Archive: 9 posts

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Castle of the Witch Queen: Part TwoBercilak After enduring his previous trials, Sackboy emerges from the bowels of the Witch Queen's castle to find his once peaceful land ravaged by unimaginable horrors. Journey back to the castle to further unravel the mystery of the beautifully strange Queen of Witches. all http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1097&pictureid=9905 Take a much needed break... http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1097&pictureid=9904 ...before doing battle with a terrible beast! http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1097&pictureid=9902 You're not in Scakville anymore... http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1097&pictureid=9901 Feel the terror! Okay, so I've been pretty fly-by night on the forum since I joined, and didn't even realize I made the Community Spotlight in September! I'll take the opportunity now to thank the moderators for choosing CotWQ 1 for the honour, and I'll try to log in a little more frequently from now on. I'm working on a dissertation at the moment, so my LBP playing has been spotty at best, though the holidays have given me the opportunity to finish off Part Two of the Witch-Queen saga. This time there's more terror, more flames, more cannons, more everything! It lasted about three minutes on the "Newest Levels" page, and got one complete play-through, so I hope those of you at LBP Central will at least check it out. It may be a little tough for beginners, but intermediate and experienced players should not have much trouble. Once again, I tried to make a level with a bit of a quicker pace, focusing on aesthetics, special effects, and a few cinematic touches. I've also been playing and loving to death New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which has given me some great ideas for how to manage platforming elements as well as pacing. There are one or two elements inspired by that title here, though the majority of it was done before I got my hands on it. I'm hoping to incorporate more of a Mario-like spirit in future, after CotWQ is finished. Stay tuned for Part 3, which will conclude the tale with a grueling encounter with the Witch Queen herself! As for F4F, I can give feedback to the first four or five requests. My preference is for punchy platforming, and I always like to see cool devices and boss battles. No lengthy adventures or quasi-role-playing levels for me these days. The less speech bubbles, the better.

2009-12-28 18:17:00 Author: Bercilak Posts: 117

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Positive things: Just tried this and I really enjoyed it. The story seems enough interesting, not anything new, but it works. The very first thing I noticed was the spikes, which looked alot better than normal spikes. The reason for it is that all random stuff you put in there. Spikes are normally pretty crummy-looking, but you gave them a total new look. it was the first time I've seen spikes like that. The waterfall after the cave was really amazing and it stopped me for a few secs, only because I wanted to watch it a little bit. Also the water at the background reminded of one abstract painting, because the water looked just like in that painting(it is a positive thing). There was also one detail, which I didn?t expect to see at all: a cabbage field. Of course it's not a big deal, but it was a nice to see detail like that. Fight with the dragon before the end was awesome and I also liked the way you used lights, they really gave a great atmosphere to the level, especially those statues at the end. The castle at the end was like a cherry on top of the cake, it gave your level the last blow. It was a horribly good-looking. A full of nice details with a great desing. Negative things: The level was really easy, I didnt find much challenge, like I found from the first part. Of course it might be a good thing also, but I like challenges It was also kinda short, so when the scoreboard appeared I was a bit dissapointed. I also found few bugs, that forced me to restart the level two times. First one is the checkpoint on the fire. I?m not sure where the second bug is located exactly, but I happened to found it on the cave just before the waterfall. Somehow I just flipped one layer back and ended up to the last layer, which was behind everything. Coulnd?t jump back from there, so I had to restart again. With all this I gave you :star::star::star::star: You can give feedback to the level on my sig.

