A second view - Reviews by Trindall

[Trindall]

Title: Escape from a Creepy House
Author: oerjeke
Description: “It’s Saturday morning. . . Bobby wakes up in a house . . . that is not his . . .This is a puzzle level with a nice atmosphere.”
Forum Post: NA

Review

Visuals:
This level takes place in a house and requires the players to explore the environment looking through rooms for a way out. The house is large enough to not feel cramped and the different rooms have enough decoration and theming to make it clear where you are. While a lot of the house and components look blocky or comprised mainly of straight lines there is enough creativity and architecture to clearly understand what is being seen.

The house is a bit unusual in design with spikes on the fence surrounding the backyard, chains that raise/lower the basement door and no shower or bathtub in sight. These small things and a fairly creepy painting in the upper floors of the house add a bit of unease and peculiarity to the experience.

Oerjeke has done a very good job on the items that you collect throughout the level. To get into locked rooms, retrieve stuck objects or proceed through certain areas you need to collect items in the form of stickers. These stickers show a good amount of detail and make the items easy to identify and use while playing.

There are jagged edges in different places where I’d expect straight lines, such as on floors or walls and a lot of the models are basic in nature without elaborate decoration or curvature. A little polishing and possibly stickering would go a good ways to improving the overall visual construction of the house set.

Challenge:
The level has a few different locked areas that you need to find keys or other tools to get into. Generally a simple but full search of the house will turn up a number of objects that can be used and it is up to the player to use them in the correct spots. The difficulty of this level is around easy to moderate depending on your logical reasoning skills.

There aren’t any active hazards in the level with the exception of the knife decoration used in a few places that the player may accidentally walk into as well as a running fire on the range. (Shame on the homeowners for leaving the burners turned on.)

As the player starts collecting more and more items oerjeke has very helpfully labeled each item to denote its proper affiliation which went a long way in preventing confusion about with of the three keys in my inventory was the bedroom key versus the closet key or attic key.

Pacing:
This level does not have any significant change in pace from start to finish. No timed sequences, no chases, no pauses waiting for platforms, no boss fights and no excessive dialogue. This lends a very structured feel to the level and keeps everything feeling consistent yet it also eliminates the sense of buildup or anticipation.

The challenge level is consistent as well as the atmosphere and story elements throughout the experience. The level is very focused on the single goal of getting out of the house and in this aim the level manages that aim very well. The plot doesn’t progress beyond what is said in the beginning to set the story and a comment or two that the player initially makes as they walk around. The story seems to fizzle by about mid-way and isn’t really finished.

Replayability/Multiplayer:
I do not see a lot of incentive for players to replay this level due to the absolute nature of the level. There are no real platforming sequences to introduce the chance of improving a previous attempt, no hidden areas to explore and no alteration or deepening of the storyline or puzzle elements.

There is a way to compete on the scoreboards which is to ace the level thus obtaining the top possible score of 350 points. But due to the low threat nature of the house there are already a few other players who’ve also managed this feat which does lower the cache a bit.

A level need not be replayed many times to be a fun experience the first time around. Do not take my above remarks to think that the level is poorly made or boring to play. It is simply a measure of a level’s replayability.

This level seems to be a multiplayer friendly level in that there are no rapidly moving platforms, grab balls on winches, elevators or other such problem areas.

Quirks/Oddities:
--The refrigerator is not glued down or secured via a bolt. I was able to push it around the section of kitchen it is in. The computer upstairs is likewise free or moorings. Though this is a bit more realistic the light material that it is made from does make it fly around fairly quickly in an unrealistic manner as you bat it around.

--I think there is a rain or thunder sound effect playing through various sections of the house. It is a bit hard to identify and may be a general rumbling but the sky is cloudy and dim which reinforces my rain theory. However upon leaving the house the sky clears up and it is nice and sunny. It could be that the house is a dark/supernatural place but this isn’t really dealt with in this level.

Rating/Closing thoughts

This level has a good premise, a person wakes up in a strange house that is not theirs and they need to escape. I would have liked that particular story to be fleshed out a bit more. There seem to be some creepy aspects to the house or the person who lives there but that was really explored either beyond a small bit or two.

