Archive: 16 posts

---

What key points interest you most in any platformer, is it the visuals? The gameplay? The contraptions? Or maybe even just a the logic and touch mechanics? This thread is all about what makes platformers stand out from the rest on LBPV, share your views on what you look for and what gives a level the edge to any other... Some key starters: -Visuals -Gameplay -Theme -Story -Music -Logic -Contraptions -Menu's -Multiplayer What is most important to you when playing?

2013-07-28 01:30:00 Author: Kyesty Posts: 97

---

For me i think visuals are the most important, i mean i would prefer to play a beautiful platformer with awesome lighting and smart visuals than an ugly or not even slightly good visuals platformer... well thats my opinion, and i would like to hear yours

2013-07-28 02:22:00 Author: xASUSx Posts: 49

---

Story, not important to me whatsoever in a platformer. I can take it or leave it. Most stories in lbp never grab my attention anyway, so I could really care less if there is one or not. If a story is good though, it can definitely enhance any platformer, but make sure it does not interrupt the flow of the gameplay. And never have a magic mouth or cutscene interrupt a bubble chain. That is a pet peave of mine! Visuals need to pop. Can be minimalistic, but need to looks good. I tend to use two or three materials for my platformers, and one grabable material. Materials need to flow well with the level design. Level design needs to flow. Platforming should be smooth. Gameplay is super important. A good platformer needs to be fun, and fast flowing in my opinion. Original obstacles are hard to come by in this day, but I try my best to include something new in all my levels that has never been done before. Not an easy task. You can look for other levels for inspiration, but never copy an idea to a tee. If you see something you like, try it in your own style, and always try to make better, but never make the same exact carbon copy of anyone's ideas. Bubble placement is important in gameplay. Everyone likes bubble chains, But just don't place a row of bubble where someone can easily get a 15x combo for basically walking over a platform. Place your bubbles in different layers, and make the player earn and work for those combos. Theme is important. Like I said before, I try to use no more than three materials, and use decorations. Not just the ones in your sticker popit. Make your own. I made several of my own decorations for Cherokee. Squares, and triangles, that were mutilayered, and when placed in the right places, made the visuals and theme come together quite nicely. Music is super important. I try out all kinds of music in my creation process. I will add a different music object almost every other time I testplay, waiting until I know for sure what works best. Contraptions, no, keep vehicles out of my platformers, that tends to break up of the flow in my opinion. Menus are nice, but unnecessary for a platformer. You can spend time and make a slick UI if you want, but I really want to just platform over obstacles and and chain bubble combos. Logic is important. Its what makes levels work. I make simple platformers for the most part, my logic knowledge is limitied but that is okay. I know how to use what needs to be done for the most part. If I can't figure something out on my own, there are always hundreds of tutorials I can use to help me through some tough situations. But my motto has always been to keep it simple. Mutiplayer is the hardest thing for me to get used to since I switched from psp to vita. No MP on lbp-psp so it is not easy on vita trying to think how the gameplay will be different with more than one player. I try my best to make my levels playable for up to four players, but it is one of the hardest things I encounter in my create process. Plus, the MP is prone to laggyness so getting a few people to get together and help beta test a level can be hard at times. All my levels play so much better one player, but Lord knows I try. So, that is my two cents in platformer making.

2013-07-28 04:57:00 Author: VelcroJonze Posts: 1305

---

For me GAMEPLAY is the most important thing ! That's the platformer's heartbeat. It needs to be original, neat and efficient. I like personally all custom moves, nice mechanics or puzzles. Logic is obviously needed to have a great gameplay. Then come visuals and sound design. The art style should be convenient and pretty smooth. High detailed, silhouette, minimalist, retro...all original art styles are great ! The music and the sounds are really important too, because they're able to bury the player into the level ! A nice ambiance needs visuals and sounds. Story is not needed for platformers, but nothing prevent you to make one. As VelcroJonze, I've some problems with multiplayer because of complex gameplay... Even if I almost never play multiplayer mode, I suppose that's a nice feature for some players...

2013-07-28 10:40:00 Author: Gwaeron Posts: 170

---

These are great answers guys, and have helped me a lot. I always thought visuals were top priority over gameplay but this post has made me change my mind now. I agree fully that gameplay needs to be smooth and not too easy but a bit of a challenge also. Sound is also a high priority then, for example if you have a treadmill/escalator it makes a great difference to add a sound effect to it, it burys you in as Gwaeron said. Thanks a lot for the replies, it will help me and other creators who view this post.

