Mega Man V2

 MEGA MAN LEVEL V2

LOGAN VAN DYNE 

After the creation and playtesting of the first iteration of our Megaman level, we were presented feedback from our playtesters on things we could improve upon or change about the design of the level, in terms of the pacing, enemy count, difficulty, and more. We then fixed and expanded our levels, since hardly any of them met the 10 minute minimum requirement that we were presented with, and then conducted another playtest with the same people. The basis of my level stayed the same, especially at the beginning- it was simply expanded upon in place of where the ending of the level used to be in the previous iteration. More enemies were added alongside additional platforming sequences which also rose in complexity and difficulty, adding extra enemies to previously uninhabited platforming segments to add additional challenges to what were once easy segments of the level.

The additional enemy that I added was the Colton, who shot ranged projectiles frequently and presented the player with more complicated enemies to deal with, as opposed to the previous Met and Crabbot enemies which populated the level. This trio along with complicated platforming segments presented the player with additional difficulty and challenge, which in turn made the level more time-consuming, especially in areas that were once a breeze to go through. The most troublesome enemies for the players to encounter and deal with were either the Mets or the Crabbots- as the Mets were placed in precarious positions that would put the player in danger when they were approached, most often during platforming segments. Meanwhile, with the Crabbot, they patrol the area they are dropped into, and take two hits to kill. However, once you hit them once, they become faster and lower to the ground, which often makes them rather troublesome to end up properly killing, leading them to continue tormenting the player even after they have been shot. 

As for the platforming segments, I added more ladders and quicksand elements which would grant the player some interesting movement options. For one of the segments involving a pillar of Coltons, I added a pool of quicksand that the player could opt to travel through, if they found a way to. This would make the segment easier to pass, however I hid a Met in the quicksand which would damage the player when they enter it, giving some risk to the reward of easier travel. Similar instances of sneaky Mets were included across the remainder of the level to add additional challenges to the platforming segments. 

More suggestions to enhance the level was the usage of doorways and keys needed to unlock them, which could be hidden throughout the level. However, by the time I had finished the changes I made to my first iteration, I had forgotten about the key element completely, so this is something that I will have to implement for our second Megaman level, which will be set in a jungle. Additional improvements could be more enemy variety as well as more visual variety- while the theming was coherent and kept the player’s immersion, it felt bland and repetitive compared to other levels that I played through. 

Players enjoyed the new parkour segments and had no complications defeating the enemies, yet they still provided an additional challenge to increase the difficulty and result in the level being more enjoyable and time consuming. There was no confusion on where to go, as it was still relatively lineary despite having several twists, turns, ladders and tunnels to traverse through. There was no backtracking involved and the players still felt some sense of exploration / freedom even though they were going through a designated path. Some additional pathways that end up leading to the same area would possibly add an even greater sense of freedom for the players as they proceed through the level, and these branches could potentially have varying difficulty levels and rewards as you progress through them.