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You Didn't Feed the Cat

Archive: 23 posts

Howdy people,

I started out to make just a platform-type level but ended up with a Platform/Puzzles/Funny/Gizmos level....

Story: You lock the cat outside so you can sleep in a bit, but when your alarm doesn't wake you in time you find out its too late and your cat (controlling a giant mechanical cat) is destroying the town and you have to go stop him.

Stuff in the level that took some time to make:
-flashing alarm clock
-TV that changes channels (only 4 channels, you don't have satellite)
-Puzzle door with a 3-digit (well 3-colours not digits) code that resets if you hit the wrong button.

I'll happily do 10 F4F, area where I could use some feed back:
-------------------------
Any problems?: switches visible, you see 'hidden' mechanics etc.
TV: Did it work properly? did it make sense? did it advance the story?
End puzzle: Too easy? Too hard? did it make sense? (plz don't post the solution, I have to move too much stuff to change it again )
Is it fun?: Overall was it enjoyable or did some part make it suck?
Any other relative feedback

Thanks for trying my level

PSN: Ozwald_the_cat
Level: You Didn't Feed the Cat
Location: Hudson's Bayish(north end of North America)		2009-01-19 06:01:00

Author:
Ozwald_the_cat
Posts: 45

Nice level. The story is unique and great.

Right at the start of the level, when you go downstairs, I didn't know if I was supposed to go right or left first. I ended up watching the tv then going to the left. The story just works better when you go left first, which, im assuming, is the way you want people to go.

The only trouble spot I had with the level was at the end, when you have to the color combo. You have 3 platforms, then a giant jump to get to the platform with the scratching posts. I took the biggest jump I could, then thankfully landed on the tiny little platform poking out from underneath the scratching post platform. Another platform in that space would have been nice. That tiny little platform's size could have been increased to show you can land there.

Overall great level!		2009-01-19 21:15:00

Author:
Unknown User

2 great points I didn't think of, I'll have to think of some way to get people to go left to start, but the at the end the idea was to grab the sponge under the platform and swing over...I didn't think you could make the jump at least I couldn't ><.

Great feedback, thanks		2009-01-19 21:24:00

Author:
Ozwald_the_cat
Posts: 45

Ohhh, like monkey bars. I see. I jumped and landed on a little section of the sponge that was sticking out, then jumped up to where the scratching posts were, then jumped down to grab the scratching post on a piston.2009-01-20 00:53:00

Author:
Unknown User

I found it to be a pretty fun and charming level. Here's what I thought:

Pros

- Your house was well done Nice attention to detail here. Especially loved the TV and the story made a lot of sense so no worries there.

-All the tipped over cars, looted pet food store, ect was pretty funny. Had this image of this fat cat wreaking havoc and breathing fire hahaha. Pretty awesome man

-The platforming had a bit of a challenge to it which was nice. Liked how you had that sponge crescent that you needed to use as a barrier to get past the falling fire blocks. Pretty neat and surprisingly original concept. Never seen it before 0o

- The puzzle was well done. Good use of create mode mechanics here.

Cons

- I think there was some wood or something like that on the TV. Looked kind of out of place and scrappy.

- Glue the colour coded scratching posts to the ground. I was confused at first and dragged them around only to ruin my chances of grabbing the grab switch/sponge because I pushed it in the way. Dunno what I was thinking...but maybe glue it to make it dummy proof lol

-It ended rather abruptly. You need some dialogue at the end indicating Part 2 is coming, or have a soldier say something like "The cat is close...since we haven't been successful in taking him down we'll leave it up to you" then a "To be continued".

-The puzzle was a little confusing until I pulled the switch at the top and saw the buttons move. Maybe try and make this a little more clear?

Altogether a nice level man. I gave it 4/5 stars, but no heart because I expected a confrontation with the cat or at least a bit more at the end to indicate a level in the works.

F4F Grab a buddy and play SEMINAL GEMINI under the PSN: NinjaMicWZ. It's 2 player so add me if you want someone to play it with My PSN is the same was my name here. Thanks! 		2009-01-20 17:00:00

Author:
Neverynnal
Posts: 374

Thanks for the feedback Nev,

Ill check out Seminal Gemini when I get home tonight.

-Ill take a look at the TV, don't remember anything that was suppose to be there

-the scratching posts are suppose to move, you could drop them down so you can then walk up them instead of swinging each time, since you might have to go up/down a lot. But I know what you mean about blocking yourself, I think I can fix it so they can be used and not block yourself.

-On the puzzle did you get the 3 soldier cut scenes? I can make the one that points out the lever have a bigger trigger radius. Right now you have to go right up to him to get his story.

