What do you like in a cup level

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Kopaka
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What do you like in a cup level

Post by Kopaka »

In these days as everyone is (hopefully) making levels for World Cup 7, I thought it would be nice with a discussion about what kind of levels people likes for cups. So let's hear. Which kind of levels have you liked when playing cups? And which have been bad?
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Re: What do you like in a cup level

Post by Schumi »

New level from Rózsa Csaba or Balázs, or MUe
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kuchitsu
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Re: What do you like in a cup level

Post by kuchitsu »

I like when a cup level can't be described as "just another flat track/labyrinth/apple harvest/typical lev from this author/etc". I want cup levs to have a couple of unique things that distinguish them from the levs we see every day. First two levs in World Cup 6 weren't the most original in the world, but they had just enough of interesting visual details (in the 1st it's the dice and the signs, in the 2nd it's the picture polys) to stand out and be memorable. In comparison, the third lev seemed banal as hell and was disappointing to see. This is mostly aesthetics-wise though, I can't offer expert commentary on the gameplay of these levs.
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Re: What do you like in a cup level

Post by sunl »

I agree with kuchitsu. Something else is when a level brings something "new" which is very hard nowadays but I'm thinking for example of zero levels or something that occasionally come up with really interesting things.
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Re: What do you like in a cup level

Post by kuchitsu »

Some more thoughts. These are not necessarily strict rules, just some things to consider.

- A cup lev needs to offer many opportunities for improvement. It shouldn't be about just one or two crucial parts that decide pretty much everything. Ideally the player's thought process will be something like: "Hmm, there is probably a better approach to this hang, I need to experiment with it more... Also I wonder if I can reverse the apple order in that part, it seems worth trying... And am I sure that I've tested every possible starting style?". A cup level should feel like a project with many parts to work on.

- It is very nice when there is a mystery spot somewhere in a cup lev. You know, that unorthodox part where there is no obvious solution so everyone comes up with their own wild theory on what the winner style will be like. A good spot like this can add a lot of excitement, you just need to try to make sure that the best approach isn't some homo brutal/bounce.

- Perhaps an ideal difficulty curve is low-high-low. What I mean by this... It sucks to be mostly stuck in the first 10 seconds of the lev, you want to play more of it. It also sucks to frequently fail at the very end, that's just too frustrating. So maybe the trickiest parts should be somewhere around the middle for minimal pain?

- Try to show some professionalism. You want the player to feel like your cup lev is "legit", so work on your presentation a little bit. A clever serious title can go a long way. Attempt a clean/neat design style, make people believe that you spent quite some time on polishing everything. If you're putting your nickname or wcup logo in the lev, don't be lazy and make sure that it looks really nifty. Don't put hairy balls in your lev. :P
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Re: What do you like in a cup level

Post by Ruben »

kuchitsu wrote:Don't put hairy balls in your lev.
This.
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Re: What do you like in a cup level

Post by ofta »

well i think cups should have some 'directors' that tells exactly what's needed for the cup. it's easier to design to a specific concept i think. too much freedom might make ppl restrain from sending in. dunno.
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Re: What do you like in a cup level

Post by Hosp »

it needs to be fun to play repeatedly, only criteria for me so now go make cool levs
good eggsample was some talli lev MiEC103 or sach, WCup604 too
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