There was also no threat to the player nor any explanation as to why the player is in the house at all. I did like the point-and-click adventure feeling to the level and the exploration and finding the different objects needed to progress. In this way I was reminded of Maniac Mansion though there are many things done different in that game and this level.

I liked that everything was clear in the level, easy to follow clues and instructions and that everything worked properly with no bugs or hiccups. This level is solidly built and hints at an interesting story or location that would be fun to find out more about in future levels. (??) People looking for a straightforward point-and-click style level of medium length should or younger players looking for a creepy house to escape should enjoy the level.

[(___Neo___)]

Hi Trindall

I stumbled over your review-thread and I wonder if you will find some time to write reviews of my two levels: The Forgotten Tomb of Memsut - Part 1 & 2. Of course you already wrote an awesome detailed feedback-comment in my levels-thread, so if you don't have the time to write it again as an official review here in this thread: nevermind - no problem. But it would be awesome if this would be possible sometimes...

Thanks in advance for a short feedback due to this topic...

Greets
Neo

[Trindall]

Hi Trindall

I stumbled over your review-thread and I wonder if you will find some time to write reviews of my two levels: The Forgotten Tomb of Memsut - Part 1 & 2. Of course you already wrote an awesome detailed feedback-comment in my levels-thread, so if you don't have the time to write it again as an official review here in this thread: nevermind - no problem. But it would be awesome if this would be possible sometimes...

Thanks in advance for a short feedback due to this topic...

Greets
Neo

We'll get your name on the official review queue and the way things are working out it may be a bit before I can get to this review as there are quite a bit of other levels waiting in line.

There are other reviewers as well though some are a bit busier than others but if you wait I'll be able to get to this one eventually.

Then I'll be able to see if I can still climb up the outside of the pyramid and down to the floor when I get to that point.

[Trindall]

Title: Blue Heaven Guild story series

• Blue Heaven Guild Prologue
• Blue Heaven Guild Ch. 1 Rest
• Blue Heaven Guild Ch. 2 The Warped Manor

Author: Laharlsama
Description: “The story follows Retin. He is a member of a guild who is assigned the mission of rescuing the mayor's daughter, Alexia, who had been kidnapped by a vampire.”
Forum Post: http://www.lbpforum.net/showthread.php?t=1985

[Part 1 of 2]

Review
This review is for a set of three levels that comprise all of the Blue Heaven Guild series of levels that are out at this point. As such I will go into details about each level as well as how each level relates to the series in general and about the improvements that occur as the series progresses. I will denote a section for each level for each review category.

Visuals:
Prologue:
The graphics on this first level are a few notches above basic yet still have more than a few rough edges. The buildings and rooms are structurally complete and easily identifiable and there are a few cosmetic touches spread out to provide a sense of location. In general, however, the sets are a bit bland to look at and in some cases don’t make sense logically.

The big case in point for this is the training room where the protagonist will practice a few basic moves. The room itself seems to be floating in the air above the starting building separated by a wall of glass. Possibly the glass is meant to show that the player has ‘warped’ to a different location or maybe the training room is intended to be literally in room in a tower of glass.

As rough as it is in places if it is taken as a whole this level is better than many first time levels seen from other players and sets up a visual style that will be seen throughout the rest of the series.

Chapter 1:
This level brings the visuals quality up a few degrees with a much more cohesive and well created level. The theme of the level is that of a trek through a forest and through a type of cave complex. The decorations and set design flow much more cleanly in this level and also provide a wider range of unique play locations which I enjoyed.

The level of the visuals in this level usually were consistently good looking without being overly luxurious. The use of global and local lighting is also played with a bit in this level to added effect and a few new creatures are introduced to keep things visually interesting. This level is much more enjoyable on the whole to look at while playing through. There are still some basic constructions and the stickering isn’t always complete but definitely an solid level.

Chapter 2:
Again things look much better and more detailed in this third level in the series. I’m happy to look around the house to see all of the details put into place. There are a few more varied locations as well as different rooms in the house to explore. The character models are well done in this level with believable representations of the vampire and a nice looking spider boss.

