you with some screenshots

I already told you how much I liked what I've played so far...

It's a nice level, but it feels a bit aimless.
Besides that, I thought it was a really lovely level. I hope you finish it one day.

There's a lot going on in your little level. I do really like your design... its very aesthetically pleasing, and visually interesting without being overwhelmed. There is a lot to read, maybe a little too much.

I do hope you get to finish this, though. If it means anything to you, I honestly have a sense of satisfaction after I finished my level, even though only two people played it.  

This isn't all that bad for a first level, and I'm glad you elected to release a demo for us so you could get feedback.

That said, I do have a lot of feedback for you.

Firstly, I find the level design to be a bit messy. All the screens are a tad overcrowded, and the lay of the land makes very little sense. For instance, the main area consists of a weird combination of caves hills and lakes that is sandwiched into layers. I'm really not sure what to make of this place and it's too easy for me to get lost.

In addition to that, you use a lot of tiles as main layer floor tiles that really shouldn't be. Strictly speaking, it should be obvious to tell which platforms you can step on and which you can't. (Unless you are deliberately trying to fool the player) For example, the Flower Garden tileset you used in the first area has a block of black-outline land tiles that are really the only things that should be walked on. The rest is background decoration. The same goes for the NotDesert tileset.

Similarly, if you use platforms that have the same type of outline (like the Dark Mountain Lake tileset), they should either both be walkable, or neither should be. Doing otherwise confuses the player and could cause frustration in certain challenges.

If you really want this level to go places, I suggest you get some custom tilesets done. If you can't do them yourself, find some in this thread or get someone to make some for you. Additionally, it helps to use music that isn't from the standard Nifflas levels. As you might have noticed by now, Knytt Stories takes .ogg files for its levels. If you can't convert them yourself, ask one of us, and we will do it granted it doesn't break any copyright laws to do so.

On a gameplay standpoint, I was never quite sure where I was going, and kind of just ran all over the map to get the things I needed. I would highly recommend you restructure your level from the ground up so that places are more readily identifiable. By that, I mean that you specifically know which way to go to get to the sages and you know where the rift is from the start. Also, when I talked to the sage elder, I didn't actually realize that I had gotten the hologram powerup from (him?) until I checked my inventory. I actually wasted a good deal of time trying to track down that powerup cause I didn't know I had it already.

I suppose that's all that could be said for now. If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'll be here, as will others.