How Do You Make Your CL'z?

[SpaceGoo]

How Do You Make Your CL'z? Is there some special thing you do before you make one, while your making it, or after? Or do you just sit down and say, "I going to make a level." and start building?

Most of the time, I will draw out what I want the level to look like with all the switchez, pyramidz, AI, etc. Then when I'm finished with one 'part' or section I'll put a check mark on that part so I know I did it. Windowz Media Player is also used. I'll listen to that while I'm building.

[alexandgruntz]

I make my CLz in the Level Editor

[SpaceGoo]

Thankz a lot for the great answer. I didn't say where, I said how.

[GooRoo]

I start out with an idea ... a theme ... such as "Uphill Battle", "Knight's Tour", "Lamont Cranston" and the like, and then plan out the mini-puzzlez that fit the theme. Then I mentally organize what happenz, and when. Then I start adding the graphicz to the map. I frequently will not add in any logicz until the map is complete. When everything lookz like it should work, I start adding in logicz, from the first mini-puzzle towardz the last ... testing each mini-puzzle as I go. For those mini-puzzlez that I expect to be a problem to solve (Silver Pyramid timing, etc.) I put in a "test Grunt" properly equipped, and make sure that the timing is correct (otherwise I would be spending a lot of time getting up to the point of the mini-puzzle to be tested! ). I seldom will have any EyeCandy, Voicez or GlobalAmbientSound objectz in until a BETA tester has completed the puzzle, and provided feed-back. Then I add the "bellz and whistlez" that cannot change the solution, except to make some thingz less visible for the end solver.

And (since my first fiasco with "Yellow Peril...", where I messed up the Silver Pyramid puzzle ... royally!) I place my logicz in standardized positionz within a Tile ... the first one in the upper left corner, the second in the upper right, then lower left, then lower right ... and if I need more, I get really creative.

[Gamer]

Most of my custom levels are like the standard levels, they are linear in fashion. Thus, I pretty much start somewhere and create the level from there. Thus if you saw a custom level half done, the beginning part would be mostly done, and the end would just be blank spaces.

What makes this interesting is designing something at one point which needs to be paired up with a method of entry or another feature later on in development.

[alexandgruntz]

May 29, 2008 12:20:37 GMT -8 SpaceGoo said:

Thankz a lot for the great answer. I didn't say where, I said how.

It wasn't the 'where'. I make them in my room.

Seriously though, I usually just think of an idea, put it on paper and go from there. No music, no facy stuff. Just plans.