Some of the props in the house such as the musical instruments in the music room show that time and attention to detail have been put into the level and all of the decorations and minutia give the house a real sense of depth and personality.

The personality of the house doesn’t seem to mesh with the evil vampire who lives there, at least from the rooms I was able to visit. There are rooms and sections I could not get into and I believe that they will be accessible in future levels but having the doors there adds to the feeling of the house as a location rather than just a facade in a movie set.

The infamous garden maze is one of the stars of the level though it is fairly blank in terms of visual appeal. There isn’t too much you can do with a garden maze but Laharlsama has done a decent job breaking it up with multiple layers of play space and a few different visual effects in the way of red/white flowers, lights and the wood latticework material.

Challenge:
Prologue:
This level is very simplistic in terms of challenge and gameplay. It is intended to be an introduction and can be excused to an extent for light gameplay. There isn’t much threat in this level though a series of slug looking monsters at the forest entrance can get the player if they aren’t being too careful.

There are objectives, creatures to overcome and a minimal amount of platforming and I’d rate this levels as easy to moderately easy.

Chapter 1:
There are a lot more to contend with in this level from a series of epileptic, plasma and fire spiting snake creatures to a platforming trek through a cave system ending up with a trip through a lider lair and their big mommy spider boss. (Think electrified spiders that are the size of horses.)

The challenge level remains fairly consistent throughout the level though the last Lider boss sequence has a good bit of lag and a camera angle that doesn’t lend well to some of the jumps needed making this all a bit challenging. With the exception of this last segment everything else in the level is consistent and can be overcome with some careful jumping and a little forethought.

This level is an easy to moderately challenging level depending on your run/jump platforming ability.

Chapter 2:
This level eases back on the creatures as obstacles mold and moves more into the exploration and run/jump arenas. There is a bit of ‘find the key to open the door’ task at the beginning and the introduction of rooms unlock-able through certain sigils or powers is a good concept. After a run-in with the apparent arch-nemesis vampire we are thrown into a boss style encounter with a giant enraged spider queen.

While this was a bit unexpected I suppose that this may be the same giant Lider from the end of the last level which could explain it a bit. The boss fight isn’t very difficult once you get past the initial shock of the encounter. There are a series of lights that show you where the current vulnerable spot is for you to attack. The problem is that even after you’ve successfully attacked a spot the light pattern never changes forcing you to wait a bit for the last few remaining weak spots to light up so that you can attack.

The boss fight is a lot of fun visually but may be a bit frustrating for some who have trouble seeing the dark brown patch that needs to be grabbed amongst the large amounts of black patches, in the dark of night, as well as some layer switching problems that can complicate the grabbing of the intended spot.

However after the Spider queen is dispatched the players get to play through the garden maze, definitely a well done implementation of the rotating maze sub-genre. This is a rotating maze but one that is multi-layered with a much wider range of hazards than I’ve seen before and all work well within the context of a garden maze. This is a good challenge in the level but not impossible so a bit of patience and some good timing and jumps will see you through this one.

Overall the challenge of this level starts off easy then jumps up very quickly with the back-to-back segments with the queen and garden maze. Players with good platforming ability may find this level to be moderately difficult.

[Trindall]

Title: Blue Heaven Guild story series

• Blue Heaven Guild Prologue
• Blue Heaven Guild Ch. 1 Rest
• Blue Heaven Guild Ch. 2 The Warped Manor

Author: Laharlsama
Description: “The story follows Retin. He is a member of a guild who is assigned the mission of rescuing the mayor's daughter, Alexia, who had been kidnapped by a vampire.”
Forum Post: http://www.lbpforum.net/showthread.php?t=1985

[Part 2 of 2]

Pacing:
Prologue:
This level is a very short level which may put a few people off. The pacing is fairly slow throughout the level as the intention is primarily in teaching the player the basics and to introduce the protagonist.

Chapter 1:
Pacing is handled much better in this level with a smooth series of segments that flow well from one to the other. The platforming segments are broken up with monster encounters so that each section does not go overlong. The level culminates well with the boss chase sequence even if it is a bit short in duration.

