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.