Amateur Stage Design Trials - A New Mapping Contest!

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Yeah, I think the biggest obstacle to the theme has more to do with the actual resources that one would need to compile in ADDITION to level design, like socs, textures, sprites, and all that. It makes me happy that you had a cool idea though. Maybe you'll get to use the idea in the future for something~
 
If anything, Prime and I uncovered a questionable design decision while trying to figure out why it wasn't working (that being that objects with MF_FLOAT process friction when touching the ground, even when they should really be considered floating at all times). Not sure if I'm gonna change that for 2.1 or not; I should probably ask around about it.
 
The deadline has passed, and currently the judges are testing and writing reviews on the maps. Once they have finished (that'd be tomorrow afternoon) the reviews, and maps will be posted in anonymity here, and public voting will open.
 
If anything, Prime and I uncovered a questionable design decision while trying to figure out why it wasn't working (that being that objects with MF_FLOAT process friction when touching the ground, even when they should really be considered floating at all times). Not sure if I'm gonna change that for 2.1 or not; I should probably ask around about it.
I'm not sure that's it, actually, I just know that your enemy started working as soon as I took it off the ground. I'd do more testing, but I'm a bit busy at the moment...
 
SPOOKY 2013 - LINK

Here they are! I can't say I'm disappointed with the turnout at all. Four maps, each of them with some obvious time and thought put into them. They're all similar enough in design as to not warrant the different divisions discussed earlier, so there will only be one line of voting.

Here's how the audience choice works:

Make a post in this thread, giving your first favorite, second favorite, and third favorite map. Try to give a basic sentence or two, justifying what you liked about each map that merited it as your favorite. You must play the level in its intended gametype, or your votes risk disqualification.

The theme this time is “spooky or scary”. This is the most important thing to pay attention to, whether a map follows this theme, and how well it does that. Keep in mind that spooky/scary is open to a wide variety of interpretations, and people have different levels of tolerance for horror. So if you’re a fan of Amnesia: The Dark Descent and navigate the dark corridors of mansions like it’s your everyday job, don’t be condemning everything to un-scariness because it couldn’t pierce your hardened shell. If you think it might be best to get the full effect, turn the light off and play in a dark room by yourself.

If you need some standards by which to judge what determines something as scary, you can find some of the “scary standards” from a previous ASDT post at the bottom of this section.

Here are the three different elements of level design that you should consider when writing your reviews and advice.

Theme: The core focus of this contest is on the theme of spookiness, so it has to at least be spooky or unsettling in some way. Obviously this isn’t something we can draw a concrete line on, so we’ll just do our best. Do they have a proper grasp on what makes a theme scary, even if they may not have presented it in the best way?

Presentation: How well did the designer present their ideas? Do they use them to their full potential, or did they botch up the execution with some bad design choices? Do the visual and audio assets compliment the theme?

Engagement: Does the map actively let you feel as if your actions really matter in surviving the horrors of the map, or is it just jump scares thrown in at random? Does the level challenge you to use your wits to overcome an obstacle of some sort, or is it just a straight path through scenery? Basically, is it a game level or a movie scene?

Spooky is what your average Halloween decorations are about. Spooky skeletons with rattling bones, ghosts that say "boo!" and cackling witches with bubbling brews. All in all, it's actually more of a humorous and lighthearted thing, something that pokes fun at all the death and evil around us. "Look around you!" it says. "Look at how foolish it all is! Do you really think it could just reach out and hurt you?" Despite the fact that it doesn't actually frighten anyone but the children (who are still learning boundaries of safety vs. danger), we often consider things like this "scary" or at least "spooky". I know it's been posted a lot in this thread, because it's so humorous, but I just have to do it again. As funny as the song may sound, the lyrics pretty much say exactly what I'm saying. "ooOOooOO Spooky scary skeletons will shock your soul (it's a joke, how silly these skeleton monsters we've created are)"

Even though it may not be legitimately frightening or un-nerving, the judges will definitely have to keep this in mind while they judge the levels.

The second type of scary is no joke at all. It's the kind of scary that things like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, or Silent Hill, embrace. Pure horror. Somehow they tap into the very things that human beings dread the most. It gets your heart pumping, your adrenaline rushing, and if you weren't when you started, you'll be fully awake and alert by the time it ends. But what exactly are the things that cause this kind of "scare"? Here's a few ideas I have on it:
Unexplainable events. Things that exceed your expectations of what something is capable of. Anyone remember the shocking way Psycho Mantis from Metal Gear Solid played mind games like changing your TV channel, reading your mind, and moving your controller? If something exceeds the players expectation of what is possible, it puts them on the edge.

