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Author Topic: Donkey Kong Advanced; Level Design Collaboration  (Read 2696 times)

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Ophelius

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Donkey Kong Advanced; Level Design Collaboration
« on: February 21, 2017, 09:30:36 pm »
First, if you're not sure what Donkey Kong Advanced is, follow this link for more info: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,153347.0.html

So I decided to continue to improve DK Advanced by adding a ton of new levels. I'm offering the opportunity to anyone interested in helping with level concepts/design. If anyone wants to design levels with me that would help out and if it's good enough you'll get to see your level in the game. I'm looking to have a lot of levels, like 12-20 in the end.
What I'm looking for are unique level designs. Post your designs here so everyone can look at them and swap ideas.

I'm not desperate for help. This is simply an opportunity for those who are very interested in having their own level(s) in the game. Once I get a good concept level, I can start adding it to a special debug version of the game right away so you can actually test it out while it's being developed.

[Level specs and ideas to help you get started]
-The levels are divided into 28 blocks wide, and 32 blocks high. 1 Block is 8x8 pixels. Floors and items are suggested to be placed perfectly inside a grid square, but it's not necessary such as the girder stage, they're all over the place. If they're placed more in grid squares, it helps to keep the look authentic of earlier video games.
-Make sure to not add anything in the top score area. The level shouldn't have anything in the first 5 blocks high, and to the right where the bonus clock is, that's 7 blocks from the top and 6 blocks wide. Look at the screen shots for a better idea.
-Most levels should have donkey kong in them but a few don't have to. If you want Donkey kong, the length in blocks you need for his platform, barrel supply and Pauline's cage is 17 blocks wide and 5 blocks high. The ladders he escapes on is 7 blocks high.
-There should be a heart bonus item in every level. These should be in tricky to get places since they're worth 2000 points. Another bonus item should be placed somewhere else in the level. This one doesn't have to be tricky to get.
-You can come up with new concepts too that aren't there yet and I'll try and implement them, like special items you need to get, special mechanics, special types of floors, conveyor belts, etc.
-Each level should have some kind of theme or set in a certain location without looking too much like the others. Examples of possible locations: castle, construction yard, sewer, palace, clouds, jungle, etc. Let your imagination run wild. I would like a couple more girder stages
-One way to design a level would be to grab some grid paper and draw it out on there. Another is to grab the graphics and use something like photoshop. Yet another is using a map editor such as Tiled. I attached the graphics here so you can use them.
-If you want to use your own graphics, make sure they look like something that belongs in donkey kong and that they're drawn in chunks of 8x8.

Anyways, thanks in advance for any help and suggestions.
« Last Edit: February 21, 2017, 10:52:52 pm by Ophelius »

thomas_surles

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Re: Donkey Kong Advanced Level Design Contest
« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2017, 09:40:38 pm »
I dont have anything drawn out. But i was thinking level one of the original except donkey kong is at the bottom throwing barrels that somehow defy gravity and go up the ladders as you make your way down. I might draw up some puzzle levels later.

I had some other ideas as well, like switches that reverse your joystick. So left is right and right is left. Or just a completely upside down level. Like what PBJ said about flipping the whole level but flip it vertically.

Le Chuck

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Re: Donkey Kong Advanced Level Design Contest
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2017, 09:58:29 pm »
Ophelius, are you familiar with Tiled?  Several of us have used it in the past for level design stuff.  Your post is a bit arcane as is, I really recommend dropping some of your levels into Tiled and then uploading the maps.  That, plus your tileset, would be a great starting point for us to size things out and give you back something that actually makes sense.  It's not the right program to get all the moving pieces done, but it is for sure a good way to get the feel of the thing and not have to be counting squares on graph paper. 

If there's some other user friendly program you want to recommend and give some templates for that would also work.  As is now the most you're likely to get is a bunch of people describing their levels. 

Also, I have a bit of scar-tissue over the last level design "contest," and frankly this isn't a contest.  This is helpful collaboration. 
« Last Edit: February 21, 2017, 10:01:23 pm by Le Chuck »

Ophelius

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Re: Donkey Kong Advanced Level Design Contest
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2017, 10:13:16 pm »
Ophelius, are you familiar with Tiled?  Several of us have used it in the past for level design stuff.  Your post is a bit arcane as is, I really recommend dropping some of your levels into Tiled and then uploading the maps.  That, plus your tileset, would be a great starting point for us to size things out and give you back something that actually makes sense.  It's not the right program to get all the moving pieces done, but it is for sure a good way to get the feel of the thing and not have to be counting squares on graph paper. 

If there's some other user friendly program you want to recommend and give some templates for that would also work.  As is now the most you're likely to get is a bunch of people describing their levels. 

Also, I have a bit of scar-tissue over the last level design "contest," and frankly this isn't a contest.  This is helpful collaboration.

Good points. I will try and get a working template using Tiled or something similar working to make it easier.

Ophelius

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Re: Donkey Kong Advanced Level Design Contest
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2017, 10:16:24 pm »
I dont have anything drawn out. But i was thinking level one of the original except donkey kong is at the bottom throwing barrels that somehow defy gravity and go up the ladders as you make your way down. I might draw up some puzzle levels later.

I had some other ideas as well, like switches that reverse your joystick. So left is right and right is left. Or just a completely upside down level. Like what PBJ said about flipping the whole level but flip it vertically.

Those sound like fun ideas, but I probably wouldn't include level that change the physics of the game. Instead of barrels going up ladders, maybe some creatures instead.