-Good call on the ending, I have started the battle with the cat but the thermometer told me NO! Ill add a cut scene there.		2009-01-20 18:55:00

Author:
Ozwald_the_cat
Posts: 45

Pretty solid level.

+ Nice design on the house and neighbourhood.
+TV was a cool idea
+You can tell the puzzle at the end is complex and had a lot of effort put into it.

-The puzzle room could have been a little more effecient, unless I was doing it wrong. Having to keep going up over and over to input the 3 colors seemed a bit much.
-As stated the color keys should be glued in the puzzle room.
-The fire hazard just before the puzzle room is hard to read. I just ran into the background and bolted through. I was singed but not killed.
-WHERE'S THE GIANT CAT??!!! That coulda been right cool!

I'd would've given it 4 starts if my router hadn't kicked me off just after I beat the level. It was a cool idea, short but ambitious and original. Any one who tries to make something new rather than another bad Mario level gets a nod from me. (No offense to Mario cloners if there are any)		2009-01-20 20:41:00

Author:
OboroShogun
Posts: 37

Hey, I appreciate the feedback for my level, and wanted to let you know that i'll be getting to yours this evening. I'm pretty excited, after reading the posts above. just wanted to let you know, i haven't forgotten about you.2009-01-20 22:57:00

Author:
TJapan
Posts: 225

Hey mate, here's my effort:

+ The house, story, alarm clock, and tv were great

A few problems you could brush up on:
I went to the TV first, then to the left I think... so maybe adding a sensor switch connected to a piece of dissolve where the left speech bubble is will fix that problem

Nvm, just read posts above about the posts you can drop down.

Yeah so I think it was a pretty good level and i'm looking forward to the sequel man!		2009-01-21 01:54:00

Author:
BizzyBox
Posts: 32

Fixed the.....

-Path to TV, now you have to go to backyard first.
-Showed example of the sponge shield which should help 2nd last obstacle.
-Expanded talk points of the guys in the last puzzle room so its harder to miss.
-Changed scratching posts in puzzle room so they can't block the way up
-Added a dude at end to emphasis part 2.

Any other quarks please let me know, you all have been very helpful so far.		2009-01-21 03:14:00

Author:
Ozwald_the_cat
Posts: 45

Hey man, i just finished your level, and i got some feedback for ya.

Very interesting concept, i like the ideas.

the flipped over cars, blown up house, t.v., house design (but not materials, more on that), and puzzle were all very cool. i liked it a lot.

Never got to see the cat... and the level was very short... I would like more obstacles, or enemies to conquer.

the house material (for the "outside", or the part facing the camera,) i would choose something smoother, and sticker it a normal house color... as it is i imagine this house is a cave.

the buttons on the puzzle are too close together. if you rotate it at a 45 degree angle, you can hit 2 buttons at once, so brown and green, which are right next to each other i got in 1 pop.

too... much... disco...

the oven should be a hard-edged material (for the black) and sticker it black instead of using the rubber.

I could still jump on that edge to get up, so that monkey-swing was unnecessary for me to get to the top.

Remember, that i was trying to break the level the second time around, which is when i noticed this stuff. I truly enjoyed the level, it was a fun experience, and i hearted you as a creator so i can follow the series. I'm pumped for the next one!		2009-01-21 09:11:00

Author:
TJapan
Posts: 225

Hey just played your level (have to admit didnt complete the puzzle bit cos it started to take me ages (i got every wrong possible combination!)

Good
-I loved the design, very funny for a LBP level! liked the pet food (especially the elephant food lol) and the story in general (very whacky).
-The idea for going into the sewer was cool and i liked the part leading up to that with the flipped cars

Bad
-I found that i could bypass the whole story telling part at the start (a shame because it was very entertaining) I think maybe you should block off the tv room downstairs with some dissovle and have it open once you've gone outside and also wire the tv into the door at the front of the house so you cant get out untill you've watched it
-Puzzle seems artificially lengthened, I think you should make it so that a wrong colour doesnt mean you have to start again.

I enjoyed the level overall and will be interested to see where the level goes!		2009-01-27 07:34:00

Author:
turnipeater
Posts: 83

I had a go - quite fun, but got frustrating in the end.

Good
- The house was cool
- I loved the alarm clock
- The TV was neat
- I liked the oven and the fridge
- The upside down cars and the petstore both made me smile

Bad
- You used "GL" in some speech bubbles and I don't know what that means
- You spelt scratching wrong
- Towards the end it's like you got tired of making it and the detail was lacking as compared to the begining.
- The puzzle was so annoying I didn't bother to try and finish the stage
- Some parts made no sense, like why underground there was bits of flaming stuff you had to jump over. Or why there was some sort of open bridge thing in the backyard.