Unseen dangers. Let's face it. The imagination can concoct a being way more terrifying and foreboding than the pixels of a screen can actually represent. One of the worst ways you can ruin a scare is by revealing your monster before its time. If it even has a time to be revealed, that is. Footsteps in the hallway, scratchings from the other side of the wall, shadows across the doorway, unintelligible whispers, each of these things, even when somewhat EXPECTED, are much scarier than an unexpected monster who jumps out of the closet at you.

Unpredictable or erratic behavior. No place to hide. You can't predict where the monster will prowl next, but you do know this: if you stand still for long enough, it will eventually find you.

Now of course, each of these three things are often found together in proper horror, and mixed with all sorts of other elements. Things such as unnerving SFX and music, obscured vision, and any manner of visual tricks which fall somewhere into the uncanny valley.
We'll call a deadline at about Novermber 20th 2013 at 1PM (UTC-08:00), and the average of the audience votes will be tallied up, and the winners announced. Have fun, and enjoy the experience.
 
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well that was certainly something

1. suspense.wad
+ space jam
+ varied use of color and visuals, a nice contrast to the rest of the set
+ even if it relied a lot less on use of teleports or other fancy design elements, it used what it had and it pulled it off well
- a lot of the "suspenseful" factors didn't really seem very suspenseful
- i was not able to keep space jam playing throughout the entire level

Not spooky or difficult, but it seems that a lot more quality was put into this map than the rest. It presented a decent amount of gimmicks, though some like the "suspense" portion of it didn't always come off as suspenseful or really spooky. The visuals were much better, using fog and a lot more color than the other maps, along with some less squareish level geometry. The ghosts didn't really seem to be have much of an impact on whether you got them or not. The lack of enemies seemed to make the level much more entertaining as a whole, removing the reliance on them for blindsiding the player or frustrating them further for the sake of one spook that would be completely null for the rest of the map.

2. house.wad
+ someone has been to disneyland
+ teleport fuckery: the map (nice display of understanding teleport mechanics)
- this becomes frustrating on occasion
- very flat and underdetailed, not very good to look at
- the mirror part is very frustrating and has no giveaway on what to do next if you mess up with the gargoyle, if there even is a way out of it
- aside from that the rest of the map is possibly a bit too easy and straightforward

Wouldn't consider the map really spooky or difficult, but it presented what it had in a decent fashion but it could do with much better visuals. Darkening the map and using more light-based sector work would have helped along with generally improving the geometry of the map.

3. darkdreams.wad
- please use map01 so i don't have to mess with devmode
- "this paper say" and other examples of poor english
- another example of poor visuals and long hallways of nothing
- being blindsided by enemies is not fun or frightening, nor is being damaged randomly
+ wasn't really as frustrating despite that fact, though

Not spooky or difficult, and the visuals are another compilation of grey and the occasional random color. The sector work isn't godawful but nothing decent either, and the use of enemies or invisible damaging factors to try getting a spook out of the player is often more frustrating than scary.

4. ghostlymaze.wad
+ the use of the gargoyles to help guide the player was nice
+ a lot more color variation that complements the color scheme instead of puking random colors over a bland palette composed of grey and grey
- mazes are awful level design
- you rely on jump scares by blindsiding the player with an obnoxiously loud enemy
- the skeletons from sonic heroes would have been better if they actually disappeared instead of using one-sided linedefs
- the use of minus-like ghosts falls flat on its face because of the still-present digging sound
- oh good you slapped a different coat of paint on the eggmobile
- oh cool the eggmobile flies to the walls because it doesn't stop when it retreats so i have to wait for it to return so i can hit it once more and rinse and repeat

Not spooky or difficult, but the visuals seem to be a bit better than the previous two. Jump scares are a low form of horror, and only serves to irritate the player more than scare them. The boss was completely unnecessary and more frustrating to fight than anything. Focus on improving your design from a visual perspective and the paying attention to the boss mechanics when designing an area specifically for them.


Overall, it was a subpar contest that really did prove the fact that using horror elements like scaring the player in a game like SRB2 didn't really seem like the best of ideas. A LOT of lack of color made the levels more depressing than eerie to look at, and there was not much work on the visual side of the maps aside from the most basic of geometry and texture use. Enemy placement proved to be a more frustrating experience than a frightening one, especially when the enemies were either frustrating to combat against, or just plain obnoxious. I hope that a theme that is more well-suited to the vanilla SRB2 experience is chosen for the next time a contest such as this is set up, as it seems that people would be able to focus more on the underlying scructure of the map than the effect one is trying to achieve with it.

