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Plasmaville

Archive: 32 posts

PLASMAVILLEmistervista
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/specialagent_01/LittleBigPlanet/PLASMAVILLE%20level/th_StartofPlasmaville.jpgMy entry for the sackcast create contest using only dark matter,basic cardboard and dissolve materials. Incorporates the plasma glitch.
all
Hi everyone, I've just completed my entry for the Sackcast create contest and it's now published unlocked and available to play.

It's a colourful platforming level with a race element. There are also plenty of score bubbles and prize bubbles up for grabs if you can reach them all and a couple of chances for multipliers if you're quick enough. There are some decent prizes in there if you go looking for them and also some of the plasma glitched material is included as an aced prize.

It does contain flashing images as i've used the plasma glitch throughout the level.

I've tried to make it challenging ( my most challenging level to date ) but also lots of fun. I have tried to make it multiplayer friendly too but there are a couple of areas I can't do a lot about because of that dreaded in game camera again that counts you out. If you try it in multiplayer and have any major problems please let me know.

I hope you'll give it a go and hopefully enjoy it.

Thankyou.

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/specialagent_01/LittleBigPlanet/PLASMAVILLE%20level/Gappywheel.jpg
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/specialagent_01/LittleBigPlanet/PLASMAVILLE%20level/Mmmlookssimplebutcanbetricky.jpg
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/specialagent_01/LittleBigPlanet/PLASMAVILLE%20level/Plasmabot.jpg
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/specialagent_01/LittleBigPlanet/PLASMAVILLE%20level/Plasmavilleboxing.jpg
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/specialagent_01/LittleBigPlanet/PLASMAVILLE%20level/Plasmavillehiddenbubbles.jpg
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/specialagent_01/LittleBigPlanet/PLASMAVILLE%20level/Plasmavillelbpcentralcom.jpg
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/specialagent_01/LittleBigPlanet/PLASMAVILLE%20level/Sockettome.jpg
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/specialagent_01/LittleBigPlanet/PLASMAVILLE%20level/StartofPlasmaville.jpg
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/specialagent_01/LittleBigPlanet/PLASMAVILLE%20level/Surroundedbyplasma.jpg
http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/ss273/specialagent_01/LittleBigPlanet/PLASMAVILLE%20level/Track.jpg

2009-08-17 18:09:00

Author:
mistervista

Posts: 2210

I had a little bosh on this when I got your PSN message. It is pretty good fun and it's definately a level you can learn to maximise points on the racing for replay value. I didn't actually do very well on that lol. Some of the stuff was cool - the hamster wheel with gaps was a great little hazard / vehicle, I very much enjoyed that. Very varied as well, so it keeps you on your toes. The only downside I saw in it was that there was no differentiation between what was grabbable and what wasn't.

Other than that it's good, clean, challenging, brightly-coloured, obstacle course fun. 5*, hearted and tagged fun.

2009-08-17 18:18:00

Author:
rtm223

Posts: 6497

Thanks rtm, as for the grabbable issue I just thought it was pretty obvious but maybe that's because I've playtested it so many times. Basically if it's red don't grab it but if it's green you may be able to.

I tried not to put too much info in the level and avoided using magic mouths so as not to interrupt your race to the finish or bubble collection. I just went for a few visual hints.

2009-08-17 18:54:00

Author:
mistervista

Posts: 2210

Ahahah! the green was grabbable?
I did the section where the green platform bounces you to the red one (twice) without grabbing...but what a sweat!
Great work with the plasma balls.
Fun level, even more considering it was a challenge with only selected material.
5 stars and I forget to give a heart (sorry...I'm hearting levels only if they have under 200 hearts, otherwise I heart the author...I already hearted you as creator, so I forgot to heart the level...

*goes hiding beneath a rock*)

2009-08-17 21:32:00

Author:
OmegaSlayer

Posts: 5112

I enjoyed this level, you got the challenging:fun ratio just right.

However as all the materials were stickered, you couldn't really tell that you only used 3 materials. What you could do is make it so anything that is red = bad, anything that isn't red = good ...or something like that.

4 stars and a heart from me.

2009-08-17 21:37:00

Author:
Leather-Monkey

Posts: 2266

I love this level mistervista, it's brilliant. Colourful, ingenious and very cleverly constructed. Brimming with inventiveness and precision.

You certainly achieved your aim to make it challenging and fun. Thank you for infinate life is all I can say!!!

I wish you loads of luck.