I did enjoy it though and gave you 4 stars and am really looking forward to more! The storyline is great!		2009-01-27 08:25:00

Author:
Michelle_NZ
Posts: 4

Hey Turnip and Michelle, thanks for your feedback,


-Puzzle seems artificially lengthened, I think you should make it so that a wrong colour doesn't mean you have to start again.

- The puzzle was so annoying I didn't bother to try and finish the stage
-It's hard to decide how hard to make the puzzle, I put a big hint in the puzzle room but some will see it and think its too easy and some will not see it and be frustrated. Good to have the feed back, I plan to make a bunch of small puzzles rather then one large one next time around.



-I think maybe you should block off the tv room downstairs with some dissolve and ...
I thought I had actually done that... I guess the sensor goes off 1 step before the backdoor cutscene so some might still get to te TV first, I'll fix that and add a blocker until the TV is done being watched.


- You used "GL" in some speech bubbles and I don't know what that means
- You spelt scratching wrong

-Thanks for finding them, I wish I could blame my spelling and typos on English as a second language but English is my only language, and I still suck at it


why there was some sort of open bridge thing in the backyard.

-Now there is something I can work on! It's suppose to be the launching bay for the Giant Mechanical Cat, but its not good story telling if it's not apparent to the viewer so I shale see if I can tie it in a little better.

Feedback on this level is really helping me tweak this and adjust my current projects, again thanks for your time,		2009-01-27 19:21:00

Author:
Ozwald_the_cat
Posts: 45

You know, I have this special place in my heart for cats. When I saw a level with this name I just had to play it.

PROS

I loved the visuals. Very cartoony and appropriate.

Subject matter is cute.

I thought the little "hide under the pillow and drag it under the falling fire" puzzle was very cool

Now, here is where I think I break off a little from the other reviewers. I may be a little different than other LBP players, but as a note of encouragement (and to let you know you're not crazy), I TOTALLY enjoyed the puzzle. After reading the clue (not white) I saw the colored pedestals, went up to the switch, saw the results, and immediately thought "oh, hey! I see what I'm supposed to do!". Then opened the door and continued. Personally, I think it was well done. HOWEVER, maybe part of the problem with some players is not necessarily the puzzle but the work necessary to figure it out. So (and I'm only brainstorming here), if the switch didn't take so much work to get to, the puzzle may be less irritating (such as eliminating the crawling under the platform, getting to the top, climbing on the lights, then pulling the switch. But, I had no problem with it at all personally.

CONS

You may have already tried this, but at the very beginning I think a camera panned up a little looking down (so I can see the stairs went down) I think would have been cooler than little arrows. I actually wandered around for about 10 seconds wondering what I was supposed to do.

I would have loved to see a proper story ending to the level. Seemed to lack a conclusion.

I gave it 4 stars and a heart - but I definately would like to see a proper ending.

And yes, you don't need to do a F4F - you gave me enough feedback on my level already! (and have the high score on my game).		2009-01-28 02:58:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

I enjoyd it.. was alot of fun.. Loved the detail in the house. the alarm clock was really cool.. The television was neat. had a pretty funny story to it, wich made it kind of whimsical and serious at the same time like "oh no the cities being destroyed" "by who?" "my cat!" lol, Umm the only things i didnt care for, when you first fall down the hole in the road, the 3 spots where fire logs are emmited.. first one, easy, second one easy once you figure out the pattern (but you can barely see it because of the camera zone) and the third one, Idk didnt seem to be a pattern, I watched it for a while and thought to myself "ok self, its gonna drop 4 logs at once, then you got a second to jump" it drops the logs, I jump and get hit by two more logs... finally made it through tho, then got undercover to run through all the other logs.. for some reason I thought I had to jump into the other thing, and then I was stuck, I didnt realize you had the thing on an emmiter (most people seem to give you one shot with things like that... sooo I trie for like 5 mins before killing myself,... ok so finally made it into the puzel room, didnt really understand what I was supposed to do for the longest... Pluss I poked my eye out last night, so Im like somewhere between colorblind and regular blind right now... soo like the brown color and the red color look identical to me, that made it kinda tough... anyway Other than the crap that was my fault pretty solid level, glad I played it... great job!2009-01-30 03:55:00

Author:
Madafaku
Posts: 738

Hey Cuz and Mada, thanks for the feedback.

I stepped back and said "yeah, its really not fun going up and down to do this puzzle" and changed it to make the trip a 1 time affair. I blocked paths so people have to listen to the story and fixed some of the dialog.

