<![CDATA[Oh you, Ladder Cave…]]>All programming/development has literally been on hold this week while I fill in graphics, so it feels like I don’t have much to say recently. Level 3 is now looking pretty finished, so I’ll include some video footage in my next Devlog Video of me running around it! I didn’t have to make too much more for my latest blue level, except for a new water tile for the onsen (which may be temporary for now), and a new structure to mark where the onsen are.


The tile in the middle of the structure can be repeated to increase the width of the structure, as most of the onsen are different shapes and sizes. I originally wanted the middle to be peaked, but this raised serious difficulties when trying to extend the structure width-ways! I’ve placed the new tiles into the level, including the finished second hald of the level, which was looking very bare before.


The last part of the level to design was the level’s only cave, which stands alone with four entrance ways as opposed to having two cave sections with fewer entrances. You can see how each of these entrances align in the centre of the map in the image below, obviously in the room editor the pink squares represent warp points between rooms.


As with all cave sections, I’ve based the shape of the inside of the caves on the outer landscape. This cave has ended up with a long vertical spine with a horizontal part that crosses over it near the top. Because of the cave’s long shape, I decided to see what I could accomplish here using ladders, which can only be used for moving up and down. I worked out that the Hanging Adversary can be used as a very effective obstacle while the player is moving vertically, by placing it to one side of the ladder like this:

The player can only wait until a timed move past the plant, because a left or right movement would result in the player falling. So, with this in mind I designed (most of!) the cave to revolve around climbing as many ladders as possible.


I got a little stuck in the bottom left-hand corner, so I waited until I could test the effectiveness of the rest of the area to place something in here. In the end, this area ended up being a little maze section with no real obstacles to overcome. Because this is the last cave of the game, I’ve placed as many Hanging Adversary obstacles as possible without the stages becoming impossible/ridiculous. This cave scares me a little, but I’m glad I have the upper hand of knowing where everything is :S I recorded this video to show the evasion of each obstacle in the cave, and I somehow managed to not take any damage until right at the end! The hardest placement of obstacles here is where there is a sharp left or right turn at the top of a ladder, or where there are many obstacles together (which is where I failed!)

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