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The Cursed Mansion

Archive: 21 posts

I've got nothing against sunshine, lollypops and rainbows, but I find the darker, eerier things a rarity on LBP(2). I've spent weeks trying to make my own such level, and it is known as "The Cursed Mansion". Not the most subtle thing in the world, but I would really like for many people to play it. The emphasis is on atmosphere, there is little in the ways of traditional levels. As an added incentive, you'll get the "Moonlight Sonata" sequenced song for finishing the level.

Here are some pictures that give you an idea of what the level is like. http://i6.lbp.me/img/fl/3e66c7c5a7b880115fb9ba04f6b81e5c9ce78f07.jpg

http://i8.lbp.me/img/fl/38829c1a09eeb742e593e2eb487704e3352aa3c0.jpg

EDIT: Is there any way to change my non-F4F topic to an F4F one? Being the very smart person I am I didn't go find out what that meant and just assumed is meant something like "fave-for-fave" or "friend-for-friend". But feedback for feedback sounds good to me.

http://lbp.me/v/ysemf9		2011-03-11 11:25:00

Author:
Elhaz
Posts: 11

This is incredible. The best horror level I've seen yet. The attention to detail is superb, as it kind of needs to be for this genre to work. After restoring power to the elevator, I was thinking how cool it would be for something to happen to me on my way back through the X-ray room....

Looks like I'm the only one to have completed it so far. I'm willing to bet most got stuck trying to get that key. Those aren't easy jumps to make, I have to say, assuming the intended way of getting it was the obvious one.		2011-03-11 18:28:00

Author:
zabel99
Posts: 179

That is very flattering for you to say. Thank you for the detailed feedback. I see your point about the 'music room key' bit - can I ask which way you thought the obvious one was? I think I could change it to make it a bit more easier or apparent. Was there the same problem in the 'piano' area?2011-03-12 02:52:00

Author:
Elhaz
Posts: 11

Sure. I didn't want to say it because I don't know how to hide text in spoiler tags. (can someone tell me?)



SPOILERS:
I jumped into the bottom drawer. From the bottom drawer onto the thin left edge of the drawer. From there, a kind of running jump onto the bed. From the bed to where the key is.
(By the way, did that drawer creak open by itself when I entered or was that my imagination? Either way the atmosphere was working)

The piano jumps were not as hard, at least for me. I like how you did the piano puzzle, and how you can actually play the piano if you want to.

And since I'm deep into spoiler territory already, I might as well add that I also liked the twist ending; a cute and satisfying way to wrap it all up.

Btw, was it possible to close doors in the mansion? I seem to remember a note saying it was possible, but I wasn't able to manage it and I don't remember ever needing to. Or maybe I just misread the note.		2011-03-12 17:14:00

Author:
zabel99
Posts: 179

Well, thanks again for the compliments. Been getting some pretty good feedback on it, but those first two 'frownie faces' made me sad (lol). Yeah, the way to get the key was through the shoe - bottom drawer's thin edge - then bed. That drawer was always open, but that makes for a pretty good idea. Doors once opened stay open, save for the second-last door out of the house.

It's very useful to get feedback like this. I've had people tell me about bugs and suggestions and it saves me the boredom of replaying my level over and over just to see what's wrong.

Actually, I was considering making the second part (inside the mansion) available to play right away (or with a key) so that if people quit or died (not that there are many hazards) or whatever they could just jump to that point.		2011-03-13 09:03:00

Author:
Elhaz
Posts: 11

The ending makes this level really worthwhile. There's lots of suspense - lots of it. Maybe just a little too much. I don't know if a few more "x-ray" moments would help ease that, or a few more puzzles or platforming moments (like the a big empty backyard begging for a creepy tree to climb in or something). Anyway, it's still really strong.

Also, thanks for the Moonlight.		2011-03-14 15:04:00

Author:
Kanada Ten
Posts: 87

I've been getting good reactions about my ending - I was afraid that people would think it was lazy or too abrupt. When you say "too much suspense", do you mean that you start to expect things to happen at certain intervals and stuff? Yeah, that backyard -was- going to have a mausoleum and coffins and a whole bunch of other stuff didn't make it into my level, but by that time my level thermometer was already 95%. Thanks for your feedback. Enjoy the poorly sequenced music track done by someone without music knowledge.

