Needs a bit more everything.

 

We can fix it a little. Probably.

 

    First thing that had to go was the invisible borders. Completely uncompelling, made for unclear boundaries, and it was a major issue aligning it with the prebuilt plane geometry (which was also a bad idea, since backface culling creates major holes in the environment thanks to the free floating camera). As it turns out, aligning invisible walls is a major pain, and fixing slight corrections becomes a major chore, since the outline gizmo is thick enough to create slight cracks when it looks aligned. 

    

You tried. A blatant crack in the wall.

    So, absolutely none of that. Replaced them all with normal, functional, boxes. The dull boxes to create boundaries could be improved upon in multiple ways. They are functional albeit thoroughly uncompelling. The addition of trees does not change the fact that they are angular, poorly aligned, and uninteresting. More functional than interesting. We can move beyond whiteboxing by manually adjusting the terrain on the top layer. They'll still function as boundaries while seeming like organic, interesting, shapes. We also need to break up the shapes with different colors, and create a compelling color palette so people want to actually look at it.

Somehow better than the last iteration. Still a lot of work to do.

    A common complaint about the level was its overall design. Not very dynamic at all, a linear, one dimensional path with two elevation changes. It follows a very simple pattern. Corridor-Clearing-Corridor-Clearing-Corridor-Clearing-Corridor-Exit. Not very fun. The open sections of a level need to be more visually distinct and interesting. I need to make the most of the simple, low-poly style and fix it up so it's actually compelling to travel through. Landmarks, more engaging platforming challenges, optional side paths, while still having a clear overall direction.

    It's especially inexcusable since a number of people managed to create some extremely compelling-looking levels using simple tools. I can do a lot more to sell the illusion of a jungle, and even using blocky primitives and a simple terrain tool we can make something worth looking at. I definitely want to improve visual quality and do more than the bare minimum for my next level.

 

Overall layout. Not much to break it up.

    I got some positive reception for the combat challenges, though they could be a bit more interesting. The signposting was well received, and I intend on continuing that for future levels. The ability to lead the player on through dialogue and hints based on the character's own thoughts on the area is too powerful of a tool to ignore. The switch puzzles need to become a bit more complicated in order to be successful, since there needs to be some conflict before the reward of hitting the switch and making progress is given. 

    I have a lot to improve before I'll be actually happy with how the levels I make look, feel, and function. Right now, I'm thinking way too linearly and I need to make a significant effort to catch up with what everyone else is doing; a lot of people have created very memorable spaces, which I haven't been able to do.

    For my next level, my plan is to:

• Start with a more detailed concept, including a diagram of whiteboxing, enemy placement, elevation changes, etc.
• Whitebox using solids instead of planes to limit backface culling.
• Make level shapes look more organic, use free textures, and create more complicated shapes utilizing the primitives.
• Take advantage of lighting and UI tools in order to sell the atmosphere and tell a story.
• Use frequent elevation changes and changes in floor, ceiling, and wall textures to indicate progress.