2D MegaMan Level 2

In terms of level faults, I think my MegaMan level 1 v2 went a lot better than this level because having multiple people playtest the level opened my eyes a lot to the way different players will interpret my level. However, in terms of level concept, I like my level 2 better because it made players need to think more about what they needed to do. The biggest issue in the level came from how MegaMan is made in a grid, and realizing what the player will actually see and notice in the level. As the designer, you yourself know what you are seeing, as well as what is just out of your sight, and it's hard to insert yourself into the mindset of someone seeing the level for the first time.

The things that went right were:

• Once players understood the layout of the level, they had no problem navigating the areas they were supposed to go.

• The level was just as difficult as I was hoping it would be.

• Players said they liked the concept of my level after they played it.

• I used the weapons in interesting ways, like riding the S.Arrow and using the O.Slider to shoot up in water.
  

• No players ran out of ammo when they absolutely needed it in the level.

The things that went wrong:

• The S. Arrow doesn’t break weapon blocks even if that’s the specified weapon for the block. This caused me to need to change the weapon block to a door even though that wasn’t my original concept idea.

• A lot of players went down the first ladder, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it wasn’t something that was intended and it caused the players to waste time getting to the bulk of the level.

• Players didn’t immediately realize that they could be in water without dying.

• Players would sometimes walk towards an area with two capsules that took away their weapons, even though they could avoid it like intended.

• Players could avoid a capsule by sliding under it.

Ways to improve:

• Laying out the level one grid at a time and then connecting each grid as a whole later would help ensure the player sees everything they need at a certain time.

• Ensuring that players can see the ground under water so they know going in water isn’t instant death.

• Block players from each door entrance to ensure no player accidentally loses a weapon when they weren’t supposed to.

  
  

The challenges presented were appropriate for the skill level of the players because no players were unable to beat the level. Each player figured out what to do in a fairly decent amount of time. Players did die at times, but they never wanted to give up, and they were able to pass where they died after doing it a second time.

The critical path was obvious after the player received the first weapon capsule. Players were given three different options for where to use their three green keys, and behind each door was a capsule that took away a different weapon. Most players chose the top door because it was the last door they saw, which makes me think they may have forgotten about the others. 

The overall flow was decent. Most players didn’t get into the zone until they got the first weapon capsule, which took longer for different players depending on if they went down the first ladder or not. Once the flow began, it never stopped even if players died. There wasn’t a risk of players running out of ammo when they needed it, which helped keep the flow of the game going throughout gameplay.

2D MegaMan Level V2

 After learning more about MegaMan, my second version was much better than the first one. I made a level where the player would face three different sections, and in each section collect two green keys to move onto the next section. I added blue keys that, if found, the player could complete the level easier and faster. There were more doors than keys that were directly visible to the player. Players could always find and get to the keys they needed to beat the level, but the blue keys were much more hidden and harder to find.

The things that went right were:

• There was no point where a player got trapped in the level.

• All the keys needed to beat the level were in obvious places.

• Players didn’t feel frustrated when they died and had to do an area over again because the level was enjoyable.

• The addition of doors and keys made exploration much easier to encourage from players.

• Adding areas that allowed players to leave the current area allowed for falling platforms to reset, therefore no players got stuck.

The things that went wrong:

• Players felt baited when going for a key on the other side of a blue door.

• None of the players realized there were areas under quicksand that would help them no matter how much I tried to hint at it in the level.

• When players are playing the level, they don’t have much sense of space as to what parts of the level connect to others when the screens are separated and not stitched together. This can be a good thing for some instances; however this is what caused the issue above where players weren’t realizing that there were places they could go that were hidden under quicksand.

Ways to improve:

• In the spot where players felt baited, keep the doors, but put the other blue key somewhere else. 

• Put quicksand on the screen right above the secret area to further indicate that quicksand doesn’t kill you.

• Do not assume players have the same sense of space as I do. Players don’t see the level as a whole, but rather in the parts that they see in front of them.

The challenges presented were appropriate for a tutorial level because there wasn’t any point where the player was overwhelmed with information or enemies. Combat was either easy or moderate depending on the player’s skill level, and there was a checkpoint right before areas where players died the most often. Players were also able to focus on the task at hand when they were presented with one because there weren’t any outside interferences, such as enemies from a different section of the level spawning, or different areas of the level that could possibly be seen as distracting.

The critical path was indicated by green doors that led to the next section. It was obvious to players that they needed to explore each area before a green door to find the keys. Each section used space both above and below the main linear path, and there weren’t any areas that players needed to get to that they couldn’t reach or find.

The overall flow of the level was really good. Players didn’t feel like their flow was broken when they died because the level was enjoyable, and the checkpoints were in areas that made the death not super inconvenient for the player. There were also no instances where players were confused as to what they should do or not. The only time where the flow may have been broken was when the player felt baited by the blue key behind a blue door.

2D Mega Man Level V1

 The things that went right were:

• The concept of falling and being met with a different part of the level was made clear in the beginning of the level, so players knew what to expect.

• Players had fear of dying, but never actually did.

• There was no way to avoid the checkpoint or go past the end goal.

The things that went wrong:

• I had to learn how MegaMan worked as I made the level because I had no previous experience with the game.

• Players got stuck in one part of the level from a design flaw with the footholder.

• The level was very short.

• Some parts that were an option for the player to take were hard to get to.

• The second pickelman encounter was a bit too difficult, and players always fell into the quicksand instead of defeating pickelman.

Ways to improve:

• Make the level longer by adding more enemies are more areas to the map.

• Fix the design flaw of moving from one area to another that was blocked off by adding a ladder instead of a foot holder.

• Make the second encounter with pickelman easier to win if the player wished to.

• Make sure every area made for the player is accessible to the player.

• A lot of my level will be completely changed, but I will still keep the same or similar concepts.

The challenges presented worked overly well with the skill level of the players. None of the players died when playing the level, and the players grasped the concept quite easily. Even when the players fell off some platforms, they were given a bit of health instead of dying. Unfortunately, this made the level very easy. MegaMan, I have heard, is known for being difficult; if I were to create a MegaMan level that encompassed that, I would like to make it more challenging. I don’t want it to be too hard, but I do want it to better introduce the difficulty level of a regular MegaMan level since it is meant to be a tutorial level for MegaMan, not something else.

The critical path was very clear because there weren't many places that the player could go besides forward. There were, at most, two options on where the player could go at any time, and those two paths bottlenecked together to a checkpoint or the end. Players never felt like they had to backtrack in order to complete the level. I would like to add more options of ways to go, that way the player has a lot more options for different play types. Maybe some paths will have more enemies, while others will have more obstacles to jump around. Players will be able to pick one of the paths, and stick with it, maybe with the possibility of falling down to one of the other paths.

The overall flow of the game was relatively smooth until some players got stuck in a place with a foot holder. A footholder won’t change screens like a ladder will, which keeps the next part of the level from generating. This drastically broke the flow of the game because players had to restart the level in order to complete it. I would like to keep the flow of the level, but still increase the difficulty of the level. This will probably be done by adding more enemies, as well as more health pickups that would be decently proportionate to the expected amount of damage the player will receive at a given moment. I would also still like the flow of the game to not be broken by falling to you death, but rather keep the flow by falling into a different part of the level.