[Environmental][Small/Medium?] Seventeen

Here's a level I started for Egomassive's recent competition. The theme was "real life", so the level had to be built around some problem we may encounter in our lives, and also have a realistic world. Here, Juni's cat ran away from home and is now lost somewhere at one of the city's dumpyards. Juni came to find her cat!

links not allowed in level previews.

The beta is 14 screens long and has a single ending, which is the bad ending. You can't find the cat yet, sorry. I'm not sure I'll ever finish this, since I don't really have too many ideas about how to expand it and I can't find any proper dumpyard tilesets. Enjoy!

This looks very good, and it seems like it could turn into something epic. Might I try to do stuff to your tileset?

Hey, it is a very original idea for an environmental level. Looks pretty good. Hope you decide to finish it someday

Also, it's funny that you decided to make your contest entry about a garbage dump. Judging from yours and my own entry, which was about Juni taking out the trash... I think we can conclude that real life is really full of rubbish

This looks very good, and it seems like it could turn into something epic. Might I try to do stuff to your tileset?

Thank you! Sure, only it's not my tileset, its several tilesets by various people (including a community tileset). I would particularly love to have some, you know, real garbage heaps, like the ones in the background here, but um, color and everything, for the foreground. Textures like http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_428/12500813977580EF.jpg and stuff protruding out from them. Eh.

Hey, it is a very original idea for an environmental level. Looks pretty good. Hope you decide to finish it someday

Thanks! I do hope it'll become a full level eventually.

Also, it's funny that you decided to make your contest entry about a garbage dump. Judging from yours and my own entry, which was about Juni taking out the trash... I think we can conclude that real life is really full of rubbish

Haha, yes, I've noticed that

Several months ago I posted at the KS level editing support board, asking if anyone could provide me with a garbage/trash tileset for this level (http://nifflas.lpchip.nl/index.php?topic=3634.0). Unfortunately, it seems nobody could; and without a tileset like that I'm unable to continue this. I wish it could happen, but I just don't have the necessary pixel art skills to create the tiles I need on my own. It's a great pain to have to say this, but this level is shelved indefinitely.

I really wanted to make those tilesets for you, but I felt like I'd already volunteered my services to too many projects. That's still the case. Maybe we could work on this in the future when we've both completed some of the things we're doing now.

I really wanted to make those tilesets for you, but I felt like I'd already volunteered my services to too many projects. That's still the case. Maybe we could work on this in the future when we've both completed some of the things we're doing now.

Wow, I'd be very happy to work with you! I've sent you a PM.

I'd love to have played the demo.  How's it feel to be forced into a real setting? 

I'd love to have played the demo.  How's it feel to be forced into a real setting? 

I'll PM you the link And surprisingly, it wasn't too limiting... 

Ok, that was a fun start to a level.  It felt natural for the most part, though it had the standard massive-holes-in-the-ground that only seem to exist in games.  However, I have one BIG complaint.  There where WAY too many object on level 3 that would have been better on level 2 or below.  You even have me climbing up the shovel! 

There where WAY too many object on level 3 that would have been better on level 2 or below.  You even have me climbing up the shovel! 

  Well, I'll have to look into that. Actually, I remember doing such things because I wanted exploring to feel like an actual dumpyard where you'd have a lot of objects in your way, movement impeded by stuff, etc. I guess it didn't work very well.

Hmm... I guess that makes sense, but it plays very jarringly and feels like a mistake.  Incidentally, it is the kind of thing that I've seen in your "weird" levels, but it fits there.  In a real world level, it is a bit odd.  Perhaps if you do it selectively and add a Juni comment like "Man, this junk yard has a lot of junk to climb over," it would come off more intentional. 

A lot of junk in a junk yard... who'd a thought it?

Hmm... I guess that makes sense, but it plays very jarringly and feels like a mistake.  Incidentally, it is the kind of thing that I've seen in your "weird" levels, but it fits there.  In a real world level, it is a bit odd.  Perhaps if you do it selectively and add a Juni comment like "Man, this junk yard has a lot of junk to climb over," it would come off more intentional. 

Sounds like a good idea. Also, this reminds me to fix that problem in the expanded Moonlight...

Part of Headgrinder's reaction may be due to the fact that we're used to this sort of thing being a mistake. I had the same reaction until I realized that everything was an obstacle. Then, I knew it was intentional and it made sense from a game-art point of view. Tempering, this effect may make the level harder to navigate. You won't know what's solid and what isn't.

However from a gameplay point of view, it's annoying to get snagged on every little thing. You end up jumping constantly which undermines the realism. Technically, it opens the door for lots and lots of standing-on-thin-air moments. This all adds up to focusing too much on the movement mechanics and not enough immersion in the level.

I guess I'm sort of in the middle on this one.