[Environmental/Normal/Small - KS+] I Chased the Moon (V2 released)

The trick to getting into the upper part of the lighthouse was very clever, well-executed, helpfully-clued without being overly obvious, and a nice change of pace from most KS 'challenges' that tend to be more about luck or reflexes.

• the CO boat at the left side of the starting island

Classic games such as Metroid and Zelda strike me as odd where the character starts in an area with no explanation as to how they got there; I wanted to show how Juni ended up on the small island where this starts. I originally drew the boat for another level and this is the second time I've recycled it (lazy Talps). It was meant to be a felucca!

• the changing skies all the way down to the water if Juni umbrella-jumps left off the top of the lighthouse
• so many little details, like the porthole-windows up the sides of the lighthouse in both inside and outside view

Little details like that are so obvious when they're not there. Even if a player doesn't notice them, they build up immersion.

• how very perfect the music you chose was for the mood, poem & visuals

Isaac Shephard! A few of his tracks were used in and released with an online flash game I played many years ago.

• the extra-starry sky backgrounds

I like the starry sky in the default list, but I wanted a blacker one. The changing sky gives a sense of the progression of time. The darker sky gives a real sense of the lateness of the night.

• the gibbous moon

Gibbous is a good word. Full moon was too bland. Half looks like a piece of cheese. Crescent was too small. Gibbous is perfectly recognisable and not a cliche! (Speaking of cliche, did anyone ever manage to read the text on the lighthouse generator?)

• and the way it stayed ahead of Juni no matter which way she was going

For most of this level I used my tried-and-tested technique of having the astral body jump one tile in the opposite direction to the player with every screen transition. There are areas where it doesn't move, where it was fitting. And I knew it would need to stay on the right side of the screen for the ending, so I used areas where it was hidden for long periods, like climbing the mountains and the long caves, to move it around, and to transition between moving it screen by screen and keeping it still (the bridge is framed by obstacles).

• superb use of Sergio's & Fredrik Andersson's beautiful tilesets

Sergio very kindly agreed to create a night version of his tileset for my use, and to create more background tiles for me to use as a mid-ground. The level wouldn't have been half so good if he hadn't done so, so thanks to him! Fredrik Andersson's forest was so perfect for the serene darkness of the opening. I wasn't so happy with the way I used the rocks at the end - one day I will work out how to use that tileset well!

• the ghost bird (used so rarely, but perhaps never so fittingly as here)

Originally I wanted to have shooting stars in that screen, but I couldn't make them look good. The non-ghost version of that bird was too brightly coloured to fit but the ghost bird blended in well and added the interest the screen needed.

• the little log-cabin village with everyone asleep inside
• except that one house where either Juni passing or the dog reacting to her makes someone turn a light on
• and the other house where the lights turn off just after Juni passes it near sunrise (must be night owls)

I was really happy with how those houses turned out - my best ever, I think. And I can't thank Raicuparta enough for the brilliance of the window and lighthouse light effects he made for me - Rai, you rock! Houses in the backgrounds of KS levels are pretty common and I was struck by the idea of making them a little more interactive, adding some sparkle to an old idea, by making the lights in the windows change. When I made it I wondered if anyone would notice but loads of people have gotten excited about them . A simple idea that proved really effective.

• just when I was expecting the end of the level... more level! (the caves)
• the perfect pre-dawn sky hues
• the last stars fading into the pre-dawn light before the descent

I talked above about transitions and the passage of time. I'm not so happy myself with the colour of my foredawn sky and the colour-change of the moon it made necessary. Wish I'd put a little more thought into that.

• you got the moon's dark side right, KU5D4FYI7DCVGHJM,

To be honest, I just went with what I thought looked better - but maybe my subconscious knew what it was doing. I put a lot of thought into which moon to use and I never doubted my choice.

• the extended credits at the end cutscene, which really gave the level the sense of closure it deserved
• the very last page of the ending cutscene, with the moon setting into the water out of sight of the shore

I wanted the end credits to reiterate the journey, beginning at the lighthouse and going over the mountains. Removing Juni from the screens gave a sense of life going on in the world even when she wasn't around to see it. Originally I planned to reuse the level's music in the ending cutscene but when I came to make it, the ocean ambiance just seemed so much more evocative (even if I had just done the same thing in another level). I'm still a little disappointed that I didn't manage to find a place for the music track without any ambiance, but the ocean ending was just too effective. [/list]