MaGL 3 results: moral of the story: laziness always prevails

[S.N.N.]

JUDGES' SCORES AND COMMENTS FOR 5th PLACE:

5th: nothobz

-FROZENQUILLS-
FUN: 26/30
DIFFICULTY: 5/5
CREATIVITY: 9/10
AESTHETICS: 8/10 (4/5 GFX + 4/5 MUS)
FUNCTIONALITY: 5/5

TOTAL: 53/60

COMMENTS:
What a great level and gimmick!

The level is very well designed in response to Mario's
newfound ability to lose coins every time he jumps, and not
be able to jump when he's at 0. I really liked trying to get
every coin I can, and I had to think cleverly in order to hit
coin blocks and overcome enemies. The negative red coins were
well placed as well.

I thought the level was giving me way too many coins at first,
but then I realized you need 50 to actually beat the level.
The fact that there are multiple ways to get 50 coins while
minimizing your jumps really adds to the design and
replayability. The graphics and music fit well too.

I actually wished that this was a bit longer with another
section, but this is still really good. Fantastic job overall.

TLDR:
+ Excellent and well designed coin gimmick
+ Clever puzzle like gameplay
- Could stand to be longer

OTHER:
how would the world be affected if a person loses a dollar every
time they jumped?


-PYRO-
Fun: 26/30
Difficulty: 5/5
Creativity: 9/10
Aesthetics: 8/10
Functionality: 5/5
Total: 53/60
Comment: This was super neat! The coin gimmick was done really well, and it really forced you to think about every action. It felt a bit cluttered at times just due to how many coins were onscreen at once but that's like a super nitpicky thing. Not sure if I was a fan of the palette though, something about the desaturated colors just bothered me. The ending could have been more clear as well, I didn't realize that the door was a reset door so I accidentally had a run ruined, and it wasn't super clear that the orange turn blocks were breakable. Overall though the good outweighs the bad, and it's a very well designed level.


-KOOPSTER-
FUN: 27/30
DIFFICULTY: 5/5
CREATIVITY: 8/10
AESTHETICS: 9/10
FUNCTIONALITY: 4/5

TOTAL SCORE: 53/60

A little short, but pretty good level!! Feels nice to have to play something that demands attention once in a while. I like how "active" it feels, what with all those enemies running around the place. The pay to jump gimmick is not new, but this level knew how to implement it very well - it didn't feel very easy and also not utterly frustrating - it was just right. Also I got stuck forever in the beginning for being big, I don't feel like I deserved that x(


-S.N.N.-
FUN: 28/30
DIFFICULTY: 4/5
CREATIVITY: 8/10
AESTHETICS: 8/10
FUNCTIONALITY: 5/5

TOTAL: 53/60

COMMENTS: What sells me on this level is the ability to play it in a variety of different ways. It's not a linear path, but at the same time it's not really a maze either. The multitude of paths available to you forces you to think strategically about your jumps, while still incorporating classic SMW elements (i.e. the enemy placement and Dragon Coins). Nice work.

[FrozenQuills]

mfw Pyro and I magically have the same exact score distribution.

[Divemissile]

i really digged today's combo of that one gimmick from hack 2 and that one gimmick from something else. this level felt more like a super mario 64 level to make a strange comparison, really open level and you're given only a single goal with no specific way to do it. also what's with all the red and yellow in the top ten

[Alice]

Jeez Louise, raocow, you're terrible at budgeting.

He was just bad at planning period in this level and I don't think he really did it justice at all. Especially early on he kept failing to avoid red coins but even later on he was doing atrocious at that part. Plus he wasn't doing a very good job at all at planning out what yellow coins to grab nor how to go about them. He frequently skipped out on yellow coins that would have been a net positive such as that dragon coin at the beginning. He would've come out with 2-3 more coins, I think up to four more if he did it right.

[Crow]

the thing that bothered me the most was that he was avoiding red coins on the stretch where you had to go back and forth

and wasting a jump on them every time instead of collecting it once and never having to spend a coin to jump again

caoman! why

[nothobz]

In these sorts of puzzle levels, it's very easy to want to design it around there only being one correct path, forcing the player to do it perfectly.

it probably helped that i didnt even know i was designing a puzzle level then.

