The Legion - Spotlighted! NOW WITH VIDEO!

[OCK]

Level Name: The Legion
Creator: OCK
Location: Scandinavia



Here it is. 60+ hours of hard work and 5 weeks later I present you with my second level. After finishing Out of Africa there were immediately three themes I wanted to work around for my next level: night, fantasy and rain. Below I have once again provided extensive notes on all aspects of my level which I hope you will take the time to read through. This level is a direct opposite to OOA in every way: day vs night, realism vs fantasy, wood vs metal/stone, horizontal vs all over the map lol. So for those who played/hearted/enjoyed OOA I sincerely hope you find this level to be just as good, if not better. Please note the level was intended for SINGLE PLAYER!!!

Pics:

To be honest the quality of these pics is so below that of the lvl itself that I did not want to put them up but I guess even these pics are better then no pics. Just please don't judge the level by these pics becasue that would be doing both me and the level a great disservice:

















Video:

Part 1

[Watch YouTube Video]

Part 2

[Watch YouTube Video]


Description:

The star of Elethia has been taken under siege by an evil horde known as The Legion. Help the magical Zariels destroy the Legion and free their land from its dark hand.

Story:

Little known fact: I am a writer/poet/bookworm. As such I want all of my levels to have some sort of story with high quality writing. Where as with OOA I used a lot of humor in my writing, here I decided to take a dramatic approach. I put a lot of work into the writing and wanted the player to feel like they were on an epic and noble journey that outcome of which would have major consequences. I also decided to tell some of the story through the Zariels which are majestic and magical creatures who literally take you from one portion of the level to the next. I have not seen this type of gameplay/story mechanic done before and I really hope people enjoy it. I have personally not played a level this heavy in story so let me know what you think. NOTE: I would like to give credit here to a person by the name of Maraz Matari who has a wonderful level called The Marazs Talking Tool. This tool made it possible to create a level this story rich and I encourage everyone to play his level and get this invaluabel tool.

Imbedding:

The main technique I used when creating OOA was material and texture manipulation. With this I really went to town with imbedding. From the backgrounds, enemies, bosses and terrain, imbedding is omnipresent. Some people may be thinking “what is so special about imbedding?” And there really isn’t anything special about it but I have never used it seen to such an extent and in the ways that I use it throughout my level. I personally think some of the visuals I was able to create using this technique are simply stunning but then again I could be delusional lol.

Bosses:

There are TWO boss battles and that is all I am going to say…


Stars:

Early on I had a couple of stars as decoration. Then I added more stars. Then I added even more stars and I quickly realized that stars would become the major theme of the level and I worked all of this into the story. The part of my level I am most proud of is a section I call the “Path of Stars”. It involves moving back and forth between background and foreground through latticed stone using stars as your guide. I have never seen this sort of thing done before and I really hope people appreciate the amount of thought that went into it. It is amazing what you can do using a single, simple shape

Rain:

The very first thing I created for this level was rain. The intention was to have it falling throughout the whole level but due to thermo limitation I realized that would be impossible. So the rain is a the very start of the level and I think it’s quite impressive. Just that small section alone took up 10% of my thermo. I have about 50 emitters working overtime to create the effect. I also worked the rain into the story so there is a reason that it stops 

Music/Sfx/Cam Zones:

Once again I used all of these extensively. The music selection in particular has been considered a lot and I believe all the choices I made best reflect what is happening on screen.

Custom Content:

Once again, EVERYTHING IN MY LEVEL IS CUSTOM!!! This took a lot of time but I stick to my belief that doing this really makes a level your own and adds that personal touch.

Playtesting and Communiy Support:

The following forum members playtested my level at various points of development: Hexagohn, xbriandeadx, Voltiare, docpac and aer0blue. I particularly want to thank xbriandeadx fo his support throughout as well as an early suggestion to add more lighing (I did), Voltiare for some great feedback he gave when the level was about 75% done and especially Hexagohn who played the near final build yesterday and took the time out to PM me with a TON of feedback, all of which I took to heart. All of you guys are not only talented creators but great people and I am glad that I am part of a community that is so supportive.