Chapter 2:
This level has a glaring dichotomy between the first and second halves. Initially the level is about exploration and looking for items and can be played at the player’s speed. Half way through the tempo is suddenly ramped up and you will be facing off against the plasma spewing boss and the frenetic rotating garden maze.

The transition from the two game styles is very abrupt and could be handled better but the whole level is of a sufficiently long length that it feels satisfying once completed.

Replayability/Multiplayer:
Prologue:
This level is short enough and straightforward enough that there isn’t anything that will pull players back into it for another play. This is fine in terms of the series as it fills its purpose and isn’t intended to work as a full level. There is a jump section that propels you up to the training room that I can see could cause problems with multiple players who don’t time their jumps in complete unison.

Chapter 1:
This level is also one that works out well primarily as a single player level and there are no bubble caches in the whole level. The only real source of getting on the scoreboard is from fighting the bad creatures, there are only three of them that give points, so players wanting to compete on the scoreboard will not have much to replay for.

Chapter 2:
This level is more sophisticated in terms of providing a level that can be replayed for different experiences. There is the great garden maze that would be fun to blunder through in a multiplayer environment but it appears that there are still a few hidden spots that can be sussed out in later play sessions for those looking for secrets or the high score.

Of the three this level is the most friendly in terms of replayability though I’m not sure what effect having many players will have on the teleporter system.

Quirks/Oddities:
Prologue:
--The glass wall underneath the training room doesn’t extend all the way to the left. There is a gap on the left side that is a bit odd.

--It is possible to jump over the person who blocks the stairway and you can skip the training room segment this way.

--I don’t know what your stance is on visible mechanics such as pistons, switches and so on but the visible piston on the person blocking the stairway is a bit odd. I think this one would be a good one to set to invisible.

--The boulder looking things at the entrance to the forest are the weak points for the slug looking monsters? I’m not sure I understand the connections on this one. Additionally a player can just wait in this area and kill the creatures over and over again as they seem to continuously respawn until you remove the boulder things. Players can easily get the high score this way and seems a bit cheap.

Chapter 1:
--The last magic mouth in the level is censored out. It would be nice to see what you are saying since this closes out the level.

--The lider farthest to the left always seems to not work properly for me. Whenever I get close to the egg it seems to jump or fly out and falls into the gap between the current walkway and the nest to the right. Sometimes I’m able to get to the creature brain when it is in this fallen down state and sometimes I cannot.

--The intro black screen that you use to block the level during the intro text is good but would work out better if it was bigger. It doesn’t cover the whole screen and if the player walks around it is clear to see that this patch of black isn’t very large.

Chapter 2:
--Possibly there was some reference in the text in the censored magic mouth at the end of the last level but I was pretty surprised to see myself in a house in this level. How did I get here? One minute I was in a forest and the next I was in a house. Hmmm, mysterious.

--The warp system is nice and I couldn’t break it but I can see a player being able to warp around excessively to get a high score which also feels a bit underhanded. (For those who don’t know, the warp system in this level gives you a score bubble when you die to compensate for the loss in score you get from dying.) Eventually the death penalty for dying would be more than the amount given by the score bubble but that point is still higher than the highest score on the scoreboard.

--The first time I played through the spider queen I had a hard time seeing which areas I had already grabbed versus those which were still needing to be grabbed. Highlighting the grab points in a lighter color may make it easier to spot which ones remain.

Rating/Closing thoughts:

The series has a good premise with the protagonist being able to use or obtain a range of powers. The story so far is a straightforward one, the protagonist sets off to rescue a damsel in distress from a bad monster.

I’d like to learn more about the Blue Heaven Guild though as that is an area where there is no information provided at all. At this point you could remove that aspect of the story completely and not affect any real story or gameplay elements of the three levels that have been released. Since the series is named after this guild I’m curious to see why and if there is more to the story than just rescue the princess style plotting.

As I have looked back at the three levels it seems to me that the prologue is small enough and the ending fits so well with the start of Chapter 1 that it seems like a good idea to simply copy the entire prologue and place it into the start of Chapter 1 to come up with a more complete level. Possibly there are thermometer constraints but I think that Chapter 1 would be a more solid experience if the prologue was included.