Icey

2009-08-17 22:17:00

Author:
IceMaiden

Posts: 1057

Hi MrV - played your Plasmaville, here's the Spooky lowdown... (my review uses quotes that I've either heard you say, or I've read them off here..!)

mistervista: "I can never think of ideas."
Really? Well, I've just played the wrong level, because this was full of 'em!

mistervista: "You work fast, MrsSB."
Compared to how quickly you've put this together, I'm a sloth!

mistervista: "I'm quite good at building objects, but not much else."
Hmm, I can name at least 3 of your levels that are outstanding, and not just for objects. But seeing as this is a Plasmaville review, then I would say it's a superb, colourful, enjoyable, nerve-jaggling, throw-the-controller-at-the-telly-type level that I absolutely love.

mistervista: "I want some pie!"
Oops, sorry, how did that one paste itself in here!

mistervista: "I really like some of your obstacles, but some of them are hard."
Hmm, I think MrsV has been feeding you spinach! You've gone all macho and trendy! Brilliant obstacles and super visuals.

mistervista: "Aaargh, bloody lag!"
lol - I played this both on my own and with a friend, and even with all that was pulsating in front of me, I had no lag and no slowdown.

In all seriousness, you know I loved your Around the World... level, and your Lift Tutorial was simple enough for even me to understand! I adore Sheriff Sack too, but this level takes the cake. It's a challenging cake, but it's an addictive oh-so-sweet cake.

In my opinion, your best level yet.

5*, Heart, Brilliant.

I'm going for another slice...

2009-08-17 22:26:00

Author:
MrsSpookyBuz

Posts: 1492

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback so far.

Thanks for that great review MrsSB, that was very funny and very nice to hear as well. I'm really glad you enjoyed it (in a masochistic sort of way)!

BTW I want some pie!!

Thanks to you too Icey for the great comments. I too am a great fan of the infinite life checkpoints LOL!! They've allowed me to finish lots of levels which otherwise I wouldn't have.

2009-08-18 02:47:00

Author:
mistervista

Posts: 2210

Congratulations!
You have won the Sackboy.

2009-08-18 03:19:00

Author:
Unknown User

Hello,

Just finished playing your level and I walked away with a smile on my face. I think I replayed about five times trying to get that darned high score, but alas, that one section with the red pasma balls always gets me.

I had a great time playing this. My only recommendation would be to make grabbable objects look grabbable.

Great job, good variety, and excellent replayability.

As for the f4f, I would appreciate if you took a gander at my level "The Adventures of the Prince: Chapter 1 The Attack". The link to my thread can be found by clicking on my signature.

2009-08-18 03:28:00

Author:
Frazer951

Posts: 117

Congratulations!
You have won the Sackboy.

Uh?! No way! Even though it's good I'm not giving up! D: You better watch out MisterVista, I'm going to try to win. I'm not in it for the prize (though it is a very good prize) but that doesn't mean I won't give it my all.

Heh, competetive mode mode again

2009-08-18 03:40:00

Author:
Roanoake

Posts: 166

LOL , good luck Roanoake. I'm guessing your one of these hardcore die-hard gamers too because nearly every level I play has your name at the top of the scoreboard. I think you were top on this last night when I looked.

Look forward to seeing your level anyway.

2009-08-18 10:59:00

Author:
mistervista

Posts: 2210

I'm not entirely sure I'm allowed to comment on this...but I like it

As for the plasma glitch, did you find it easy enough to work with? No problems?
I haven't really done that much experimenting with it so...yeah.

2009-08-18 14:59:00

Author:
ARD

Posts: 4291

looks cute

2009-08-18 15:01:00

Author:
Unknown User

Played through it last night and really enjoyed it. Nice colors that make it very clear where is a no no to step on. Thought the plasmified object glitch looked really nice in the level too.

Found the platforming to be very fun and not easy which is good. Making it a race is a great idea too as the replay value went way up for me.

Favorite part was by far the hampster wheel with cutout sections. Really fun challenge. I'd love to see more of that style of challenge in another level too.

Gave it 5 stars & hearted it. Nice job!

2009-08-18 15:34:00

Author:
Morgana25

Posts: 5983

Well done mrv, a great level you've made there.

I agree with rtm223 and Morgana in that my favourite part is the wheel with the cutouts.

Once I start playing this level, I play it over and over, it's very addictive, also it makes me swear a lot LOL!!

Fingers crossed for a little brother or sister for sackboy.

Luv mrsv x

2009-08-18 17:47:00

Author:
mrsvista

Posts: 755

I'm not entirely sure I'm allowed to comment on this...but I like it

As for the plasma glitch, did you find it easy enough to work with? No problems?
I haven't really done that much experimenting with it so...yeah.

I found it very easy to work with and didn't encounter any problems at all. You can do anything with it you would with any other 'normal' material i.e. resize,corner edit,embed. If there is anything you can't do I haven't found it yet.

2009-08-18 19:47:00

Author:
mistervista

Posts: 2210

This is a simple level with a straight forward premise that still delivers on a great challenge and a wide range of obstacles.

