Western 2D Level

What players liked about my level is that it was completely simple to play through. The maze was incredibly easy and the paths that the player needed to take were easy to get through. Most of the playtesters also loved that my level was properly themed and liked the idea of a western town. Some of the players felt that even though there was a dead end they still felt they were rewarded for exploring when they notice building they could not have seen before. At the end, all of them loved that I added a church near the goal since the building structure of it differentiates with the rest. 

What the players didn’t like about my level is that there were not enough branching paths. Sure, my level is simple but it is too simple which is why I need to create more paths to keep the players interested. What some playtesters told me is to add secret paths to make the players feel good about themselves for discovering it. Other playtesters told me that I should just fuse together some paths that I currently have right now so that way the player won’t need to backtrack the same path. 

Also, when it comes to guiding the player most of them said that it was a great idea to use the markets as an indicator to lead the player to the goal, but it needs to be removed from the other paths as not to mislead the player. Some of the players recommended that I use the markets to create a main street in my map and instead use other indicators such as coins to lead the player. Most players said that my level design could look more beautiful if I just add a variety of floor tiles on my map. One of them even suggested using the grass to lead the player. Most of them took notice that my borders of the level needed to have some variety since there is no such of a town being trapped by a bunch of rocks. 

Finally, there was some minor border issues that some players experienced in their play through and most players said that I should limit the amount of coins I out on the map so it could feel more rewarding. All the players had an easy time getting around my map and found the map very simple. There was no time where the players felt that the game is slow but all of them said that the game was too quick to finish. The players found it obvious on where they are supposed to go since they mentioned that they were just following the coin path that I laid out for them and the subtle hints of the colored signs of the market. 

What I plan to improve on my level is to fix the objective blockers, add more variety of scenery in my map, create branching paths or secret paths, and lessen the amount of coins so the player could feel more rewarded in getting them.