All in all the levels have done a good job maintaining some of the visual cues and styles throughout to help maintain the sense of story and the overall plot is progressing at a good pace. There is more to come from this series with the beta for Chapter 3 out there for players to try though the access key is protected by a combination lock.

The levels’ quality increase after each iteration so that the blocky, jagged lines are soon replaced by smoother, more organic environments and better detail and modeling.

The series as a whole covers standard themes and objectives up until now without any really compelling characters or plot twists but I hope that gets corrected in future levels.

One aspect that I particularly enjoyed was that Laharlsama has created a different environment that has unique flora and fauna. The plants and animals are different and creative and approached not as a gimmick but more as just another part of the environment which gives the world of Blue Heaven Guild a little bit more believability.

Players who enjoy run/jumping or those interesting in creature hunting may enjoy this series and the play experience get better and better up to Chapter 2 so that if players had to pick a single level to see what Laharlsama is doing would be best to check out the last level as that is the best representation of where this creator’s skills currently are.

There are enough unanswered questions and interesting elements in the world created in Blue Heaven Series that I’ll look out for the next level in the series to see where things go from here.

[Frank_Burns]

Nice review. im coming up with a level thats cool (Thanks goes to my dad for idea, And Jeenyus240 for ideas and story) And its one level so less work.

[(___Neo___)]

We'll get your name on the official review queue and the way things are working out it may be a bit before I can get to this review as there are quite a bit of other levels waiting in line.

There are other reviewers as well though some are a bit busier than others but if you wait I'll be able to get to this one eventually.

Then I'll be able to see if I can still climb up the outside of the pyramid and down to the floor when I get to that point.

Haha... well, right now, this is still possible - but of course I will fix this as well - hehe, but you are really the only guy (out of 340 plays right now) who made this attempt and climb up that pyramid LOL... nice approach :-) you are a better "glicht-searcher" than my girlfriend (but she stumbles over those things by pure "no-skill"-effort :-)))))

ok, thanks in advance...

greets
Neo :-)

ps: well, you make me think of a special gift for you at the top of the pyramid.... "trindall's place" :-)

[Davey U]

Thanks for reviewing my level Trindall! Glad you liked it.
One day I may get around to fixing it up, but if I'm in a creating mood, then I'll most likely be working on something new instead.

You were probably thinking I was a total jerk for not thanking you sooner. Sorry.

Top-notch reviewing there Trindall, a massive asset to the community.

[Trindall]

Title: Beware of the Sack Hacker!
Author: arklon
Description: “What if someone wanted to capture sack boys in general? What if a serial killer was a level creator?”
Forum Post: http://www.lbpforum.net/showthread.p...4255#post34255

Review

Visuals:
This is an eclectic level with a basic, almost off-putting visual style. There is a bit of chaos in the walls, floors and layout of the objects that is seen in bits of odd stickering, oddly placed ceilings, widely varying building materials and in lines that should be straight but are sometimes jarred and pitted in spots.

I’d like to think that this frenetic, off-kilter visual style is intended to show the mind of the titular sack hacker in all of its bent glory but I’ve played enough of authors’s levels to know that a bit of this is also a bit of signature arklon level style. The level gets progressively darker thematically as you penetrate farther into the Sack Hacker’s lair and I found that the set design to improve towards the end of the level.

There is a bit of mad surrealism to the decorations and deathtraps in this level that could be interpreted as either creepy or basic depending on your state of mind while playing. I think that the odd placement of rooms fits well with the apparent lunacy of the mad sack hacker and took this to be all a part of the ambiance.

Keep in mind that the visuals of this level will not be mistaken for works of art neither cubist nor post-modern but it does convey the intended mood. I liked the entryway’s decoration prior to the first deathtrap and some of the last segments of the level that look well done.

Challenge:
The challenge on this level jumps around a bit with some segments being easier than others. In general I find that this level sits between an easy to moderately difficult level rating. Some of the difficult sections, a dropping bomb segment and a bit involving a swarm of monster pokers can be frustrating due to the way in which the challenge is implemented.

