Mega Man Intro Level V2

For this assignment, we had to take our Mega Man Intro Level v1 and use the feedback from the playtesters to make a modified 2nd version of the level. This way, we can learn how to integrate feedback into our levels and continue to improve them with the help of outside perspectives. As I mentioned in my previous post, my level did very well overall during the playtest, with very few minor difficulties and/or deaths. Because of this, the feedback was limited when it came to suggestions on what I could work on to improve it. I took what I had and made what I consider a spread of various subtle changes throughout the level that I believe improves the playability and amount of fun the player will have going through it.

For example, one of the most noticeable changes I made was the very first ladder section that leads to the mine. (Shown below)

Similarly to the first, my playtesters continued to have little to no overt difficulty with any sections of the second iteration. If anything, I think I made it slightly easier for them, as there were a couple of areas that I noticed seemed ever so slightly too chaotic or confusing. There was one section that a playtester got stuck on for a couple of minutes, though with each attempt, they were able to improve their abilities and get through the level successfully.

 The "quintuple pit" section, as I call it, is an area in my level where the player jumps across a series of five deadly pits to cross the gaps and get to the ladder at the far end of the room. The area has slim pillars after each gap that requires a slight bit of precision to land on correctly, though are not difficult once you understand how to navigate around the enemies. The first three pillars have enemies that come up from the ground and shoot at you, and the last two have enemies that smash down at you from the ceiling. Both types can be handled in multiple different ways, which I feel makes it more interesting for me to watch the playthroughs as I get to see how each person thinks differently. The only thing I modified about the section for the second iteration was that I removed a miner enemy from the very beginning, as they are very difficult to take down without taking at least one hit of damage. So, by removing that enemy, I lowered the difficulty slightly by giving the player more remaining health for the section.

(Shown below is one of the first pit obstacles in the level that has been changed for iteration 2)

One of the other things I noticed was that this section seemed to be overall a bit more fair for the players after I changed the location of the gunner enemy. Something I saw during the first playtest was that players would get sort of ambushed by this enemy, as the pillar to the left is the spot where the screen transitions, which made it difficult to see the enemy standing on the second pillar until it was almost too late to react. To dodge it, the players needed to react very quickly, which I felt was a bit unfair for a beginner level. I move the enemy over to the right pillar to give the player more space to move around and react to his attacks. I did not want them to feel trapped, as I felt they might have previously.

Overall, the level benefitted from all the slight changes that I made to it, and as a result of that the players had a more fun and rewarding time playing it.