Keen: Modding

Claustrophobia, mostly. The level background gives us the impression that we are in a canyon with water at the bottom of it, and that is reinforced because of the map screen showing us a canyon with water rushing through it. When the player first enters the level, a waterfall is immediately visible,...

This is a cute download. :) Thanks for putting it up, and thanks to Ally for creating it!!

You've got to encourage her to doodle more graphics! There's something about childrens' art styles that really tickles me.

Huh, I could've sworn I posted a reply here. Me too! I got deja vu reading the topic & first few replies, and could have sworn I'd already posted a response! Oh well. Introducing foreground tiles, point arcs, and non-threatening-versus-threatening enemies all within the first two/three screens ...

Agreed. I wouldn't add points to this (or any other) Dome level, because like Ceilick said, there's a whole archetype to Dome levels. They're barren, sterile, empty... creepy, even. The best parallel I could give would be the Chozo statue rooms in Metroid games. :) Make the jump over the flames one ...

Wow, your zones are much, much smaller than the ones I'd imagined. :) Interesting! The more I look at it, the more I agree with it, and the more the following becomes apparent: Based on your subdivisions, I'd observe that Zone 4 is a hugely confusing mess and should be re-thought. Notice how every o...

I really like the gravity and uncertainty the player gets as they scroll the screen higher to reveal the red blocks with fire in them--there is a huge amount of "what have I discovered?" in that initial revelation. However, all of that mystery and momentum is immediately lost as soon as th...

This is extremely well thought out and articulated! :) I have to admit that part of my mind immediately goes blank as soon as the terms "macro" and "micro" are incorporated with any sort of mathematical equation, but I read and re-read what you've proposed, and if I'm understandi...

Aside from adding a few detail tiles, I don't think I'd change much here. Maybe swap some of the lollipops out for different point items here and there. I appreciate the minimalistic/exploration-based gameplay. The concern was raised that it was a bit boring after doing it so many times, and while t...

Keen can pogo 6 tiles high by default. You'd have to make the cliff only 7 tiles tall to prevent a player from shortcutting the level--which means you only have to extend the level seven tiles downward. From there, just fill in the bases of the stalks, add a small hill in the middle-ish area, and th...

First of all, I really like that you have multiple cloud tiles to work with. Nice job. :) Second, I like the way you've emphasized the sky-based gameplay here. The stalks standing up out of the bottomless ether of the level are nice. But I'd like to see the bottom of the level defined a bit more--ei...

I agree with your comment--based on the picture itself, that is pretty close to incomprehensible. I'm only loosely aware of where the player is supposed to go to navigate this. On one hand, it's a neat idea to have a "cliff-face ascent" level. On the other, the whole concept hinges pretty ...

I think the concern is mostly about the plain black blocks, which are in stark contrast to the heavily dithered blocks surrounding them. You need some transitions or some other way of fading to black! :) The rounded cave tiles definitely help give a sense of flow to the levels that wasn't present wi...

omao, the edited level 1: {img} Nice work! I like the changes, and you're right--it definitely looks more uniform now. :) So, on to level 9: - Is this level too cramped? My first reaction upon looking at the image: "Wow, that's cramped." "Well, wait--it looks like it's one of those '...

most of the desert surface levels of DitD have it so that the sky is completely exposed, yet nothing of interest happens in that area, especially in Battle for the Ship, and the Dusty Dunes. Gotcha, and to some extent, I disagree. The use of sky as an open plane is crucial to helping establish an o...

2. Thou shalt never use more than one of each of the four key gem colors in a single level. 2. disagree, what if there's an 'ultimate' challenge level, in the same spirit of PotF. a boss level where you must race around, avoiding a massive evil entity while rapidly placing gems and running away to ...