2010-01-12 18:02:00 Author: Unknown User

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Thanks so much for the feedback, Belweg. I'm glad you liked the little details I put in--it's things like the cabbage patch and the details on spikes that I try to put a lot of effort into. I know about the bug where you fell through the background; it doesn't happen often, but it happens because of the waterfall, which is a doughnut rolling around in behind. Sometimes your Sackperson flips to the other plane and gets tossed into the nether-regions of the map. I'm thinking just now that I could put a layer of Horrible Gas in behind as a barrier, so that he wouldn't do that anymore... Could you tell me more specifically about the other bug you found? I can't think off-hand where there is a checkpoint near fire...Is the problem that you respawn and burn to death, or what? I know it's a little easy. I had my wife play it, though, and she had some trouble with a few jumps at the beginning, so I toned it down for inexperienced players. My primary goal was to showcase the cool environment I'd dreamed up and do some cinematic things with special effects. I'm trying to approach my levels with a sort of classic Mario sensibility in some ways, making sure they're short and punchy in order that they don't overstay their welcome. I really admire those creators who can make lengthy levels that keep pushing me onward. Unfortunately, I've played so many that are awesome for the first half, and then start to lose their charm...Of course, I have a lot of stuff going on here, as well, and the thermometer is totally maxed. One extra point bubble overheats the bugger immediately! Part 3 should be a little more "hardcore." I hope you'll check it out when it comes. I'll be sure to check out your level in a day or so.

2010-01-13 19:29:00 Author: Bercilak Posts: 117

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Really looking forward to checking this one out. Loved the first one! I'll let you know when I get to it.

2010-01-13 20:04:00 Author: Morgana25 Posts: 5983

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The checkpoint was at the fallen bridge, which was full of flames. There was a no way out of it, you died instantly after you respawn.

2010-01-14 06:51:00 Author: Unknown User

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The boss was great, but it was way too short. I did it in 3 minutes and im average. Maybe try to make part 3 about as long as the first

2010-01-14 16:57:00 Author: Unknown User

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Played though it last night. It's a lot darker than your previous work but I guess the subject matter required it. Lots I liked about it. + good platforming throughout + Cool lighting in many places + The waterfall and rainbow are gorgeous + Neat dragon! I liked all the swords sticking out as if he'd been snacking on knights all day and wasn't even phased by their puny weaponry. After he's defeated it's a bit hard to tell you can to right as you can't see the ground there. Maybe some thing visible to the player would help. + Revisiting the village from the first level was a nice way to see how devastated the village is now. If we hadn't seen it first It wouldn't be as powerful a visual. + Loved the queen's castle reveal. Great lighting and downright sinister. + Great scoreboard design. Creepy and cool On the whole the first section through the village didn't seem to have a many details as your first level. I found myself missing all the small things that made the first one so charming and fleshed out. It's still a very good level that I quite liked but I'd love you to take another look at adding some more character and details especially in the underground sections. I hearted it and will gladly play again if you choose to add to it. Just let me know

2010-01-14 17:05:00 Author: Morgana25 Posts: 5983

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Morgana and PaddyJ: Thanks for the feedback! PaddyJ: You did the whole thing in 3 minutes?! Wow! I can run through it that fast, too, but I thought it was only because I made it and know exactly how to do everything... Morgana: You're right that I was going for a bit of a darker feel, but on reflection you are totally right about having some characters and other more whimsical things to balance out the mood. The first certainly has some gruesome and sinister moments, but some other wackier stuff as well to complicate the feeling of the scenario. The big problem, perhaps, is that I maxed out on scenery and short-changed myself a tiny bit on gameplay, and maybe more than a tiny bit on story. That waterfall alone hurts the thermometer quite a bit, and the castle at the end totally kills it. I think, now, that I may go back and make this one level into two levels and do a little more narrative and some extra platformy goodness. There was a more involved story that had to be cut from the first level, but it could definitely find a place in a longer series... I'm wondering, too, if separating the big "set piece" elements (the waterfall and then the castle reveal) might also increase the impact of both. It could also make the stand-alone boss battle that will cap off the series work a bit better.

2010-01-14 19:29:00 Author: Bercilak Posts: 117

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I really like that idea of splitting it into two, that way you can throw the eye candy in and not have the gameplay suffer for it. Heck you can even go bigger and cooler on the castle and the other areas if you do this. Win - Win. I also think you hit the nail on the head with the whimsy missing. Even in a dark tale there's room for a bit of goofy, cute or surprising scenery or characters. I loved the frogs in the first one. Very funny and very whimsical in a blow them to bits, rip out their brains, chop them up into worm food kind of way. Whatever you decide, just keep the thread updated and I'll check back.

2010-01-14 20:02:00 Author: Morgana25 Posts: 5983

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