Post Mortem - Mega Man level v. 2

 Compared to the last level, this one was much better but still probably too hard for the beginning player. I made serious efforts to try and cut down on the difficulty, taking steps to make the platforming sections easier and removing some of the more difficult enemies in the level. Most were placed too early or in conjunction with other enemies in a way that made for some very bad screens. Most screens with enemies benefit by having one enemy removed, turning areas with inevitable damage into challenging encounters. Additionally, with the use of a key system, I decided it'd be appropriate to have branching paths and small fetch quests. I included one key which was made available to people who knew how to 'dig' through dust blocks with the mega buster that allowed them to skip the final screen. I had one player tell me that he didn't know why I kept putting dust blocks on the ground where they can't be destroyed, and I just shrugged and said there's a way.  He figured it out!

I extended one midgame sequence by using a key; players would find their usual drop blocked off by a key door, and had to go through two screens in order to get the key and come back around to unlock the door in order to make progress. This was perfectly functional, but it ended up becoming obnoxious in practice since this extended the time players had to go without a checkpoint, and players had to replay the sequence every time they died on the next area. This lead to it becoming tedious and causing some plaints. Next time doors are utilized in my game, I will remedy this by including a checkpoint or large health pickup directly after them, as positive feedback for players and to avoid dealing with long, checkpoint-less stretches. 

Spikes were another problem. I'd gotten mixed messages on whether or not spikes were allowed. Some people thought they worked but made the platforming sections too hard, others thought they were fine. I noticed those who thought they were fine tended to care less about every death so long as it wasn't a major progress setback, but I was sympathetic to the argument that 1 mistake shouldn't equal 1 death. Going forward, I'll try not to use spikes. I was attempting to use them as a sub-in for bottomless pits, since I couldn't figure out the screen configuration necessary to make them work. 

I think I made some progress in moving towards a more exploration centered megaman level, and the keys and doors allow for the creation of meaningful branching paths. The next level's emphasis on special weapons allows for me to use more pickups to reward curious players; we could only reward a player with health for this iteration of the game. The jungle theme should give me plenty of enemies to use and invites a number of ideas for how it can be worked into platforming. I'll lower the amount of instant death and overly punishing consequences, in favor of soft progress loss.