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Bloogton Tower Level Pack/Mini Mod

Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2017 10:42
by Commander Spleen
Over at K:M, there has been a thread running about Keen 6 level design critique. Some time ago the topic was Bloogton Tower, and a great many negative aspects were discussed. Poor point distribution, frustrating lifts, uninspiring door puzzles, a lack of scenery and uninteresting enemies were among the complaints.

Since it is such a well defined and versatile theme visually and conceptually, I propose a community levelpack/minimod featuring improved designs as imagined by us fans. I would also be interested to see a second level from each contributor that explores more abstract designs not confined to the sensible vertical tower layout.

However, first I would like to address the scenery aspect and take submissions for props and background details that will make the buildings feel more lived in.

Ceilick's interpretation of the building's purpose was a hotel, while I had always imagined it as an office relating to the manufacturing plant. It could just as easily be both, or anything else. There are a lot of specialised rooms one could easily think to cram into a futuristic alien skyscraper, especially on a planet as economically corrupt as Fribbulus Xax. But I think for simplicity it's best to stick to a combination office + apartment theme with a detail to gameplay ratio similar to Keen 3's Vorticon houses.

So for now, anyone who wants to contribute to the graphics either post them here or email to jimage at gmail dot com. No real deadline yet, but as soon as we have enough to work with I'll implement them into a tileset and from there the levelage can begin.

Re: Bloogton Tower Level Pack/Mini Mod

Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2017 17:59
by Roobar
The level in question:

Image

Never have I ever thought of this as a hotel or even as an office building. Never have I ever thought of it has poor point distribution, frustrating lifts, uninspiring door puzzles, a lack of scenery and uninteresting enemies. Sometimes I think you're looking too deep than needed. It's by no mean one of my favorite keen 6 maps, but it still looks unique to me, even if it looks plain and uninspiring by today's standards. It's also one of the coolest maps for speedruns with some exploits.

Even so, if we think of it as an office building, it should have a reception (using yellow/brown background tileset), a receptionist and dedicated elevators. Probably benches (brown) and plants. Add some (brown) desks, houseplants and decorations from Halloween Harry:

Image

Expand the level both left, right and up. And be sure to add a VortiCola vending machine! Here are some decorations:

Image

BTW, with the exception of Cockroach and somewhat Fleex, Bloogton Tower can be easily recreated in Keengine and you can add as many tiles as you want. Plus, you can make it as big as you want.

Re: Bloogton Tower Level Pack/Mini Mod

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 2:58
by troublesomekeen
I'd like to see some cool glass/window effects, as seen in a few Galaxy mods like Terror From Outer Space. The translucent foreground tiles, so that Keen changes colors when walking behind these tiles. Pretty nifty for a level that has so much glass in it.

Think of the first level in BioMenace. Wouldn't it be cool to get on the outside of Bloogton Tower? Walk along the window ledges? And actually get out on the roof?
Image

Re: Bloogton Tower Level Pack/Mini Mod

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 4:22
by Levellass
And a basement, and a top full of clouds and TV antennas and all that. The single building could be a mod all on its own.

Re: Bloogton Tower Level Pack/Mini Mod

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 6:18
by Nisaba
nifty, nifty.
there are some neat ideas coming along.

BTW: where are these decorations coming from?
Roobar wrote: Tue Sep 26, 2017 17:59 Image

Re: Bloogton Tower Level Pack/Mini Mod

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 10:13
by Commander Spleen
Roobar wrote:Never have I ever
i also it was a cool level really and was always one of my favourites, particularly due to its bright happy atmosphere following the factory level. But after having its flaws pointed out in that thread, I can definitely agree that it could be so much more.
Roobar wrote:BTW, with the exception of Cockroach and somewhat Fleex, Bloogton Tower can be easily recreated in Keengine and you can add as many tiles as you want. Plus, you can make it as big as you want.
For this project, I'd rather keep it raw DOS for maximum compatibility and consistency.
levellass wrote:And a basement, and a top full of clouds and TV antennas and all that. The single building could be a mod all on its own.
A full mod that progresses from the basement all the way to the roof over a series of levels, maybe across a mid-air walkway to traverse to a second tower, could be interesting as a follow up project if someone wanted to coordinate it. But it'd be far too open-ended for me to coordinate reliably. Something with clear boundaries and specific goals is infinitely more likely to see the light of day.

Re: Bloogton Tower Level Pack/Mini Mod

Posted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 11:26
by Roobar
Commander Spleen wrote: Wed Sep 27, 2017 10:13
Roobar wrote:BTW, with the exception of Cockroach and somewhat Fleex, Bloogton Tower can be easily recreated in Keengine and you can add as many tiles as you want. Plus, you can make it as big as you want.
For this project, I'd rather keep it raw DOS for maximum compatibility and consistency.
That's fine by me. But i know better keengine and your idea has already stuck in my head, unfortunately. I now have an idea of a spin-off keengine mod based on your idea for improving that level - further expanded, improved and so on. But... given the respones I got from my FITF spin-off level (or the lack thereof) and the amount of downloads (merley 10 at most) I don't think it's worth the effort.