So it is out of my hands now. I really hope everyone checks it out and I welcome all comments/suggestions/constructive criticism from all forum members, both old and new alike. Enjoy it and let me know what you think.

I dedicate this level to my daughter, the brightest star of all!

BassDeluxe Edit: I added your videos in, right underneath the pictures.

[DRT99]

DARN!
I was hoping to use that name!

Good looking level, Ill have to play it.

[OCK]

Lol thanks and let me know what you think.

[Snrm]

looks sweet i will play it tommaro when i get home from school. and DRT99 you can still use the name lots of people have there level name the legion im sure

[Thee-Flash]

mate good looking level looks trippy unfortunately i don't own lbp as of yet so i can't play your level =( sorry man

[Voltiare]

R-R-R-RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGEEEEE!

I was at the last boss, right? And the white blocks kept messing me up. I got to the checkpoint after the first white block test and I couldn't pass the second test. As soon as I touched the last block it would dissappear and I would fall. I tried over and over and eventually just gave up. Is it only me who this is happening with?

[OCK]

I was at the last boss, right? And the white blocks kept messing me up. I got to the checkpoint after the first white block test and I couldn't pass the second test. As soon as I touched the last block it would dissappear and I would fall. I tried over and over and eventually just gave up. Is it only me who this is happening with?
______________

So I guess no heart then The white block righ above the checkpoint becomes permanent once it is emitted. I am sorry you found this part to be so frustrating and and had to give up, that does not make me feel all that great lol. I think I will change things and make it a lot easier, I just wanted there to be some sort of challenge. Thanks for letting me know about the problem though. I will get working on it.

[mrsupercomputer]

Pretty fun level Ock. I appreciate the time you put into the story and the objects in your levels.

Some Praise:

- The fantasy look and feel. You created a very unique world and filled it with some nice creations! I really liked the wizards at the beginning, especially how they each had a different ability!

- The Stars Know the Way! Nice idea and implementation!

Some Suggestions:

- I really could have used a checkpoint in the vapor hallway, man, that took a lot of time (and restarts!) for me to get by. But maybe I'm just impatient.

- During the second boss battle, I was able to jump onto the boss's left side without using the cube. Didn't know if you want players to do that or not.

- In the last boss battle, I had a frustrating time. First, I had no clue about the stars that shoot up to the body, so I spent forever trying to find another way up. Eventually I managed to jump to his arm and get on top. It wasn't until after I beat him that I saw the stars and received the message telling me to use them to get up to the body. The Second issue was the timed platforms. Man, those were hard to keep track of, at least for me. I'd suggest slowing them down a tad, but I like I said, I am impatient, so maybe they are just fine.

Anyway, that's all I can remember at the moment and my laptop battery is about to die, so I'll just leave it at that. Good job!

[NinjaMicWZ]

Wow the pics are amazing looking... can't wait to play this.

[Voltiare]

So I guess no heart then The white block righ above the checkpoint becomes permanent once it is emitted. I am sorry you found this part to be so frustrating and and had to give up, that does not make me feel all that great lol. I think I will change things and make it a lot easier, I just wanted there to be some sort of challenge. Thanks for letting me know about the problem though. I will get working on it.

Psssh, it is getting a heart and I am trying again now. I thought of that right after I posted this lol. But I saw it disappear before I think so I must've not caught on.

[OCK]

Pretty fun level Ock. I appreciate the time you put into the story and the objects in your levels.

Some Praise:

- The fantasy look and feel. You created a very unique world and filled it with some nice creations! I really liked the wizards at the beginning, especially how they each had a different ability!

- The Stars Know the Way! Nice idea and implementation!

Thanks for the praise, I am feeling a little better now

- I really could have used a checkpoint in the vapor hallway, man, that took a lot of time (and restarts!) for me to get by. But maybe I'm just impatient.

Going to add that now. I like a challenge but maybe that section is too challenging lol.

- During the second boss battle, I was able to jump onto the boss's left side without using the cube. Didn't know if you want players to do that or not.

