Temple of the Eye - by - ZepOfLed

Creation Titles: Temple of the Eye (Part 1) and Temple of the Eye (Part 2)
Author's PSN: ZepOfLed
Brief Description:
(In the northeastern United States area - its easier to find it if you look up my PSN)


The level comes in two parts because I couldn't fit all of the stuff into the first level, so just play them in order because they are meant to go together as one continuous level.
It's fairly difficult, which is why some people have decided to mark it down, but I believe that if you finish them both you will be completely satisfied. I did add some double-life checkpoints since it was first published, but it will still take a fair bit of skill to complete. (This is a good challenge for all of you LBP experts out there! HA) Also, there are a few hidden places for extra points, so be on the lookout. Each of the four bosses is hidden as a prize in the 2nd level (one is received by acing it)! I put a TON of play-testing into this level, so most of the bugs should be fixed, but please comment if you find any or if you have any other... well... comments.

EDIT: There are now infinite-life checkpoints, where possible, to avoid having to restart the levels.

Enjoy! :)

This is my first level, so not everything is as cool as I could have made it by the time I was done working (level creation is a learning process!)

Note: I did not put F4F because I cannot guarantee that I will be able to check posts here on a regular basis. However, if you leave constructive feedback and I get back to it on time I will certainly try to respond in kind!

Comments on the level already:
"Absolutely outstanding level, period." (1) ... "One of the best levels I've played yet." - Palidore
"Now this is a level that belongs on the front page." (1) ... "The bosses were great and the question took some thinking to figure out but once again, it was worth the struggle." (2) - RickTheRipper

EDIT: Hmm, after leaving the game for a while I came back and found that the levels were deleted from the web. I had to republish it, so now they have very few plays and all of the comments are gone (of course) :P.

hey Zep, i just posted a level here in showcase too, so ill go give yours a try and post feedback, and i'd appreciate if youd do the same in return :) mines called "The Facility"

i hope you like it, ill be off to play yours within the hour ^^

Will do Sniper! I'm about to sit down to dinner, but I'll be sure to hit yours up after that.

couldn't find it first try but im gonna look again now, be back in a bit :]

Ok, here is my feedback on your level :)

Before i start, let me throw this out there... HOLY WAA! these levels are quite a **** challenge -_- while i made it through both on my first try, they were still the hardest levels i think i've ever played! Im not gonna put these under pro's or cons, because some people like a good challenge, while some people dont.

Pros:

*-Original! They're is so much custom content, and extremely well thought out puzzles its amazing!!! I really liked the bosses in level 2, they were very good, and thought out well. Although a major pain in the *** :P lol

*-Visuals, the levels look absolutely great, the lighting really helps out the levels too, very nice looking indeed! :]

*-Music and Sound Effects, they are perfect with the environment, the match every moment perfectly, loved all of them.

*-Extremely well thought out puzzles and challenges, as stated in the original part, all of your challenges, and puzzles are very orginal, and i've never seen anything like lots of the stuff in these levels.

Cons / Suggestions -

There's not really much to put here, some people may not like the difficulty, but i personally didnt mind it.

*-The tip at the beginning of the first level, its kind of a pain to get to the tip giving guru

*-The eye, while i loved the ending (it was funny the way he died and the sound he made :P), it was kind of underwhelming, after doing all those other boss fights and the puzzle to get to the eye i was expecting something epic :/

*-The ring of fire, while i know the whole level was difficult, this part just slowed the whole level down, alot. And half the time i wasnt on the right grapple sponge to progress, maybe if all of them had the white eye on them it wouldnt have taken so long.

Other than that part i enjoyed pretty much everything, and it was one of the best levels i have ever played, and deserves alot more plays / hearts than it has. So anyone reading this, go out and play this level! Its amazing! (but be prepared for a challenge, its **** hard :O)

btw, i loved the companion cube like thing, the part where you had to use it to cross the fire was very well done and very enjoyable IMO :]

amazing level, 5/5 and hearted! :)

Thank you very much for the feedback Sniper. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed my level as much as I enjoyed yours, and while it would be too hard at this stage to change some of the things, I'll certainly keep them in mind for my next level! (which I may be starting soon) Thanks again!

no problemo :)

AWESOME! I'm gonna play it now! :D

First off, great job you put alot of time / work into the levels and it shows. I enjoyed every bit of both the levels. I did have one big problem lol... my own fault though. Going to just list both levels pros and cons as if it were one level... I'm sure you'll know what I'm talking about since its your levels anyways heh.

