[Scenic/Challenge] The Tower of Joy

In honor of the Season 5 Game of Thrones premier today, I've decided to release my first level: a little homage called The Tower of Joy. This little tour probably won't mean a lot to you unless you're familiar with the source work, but you might enjoy the sights and challenges.

Criticism is welcome.

Download v2 here.


There is one secret ending, and it requires finding all the secrets.
Hint:


EDIT: Version 2 has been released! Changes:

I've read only half of the first GoT book and not seen any of the program, so I don't know any of the text was about. But I played it through!

I found it ok. The first section was a little dull, though that might be because, as I said, I didn't get the text. And the invisible maze... well, they're always a mistake (C.F. the one in my level, 'Eurydice'). It was only a few screens long and not so hard which was a relief, but as I learned the hard way, it's a thing not to include in your games; it's always much harder, much less fun, than you think, if only because the player doesn't know how nasty or nice you've been and therefore can only worry about it.

But apart from that I enjoyed it. As the second half got more challenging, it was fun. I liked some of the challenges and traps you made, and the savepoints were nicely generous in the difficult areas, though some of the saves were a bit too close to the edges of new screens. There was a time I ran into an area (it was the first save after one on top of the fountain), ran over a save straight away, tried to double back to activate it and fell into a pit of spikes.

Scenery was pretty good with the style you were going for. Overall I felt I had fun playing it through.

And it was nice to see my tileset in there.

I'm a big Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire fan, so I really liked the inspiration behind your level. The surreal atmosphere reminded me of similar scenes in the books (like Bran's green dream or the House of the Undying). I really enjoyed my playthrough and I might be going back soon to find the secrets.

The linear structure worked well for your kind of level, but sometimes I felt a little trapped and too much "on rails" (like Juni hitting invisible walls at the edge of the screen during the falling sections). I also experienced that running-over-savepoints-thing that Talps described. Apart from that it was a very enjoyable, cohesive level, especially for a first.

I hope to see more from you!  

I've read only half of the first GoT book and not seen any of the program, so I don't know any of the text was about. But I played it through!

I found it ok. The first section was a little dull, though that might be because, as I said, I didn't get the text. And the invisible maze... well, they're always a mistake (C.F. the one in my level, 'Eurydice'). It was only a few screens long and not so hard which was a relief, but as I learned the hard way, it's a thing not to include in your games; it's always much harder, much less fun, than you think, if only because the player doesn't know how nasty or nice you've been and therefore can only worry about it.

But apart from that I enjoyed it. As the second half got more challenging, it was fun. I liked some of the challenges and traps you made, and the savepoints were nicely generous in the difficult areas, though some of the saves were a bit too close to the edges of new screens. There was a time I ran into an area (it was the first save after one on top of the fountain), ran over a save straight away, tried to double back to activate it and fell into a pit of spikes.

Scenery was pretty good with the style you were going for. Overall I felt I had fun playing it through.

And it was nice to see my tileset in there.

Spoiler: (click to show/hide)

I found the detector only because I read your hint, but only found one other secret. I'm not into secret-hunting enough to go looking for the others.

Thank you so much for playing and taking the time to critique and comment. I think I learned a lot making this, and from the critique, and will incorporate the feedback if/when I make another level.

Hopefully the one secret you found wasn't the pitch-black maze room, because that was by far the least forgiving... and based on your feedback, would probably be the most frustrating secret in the game. I will say that if you ever find the urge to play the level again (or open it up in the level editor) the "secret ending" contains a far more difficult set of acrobatic challenges than the main level. I guess its always a risk doing that, hiding some of the better content in secret areas.

I'm a big Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire fan, so I really liked the inspiration behind your level. The surreal atmosphere reminded me of similar scenes in the books (like Bran's green dream or the House of the Undying). I really enjoyed my playthrough and I might be going back soon to find the secrets.

Thank you so much for your feedback, it means a lot!

The linear structure worked well for your kind of level, but sometimes I felt a little trapped and too much "on rails" (like Juni hitting invisible walls at the edge of the screen during the falling sections).

I would have liked to make them wrap-around... but alas, I have no idea how to do that. 

I hope to see more from you!  

Thank you, I hope to make more! Also, if you really liked the story/content/scenery, you might also really like the secret ending, so be sure to look for it if you decide to play again. (All secrets have the green-glow detector hint.)

I have made a review for this level.

You can find it here: http://nifflas.lpchip.nl/index.php?topic=6604.msg69479#msg69479

Thank you very much for taking the time to play it and review it!! It means a lot to me!

I'm glad you enjoyed it (somewhat). Maybe I will release a version with less dark mazes 

Incredible tree! You are a genius .

Just completed the level right now (I still have to try again for the secret ending, though). It was a nice and surreal experience. I especially liked the backgrounds, they are really detailed and very well put together. You did incredibly well with the aesthetics in your first level!

I haven't read/watched anything about Game of Thrones, so I didn't get any of the references. However, I think that actually improved the experience for me somehow. It added to the surreal and confusing atmosphere, making it feel more like a dream.

I have to agree with the criticism here, though: the challenges are the weak point of the level. Most of them were ok, but some were a bit annoying. I don't hate invisible mazes that much, but I think they should at least include some way of figuring out the correct path and/or be free of hazards. Otherwise they become a very tedious excercise for the player. The navigation was also a bit too confusing on some screens, but I didn't think that was such a big deal.

Overall, it was an enjoyable level for me. I'm looking forward to your future levels

PS: For the record, I actually liked the visuals of the screens used for the pitch-black mazes. They really made me feel like I was running through a dark, moist dungeon. I think this could be a great theme for an environmental level.

Version 2 has been released! See the OP for a list of changes.


@Vegetal Gibber:
Thank you for the praise, and the criticism! I am glad you enjoyed it. If you liked my partially lit dark areas, you would love the inspiration for them: TORCHLIGHT by dessgeega.

@CWolvie: Thank you much! Did you get a change to play the level?

@Fubaka: Would you prefer I respond to your review here, or in your Review thread?

@Fubaka: Would you prefer I respond to your review here, or in your Review thread?

Do it here. That way the review thread is less cluttered.

@CWolvie: Thank you much! Did you get a change to play the level?

Whoa, the darkness is scary!

I like levels based on fantasy genre, because I love fantasy, although I'm not watching GoT series yet.

Yes, I'm currently in the beginning of the level and must say it's very similar to Torchlight. Especially inside the castle, but I think TL is harder.
I like the concept of TL, but this is better. I would say, you know, TL in modern style .
Btw, who's that girl in intro?

@CVWolvie. I am glad you are enjoying it! I never considered my dark parts scary, but I suppose someone unfamiliar with them would see it so. Huh.
The girl in the intro is a stock image, so she is some random photography model. In game, she is Lyanna Stark.

@Fubaka. Response to the review:

Played again to get the secret ending. The new version is a very nice improvement. The pitch black mazes are much less frustrating now, which made the exploration and the search for secrets a lot more enjoyable for me

The secret ending path was pretty cool. It made for a good bonus challenge.