Heatwell Geyser

Par 5

Difficulty: Hard

Creator: Naomi Kaufman

Description

The level consists of two types of hazards; the first is the lava obstacles which send you back to the start when touched. The second is the moving elevator the ball must ride to reach the top.

Information

The level was created with difficulty in mind. When concepting the level I knew I wanted some sort of obstacle that would increase the difficulty without being an instant loss. This is where the idea for the geyser (elevator) was born. The geyser is the centre for the strategies you can take in this level. You can take your time reaching it and position yourself in the optimal spot, or you can take a chance and try to get on it in a single swing. If you are feeling brave you can even attempt to get to the top without riding the geyser at all!

That said, the geyser is not without issues. Because of the mechanics of the game it can be difficult to get off the geyser. Invisible platforms were placed in order to minimize this issue, but it could not be rectified entirely without compromising the need for strategy and skill.

Creation

This level started as a quick sketch and idea. It was focused around the need for an elevator, while also adding in lava obstacles to increase the difficulty.

It was then blocked out roughly with simple shapes. At this point the placement of the lava was altered in order to keep the focus of the level on the geyser. I wanted to push the fact that this level required you to use your surroundings, not just avoid them.

Then the level was smoothed and the lava was tweaked to be more of a challenge. Once gameplay tweaks were made, the level was animated before being tested by others.

After testing it was edited based on the feedback received. The geyser was slowed to allow more time for strategic thinking, the width and shape of the ground was edited slightly, and the height the geyser reached was increased in order to minimise the effects of glitches. Visual polish was also added in the form of smoothing tweaks, lighting, particle effects and added textures.

Finally, the level was considered next to the other existing levels in the world. It was decided that the levels needed to be more cohesive to fit in with the other levels in the world. Text was added, lighting was toned down, and all gameplay was tested a final time before being finalized.