Photography - On the Edge, Things, Panorama

On the Edge

For this photo, I did have an initial feeling of what kind of photo I wanted to capture. The hardest part was mostly, finding the right subject. The composition I wanted for this photo was definitely that long depth feeling. That meant my subject had to stretch further and deeper into the center of the photo. I achieved this with cropping and the black and white of the photo. 

 Things 

This photo was fairly easier to do, I did have the idea planned out already. The symbolism of a "tree house". I'm glad it turned out so well. I think this is one of the best photos I worked on. The singled out color of the tiny house contrasting to the large tree worked really well. 

Panorama 

I didn't have too much of a hard time finding a subject. I knew what I wanted to photograph, the harder part was doing it right. The editing was okay at points.

MegaMan Level 1 Feedback

Megaman Level 1 Feedback

What went right?
The map did fit the feeling of being an "intro" level. It introduced a good variety of "easy" enemies and did not have any complex design or puzzle. It introduced health packs and the flow of the map was easy to follow.

Annotated Map of Megaman Level 1

What went wrong?
The level itself was not long enough. It took roughly 1 minute and 30 seconds for most players to beat it. Some completed it under 1 minute when they skipped past all the enemies and followed the critical path. Some enemy placements were wonky, especially the first enemy encounter where the player could run into it due to the room transition to be wrong. The room was supposed to scroll instead of fading, which might have been a mistake on my part that I forgot to switch the room transition to scroll. 

How might you improve your map next time?
For the next level, I'll need to find a way to prolong the map without adding more enemies. Perhaps adding more groundwork and map puzzles could be a way to add length to the map without adding more enemies. I definitely need to playtest it more to make sure the length is considerably longer and if the enemies were appropriately positioned or balanced in terms of challenge. 

Enemy spawning too close to screen transition

Were the challenges presented appropriate to the skill level of the player?
I do believe the challenges were easy enough. After all, most players finished the level under 2 minutes. Though of course, it also meant the level was too short but introduction levels are usually like that. 

Was the critical path obvious?
Yes, the map was pretty straightforward. Though 2D maps are usually more linear in that case, save for a few right or left turns that usually lead to a dead end. Getting to the end was easy as long as you keep going right. 

How was the overall flow?
The map was fairly simple, consisting of only 11 "rooms". The flow was straightforward, linear even. Not much choice was presented to the player except keep going forward. 

Was the player taught everything needed to complete the level?
I do believe the playtesters were taught mostly everything needed in the introduction level. That would be what health packs and the energy element look like, how to deal with certain enemies, and using platforms to your advantage. 

DnD Map 2 Tiered: Easy

DnD Map Tier: Easy

What went wrong?
Due to miscommunication and my busy schedule, I did not change much of my map from the last playtest to this group one. Thus the problems were almost the same as the last map's. Again it's linear, the boss was overpowered, and the setting was the same. 

What went right?
Luckily, the problem with this map (and my previous map) was that it was fairly easy and felt "tutorial"-ish. Since I was supposed to make tier 1 (easy) map, it worked out pretty well so that I didn't have to change much about my map. I did tweak the stats of the enemies and the boss and changed the number of items given to the players. So the requirements of the easy map would be apparent in my map. 

How was the process of working on a Level Design Team?

There wasn't much we did as a team. The only things we did together was coming up with a concept for the maps. It wasn't easy. It took us a while to decide on the setting and the items. But it was fun having maps connect even if the overall flow of the story was too consistent. I wish there was more we could do as a team. 

How might you improve your map next time?
Biggest mistake made this time is not giving the time to work on this thoroughly. Luckily my group did have a general setting/story for our maps as well as items so my map did fit along with the groups. I didn't get the chance to put much of my own ideas however which was disappointing. Next time I'll be sure to time management better so I could have made this map different from the previous one. Aside from that, I still need to work on balancing the stats of the enemies as well as using distance and location more as an advantage or disadvantage in my maps. 

Were enemies appropriate to the player "level"?
Again, the boss was too difficult despite bringing down the stats. However, I thought the stats for the boss were a disadvantage and made the boss easy to kill so I gave the boss abilities such as heal and a charged attack that allowed the boss to hit both players only if the boss did not do anything its previous turn. However, it made the boss a bit difficult. On the other hand, the players died just before landing a final blow on the boss. Thus I believe the boss was suitable for this level, but a lot depends on the dice rolls as well. The other enemies were easy to defeat as expected for a "tutorial" level, 

Were there appropriate teaching mechanisms for new items?
Not really, the number of items are limited for an easy map and there weren't many items I could have added. The players did not get all the items as well, they got 2 out of the 3 that were "hidden" throughout the map. Regardless they did not need to use the items until the boss. The items did not have a big impact on gameplay, however. It did bring the boss down to low health but the item used was one that "let the player roll a 6". 

Was it obvious where players we supposed to go?
Since the map outline did not change from the last map, yes. It's linear and very straightforward (as always). I need to work on making my maps less linear. Perhaps it's best to switch to graph paper instead of using the foldable whiteboard. 

How was the overall flow?
The flow was better than last playtest surprisingly. Since it's an "easy" level map, I didn't have too many ideas flowing through my head. I also erased the theme of fighting either the aliens or guards or both and just stood with fighting against aliens. That made it easier to keep track of enemies as there was only a small handful. The boss didn't have any complex abilities as I made them easier to understand for this playtest. I also made the story easier as the group came up with it together so I didn't have to write one entirely out on my own like last playtest.