Let me just tag this extra bit on the end, addressed to no one/everyone: do we have spoiler tags in this forum? It would be nice to have it to 'hide' certain bits and all...		2011-03-15 13:13:00

Author:
Elhaz
Posts: 11

(Spoiler)

Text

(/spoiler)

replace () with []



Text		2011-03-15 13:58:00

Author:
Kanada Ten
Posts: 87

I loved this level! It was priming with visual polish, something I really wish I could do as well.
The mansion was really fun to explore, and there was a lot of detail. Small detail, but I was really impressed by the elevator and how well it worked. Props.
Puzzle gameplay was good fun, although it'd be nice if there was a little more. As fun as exploring the mansion was, more puzzles are always good for this genre.
The ending was awesome. 		2011-03-16 04:06:00

Author:
Unknown User

Very well done. It's difficult to create any type of uneasiness in this game because of the nature of the game itself, and this level does provide it. The use of music is excellent, even before the piano stuff (which is well done, I might add). The transition from music to complete silence is unsettling, as is the visuals in the level itself. Great twist on the end, and well done overall.

The level played smoothly for me, so I have no real complaints. I'd advise everyone to give this level a play. Well worth the time.		2011-03-16 05:57:00

Author:
nextlevel88
Posts: 149

I loved this level! It was priming with visual polish, something I really wish I could do as well.
The mansion was really fun to explore, and there was a lot of detail. Small detail, but I was really impressed by the elevator and how well it worked. Props.
Puzzle gameplay was good fun, although it'd be nice if there was a little more. As fun as exploring the mansion was, more puzzles are always good for this genre.
The ending was awesome.


Very well done. It's difficult to create any type of uneasiness in this game because of the nature of the game itself, and this level does provide it. The use of music is excellent, even before the piano stuff (which is well done, I might add). The transition from music to complete silence is unsettling, as is the visuals in the level itself. Great twist on the end, and well done overall.

The level played smoothly for me, so I have no real complaints. I'd advise everyone to give this level a play. Well worth the time.

Thanks both for your input. (The elevator took an entire day for me to get right. And even then I still had to make some compromises before it worked. I was unsure whether or not people would appreciate getting the elevator as a prize or not, but I thought most people would just like the music.)		2011-03-18 12:28:00

Author:
Elhaz
Posts: 11

You had me at atmosphere...

I'm a big fan of the idea that video games can be used to tell stories as well as any other medium, and I place a lot of stock in setting and narrative. To be blunt, I think games need to get over their obsession with shooting things in the face with shotguns, and acknowledge that there are more ways for players to interact with the world than just waving guns at it. OK, so this isn't really a prob with LBP, but you get the idea.

This sounds interesting - I'll pop by this afternoon and check it out.		2011-03-18 14:05:00

Author:
matneee
Posts: 66

^ I agree wholeheartedly. :]

(God, I love Heavy Rain... *ahem*)		2011-03-18 14:55:00

Author:
Unknown User

(God, I love Heavy Rain... *ahem*)

See, Heavy Rain gave me a gun and tried to force me to use it, but I wouldn't do it it made the game more interesting.
That alone would have got it in my top 10 games of all time

Anyway, I'm going OT - sorry.		2011-03-18 15:16:00

Author:
matneee
Posts: 66

Played it now
I love this.



I could just leave it at that I suppose, because it essentially sums up my feelings on the Cursed Mansion. There are many LBP levels I like, but very, very few that I wish I'd made. And, well, I wish I'd made this. This may well be my favourite LBP level to date, and as an example of how story telling can be done with the game it's a bit of a home run. It tells a good old-fashioned ghost story, and the attention to detail is evident from the beginning moments - I really liked the removal-bots and other incidental stuff. Only three small comments worth mentioning spring to mind;

For the sake of keeping the story-pace fluid, it might be worth indirectly mentioning when it's time to leave (hope you get what I mean - I don't want to give details for fear of spoilers)
Maybe work on making the doors flush with the floor to avoid that 'tripping' effect
I've now got to almost completely scrap the early stages of something similar I was doing, because it's frankly an embarrasment along side this. *Sigh*


Really very well done indeed - I hope you get the recognition you richly deserve with this.