2013-07-28 14:28:00 Author: Kyesty Posts: 97

---

Whereas I agree original gameplay is very important, and is probably what I'll give a level the most credit for, if a level has terrible visuals I can't get over it. So in many ways I think the most emphasis is on the visuals or overall theme than actual gameplay because a beautiful level with minimal gameplay is acceptable to me. Just my view!

2013-07-28 16:35:00 Author: Coxy224 Posts: 2645

---

Fun. That's it.

2013-07-30 21:38:00 Author: amoney1999 Posts: 1202

---

I find that EVERYTHING is important. While you can get away with making a platformer without a story, one with a GOOD story elevates it so much (cinematics and sackbot behaviours are important to this). In regards to gameplay, it needs to be fun and obvious - staring at a level having no idea what to do is always a pain. If you have a contraption that is complicated to use, try making a different, easier version for the start of the level. This will ease the player in and not be so overwhelming when they finally get to the complicated bit. Also, be aware of how much space you have between gameplay bits - some levels have giant gaps of nothingness between gameplay. Make sure they are bumped up as close to each other as possible. With the theme - make it memorable! All of my levels just start off trying to match different materials and stickers, to create a scene. If you've got enough variety in your materials/stickers you can stretch it out over a long level. (the gameplay ideas then come from your theme. if its space - try gameplay that toys with the gravity. if its a house, try gameplay that replicates household objects - eg swinging from ceiling fans) After all that, focus on detail. Sound effects are VERY important and can really help lift your level. If you have time/space on thermo make some things move in the background. It helps make the world seem more real. Its really daunting starting from scratch, so I just give myself a goal with each level I create. Touchy Wouchy Forest - first Vita level, tried basic touch gameplay Touchy Wouchy Spaceship - tried toying with gravity and a theme that looked mechanical The Swamp - tried adding a story, cinematics and enemies Christmas Down Under - tried using the creatinator, and tilt A Druid's Tale - refining cinematics, tried harder to make gameplay suit environment Steampunk Smelter - tried to make as many parts of the level move around as possible (eg elevators) I don't mean for that to sound like an ad, just trying to show the process of learning, refining and perfecting each part. Once you've perfected it, its easy to use your new skills in a new level. Basically just keep adding layers of complications with each new level. lol

2013-07-31 03:12:00 Author: jaffakree503 Posts: 72

---

Holy cow what else can I add to all these pro tips and stuff? I agree with all of them, but if I had to add something, it would be: 1) Try not to create yourself a Comfort Zone. Make sure every single platformer you make is different from the last one, keep things spiced up. You can try to make a puzzler-platformer, then a fast-paced platformer, then an animated platformer (ok that may be a little too hard), then a classic one, one which focuses on grappling hooks (or any other power-up), or touch or tilt or I DUNNO! There are PLENTY of ideas just for the single genre of platforming levels. Try not to repeat yourself! Never! Evahh. For example I have published -One easy cute-graphics and cool effects platformer in LBP2, -one Arcade game (also a Platformer :arg in Vita, -One classic platformer that also combined a little ice-themed obstacles and a boss battle and -I'm working on lots of other stuff but as you can see please don't reapeat yourself! Be original 2) Try to keep your levels focused on one or two obstacle type things for the WHOLE level. Decide what kind of gameplay you will have and STICK TO IT! Imagine the best level EVAH Roller Inc. 1 & 2 by comphermc. Ever played them? Anyway, most of the gameplay is created around the idea of hard platforming where most obstacles involve rolling barrels. Everywhere. That's his theme. If you want to make a grabinator themed level, stick to that then! Please don't stack multiple and totally random obstacles like a jetpack section here, and then WHOA now some puzzles and then WHOA lots of touch and tilt in one single room even though you hadn't used 'em before. If you are smart you can actually make a crazy level with the things I just told you not to do but I really prefer my platformer focused on one kind of gameplay. I could say tons of things more, but VJ and everyone else just got ahead of me. By the way... I've never been able to create a level that uses less than 10 different materials hehehehe so don't be too afraid to limit yourself to a restriction of too little material handling. It is awesome and actually recommended to keep it low with the number of materials you're using, but don't be that afraid of losing thermo. Hope it helps EDIT: My, I forgot something. I'm gonna tell you a little secret of mine that is not that secret but is a really really cool tip that I always use. It is about materials. Not about how to select them or how to build graphics in your levels, but a cool tip to handle materials ina really original way is: 1) Use the UV tool! Its the most awesome thing that not that much people uses! Experiemnt with it and you'll discover that materials can become really different than from what they were before! Turn those pixels around, make 'em bigger or smaller! Its up to you pal. 2) Use stickerssss! If you ever play my Christams level you'll see lots of snow in the first minute of gameplay or so. Many people actually ask me what did I use to create the snow effect. Man... I used the UV tool a little as always but more importantly... I just covered the whole "Sand" material with huge white stickers. Lol. You see, the point is being original! Use materials and custom objects the way they weren't supposed to be used, and you may get something even better!