In some of the more difficult sections it seems that if you can find a good timing you will be able to work the challenges fairly smoothly but there is an element of unpredictability and randomness that can seriously foul up even a cautious player.

The fast/slow nature of the difficulty in the level is also reminiscent of the erratic nature of the Sack Hacker who has built the arena and the wide variety of nature of the deathtraps shows a bit of creativity and dedication on the part of the creator.

Pacing:
The pacing is another section that is off and on in this level. There are a few sections where the player is forced to sit around and wait before being able to progress, either for a ceiling to descend, for a wall to raise, an elevator to ascend and so on. Couple this with numerous areas where the player is rushing back and forth to stay ahead of death gives the level a jerky pacing that can put off some players.

I think that the pace is at its worst in the three areas I noted earlier and by increasing the speed of the descending spike ceiling, the mid-level elevator and the gate at the monster pokers may make things a bit less jumpy

Replayability:
The level is linear such that the experience will not change from one play to the next so the most compelling reason to replay the level will be to improve your score. There are quite a few hidden caches of score bubbles and quite a few opportunities to die in this level such that players wanting to compete for the top scores will be able to get a few good replays on this level.

Quirks/Oddities:
--There is a tetherless jetpack in the middle of the level that the player can use to fly out of the level with. If you fly up and to the right, back along the path you took earlier, you can get up to the upper levels and fly out and around the different sections of the first part of the level or get out of the whole structure entirely.

--As I flew around I see that there is a stray block of dark matter in the air above the jetpack that may not be doing anything.

--There is a wall in place to prevent the player from getting to the scoreboard during the final boss fight. Once the boss has been defeated, for some reason, the wall falls down. The façade is still there but the actual three layer thick slab of dissolve material falls down and the player is able to fly through this section to the scoreboard and avoid the two powerup removers that you’ve placed at the top and bottom of the wall.

--The elevator bomb trap doesn’t seem to be fatal should a player get caught in this one. This isn’t a large issue as I think that the threat of the traps works out better than that need to die at this point.

Rating/Closing thoughts:

This level has a good variety in terms of death traps and runs for a good length. I was often reminded of the comic book villain Arcade who liked to create elaborate death trap theme parks or arenas, Murderworld for one. There is a streak of arklon humour running through the level that is apparent in the dialogue of the shadowy sack hacker, in a few of the traps themselves and the scattered supporting characters.

I’ve gone back and forth about the rating I wanted to give this level. There are sections of this level that are not too cohesive and a few areas where the construction of the level appears to be hastily done, lack decoration or a bit shoddy. There is a section of wall that falls down at the end and a few holes in the level to be patched up. For these things I move toward a two star rating as none of these matters are serious enough to prevent me from finishing the level nor make it particularly frustrating to play.

On the other end of the argument I had a fun time playing through the level. I enjoyed the humour and wacky, inanity of many of the deathtraps. Some of the death traps are interesting while others are just odd. I liked searching the level for hidden score bubble caches and in trying to getting a high score on the scoreboard.

The deciding factor for me was that I laughed while I played and I had enough in the level to want a replay. My dominant intention when playing levels is to have fun and as such I weigh that highly. Had this level not offered me the same level of humour or zany antics I’d place this level as a two star level for the intermittent slowdowns and unpolished visuals.

[Trindall]

Thanks for reviewing my level Trindall! Glad you liked it.
One day I may get around to fixing it up, but if I'm in a creating mood, then I'll most likely be working on something new instead.

You were probably thinking I was a total jerk for not thanking you sooner. Sorry.

Top-notch reviewing there Trindall, a massive asset to the community.

Thank you for the comments and I completely understand the desire to put time into new levels rather than working on bits and bobs from older ones.

I've had more than a few reviews posted and I've never heard back from the creators one way or the other. I don't feel badly that you haven't responding until now at all.

I hope that the review helps you in whatever way it may.

----

On a different note I've just posted my 29th review which means I'm nearly to 30 discrete reviews. Yay (30 is a better sounding number than 29.)

In those 29 reviews I have actually reviewed 35 different levels as some creators have requested multiple levels so this is really starting to stack up.

EDIT: I've also just posted the 100th post in this review thread.