3D Level 2 Feedback

 Bryan Hodoyan, Heath Brough, Jonathan Villaloboz, Mia Anderson, Pablo Flores Moran, Samantha Shanahan, and Selena Benavides playtested my level. I noticed many things that could have been improved with my level. One of the things that could have been improved was the overall length. 

The challenges that I presented in the level were not bad–but they could have been extended or made longer. There is one main platforming challenge in the level, and it lasts a maximum of 30 seconds. I want to emphasize the amount of challenges in the level for the player to encounter instead of relying on the combat to engage the player.

One thing that I noticed that all of the levels I playtested did better than I had in my level was that they included much more exploration mechanics. My level did not really have any open space to begin with– it was mostly a direct path from start to finish. When making the level, I thought that the level was non-linear because it did not follow a straight line, but if you were to take away the turns in the level, it was pretty much a linear level. I want to introduce more exploratory spaces which force the player to interact with the environment. 

Part of what made the exploration not a waste of time in the other designers’ levels is that they used many switches and pressure plates. I want to incorporate more switches, doors, and moving platforms in my update to the level. Doing so will both increase the length of the level and foster a greater level of exploration. 

One thing that I did do somewhat well is make the environment somewhat interesting. The level was medieval themed, so I attempted to make barebones decorations by making the level appear like the player was on some sort of castle wall or castle bridge. However, the player had no reason to pay attention to it as there was no focus on exploration. 

I believe that I can increase the difficulty of the level in the future. The monsters that I put were not particularly difficult to get past, for instance. I want to increase their health and numbers so that the player feels a greater amount of pressure in dealing with the enemies. I believe that the other obstacles the player must face are not too easy, but they simply were not enough. The challenges ended very soon and could have been extended or expanded upon in a later point of the level. 

I believe that the reason there was a poor degree of exploration and interactivity with the environment is that I did not incorporate circulation elements into the level. There was never a reason for the player to retrace their steps or double check a place they had already been to. 

One of the players pointed out in my level that there were very easy ways to skip sections of the level, by walking along the wall of the challenge. I am going to rectify this issue by adding invisible walls that force the player into playing through the challenge. I also noticed when playtesting my level that the invisible maze part was very difficult to navigate because the player could not direct the camera all the way upwards. I think that there is no direct fix to this issue, because that has to do with the limitations of the game itself. Instead, I will fix it by compromising and putting invisible walls around the maze as well so that the player is not punished for being unable to follow the maze.