PROs

-Some original obstacles... tricky and fun. Some that look like they took you a fair bit of time to plan out. Loved the end of the first level especially.

-The whole puzzle bit in the second level was just great. I enjoyed all those machines, and it was really neat how you set up the clues.

-Looked nice, very easy on the eyes.

-Liked how you hid the prize bubbles.

-Had no problems with lighting.

-Music was good for the levels.

Cons

-The big problem I had .... In the first one right at the moon part... I went up to the secret spot thinking it was the actual way. I sat there for 20 minutes trying to climb up those little grooves above the prize bubble thinking it was the way.... I finally got up there and fell behind the level and could see that I was in fact supposed to go below them lol... was really frustrated, but laughed so hard when I found out.

-The second machine in the second level, the one that jumps around and stuff gave me some trouble... it stood still no matter how close I was...I had to out then back in again get it to move for some reason... may have been lag, but I didnt know what was going on for a few minutes heh.

-Not in your control, but I just imagine the two levels as one would've just been such a great experience... it really is a shame you ran out of room. Still both levels were awesome.

-The part with the glass in the first level... was not expecting the electric lol and it came kindve fast... maybe a warning of some sort would be cool... but I caught on fast either way heh, and sure others would too.

So yeah, outside of my little mix up had a great time. Hearted you and the levels. 5 stars. I recommend everyone to give these a go... much fun.

Thanks for your input Doc! That mixup of yours is hilarious; I didn't even know it was possible to get over the top! HAHA. It was worse in the first version of the level. I had people put a moon sticker over the sun, but the trigger wasn't visible so they ran up the ramp first. Then I realized that if people didn't have the sticker they wouldn't be able to continue... now I know that sticker switches are just bad news for user levels. I'm getting off track, but you get the point.

Good suggestions by the way; I'm going to try to add something as a hint for the electric pillars on the slide, if I can figure out a way to make it fit with the theme.

It's weird about the second machine not starting. I've never seen that happen, but if it happens again let me know and I'll be sure to check it out.

I was so disappointed when I first realized I couldn't fit it into one level. But it turned out to be a good thing because it allowed me to be a little more ambitious with the second part.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it otherwise! I really appreciate your support and feedback. I'm going to go to sleep now, but expect some feedback from me sometime soon. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Doctor Ramatool

-The big problem I had .... In the first one right at the moon part... I went up to the secret spot thinking it was the actual way. I sat there for 20 minutes trying to climb up those little grooves above the prize bubble thinking it was the way.... I finally got up there and fell behind the level and could see that I was in fact supposed to go below them lol... was really frustrated, but laughed so hard when I found out.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by ZepOfLed

Thanks for your input Doc! That mixup of yours is hilarious; I didn't even know it was possible to get over the top! HAHA. It was worse in the first version of the level. I had people put a moon sticker over the sun, but the trigger wasn't visible so they ran up the ramp first. Then I realized that if people didn't have the sticker they wouldn't be able to continue... now I know that sticker switches are just bad news for user levels. I'm getting off track, but you get the point.

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haha, i did the exact same thing, i jumped up on top of the blocks and ran up :P lmao, although i realised the error of my ways as soon as i ran up the blocks, sat up there for a minute and realised i wouldnt be able to get in that way :P

I didn't realize it was that big of a problem, lol. Do you guys think that it's something I should try to clarify in the level? If so, any ideas?

Hey, I played the first part, died in the second.

+ Really nice puzzle logics.
+ Nice forest at the begining of the first part.
+ Cool idea that you need to enter the building to have the correct sequence for the forect part.
+ That big wheel of fire is just cool. I died a lot in that thing, but it's really well done how you have to make all the way through it.
+ The hidden passage in the start of the second part was nice.

- Part 1, after the moon part, I wasted 15 minutes to try to get up on the mountain to finally realise that I was supposed to go under the bouncing rocks. Just add a text bubble after the we grab the moon to say where to go or something like that...
- Part 2, when you have to get on the cube and wait for it to advance, that's where I lost all my lives, and having to re-do it 10 times in a row is really a pain. After the grabing the second wheel, it's hard to land on the pillar...maybe that should be a little bit larger, or don't cut the corners.

I will give you other comments when I'll finish that second part.

:)

a solution you could use to fix these problems at the beggining of the first level is, underneath each block (like on the wall behind it, make an arrow so you see it when the blocks hop), and to prevent people from jumping on the blocks you could make them taller so you can't actually jump on top.

Thanks again guys for the input. I did go back in and edit a couple of things: I made it impossible to go over the back of the secret area (and I think it's pretty obvious now ;) ), and I added an arrow on the back wall of the first pillar for the entrance of the temple. Hopefully it's more clear on where you need to go. Thanks again!

