EPTJust like previous episodes, let's go in detail on the game design decisions..
Level 3 is still an introduction level. New mechanics are still introduced and old mechanics are reinforced.
If you haven't read the previous level analysis:
Level 1
http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=433272
Level 2
http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=433319
1. Level 3 layout is about heights.
2. The level offers to the right a Super health potion challenge with a jump puzzle: you have to explore down to figure a jump pattern and then execute it on the top.
3. We encounter also the first speed challenge, the timing is tight, no room for hesitation... We are starting to apply what the player has been taught.
4. A heath potion... Only way to have taken damage at that point in the level is to have weirdly fallen somewhere no deadly. The health potion here is actually foreshadowing. "You are going to need this" -> Danger?.
5. A skeleton lying on the floor, this game is not about decoration, the previous skeleton we saw was with the sword. Foreshadowing again. Building tension.
6. New Trap, more tension, a timing challenge that we will learn to hate over the course of the game.
7. Finally the trigger for the final door.. Notice how again, it is made obvious what is the consequence of the trigger but somehow the game is teaching the player that the trigger can be even quite far from the door. We will see the distance growing more and more during the game.
8. A skeleton fight... No health, new twist on sword fighting, the player learns about the pushback effect of his attack, a skills that will make a lot of future fight easier. I don't remember there would be any other skeleton fight in this game but I sure would be careful if I some on the floor..
8b. The fall doesn't kill the beast, repeal him in a hole where he won't bother you anymore.
And done, all the mechanics have been introduced in three short levels...
Now let's see how the next levels are designed.
Level 4
The level 3 built a lot of tension with great height, tight timings, skeleton randomly coming back to life, slicers... And done, it is time to release that tension.
We let the player into a brighter area, there is almost nothing in the beginning of the whole level.
And that's a typical way to let the player enjoy the game. Too much tension and you stop enjoying the game, too little and it becomes boring. Basics of game design.
1. Still going left!
2. A falling tile opens a grid, now the game starts teaching secondary stuff to the player.
3. This super health potion wasn't very hidden. Previous levels had potions somewhat hidden. A player might have found level 2's super potion but probably not level 3's on his first play-through.
Does the easy placement of this potion have a deeper purpose?
It's definitely put in a place where the player will end up by default. The level 3 potion was hard. The game is telling that those can sometime be easy to find... Level 5 will have also a very easy one to find and the player won't find it suspicious then (It's the one that the ghost steals from you).
4. This end the low tension section of the level. Now the rest of the level is just normal applying what has taught.
5. Until... A wild mirror appears. This might have traumatized few children, blocked there, at least if you trust the youtube comments. This ghost character was possible to add because it didn't require additional memory, just a little code line and the graphics from the Prince becomes shadow.
This part is how the game starts to build narratives. There is magic in the air. We know the rules but the game tells the player that the rules can be broken.
6. The level completed music has a weird twist. Remind the player that something strange really happened.
Ok that's it for this time,
Tomorrow, I'll write Level 6 and 7.
TBC.
