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Mega Man - Oily Woodland

Good Design vs Bad Design

After watching a few different play-testers try out my second Mega Man level, I have a pretty good idea about where things went wrong, and where they went right. I'll be breaking down sections of the level where I noticed clear problems or successful designs.

Level Opening

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To start, the player is placed on the far left, and can see an Oil Slick powerup barrier to the right. This is good as it acts as a skill gate for the player until they learn how to switch weapons and use the Oil Slick, which they start with right away. The player is also given use to the Charge Kick, although this is not taught and is mostly an alternative method to tackle the level's challenges.

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Following the barrier, the first enemy is introduced. This enemy is re-used multiple times later in the level, which sets the expectation for what is to come.

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Next, the player encounters a pool of water with a dangerous fish and another Oil Slick barrier on the other side. The player knows they need to use the powerup to open the barrier, and the intent here is to teach the player that they can use the oil to slide on top of water. However, some players simply jumped into the water and fired at the barrier close range, never learning about the sliding mechanic. This could be resolved by making the water bottomless, which would create a death pit unless the player learns how to use the oil.

First checkpoint and split paths

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After the player learns how to use the oil slick powerup, I provided a checkpoint to avoid going through the tutorial portion of the level again. Now things get tricky, as players are encouraged to continue sliding through the level at high speed, quickly making decisions as they move through the level. This worked as intended in all of the playtests, except where players failed to learn the Oil Slick in the first area.

Insta-kill factors: Oil pits and spikes

In a few different parts of the map, I designed the layout to include an oil pit just wide enough to jump over while sliding. In addition, these oil pits always feature a fire dropping enemy which turns the slightly annoying pit into a deadly inta-kill pit. This encourages players to time their jumps carefully, or risk returning to the checkpoint. The pits also fit the theme of oil being used, hence the name "Oily Woodlands".

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This worked rather well, *if* the players were sliding as intended. The pits become impassible without the use of the Oil Slick or Charge Kick, which can be problematic if they run out of charges. (more on that shortly)

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Double Oil Jump

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This particular jump needs re-design. The spacing of the pits is fine, but the enemies on either side drop fire at random intervals, and can drop fire on the center platform, making it almost impassible without getting hit.

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In addition to the unpredictability of the fire enemies, the oil pits are 2 blocks deep, which means if you fall into them you are unable to get out. If the pit is not set on fire, then the player becomes stuck and cannot progress at all.

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Re-positioning the enemies and making the oil pits more shallow will fix this section.

Other level design problems:

  • Limited use of the Charge Kick

    • The level was primarily designed around the sliding mechanic of the Oil Slick which is inherently fun and interesting, but this left the second powerup almost completely unused.​

  • Too few checkpoints

    • To keep the level difficult and extend playtime, I removed the second checkpoint. This did have the desired effect, but frustrated players and caused a player to quit playing after too many failed attempts.​

  • Length of the level is too short

    • Due to the nature of the Oil Slick carrying players very fast through the level, the actual playtime of the level is rather short, despite its moderate length of 29 tiles.​

  • Running out of powerup charges

    • If a player fails too many times they may run out of Oil Slick or Charge Kick uses, which makes the level nearly impossible to complete.​

To fix the problems addressed above I would re-implement the checkpoint that was removed, and extend the length of the level overall. Each checkpoint would provide a refill to the oil slick and charge kick powerups so that players cannot run out. Additionally, I would provide an area to teach the player how to use the Charge Kick and a section which could only be completed with it, rather than relying on the Oil Slick the entire time. I think these implementations would greatly improve the quality of the level and make it fun for players of wider skill ranges.

Solutions:

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