Level: Unverified Memory
Creator:
Elzeko ID: 34075983
Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKUlSGrWn7sGameplay:
The gameplay in this level is rough. First of all, this is a memorization level, which doesn't offer too nice gameplay, however, there are ways to make memorization work well, and actually be fun for people. This level had issues with both the normal gameplay and making the memorization work well. In the first section, all the blue orbs are invisible, so, at first, it's not obvious what to do, but the player quickly catches on due to the pulsing of the orbs and it becoming obvious from tapping. The next problem is the invisible spikes, it's hard to tell where to go and it took me a bit to figure out that you're upposed to land on the top of each platform only. And I'm sure it would take longer for many other people. What's worse is the fact it is filled with awkward timings. A couple of the platforms even go off the screen and they're right next to the top, so it is very hard to time it right. The next section is pretty boring. It's just either jump or take the yellow pad 25 times. No variation or interest. The fact that it is memorization makes it worse as that memorization is just to add difficulty, not actually ue it in a creative way. The next section is similar, same thing, same issues, but this is a tiny bit more interesting than the last section, but this is by the tiniest amount. The next ship section goes along the lines of the others, so there's again not much to say. But you should try having different paths and other gameplay and make the player decide which paths to take to get to the end. That's what they do in all the popular memorization levels. Wave section is the same, but how it was across a much larger scale was interesting, however, it did make the camera shifting choppy and made it a bit weird to control, especially when trying to get to a far away point. There's also only three stages, not too difficult as the others and actually auses a problem with difficulty balancing, as you really just need to watch a video of the level and that section is in the bag. After this section there's a long break time, which I suggest be removed by adding some gameplay. Then we move on to the Necropolis spikes, again, it;s the classic, "pick the right one" gameplay, which is bad for a level. You then move onto a path of double spikes, which is just repetitive, boring, and just an endurance test. The orb fall, again, same complaints as the others. The final wave was actually fun for me at the beginning, the very start is a bit tricky because the camera takes time to scale to the correct spot, so I let go too early multiple times, but then it is pretty fun, fast gameplay... until the meorization kicks in. But this is the style of memorization that often appears in popular levels, this is what people expect from one.
Overall: You need to have interesting gameplay, variety, much like a normal level, but add fakes and confusing parts. This is what makes memorization levels fun to some people, not the, "pick the right one" style gameplay, rather, "choose the correct path", which doesn't sound too different, but it is as "paths" refers to gameplay sections which contain these meorization bits, not just the memorization bits. 1/20, -10 due to repetitive, boring gameplay, and -9 due to this gameplay beng paired with bad memorization to create a frustrating, repetitive level. Left with one point due to bits of interest, primarily in the last wave section, which has the better elements added.
Block Degin/Decoration:
The main problem with this level is that there is barely any design or decoration. I know what you were going for, I read the comments, however, just because you do not like the current style doesn't mean you should put almost do decoration in it at all. Come up with your own, cool, detailed style that is nothing like the current one seen in featured levels. Okay, time for the division of sections. First, let's do block design. Throughout the entire level, it only uses the standard 1.0 blocks. Now these have gotten very old over the years and isn't such a favorable choice. Especially since you added nothing on to it, there's not much to look at. Try coming up with your own, original block designs. This can make the quality of your level way better and it gives it a better chance at being featured. Another big issue with the level is the decoration. You have a lot of pulsing objects, but not much else. You have the standard spike decorations in a lot of places, but these alone don't make it look very good. They are also in a variety of colors to make it rainbow, paired with a black background. Unfortunately, it doesn't look the best and can be improved. The last section at 91% has those expanding circles. It's not much, but I actually liked how it looked. If you can add on to it more, I bet it could look good. Adding decoration with pairs of certain colors and more precise matching can make a level look really good. Rainbow sections can look prety good as well, but you need to know how to balance it out. Lastly, there are not much custom backgrounds. Now, these aren't essential, a level can look good with just a simple custom background, unfortunately since there is not much decoration, a custom bacground is kind of needed to make it look good, but you did not have any.
Overall: You need to make sure to add block design, also try improving your decoration and have some custom backgrounds along with it. 2/10, -6 for lack of any block design, -6 for little decoration, and the existing decoration not working too well, -6 for no added design or custom backgrounds to fill the emptyness that comes with the lack of decoration.
Sync:
Unfortunately, this level does not sync too well, However, I noticed quite a bit of portals syncing to the music. The transition at 15% could've been put at a place where it better syned to the music. There were not much decoration to sync the music to, but you had a lot of pulsing deco, which works very well for sync. And I like how at the memory wave at 36%, the colored lines were made up of pulsing squares, so therefore all the lines pulsed to the music. At 51% the lasers flashed to the beat, which is very nice, however, I didn't notice much else sync other than what I just described, except one section. At 90%, this section was the only section to really have consistent sync. The blue pads sync well. Parts of the wave synced well as well, however some sections strayed away, but overall, it seemed like it was done well.
Overall: Not much gameplay sync unfortunately, however you did sync some portals, and one effect you had did sync, while all the pulsing objects did as well. 3/10, I gave you 1.5 points for some gameplay sync at the end combined with some synced portals. The rest of the score comes from mainly pulsing sync, and one main effect I noticed syncing. Not full points for the design portion though due to pulsing objects automatically syncing and all the other deco, apart from that one effect, not doing anything to sync at all.
Originality: 0.9x
This is an interesting concept, and it clearly took a lot of work to verify because of this, however, I cannot say this is completely original. There are many extreme momory demons like this one, most notably Exasperation. (Although that's not completely memory) Also, some of the tricks you do have been used before. Mainly the classic Necropolis spikes, where some have invisible blocks on top of them. So, unfortunately, you get a 0.9x for your multiplier.
Overall: 2.16/20 (10.8%) Needs improvement
You need to work on interesting gameplay, this will help you improve sync as well. Also, you absolutely need to focus on decoration and block design, as it is essential for a good level.