You do very well presenting this level as a standard level rather than playing up the fact that it is created using only a limited selection of materials. What I mean is that some levels of this contest entry seem to embrace the base materials making it very obvious that near everything is cardboard cutouts that are used in place of what they'd rather use.

Hmm, that may not make much sense. To continue then I think that there are some creative variations on many common themes such that the generally obstacles feel fairly fresh and different.

You do a good job introducing the player to the red/green concept by forcing them to use the button initially to change the steps to green and starting to work on the color associations.

I do get an error message pop up every time I start saying that there is a prize bubble containing content from a DLC pack I have not purchased. (It turns out to be the Go! sticker/dark matter object.) This is a bit annoying but going to be more and more unavoidable as the amount of paid DLC packs rise over time.

The flashing and buzzing didn't ever get too annoying though it is ever present in the level. Your stark use of colors and hard lines does very well to set the theme of the level and gives it a bit of personality. (Staid and precise but still a bit of uniqueness.)

To parrot what others have said, the hamster wheel is a refreshing change on the concept and I enjoy the power plug in the level. Gives a bit of whimsy and color that is almost out of character for the rest of the level.

It appears that you've got an empty billboard at the beginning of the level that feels lonely and empty, just being all un-stickered cardboard the way it is.

Your description mentioned the level is very hard to Ace. I played through and finished the race without a single death. 'Wow, that wasn't too hard at all. What was he talking about?'

I sized up the last plasma object before the score board, jumped over it and died. I laughed because as soon as I died it was painfully obvious that it was intended that I jump on the LBPCentral object to get over. Every attempt after that I died, sometimes over and over at various stages of the level.

I was rushing too much, not being as cautious as the first time though I will attest that the level can be Aced and that there isn't anything overly difficult that a careful play through can't overcome. (But I really wanted to Ace it before giving feedback but it was a late, late night.)

There is a sections that has a row of bubbles along the ground and two sets of four bubbles on the underside of green platforms. I never did figure out how to get the four on the higher of the two.

I also didn't snoop around for hidden sections or secrets though I think with the highest score on the scoreboard that there may be more that I haven't found.

The time limit on the race seems fairly long. Even on the times when I died an exceedingly high amount of times and jumped around collecting all of the score/prize bubbles there was still a good 15 - 20 % left on the clock. The race timer is a very good psychological motivator that helps add a layer of tension for the player so even with a very long time on the clock it still adds to the level.

That is all that I have at the moment. Good work on the level. I had quite a bit of fun playing it.

2009-08-18 23:56:00

Author:
Trindall

Posts: 297

Thanks for that great review Trindall.

I'm glad to hear you almost Aced it as that's exactly what I put in the description i.e. almost impossible. Sorry to hear you only missed it because of that last bit beside the scoreboard. I'm so bad putting that there but I couldn't resist it. I did conveniently put an easy way over though for the observant as you say and at least you won't fall for it again !

The unstickered cardboard at the start is for the sackcast judges only. They have a custom sticker to use which emits a tetherless jetpack so they can check the entire level , switches and all , to make sure I haven't broken any rules. This isn't available to players for obvious reasons.

The bubbles under the platforms and on the back of the switch are all possible to reach. I made sure by collecting them all myself when testing.

The timer on the race was adjusted several times until I thought it was just about right allowing players to go after every bubble in the level if they wanted to and still have time to finish before the timer runs out and get a decent score. I didn't want to punish the bubble collectors by having the time run out on them. I don't know if that's good or not but it's just my personal preference.

If there's anything I haven't answered or anything else you think of please feel free to ask. Thanks again.

2009-08-19 02:01:00

Author:
mistervista

Posts: 2210

This level was pretty hard, but overall I thought it was great. I have been trying to get into the top 10 and I'm pretty close... hopefully soon!

I gave it 4 stars and a heart =]

2009-08-19 04:34:00

Author:
TheFirstAvenger

Posts: 787

Let me be the one to put this thread into the Cool Levels category, by saying, "Man... what a cool level!"

I was ready to throw in the towel a few times (I am not a skilled platformer), but infinite lives and a fantastic design kept me going. I too liked the big wheel, and the giant electrical plug was brilliant.

Well done!!
:star::star::star::star::star: a Heart and a Tricky tag from me.

[EDIT]: Hmmm... I thought it was 20 replies to jump up into Cool Levels.. Oh well... still a cool level IMO.

2009-08-19 07:44:00

Author:
v0rtex

Posts: 1878

I'm glad to hear you almost Aced it as that's exactly what I put in the description i.e. almost impossible. Sorry to hear you only missed it because of that last bit beside the scoreboard. I'm so bad putting that there but I couldn't resist it.