EDIT:

I now also added some blood stickers, especially after the drop into the cave area.

Finished! Expert stuff, but really fun.

+ Very cool bosses. I liked to learn the pattern to fight them.
+ The end of the level with the enigma is a good idea and is well executed.

- I still think the begining of the 2nd part is a bit too hard. Many peolple will fail that part,quit the level, and never see your cool bosses.
- The visuals could be improved, with a bit more details in some places.

5 stars, hearted. :)

Okay I played both parts, but didn't finish part 2 yet.

I can't remember much from part 1, but I really liked your design, especially at the beginning. The gameplay was fun and interesting, but one more checkpoint at the part that starts with the up-and-down-going pillars with the fire in them would be nice. Was down to one life there.
Another checkpoint at the big wheel would be nice too, it was a bit confusing and guessing which log you had to hold onto to get in/out.
The split between part 1 and 2 was well done.

The first section in part 2 was awesome for the first time. It was a lot of fun transporting that power block somehow. And I really loved the "power on" animation after inserting the power block.
After that there are the bosses.. First, I have to say I saw all 4 and they are really awesome and nice ideas and they are not easy to kill. They were a lot of fun. That's what a boss should be like. However, the first time I arrived, I got killed at the first boss and had to retry the level.

At the second try, transporting the power block was a little patience-testing. I think you could speed up the fire-conveyor-belt a little, it'll still possible to get through without having to wait that long.
Again, at the first boss I lost 6 lives and was quite nervous I had to retry again. The second boss was not too hard, didn't have any live-problems here.
When I first saw the third boss, I thought "omg, I'm supposed to do that with 8 lives?" Even though I somehow managed to get inside the boss after 5 lives, I was really nervous again. At the last boss, I used my final life just before the last brain and had to retry again, but I didn't yet.

So I think you REALLY should add more, better infinite, checkpoints at each boss. They are really fun and I think it's a waste to torture the players nerves by only giving them 8 lives.

Overall it was a really good (split up) level with good design, but I found it a little too punishing. I can't bring myself to try again immediately, but if you add some checkpoints I definitely will.

Thanks for the comments Shiwayari! Unfortunately, I can't make the lava conveyor in the second part go much faster due to the way I made it; it would start to get choppy. As far as adding extra lives goes, I was enlightened to the fact that infinite-life checkpoints are possible by playing your level (I had actually never seen them before.) How do you do that? Is it just constantly emitting or what? If I can figure out how, I will certainly try to add some infinite checkpoints throughout the stages. I hope they don't take up too much thermo though as I'm very close to 100% on both levels. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed the levels aside from the difficulty, and I hope that adding those infinite checkpoints will help ease some nerves ;).

Part 1 -

The ship is decent... thanks for the prize. I really like the 3, 1, 2 segment as well and the pitfalls. It's a nice preclude to the things to come since this level really does not relent and pops out at you every chance it gets. The enterance to the temple is amazing... masterful mechanics and the most engaging doorway I've ever seen :D I love how it's opened as well, that was creative. The fire pillar part is constructed excellently, and on my 2nd playthrough I had that down pat and can see that the amount of work you must have put into timing them for graceful, and calm movements to slide through it by the skin of your teeth. The race section is intense, perfectly steeped and arranged... I absolutelty love the challenge you've put in this level. It's challenging as a test of skills, and keeps you coming back, rather than punishing you relentlessly - it only does it if you, the player, make a mistake. A man after my own heart :D

The wheel... is absolutely fantastic, and this is where I really noticed how perfect your lighting is, and how balanced and visually pleasing your texture choice is. You have alot of detail with geometry that's very natural and organic, but very solid and methodical. Your use of stickers is very nice too... not too much, not too little, and it really gives this level some spice and unique qualities.

The cavern section below, with the blood splatters and skulls looks awesome. The way you made the stalactites and mites is PERFECT... I am a real stickler for the geometry of rocky terrain in LBP, and when I see anything out of place it really irritates me, but this was just right. It's their width and roundness to a dull point that makes it - hopefully that makes sense lol

(the way you've split these up is very cool)
Part 2 -

The way you've split these up is very cool, and innovative. A first as far as I know, the way you have a "last time on Temple of the Eye" intro section that is the exact duplicate of the outro section of part 1. That's great...

Nice staircase... I'll have to try and get what was behind it next time.

Man, THANKS for angling the corners of the cube off - I've never seen that before and I know exactly why you did it. Genius idea. Good thinkin' putting glass underneath too - nothing is worse than a box you're supposed to drag, but can't.