You actually have to do that nad there is a speech bubble telling you to do so. The cube is dissolved once a swith under his arm is pulled allowing access to the other side of his body.

- In the last boss battle, I had a frustrating time. First, I had no clue about the stars that shoot up to the body, so I spent forever trying to find another way up. Eventually I managed to jump to his arm and get on top. It wasn't until after I beat him that I saw the stars and received the message telling me to use them to get up to the body. The Second issue was the timed platforms. Man, those were hard to keep track of, at least for me. I'd suggest slowing them down a tad, but I like I said, I am impatient, so maybe they are just fine.

Since you are now the 2nd person to comment on having difficulty here I will definitely be changing things around a bit. I already have so many speech bubbles directing the player but I guess one more cant hurt indicating where to ascend the bosses body.

Thanks again for playing and taking the time to write all this feedback, I appreciate it.

Psssh, it is getting a heart and I am trying again now. I thought of that right after I posted this lol. But I saw it disappear before I think so I must've not caught on.
__________________

lol, thanks but only if you really think it deserves it. I hope you have better luck with it this time

[Whalio Cappuccino]

I'll play this after I practice with my band in the garage, but one thing I could really suggest is, take those pictures and give them a new line each, because on my screen it is really irritating as I have to scroll to the right to look at the description,

[Voltiare]

Just beat it. It was pretty awesome. I remember the second switch on the arm not having a good cutscene about where I should go next. I don't remember it zooming in on the head.

Oh yeah, and the stars that you swing on. You might wanna move them a bit closer together.

5 Star and hearted. It's a great level.

[Hexagohn]

Hey everybody, just wanted to say I think this level is really awesome. Good job OCK on the story and look especially. 5 Stars and hearted. The Zariels look amazing, they have a cool story, and they are not useless! ( I hate it when support characters are useless for no reason.) The legion are really cool bad guys and all the customs look really good and work quite well.

My advice is take everyone's advice. I know you probably are already but it's the players creators are trying to please, the players have the power to make your level be recognized or to let it die all alone in a cold corner somewhere. So I would say fix most things they recommend. Timmy's Dream would be nowhere I think without acceptance of the feedback. Anyway don't get discouraged you have a great level here, problems are gonna come with it, but then you fix it and your level is even better! Then pretty soon your level is as close to perfect as it will be.

[OCK]

I'll play this after I practice with my band in the garage, but one thing I could really suggest is, take those pictures and give them a new line each, because on my screen it is really irritating as I have to scroll to the right to look at the description,

I look forward to your thoughts and I fixed the pics.

Just beat it. It was pretty awesome. I remember the second switch on the arm not having a good cutscene about where I should go next. I don't remember it zooming in on the head.

Oh yeah, and the stars that you swing on. You might wanna move them a bit closer together.

5 Star and hearted. It's a great level.

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it and I will look into the things you mentioned and make those changes.

Hey everybody, just wanted to say I think this level is really awesome. Good job OCK on the story and look especially. 5 Stars and hearted. The Zariels look amazing, they have a cool story, and they are not useless! ( I hate it when support characters are useless for no reason.) The legion are really cool bad guys and all the customs look really good and work quite well.

Thanks man. Once again I appreciate the playtesting and feedback you gave me.

My advice is take everyone's advice. I know you probably are already but it's the players creators are trying to please, the players have the power to make your level be recognized or to let it die all alone in a cold corner somewhere. So I would say fix most things they recommend. Timmy's Dream would be nowhere I think without acceptance of the feedback. Anyway don't get discouraged you have a great level here, problems are gonna come with it, but then you fix it and your level is even better! Then pretty soon your level is as close to perfect as it will be.

Yeah that goes without saying. Feedback is the only way to improve a level I think if people look at my posts on other peoples threads then they will see I am firm believer in leaving extensive feedback. My only hope was that with all the rigorous playtesting I would have to make very little changes post-publishing but I am coming to the realization that no matter how many people playtest your level beforehand (and how many times a creator playtests their creation) there will ALWAYS be things that can be improved upon.

So thanks again to everyone who has played thus far and I look forward to more comments in the coming days