Surreality 2: A Sojourn and the Case of the Missing Sunglasses

[CarlsenJeppe]

Just played the Surreality level 1. Will play level 2 also. It was okay, but for me, it kinda lacked in gameplay ideas.. I felt mostly understimulated the whole way through, although the humor kept me playing.

A quick note: On the boat, I missed the contact to make the boat move, and jumped into the water. I think you should make the switch more easy to recognize, and make the water kill sackboy.

Check out my level, "Save Die Reload!", user "CarlsenJeppe".. thead: http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9714

[CarlsenJeppe]

Finished part 2.. The boss was really funny.. but other than that, it overall felt a bit too simple and boring to me. I would have prefered some more gameplay to go along with the humor, but that may just be me.

Keep it up.

[HardSync]

Thanks for your comments, Carlsen. I have to ask: Keep what up? Boring people? Anyway, glad the humour kept you going, which is precisely the idea...

By the way, my "Super Ultra Challenge Race MGS Yeah! (or something) Ver 0.991x" level is all about gameplay -- people find it too hard.

[CarlsenJeppe]

Hehe, Keep up the good work. Your levels are nicely done, and I am sure a lot of people does get much enjoyment out of them. And if you keep working on it, you will propably also find good gameplay ideas to go along with your humour.

[HardSync]

Thanks. Bah, gameplay is for gamers! This is LBP! We don't need no stinking gameplay.

Seriously, the Surreality series is all about gentle platforming that requires minimal effort, with some sparse difficulty thrown in for a laugh... I don't have the talent that some people have, like Grantos and Kappa and Morgana do... they've got some fantastic levels. I'm just riding on their fame, you see, as part of my master plan to take over the world! Bwahahaha!

[Thegide]

haha. I love Spinal Tap. I've been trying to work out how to incorporate some Spinal in my levels. Exploding drummers? Maybe. "This one goes to 11"? Or how about the "black level".

Three words: "Smell the glove"

[CCubbage]

But what's wrong with being sexy?

Want to build a level with great content: "Big bottoms".

[v0rtex•]

My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo. I'd like to sink her with my pink torpedo.

Might draw the ire of the mods. just sayin'

[xkappax•]

But ... big bottom drives me out of my mind. How could I leave this ... behind? ....

:P Seriously though, back on topic! this is a funny, good level. Play it!

[wexfordian]

Wow, some really nice comments about this level. I'll try and check it out this eve.

On a side note, man Kappa does some funny videos!

"I love ants, except when I kill them"

[xkappax•]

I get really nervous when I'm doing videos, and so I just start rattling off whatever I can think of. It occurred to me that I was saying that I love ants while I was killing them. I do love ants though. I think they're really cute. :P

As far as this level goes though, if you want over-the-top, "maxed out" quality mechanics, look elsewhere. But the humor in this level is here, and that's what really matters, because that's what Hardsync aims for above all. (Check out his 'revenge' level, and that will become apparent) Also, it's a rather nice looking level.

[HardSync]

Kappa is very kind. Thanks for those nice words, and thanks to everyone who has posted their comments.

Re mechanics: all of my mechanics are behind the scenes stuff; I try not to make them overt and in your face but there's a lot of stuff happening in this level. Nothing terribly complex... nothing that hasn't already been done before and a lot better by others. I've learned a lot from playing other levels out there -- some of the stuff people do is incredible! I don't even know how they think up the stuff they do... it's really fantastic that they did, though, because it's both fun and inspiring for me to work out their mechanics and then try to incorporate some aspect of them into my levels.

Also, after playing so many community levels, you get a feel for what tends to be annoying to other players, so I tried to limit annoyance as much as possible. You should have seen the old mine cart ride, back before it didn't respawn. I had like 6 magic mouths explaining that you had to hold on to cushion, and that the cart was a one-shot deal. I was annoyed by all that text... so I spent about 4 to 5 hours reworking the cart ride so that I could skip all that unnecessary text. Besides the cart is wont to tip from time to time, and I didn't want it to be level-breaking. Nevertheless, I'm sure there are aspects of my level that do annoy some people -- and of course the things that "look like bananas", as Catiers puts it, are deliberately pesky. :P

[wexfordian]

Well I played this level last night and I have to agree with the ladies. Some very nice touches of humour in this level. I loved the two heads arguing and Boss is classic. Your take on the "short trip" was very funny.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about the complexity of the level as this (I think) isn't point. This is a fun light hearted level and shouldn't really be overly demanding.

The only suggestions for improvement I can give is that I think some areas could do with just a little more subtle lighting for atmoshpere.

Even without this it got 5 stars and a heart from me. Good job.

[HardSync]

Thanks, Wex. Really glad you enjoyed it! Mind if I ask which areas could use more lighting?

[xkappax•]

I think that the area where you get on the mine cart could use some more lighting, but that's just me. like I said, it looks fine on one tv, too dark on another. So it's really up to you, Hardsync. And I know I'm not wex, but I play him on TV. :P