Wow, secrets galore - I like that alot.

Good variety again... this is very innovative... the seasaw and the conveyor - you've got platforming skills and puzzle solving all rolled into one.

****, I just went in the ceiling and found another one... that felt like breaking the blocks and walking on the roof in world 1-2 of the original Super Mario Bros...

I love the candle holders in the wall, and the architecture here... the mechanics are perfect.

I had to restart to finish this segment... man... tough, but satisfying. You might want to lower that checkpoint right here, in the odd chance that a stupid person would even be able to get to it, they might run right past it without jumping up to it. You might even get the odd player who's skilled, but is not with it right there - no one wants to repeat that conveyor belt again if they don't have to lol

I love that you stickered the crushing pillar here... instead of a plain lifeless block. Good eye for detail.

When the skull warned me about the 4 chambers, I was like "man..." - like I knew I really had it in for me, anticipating a great challenge. Feels like God of War when the camera zooms out and shows you the entirety of Pandora's Temple and you're like "I have to do this?"

Man, do I feel dumb... I was standing by this wheel jumping around for like ten minute trying to figure out what to do when I remember the box... just getting it over there under this pillar was innovative and challenging.

AWESOME effects right here, with the sound and the dissolve, and the electricity. That thing is like the ark of the covenant.

The design of this puzzle wheel and 4 boss arrangement is SICK.

Boss 1: genius design... great music choice. Tough and complex, but really fits the temple theme, of long lost technology and power.

Boss 2: even better... totally ridiculous.

Boss 3: OMG... so close, I beat it with one life left and the alarm ringing. This thing is insane. WHEW!

Boss 4: ok... this thing is just out of control. Although it is actually easier then #3 IMO. I'm used to spinning bosses and didn't die once, but it's still epic, and the explosive at the end is awesome.

They have tons of personality despite being more or less moving blocks.

This riddle was hard as hell... I guessed rain first, because of cloud.

This is far and away the most complex and elaborate puzzle there has ever been in LBP. It will probably stay that way for awhile...

lmao @ the eye... seriously lmao

Fantastic scoreboard room too. Just decorate the actual board itself a little if there's any thermo left, that and the kind of simplicity of the ship in part 1 are the only flaws I can think of.

This level blew my mind. If you could have fit this all into one level like you wanted, it would be untouchable. It's safe to say that this is as good as it gets for level design... there are things that could probably be improved, or things story wise that could probably enhance it, but that's all superfluous. The meat of this experience is the challenge and the obstacle course, and the looks. I hearted both of these, and you, and I can't wait to see what else you come up with. I just told a bunch of people on my friends list that don't suck at this game to play these...

Hey man. I had a chance to play these last night, here are some thoughts:


Part 1

From a gameplay perspective your level is truly brilliant. The entire flow and structure of the level is very well thought out.

I love all the different contraptions and original concepts you have going on here. I missed the speech bubble at the start explaining the order of the paths but once I found it I thought: "Now THAT is cool!" lol.

The glass slides were a bit frustrating at first but once I got the hang of them it was cool and rewarding to breeze through it so smoothly, made me feel like had super-powers :)

And now we come to the wheel. What can I say? There have been two wheel contraptions in LBP that have impressed me to no end: the one at the end of Voltiare's H.A.T.E and the one at the end of drpacifist's The Domain. This wheel is equally impressive but still completely different from the ones mentioned above. Really ingenious design here and I applaud you.

I liked the lighting in the level and the overall choice of materials worked.

Part 2 -

First off I knew I was in for something special as soon as I spawned that cube. That whole conveyor belt sequence (especially the part where you hang from the "see-saw" platform) is truly special. Unfortunately it is also supremely challenging and I ended up losing all of my lives (perhaps another checkpoint here would help?). I will be checking it out again though, did not have the time yesterday.


Suggestions:

- The only real sugestions I have is to regarding the visuals in your levels. The levels weren't ugly by any means but at the same time I thought something was missing. I also don't like the skull decorations but maybe that's a personal thing.

Really great work here that earned you 5 stars and a heart. The levels are definitley challenging but take heart in the fact that many of us appreciate that. Great work and I look forward to whatever you do next. :)

Thanks so much guys for the kind words and helpful advice. I've been very busy in the last couple of days, having just moved back to college, so I apologize for my less than satisfactory reply. Know that I really appreciate your input, and I will certainly be playing your levels at some point this week (when I find the time). I will also go back in to make some of the edits that you guys suggested (again, when I have time ;)) Thanks again!