[Challenge/Size:Med/Dif:Normal to Hard] Run the Gauntlet: Prolouge

Alrighty. Here is my second level "Run the Gauntlet: Prolouge" Part of a level competition with the theme of "Corruption"  
The story line was inspired by the video game Portal.

It is the introduction to the next part of the story which is already in the works. So, consider this part 0 if you will.

It has 2 tilesets made by myself. (Which include small bits of tilesets made by Nifflas and LPChip)

There is one secret area so keep your eyes open. (Shouldn't be too hard to find though)

Let me know how you like it!
Run the Gauntlet: Prologue
Have fun!

Nice, I liked it. Great tilesets, and a nice intriguing story, will be sure to check out the next part.
Being just a prologue to the main level, I guess this was really just as an introduction to the story, because most of it was cutscenes and dialogue, and not a lot of action. But as I said, this was just a prologue and I trust that in the actual level there will be a better balance between dialogue and action.

Have no fear. The next part will have much more action included. Part of the reason this level had low action is because I wanted the areas in the next part to be original. Granted, revisiting old areas would be kinda fun.

And I do agree that there is a lot of cutscenes in this level  Sometimes I get carried away.

Glad you liked it though I'm hoping to have the next part finished by early January before school starts again.
Oh, quick note to those of you who have already found the secret area:

And I do agree that there is a lot of cutscenes in this level  Sometimes I get carried away.

I know exactly what you mean. I fear that I might still be having some long dialogue in the level I'm currently working at, hopefully, there is enough action to compensate

Oh, and I forgot to say something about the secret area:

Saying this as one participant in the competition to another, this is really good! Pretty much going to give my level a run for my money, if I'm being honest. (Then again, considering how badly I botched the contest I ran when I won, maybe that's a good thing.) Seriously though, can't wait to see the full level in January.

Oh, and I forgot to say something about the secret area:

Spoiler: (click to show/hide)

I managed to get through it after just a couple of tries, but then it was too hard to come back, so I just moved on. If you make some secret areas in the future (and you should, those are always welcome specially for more linear levels) I'd say try to make it a bit more subtle because all those creatures made it kinda obvious that there would be something on that other side. But then again, maybe that was the point the whole time.

When I made that part, I was really just trying to make an area impassable to force players upwards. Yet I wanted to do it with baddies rather than simply blocking the player from continuing that direction. But once I realized that I could get through it I slapped a secret area in there. And I do agree that getting out is harder than getting in. I was just too lazy to make 2 mouse clicks to remove that one meanie 

But yeah, finding that balance between dialogue and game-play is tricky. In fact, I had to redo the whole "meeting" cut scene because I was adding everything my mind thought would be a good addition 

@Healy. Thank you. I'm glad you like it. I'm sure your entry will be great too though!

Really enjoyed this. Reminds me of the first Half Life. The way it ended felt like a good setup for the next chapter. Looking forward to that. And, it was pretty polished too. I didn't run into any voids or wall swims, the challenges were fair and fun, and the original graphics were decent. My only gripe would be how the opening area lacked distant background elements.

Really enjoyed this. Reminds me of the first Half Life. The way it ended felt like a good setup for the next chapter. Looking forward to that. And, it was pretty polished too. I didn't run into any voids or wall swims, the challenges were fair and fun, and the original graphics were decent. My only gripe would be how the opening area lacked distant background elements.

Spoiler: about the bonus (click to show/hide)

I was pretty disappointed after receiving the bonus to find that those other locked passages didn't lead anywhere. The extra power-ups allow you to enter all sorts of voids if you backtrack. I guess it doesn't matter since it's obviously just added for fun, but I was hoping to find something cool.

That's very funny that you point out how it ends like half life 1. That's my favorite video game series. And I didn't intend a similarity but it is very similar...
Hmmmm. Now even more plot ideas just came up Haha.
I'll also look into adding back ground objects in the starting area.
Well, thanks egomassive. You have been a major help.

Edit: Added updated version.

Note to fellow competitors: If you consider me updating my level as unfair, let me know and I'll take the updated version down until the contest is over.  

Great level!

But yeah, finding that balance between dialogue and game-play is tricky. In fact, I had to redo the whole "meeting" cut scene because I was adding everything my mind thought would be a good addition 

Your level is within the area of that balance.

Great level!

Spoiler: (click to show/hide)

Quote from: LordMarzog on December 15, 2011, 18:00:09

-Made it much easier to exit secret area once inside it. (Thanks to Raicuparta for mentioning that it was hard to leave that area)

Why??! It wasn't that hard at all. Having secret areas that are harder than the level is totally fine.
I agree that the secret area is obvious, simply because there is a path to it :)

Glad you enjoyed it 

Nice that you edited the level based on my feedback, but I just want to make my opinion a little bit more clear:
When making a level, I think it's anoying to have parts that are too frustrating to get through, like completely unpredictable and really hard to beat. That is why I usually avoid very difficult levels. BUT, in my opinion, when it comes to secret areas, as long as it is POSSIBLE to reach the secret (and eventually come back with it to a save point), anything is fair game. I think the difficulty of a level should be based on the main path of that level, and the secret areas would be there for either the hardcore players or for people who explore every single screen. I just pointed that I couldn't make it back, but that is because I'm generally bad at KS

Awesome ! I haven't seen anything like this before.