2013-07-31 05:55:00 Author: yugnar Posts: 1478

---

Well platformer can be anything! Depends what the author has done of course. I like to see: -Visuals -Gameplay -"The idea"

2013-07-31 22:43:00 Author: doggy97 Posts: 964

---

This is all great information from team-picked creators as well which is amazing! A lot of ideas and fresh ways of making levels have opened my mind up reading this forum, I thought that there was not much to add after Gwaeron but Jaffakree503 and yugnar really expanded and added things I'd never thought about before. Don't be in a comfort zone and give yourself a goal on each level are really great key points to add. I'm also going to experiment with the UV Tool more often now. Thanks for all the answers creators!

2013-08-01 20:44:00 Author: Kyesty Posts: 97

---

The UV tool was a good point. As well as the UV tool I think people also forget that a lot of materials have colour tweakers which with the UV tool can really change a materials apparence. There isn't much more to add but what I personally like in a level, is the creator coming up with a single concept and building an entire level around that one idea, Slurmmackenzie does this all the time. For visuals I'm not too bothered about it, I just like levels that are not ugly, they don't have to be fantastic looking but it doesn't hurt So... Yeah it's all about the gameplay in my eyes.

2013-08-02 01:11:00 Author: OriginalCreator Posts: 217

---

I often judge levels largely by their visuals. More often than not, levels that I've played that had gorgeous, well put together visuals were the most fun to play, and those that had lacking visuals often had bland platforming. The level's visuals say a lot about the commitment and experience of the creator. The real gems for me are those levels that can look gorgeous with simple designs. One level I played, Tierra Deliciosa, had a perfect balance--it looked great, wasn't overly cluttered, and had good platforming. Lighting is also a big deal. I, for one, use light a TON when making levels. I find it really helps add to the atmosphere, and can add a lot of life to the level.

2013-09-11 02:23:00 Author: Rayn Sideways Posts: 14

---

Really interesting and important points throughout this thread. For me, the absolute top aspects of a platformer should be gameplay, visuals and sound effects. Gameplay is an obvious top priority but I really like it when there is some sort of correlation between the visuals and the gameplay. For example, if I were to start making a factory level, I would immediately start using electrified hazards, which would then inform design ideas and contraption gimics, which (ideally) would help the flow of ideas to create a nice overall experience. Visuals can also clutter gameplay and confuse the players eye so it's important not to go overboard. As for sounds effects, I really do mean sound EFFECTS over music. Music is great but adding sound to contraptions and background elements can really enhance the immersive quality of the level. Since I have started creating on the Vita, my new pet hate has become OPTIMIZATION!! I really can't stand levels that let themselves suffer under lag and slowdown. It can absolutely kill the platforming and is essential creator effort as far as I'm concerned. I often wish I could go back to LBP2 and optimize my levels there. I think this is more essential on the Vita where objects are only affected by 2 light sources. With some clever slicing, levels can look better and play better. I'm a sucker for adding story to my levels, even though I know it's fairly pointless. A little bit of intro and outro is nice as arms and legs of a level, just as long as it doesn't interfere with the heart and brain (if you know what I mean...??)

2013-09-15 10:36:00 Author: bossveg Posts: 47

---

Man what you said is totally right about lag. If you can avoid it, do it. You have to avoid lag unless it is completely impossible.

2013-09-15 16:36:00 Author: yugnar Posts: 1478

---

I don't like multiple paths.

2013-09-17 23:45:00 Author: IcyFlamez_ Posts: 118

Posts: 1077139    Threads: 69970    Members: 9661    Archive-Date: 2019-01-19

Aus dem Archiv wurden alle persönlichen Daten wie Name, Anschrift, Email etc. - aber auch sämtliche Inhalte wie z.B. persönliche Nachrichten - entfernt.
Die Nutzung dieser Webseite erfolgt ohne Speicherung personenbezogener Daten. Es werden keinerlei Cookies, Logs, 3rd-Party-Plugins etc. verwendet.