[Zephyr_DragonLord]

Well, this isn't much of a puzzle. It's logic. ...Which is not raocow's strong suit.
This is a great and well-designed level, though. Coins are important, so I'm glad to see them getting their proper respect right now. Time to see the other 4 levels...

[King of GETs]

I remember a few weeks ago, I commented that Le Neveu de Rameau's level was the best one I had played in the entire contest. Sturg said he thought ft029's was the better level.

Here we are at the final four (and the secret exits raocow missed), and those two are guaranteed to be in the final four.

I wonder if either of them knew that they would make it this far.

[ft029]

Well, what I do know is that Lazy's JUMP1/2 levels are way better than mine

[FrozenQuills]

Yeah, I was the harshest judge for m/m's level (it probably could have won otherwise)

Like it is REALLY creative, but I also felt like some of the obstacles could be more lenient or better designed. I died quite a bit in the second half due to shenanigans that I personally felt were due to how complicated/strict everything became. I still had fun in it though.

[Voltgloss]

Terrific level today.

[Le Neveu de Rameau]

Aristophanes is a filthy liar. Do not believe his vicious anti-crustacean propaganda.

I admire the skill and planning that went into this level, but I'll admit, I didn't particularly enjoy it myself. A brief look at some of the indie games out there will confirm that "frustration = FUNstration" genre has its good share of fans, but I was always more of the school that one of the hallmarks of good design is knowing when to hold back. And as others have noted with respect to previous entries, figuring out some of these tricky traps can be fun, but repeating them 20 times due to failing at later ones (or getting careless through repetition) is somewhat less enjoyable.

I'll say this, though: m/m's levels always have a good sense of humor, which is important in this style. Like all mimes, he may desire only your suffering, but at least he's a good sport about it.

[KidF]

Jeez Louise, raocow, you're terrible at budgeting.

He was just bad at planning period in this level and I don't think he really did it justice at all. Especially early on he kept failing to avoid red coins but even later on he was doing atrocious at that part. Plus he wasn't doing a very good job at all at planning out what yellow coins to grab nor how to go about them. He frequently skipped out on yellow coins that would have been a net positive such as that dragon coin at the beginning. He would've come out with 2-3 more coins, I think up to four more if he did it right.

Math is the new Key Boss.

[nothobz]

one thing i admire about this level is that its usually clear on what you're supposed to do. There are a few annoying trial and error moments in the second half, but the first half has a lot of immediate "okay, this is what I need to do. Now I just have to do it" moments, which is nice.

Tho i also didnt enjoy this level. I spent most of the time annoyed, and clearing obstacles didn't feel good because I knew there was going to be another one waiting for me. if that makes sense. like finally clearing a section after trying and trying wasn't satisfying, you know? It wasn't like "yes! i did it!", it was more of an "about time holy moley" moment. also knowing you were going to probably die at the next obstacle and have to do it again anyways didn't help. So while it was a very well designed, interesting level, it just forgot to also be fun.
but major kudos for picking a design philosophy and dedicating 100% to it. It wasn't for me but I respect the hell out of the level for being confident in what it was and not pandering to people that weren't up for the challenge.

[Crow]

maybe it's just raocow making it look this way but i didn't think the level looked very fun. a lot of the obstacles looked kinda awkward to handle at best and it seems like the level was designed to make the most annoying uses possible of its gimmick.

but it's probably just me

[lolyoshi]

Eminem delivered.

[Kles]

This level strikes me as uncomfortable to play. Not sure why.

[morsel/morceau]

After deciding to give the kids a bath at the end of the level, I thought it reminiscent of the end of a film, hence the level title. To it, Pell Mell is an anagram of TELL ME I'LL TOP, which is as close to an i-hope-i-win gag as I could manage; unlike Al Jolson, I'm not sittin' on top of the world -- only fourth -- yet, as a, as the French say, horse of combat (which Richard can barter for in vain) I can look forward to seeing two of my favourite levels in the top three. But it was a pleasure to participate: an excellently run contest with prompt judging and everyone giving reasons, many great ideas and levels, and everything conducted in a friendly spirit.

[Sugar]

The Morsel ride never ends.

Oh, Morsel lost the contest. I suppose it is over then? Or is it...

0 II IX

[S.N.N.]

JUDGES' SCORES AND COMMENTS FOR 4th PLACE:

4th: morsel/morceau

-FROZENQUILLS-
FUN: 21/30
DIFFICULTY: 4/5
CREATIVITY: 9/10
AESTHETICS: 6/10 (2/5 GFX + 4/5 MUS)
FUNCTIONALITY: 5/5

TOTAL: 45/60

COMMENTS:
This is a really neat level for the most part.