Oh, see my sig if you feel like a little F4F.		2011-03-18 21:52:00

Author:
matneee
Posts: 66

I appreciate the detailed feedback, matneee. To be really honest, I don't think my level is as good as people keep saying. The more levels I see the more humbled I am. Somebody else also commented on the floor grooves giving that tripping effect. Back then I shrugged and said I couldn't figure a way around it. But this time, with more motivation I set out to try find a solution. I reduced the depth of each by about 2/3 which gave me the best of both worlds - doors don't jam and now you can just walk over them.

With giving clearer indications when to leave, I still haven't addressed it, since I need to brainstorm how to suggest it without explicitly saying "Okay, the front door's unlocked". I'll give it some thought how to address it.

And I don't think you need to change your level on account of me. I'm interested in seeing it.		2011-03-19 11:30:00

Author:
Elhaz
Posts: 11

Ah, but I'm a big fan of storytelling in games you see - this is very much my sort of 'thing'.

Been looking at the number of plays through the different levels of 'mansion, btw - the first one's got exactly 100 plays right now, the 2nd level link has 84, the 3rd 47. Which is basically saying 84% make it to part 2, 47% make it to part 3 - any idea how many people actually finish the thing?
I'm trying to get a bit of a handle on how long players spend with games, you see - I seem to remember Valve saying only around 5% of people finished Half-Life 2, for example, and I'm wondering how shorter things like LBP stack up.

Although I do appreciate everyone else probably finds that sort of thing tedious beyond belief. I have no life...		2011-03-19 14:13:00

Author:
matneee
Posts: 66

[sorry about my poor english]

+ Exellent atmosphere and music
+ It would be nice if there was one or two puzzle / plateform sequences added to the exeisting ones
+ Good story, really enjoyed it

Maybe my only disappointment is about decoration/lighting. It was good, but sometimes seems strange in the mansion (masks for example).

And if you want to say "Serene Mansion", it's "Le ch?teau Serein" instead of "Le ch?teau Sereine" ch?teau's gender is masculine.

Overall good level !		2011-03-19 19:17:00

Author:
Slurm
Posts: 262

Ah, but I'm a big fan of storytelling in games you see - this is very much my sort of 'thing'.

Been looking at the number of plays through the different levels of 'mansion, btw - the first one's got exactly 100 plays right now, the 2nd level link has 84, the 3rd 47. Which is basically saying 84% make it to part 2, 47% make it to part 3 - any idea how many people actually finish the thing?
I'm trying to get a bit of a handle on how long players spend with games, you see - I seem to remember Valve saying only around 5% of people finished Half-Life 2, for example, and I'm wondering how shorter things like LBP stack up.

Although I do appreciate everyone else probably finds that sort of thing tedious beyond belief. I have no life...

Hmm, I'm not sure exactly how many people actually finish the levels out of those 47 who even make it to the third part, though I'd hope people would have the patience to wait the 30 seconds. At the very least, there have been 23 people who finished, since the high score tables online go up to 10 places, I believe.


[sorry about my poor english]

+ Exellent atmosphere and music
+ It would be nice if there was one or two puzzle / plateform sequences added to the exeisting ones
+ Good story, really enjoyed it

Maybe my only disappointment is about decoration/lighting. It was good, but sometimes seems strange in the mansion (masks for example).

And if you want to say "Serene Mansion", it's "Le ch?teau Serein" instead of "Le ch?teau Sereine" ch?teau's gender is masculine.

Overall good level !

Thanks so much, I'll be sure to change it the next time I get the chance. I don't know a lick of French.		2011-03-20 07:25:00

Author:
Elhaz
Posts: 11

Looks pretty good...will try it and leave feedback....2011-03-20 14:17:00

Author:
Unexpecter
Posts: 137

Added this to my queueue for funzies!2011-03-20 20:12:00

Author:
Luos_83
Posts: 2136


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