Rayman level 01: The dance of the plants

 I have decided to leave my footprint as amateur level designer on the platformer Rayman here in my artistic blog. So here´s my first map I created for the mapper engine of Rayman. In Rayman´s Designer engine, the A to B typical goal of a platformer videogame is also accompanied by a primary task of collecting blue orbs called "tings", normally 100 tings you must collect if you want to reach the goal sign and consider the level finished. As that, you can take advantage of the mechanic by creating obligatory paths that could be left behind if it wasn´t for the obligatory collectibles that the blue tings are.

I am explaining this because all of my levels designed here have this property. As a special trait exclusive from my creations, I also made another optional collectible which are 100 dark blue tings scattered across the map. These dark blue tings have the function of guiding you across the level, they aren´t mandatory to collect and don´t affect the game whatsoever.

Now an explanation of the level itself: The start point is on the top left of the map, the start is hectic, full of slow-pacing bullets coming from the right. Quickly you must follow the blue orbs (tings) to make your way of the level. Rayman (the character the player controls) make a free fall following the trail of tings to the bottom of the map, for which he must obtain all the remaining tings in some few small platforms and using another event to rise up to the top of the map again.

I certainly don´t consider this a very fun move for a platformer level, for it makes an unnecessaary enlargement of a stage. A long level doesn´t precisely mean a good level and it´s something I tried to avoid in future maps but that in my first creations it was painfully common, especially at the beginning of the level.

Moving on, Rayman follows the top of the level across vines and platforms full of basic mooks. At the end he must make another freefall to the second half of the map. This level I try to make a two split part: an upper part, as in, the top of the rainforest and the lowest part, where the swamps are. It helps the attention to detail by adding vines, leaves and plants to symbolize the "top" and the "walls" of the level, as if the top was so thick that Rayman can´t go further up.

Second half is a series of jumps from small island to other small island following a similar pattern as you climb up. Here also Rayman can go back to the beginning of the level in case he missed some tings to collect.

As you go upper the platforms, the climbing becomes more challenging, and for one last challenge you must cross a couple of small caves full of falling prickly fruits.

This challenge is again another enlargement to collect the last 3 tings of the level. While it´s another enlargement, I must say that at least it doesn´t feel as cheap as the first. Only problem is that the return path is the same, and backtracking can be a very bad choice for level designing, I recognize it.

Once everything is collected Rayman must go to the remaining path, which is a short road devoid of enemies except for the strong flower plant (a high tier enemy in Rayman´s roster) guarding the exit.

Here I attach the video gameplay of the map where all the parts are shown. Rayman must go from atop the trees to the deepest of the swamp! Notice the two freefalls in the level: