2.0 DLC: Level Design

Reflections on the 1.0 Level Design Analysis: Playing through the 1.0 levels, it becomes immediately clear that the game adheres closely to Rational Design principles. It does so in combination with what some people call the Nintendo principle (divide levels into mechanics-explorations, first introduce mechanic in safe context, progressively test player's mastery of mechanic, gradually combine different mastered mechanics to increase difficulty). The difficulty curve might be far from perfect, but there is definitely an ascending curve to it. The pacing is also very 'rational', since levels start (and restart) always in relative safety, with the speed of the gameplay relatively low. I definitely wanted to preserve and replicate that in my DLC.

I think that the game (especially on later levels) could have a greater degree of danger in its obstacles while still retaining 'safe areas' where the player can get a chance to reposition and prepare for the next obstacle. Gradually combining previously-introduced mechanics is also something I did very consciously in the new DLC level.

DLC Concept phase: I decided to continue the trend of the first three levels of starting with a splash screen introducing a new mechanic and building my level around it. For that I needed a new mechanic. My analysis of the last level of version 1.0 and of the jump cancel mechanic in general (see 2.0 DLC: Mechanics Update devlog) led me to the idea of implementing a fast-fall mechanic to expand the player's kit and create a new solution for the obstacle that previously required jump-cancelling. 

Fast-falling meant primarily two things: (1) falling faster means more time potentially grounded, with greater control over your positioning, and (2) it also means that the player could potentially fall far enough below a ceiling laser when their jump came out that they would not hit the laser, thus removing the requirement of jump-cancelling. 

Since the new level still introduces a new mechanic (unlike the last level of 1.0), it made sense that it would happen before the last level of 1.0, meaning also that it should probably be somewhat easier than it. In the end, I think their difficulty is probably closer to even, which I'm fine with. The last section of the new level is possibly the hardest in game, but I think it's interesting enough to keep it where it is.

DLC Design Process: Since this was supposed to be a level about a falling mechanic, I though it didn't make sense to have a level where you're constantly going up. At first I played around with a horizontal level, where the "rising laser" actually moved from left to right. But quickly it became apparent that the level (although potentially interesting) wouldn't have the space required to really explore the fast-fall mechanic. So it was quite a natural conclusion that the level should be vertical going down.

Conclusion: I think the new level as well as the mechanical tweaks and fixes of this new version make some sorely needed improvements to the overall experience of this game. The process of creating the level also gave me an increased sense of how to design levels rationally and introduce mechanics gradually and intuitively.