Mada, Ill go change the foam shield emitter so its more obvious to people who die there and please stop poking your eye, you'll prolly need that eye at somepoint. The logs have a pattern with 1 log emitting every 2nd loop of the pattern, I'd have made a cleaner pattern but since you can take 1 singe and live I just left it as is.

Cuz, I actually had the first camera at full tilt, the plush carpet is to luxurious to allow you to see the stairs. I tried adding a banister leading down and some points to lead the way, not sure it they help much.

I think I have this level pretty much at a finished version, if anyone has some final polishing ideas I'm always listening.

Time to plan level 2 I guess, I got ideas, but still need a master plan.		2009-01-30 04:46:00

Author:
Ozwald_the_cat
Posts: 45

In the end I didn't really have a problem with getting down the stairs. I think the arrows worked perfectly well, so if it's all that is possible than no problem.

This was a fantastic game, though! I'm looking forward to part 2.		2009-01-30 11:59:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

yes definately going to play part two when/if its released... I hope it is!2009-02-01 17:52:00

Author:
Madafaku
Posts: 738

I am playing this right now, I will comment as I play.

Love the detail in the bedroom. The alarm clock in particular is really well done. I don't think the arrow is necessary as it is pretty obvious there is only one way for the player to go.

The outside area to the left seems haphazardly thrown together and the blank backgorund isn't helping too much. Spruce things up a little here if your thermo allows. Fence looks great!

Not so sure you need to have TV spelled out for the player but if so then maybe some custom lettering would look a lot better. Might want to change the basic wood stand as well, I personally find it too plain. I love the way you did the TV though with the different channels, very cool.


I have said this to many creators but I will say it again to you: please take the time to make custom lettering. It looks infintely better then the story stickers and allows you to create it in any style you like.

Car pile up is well done, bus looks nice.

The falling burning logs have really been done to death. Try to think of something different and original that will really make your level stand out. Coloring your checkpoints would add an extra bit of polish.

Really nice gameplay element using the sponge as moving cover. I do something similar in 218. Great minds think alike

Uh-oh. Not the same scientist from Story mode again!!! I am seriously getting sick of seeing this guy in user-made levels (nothing against you but I have just seen him used so many times lol). Try to make your own, unique characters. Trust me, it is worth the time invested.

Great great puzzle here man. I admire the complexity and design behind this room. On an aesthetic note your materials are really incongruous. Always make sure your material selection is in harmony as this will add to the overall visual appeal of the level. Also, the blank background is visible when the charcter is near the ceiling. Adding more material or a cam zone will solve this problem.

There is the custom lettering! Why didn't you use this throughout the level lol. Ending was a little unexpected. Scoreboard is decorated but I wouldn't call it pretty. Maybe a bit more polish here would help.


Overall this was a great effort and I encourage you to make the sequel. You (like all of us creators) undoubtebly learned a lot from making this level and that should translate into something of much higher quality with the sequel. I look forward to your future projects.


Btw, I am from Toronto too 		2009-02-02 14:50:00

Author:
OCK
Posts: 1536

Right managed to play your level last night.
The House is really nicely done. The rampaging giant cat(may not be a giant cat but I imagined that) is a funny idea. I liked the streets with all the destruction, power lines down crashed cars and bus is cool. Leads nicley onto natural obstacles.

The end puzzle at first baffled me. The "scratching posts" which I thought where hoovers confused me and I tried to get them over to the righthand side. After my moment of stupidity I figured it out. Good puzzle makes a change from pick up coloured key with jetpack and drop it in corresponding coloured hole puzzle. The lights lighting next to the door for getting the correct order is cool.

Wicked level, funny concept. 4*
I would quit like to see a giant cat though 		2009-02-02 15:39:00

Author:
bindibaji
Posts: 119

Trying your level out as I type.

+ Liked the bedroom, it looks very good. The drawers in particular look great, as does the alarm clock
+ The TV worked well, a cool little touch
+ I liked the whole look of this level, it looks colourful and happy. The pet food store smashed to bits made me lol
+ The destroyed street was a nice platform section that fitted in nicely

- The puzzle with the lights and scratching posts was confusing. I worked it out in the end, but it took a while, I don't think the soldiers were helpful enough.
- Short, I really wanted to see the cat

This was a nice level, very different to the ones I have played to day. I thought it was a good little level that flowed well. The only real problems I had were the initially confusing confusing and the length. I really wanted to see more of the cats devastation and actually fight it.

**** and "funny" tag left in game.

I want to see the cat!! :-)		2009-02-02 22:26:00

Author:
GruntosUK
Posts: 1754

I'll check it out it sounds fun. I'll write back2009-02-03 03:56:00

Author:
sirenrose
Posts: 61


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