Hello humans, this is playerXT and today is...

◇Day 8 of demo 4 production◇

Today, I will finally start doing the "LEVEL DESIGN" of the combustion center...

Combustion center...

Hmn... combustion

Wait a minute...

(Yes, I spent years calling this phase the combustion center without really knowing what combustion is, and yes, I've been to school.)

Sooo... I don't know why, but when I see any explanation on the Internet, I feel like a human being with below average intelligence, because it seems like everyone is speaking another language, but, from what I understand...

*Combustion, is nothing more, nothing less than you taking a beautiful little piece of wood, AND SETTING IT ON FIRE UNTIL IT TURNS TO ASHES!!!*

(And you thought I would only teach about game design here)

So... how do you modifying lava could be classified as "combustion" since the lava itself is being... Meh... the scriptwriter takes care of that! Let's focus on what really matters now....

LEVEL DESIGN...

So to start, I'll check the level design of the old level, understand the central idea, the mechanics of the area, and then I'll reinterpret them in this new version.

So, the classic level can be separated into three parts:

▪︎ Entrance: This would be the entrance to this "combustion" center, a dark area, full of pipes, structures, where there are still only signs of a large ocean of lava, that is, it is the safest place in the level, which is good for the player to be able to adapt to the new style of platforms and walls in the level.

▪︎ Combustion center: This is where things get hot (I have to stop with these puns), where there is lava everywhere and the only safe part you can step on are the few metal platforms that create a bridge between this large hot ocean.

▪︎ Fuel production: And here, we enter a kind of mix between the two parts, with closed areas that still have large amounts of lava. In this area, the production process of this fuel and how lava becomes energy will also be explained through the environment!

Simple, direct and uncomplicated, now the biggest problems of the classic version were:

1) It was too short.

2) It didn't have cohesive art of the platforms and interesting backgrounds for this specific area.

3) The "combustion center" looked more like a private pool of hot water than a real center full of lava.

4) The entire process of transforming lava into fuel was minimally explained (maybe because not even the creator knew what the process was).

So...

I solved problems 2 and 3 (kind of by accident, but I solved them) when I recreated the level, now it's just a matter of...

Solving everything else...

ok... let's go, starting with...

◇Staircase◇

In the classic level, the "staircase" was the transition point between the spatial zone and the combustion center, a sequence of stairs that connected one point to the other, with dark iron walls, steel pillars and everything dark around, in short, it's like going down the stairs that connect your house to the basement.

I confess that in the classic version, the past me did a great job with the atmosphere of mystery and emptiness, but I think he could give the place a little more identity, like, that could be the staircase of any area in the game.

So, having an idea of what I wanted to do, I first started by recreating the level design...

Perfect! Like... seriously, in terms of level design, it doesn't get any better than this, after all, I don't want to torture the players in the introduction, this part is just to "create the mood".

With the level design ready, I just need to make a few adjustments here and there, after all, the part about the art being generic was already resolved before (flashback of me spending the afternoon making the sprites for the platforms in this area) so, it's inevitable that this area will have its own identity.

And that's it!

Now all I have to do is test and relax...

(And... the camera didn't move to the player...)

Ok... Maybe it was a bug, I'll restart and...

(The camera still hasn't moved to the player...)

Ok... maybe I did something wrong in the code! I must have done something...

(The code is perfectly functional)

Hmnnaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...

(30 minutes of pure rage later)

Conclusion, of the story, I had forgotten 2 views turned on at the same time, yes I lost a good part of my neurons, and yes we can finally finish for today!!!!

Byeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!