MTZehvor said:
Please just use links if your pictures are going to be that big. Anyway, it would helpful to read my entire post instead of just quoting one line and not going on. The actual paragraph continued... "As for the others [read: the other rooms that I did not address] (particularly the Sanctuary bridge), the problem is that while they're "open" in the sense that they look open, there isn't much manueverability in them. You're still stuck with very much one way to go. The bridge that opens into Sanctuary is a fantastic example of this; what should be a very open room is instead simply a linear, straightforward bridge with a single spider ball track that can be accessed later on. Prime tends to leave platforms around and encourage the player to jump all over the rooms, whereas the few "open" rooms in Echoes lack this sense of freedom." My last point is basically nothing but this argument, but to summarize simply having a room that is "big" does not mean that the level design is not restrictive and/or cramped. The vast majority of the "big" rooms in Echoes are filled with basically nothing to explore at all (see Agon/Torvus/Sanctuary Temple, i.e. the three biggest rooms in the game) or force the player down a single pathway that they cannot stray from (see Sanctuary Bridge). There is very little to actually explore. That big field in Phendrana drifts is super annoying because if you miss the jump to a certain room on a higher ledge once you need to backtrack and redo everything. If that's your example of good level design then I don't want any of it. ...I think I know what jump you're talking about, and honestly, if you miss that jump, then I really don't know what to say to you. There may not be an easier jump in the game to make. Regardless, if you want to talk about annoying level design, Phendrana's pales in comparison to something like the underwater segments of Torvus Bog, where you're frequently forced into deep pools of water multiple times in the subterranian section with poor visibility and movement that make navigation an absolute chore. Honestly, you could fall off the ledge twice and probably get through that segment quicker than you'd get through the pre Gravity Boost section. |
Cut down on the quote trees. Great argument about the jump thing. I could say the same about you and Torvus Bog. You're only once forced into the water in Torvus Bog until you enter the submerged temple (a section that lasts about a minute and is very straightforward). So that means you failed easy platforming challenges. The submerged temple wasn't too bad either. The only flaw is that there should have been a saveroom right before you fight the boss (and the boss is a flaw as well as he's annoying). Once you get the gravity boost you feel like a badass because things are much easier now. I think that's great design how the game makes you feel when you get a new powerup. The underwater spaceship in Prime 1 was rather annoying as well. To then find out I need to get to the final room of it again because an artifact is hidden there! Such an annoying part of the game. Very little to explore? There's just as much exploration in Prime 2 as Prime 1. There are in fact more energy tanks to find. I'm not sure about missiles though. The maps tell you all you need to know. I can't make it much clearer than that. Claustrophobic and cramped level design means small corridors. I can only think of Magmoor Caverns that fits that description. Besides, the game is supposed to be like that. It's called Metroid for a reason. Metro + Android. Metro = underground corridors.
"The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must" - Thoukydides