I'm happy to say that I've gone back tonight and Aced the level. Funnily enough my first score from my first play through when I died still beat my aced score. (I was going pretty slow and didn't rack up as good as a combo as I could have.)

Yes, I laughed when I had died the very first time because the gall and buggery of putting that un-jumpable block in the way is too funny.

I think it also does a good job turning the forum logo into more than just a piece of background decoration by making it into an actual gameplay platform.

Either way, congrats on this level. Good luck on the competition.

2009-08-19 08:04:00

Author:
Trindall

Posts: 297

After many long minutes of trying to get the top spot, I succeeded! Awesome level by the way!

2009-08-19 09:52:00

Author:
galacemiguel

Posts: 179

After many long minutes of trying to get the top spot, I succeeded! Awesome level by the way!

What?! Does this mean I have to beat it again

2009-08-19 09:54:00

Author:
Roanoake

Posts: 166

Well, first off I loved the premise. Red = danger, green = safety. I think you implemented the concept excellently in terms of gameplay, and although the visual presentation was quite simplistic, it served the purposes of the game perfectly well. In fact any more detail would only have distracted from the colour coding, which would have damaged the gameplay. I've gotta say this was extremely hard for me though. I reached the end with no time left on the race counter, so I ended up with a pathetic score. I'm a cruddy player when it comes to fast reaction platforming, and I prefer "thinking man's" gameplay, but I'm not gonna rate the level down just because it's not quite my sort of thing. I can see that this level would make an awesome 2-player dash and scramble, and although I probably wouldn't play alone again, I still hearted the level for quick access next time I'm hosting a multiplayer session. I think my favourite section was the rolling wheel, while the part I found most frustrating was the bit with springboard/celing swing/springboard where I lost about 50 lives before getting through.

A visually simplistic but stylistic level, with challenging gameplay and great potential for 2-P competition, nothing broken or breakable as far as I can see. 4-stars and a "race" tag from me.

2009-08-19 12:10:00

Author:
Ungreth

Posts: 2130

2009-08-19 12:49:00

Author:
mistervista

Posts: 2210

I think almost impossible is still reasonable.

Also, I wanted to come back after my second run through and make another comment about grabability. I'm pretty sure on my first run through that what was grabable was actually clear, just from contextual clues.

The flipper part did take me a little while to get my head around, but then I realised. Other than that I think it's fine. It still plays very well although I don't see myself vying for the top spot lol.

2009-08-19 12:55:00

Author:
rtm223

Posts: 6497

Oh dear Ungreth I'm so sorry you had so much trouble with that springboard section.

You must be a better gamer than me though because I can't possibly get through there by just running. That's why I made them 'GRABBABLE' LOL.

Well done on acing it Trindall. Does that mean I need to change the description now from 'almost impossible to Ace' to 'reasonably difficult' or something similar or shall I leave it as is ?

What?! You can grab the springboards? Jeez...I though it needed split second timing to make it, so that's what I did. I dashed over the first springboard, jumped, grabbed the celing, swung across, dropped onto the second springboard and then dashed all the way to the end. I can't believe I made things so hard for myself. I was almost ready to give up here. LOL at me!

2009-08-19 13:17:00

Author:
Ungreth

Posts: 2130

What?! You can grab the springboards? Jeez...I though it needed split second timing to make it, so that's what I did. I dashed over the first springboard, jumped, grabbed the celing, swung across, dropped onto the second springboard and then dashed all the way to the end. I can't believe I made things so hard for myself. I was almost ready to give up here. LOL at me!
LOL - Don't feel bad... I did it the same way. And I remember thinking once I made it through how impressive it is when a creator makes something that takes split second timing like that - the length, height and speed of everything has to be just perfect. Tee hee.

2009-08-19 15:45:00

Author:
v0rtex

Posts: 1878

Well done on acing it Trindall. Does that mean I need to change the description now from 'almost impossible to Ace' to 'reasonably difficult' or something similar or shall I leave it as is ?

What?

I think the description is great as it is. It is a very good motivator for certain player types which combined with the fact that the level isn't a cakewalk to ace should give people a few different reasons for meaningful multiple replays.

2009-08-19 16:27:00

Author:
Trindall

Posts: 297

LOL - Don't feel bad... I did it the same way. And I remember thinking once I made it through how impressive it is when a creator makes something that takes split second timing like that - the length, height and speed of everything has to be just perfect. Tee hee.
Me too...I didn't die until I reached that spot...

2009-08-19 16:58:00

Author:
OmegaSlayer

Posts: 5112

Anything I make turns out like awesome, but after I'm half way, I say "Nevermind, this is useless."

2009-08-19 17:02:00

Author:
Unknown User

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