I wasn't expecting you to literally take the gimmick from the
video I posted in that discussion thread lol. But it works for
the most part; I really enjoyed some of the setups. They are
very puzzle-y but not too frustrating.

The difficulty really picks up in the second half when having
to deal with on/off switch blocks. I feel though that some of
the obstacles were too complicated, especially the one with the
falling spike + thwomp + grinder + bouncy fireball + other
thwomp. The level was fine after that though.

That Wendy fight was also pretty challenging, switching up the
environment whenever she takes a hit. I wasn't really fond of
the design for landing the third hit though, since the
time period to hit her is very short and you have to do a rather
complicated maneuver.

But overall, this is a cool and creative level; there are just a
few minor nitpicks in design that I weren't fond of, but I
still enjoyed it overall.

TLDR:
+ Creative and fun gimmick
+ Challenging but wasn't too frustrating
- Some setups were too complicated

OTHER:
i can't believe mario is freaking dead

-PYRO-
Fun: 25/30
Difficulty: 5/5
Creativity: 10/10
Aesthetics: 10/10
Functionality: 5/5
Total: 55/60
Comment: Hooly crap this is amazing and I love it. I've seen this gimmick multiple times before but I haven't seen it used this creatively. The setups are difficult but not frustrating, the music and graphics are really nice, there are some REALLY creative setups in here, it's just overall a fantastic level. Also the CAN'T L/R 'CAUSE M/M thing is kinda amazing. I think the one minor complaint I would have would be that there could have been a midpoint before the Wendy fight but most of my deaths in that fight were just dumbstupid deaths so it's not really a huge issue. But yeah! Super amazing level and I love it <3


-KOOPSTER-
FUN: 30/30
DIFFICULTY: 4/5
CREATIVITY: 10/10
AESTHETICS: 9/10
FUNCTIONALITY: 5/5

TOTAL SCORE: 58/60

ah, Morsel, why did you have to screw [us players] up on JUMP so bad? This difficulty/length balance is just perfect for something enjoyable. Some bits were the die-to-learn type, but not having to worry about lives or having to redo gigantic segments over and over made the experience just perfect. Too bad Mario had to die for this! RIP

-S.N.N.-
FUN: 28/30
DIFFICULTY: 4/5
CREATIVITY: 10/10
AESTHETICS: 8/10
FUNCTIONALITY: 5/5

TOTAL: 55/60

COMMENTS: I absolutely loved this level. It took me quite a few tries to beat it, but it was consistently challenging and never felt unfair (although the very first Thwomp is actually harder to get by than some of the later sections, I found). The introduction of the ON/OFF switch after the midway freshened up the gimmick, and having the boss bring them both together was great. One thing I will say is that you should have made the power-ups a little easier to get - to go through that much effort for each mushroom was a bit overkill.

[Divemissile]

this is the second level i played and i liked it even if i gave up on it. i enjoyed the way every sprite had some form of reason to its existence, nothing really seemed like filler enemies to me. it had unique setups, but having to do them over and over again kinda killed their coolness, especially the first half's kinda weird set up with the thwimp. i gave up on the second half cause it felt a little finicky and some things seemed to have frame perfect timing on avoiding them (ex: the saws above the switch blocks). it was also kinda way above my skill level but what ever

the first time i got to the bowser statue obstacle i instinctively spin jumped back and forth to get rid of it and i then immediately realized i was horribly wrong

[Zephyr_DragonLord]

Oh man, this is fantastic. And that ending reference is top notch. Same thing with the quotes in there.

As for the level itself, those on/off blocks were used incredibly well to make an incredibly difficult but rewarding challenge. I really like what you did with this level, and I congratulate you for getting this far, morsel.

[FrozenQuills]

inb4 youtube comments say this didn't deserve 3rd because vanilla

Really though, I had a lot of fun with the creativity in this one. The main gimmick is really neat and the secret exit actually helped my score.

[CM30]

That level was pretty good. Very creative usage of layer 2 there, and some really well designed obstacles overall.

Makes me want to know what the 1st and 2nd place levels are here. Presumably something super interesting?

[Grounder]

>unmarked secret exits in third place level