None of the levels were broken per se, but a couple of them had some flaws that really degraded from the experience and enjoyment.

There seems to be a couple of overarching problems regarding the maps, so here's some more elaboration on how to possibly fix them.

1. Visuals
A large problem concerning these maps is both the lack of good texture use and level geometry. Some of the maps consist of only square rooms with the occasional non-grey texture. To fix this, you should consider the following:
- What kind of setting are you working with? If you are working in a castle-type setting, consider using the different kinds of castle-like textures available to you in-game. There are many colors to choose from, and plenty of objects you can use to complement the overall setting. Bookshelves, chandoliers, and rug carpet are a few suggestions. There is much more than grey and red to work with when you design a map. As another example, a forest-type map would usually reside more within the green and brown color palette, but other colors such as blue, grey, and even black would complement those colors. As for the geometry side of map design, it is good to pay attention to where areas would lack detail and where areas have too much detail. A large room is a lot nicer to look at and potentially less glitchy if you are able to provide the right amount of both sector-based and object-based decor. Building with squares makes a level look much less pleasant to look at, and rounding out some areas can help contribute to the overall visual quality of the map, combined with good texturing and object placement.
- What about vertical variation? Vertical variation is a fairly easy task to accomplish and will help improve both the visual quality and variation of the gameplay. It is also easy to adapt to most every setting. Having caverns that lead to an overarching pathway above the previous area you were in lets you work with areas higher than what you've already designed for. It helps cut down the need for large hallways to clear out space to design another area, as with enough work, you can simply have that area be on top of the area already there. Another purpose for more vertical variation is to help aid the visuals. Having large trees with a canopy covering part of the level, for example, gives a better atmosphere than simply playing in a flat field of nothing but sunlight. Vertical variation is something that can contribute to both the visuals and variance of a map's structure.
- How about lighting and fog? Lighting is one of the key figures in creating a good atmosphere. Lighting can make all of the difference of a bright sunny meadow and a dark and murky dungeon. Lighting is also good for elements such as death pits, torches that give off light, and other forms of trickery using stuff such as FOF's. Fog can also increase the atmosphere, providing a feeling of unease as the player doesn't know what would be lurking further behind the mist.
- Are mazes considerable? No. It cuts off the flow of a level and oftentimes confuses and frustrates the player.

2. Enemies
Another problem that seemed to be facing mappers in this contest is the lack of understanding on how you should go about using enemies as a factor in spooking or challenging the player.
- Should I use enemies to surprise the player from behind or from around corners? No, you should not, as using enemies to blindside the player will more than often frustrate and anger the player more than it will frighten them. Jumpscares are an awful form of scaring, and have only a short-term effect before the player becomes accustomed to them and the map is no longer scary. Using enemies in this way is more than often angering and cheap, providing unfair difficulty.
- How should I design areas featuring bosses? It is advisable to know how that boss works before jumping in to design an arena for it. Having the eggmobile flee a mile away because the arena is gigantic is not fun, as it is tedious and wastes the player's time, having to wait for the boss to arrive back into position just to rinse and repeat once the boss is in range.
 
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suspense > house > ghostlymaze > darkdreams

The contest was pretty much what I was expecting. People throw gameplay out the window the moment they hear "make something scary" (if they were even capable of making something better in the first place).

suspense
-The only map that wasn't a boring slog
-Original ideas and gimmicks, though their execution ranges from bad to questionable
-Has a much larger bag of tricks than the other maps
-The path split that doesn't lead to the jump scare is incredibly hard to see
-All of the dark cubbies should have triggered the house morph rather than making you waste time trying every single one

house
-Very blocky and ugly to look at
-The map has almost no content besides teleport trickery
-There's quite a few sections where the map gives you absolutely no clue how to progress. For example, in the endless hallway loop it's easy enough to figure out there's an invisible wall somewhere, but there's nothing to tell you where it actually is besides randomly thokking into walls.

ghostlymaze
-Leaves a good first impression, but goes downhill fast
-Visuals are way better than the other maps
-Mazes are not fun, and making the player backtrack out of it after they've already solved it is just pointless
-The minus and deton recolors are incredibly obnoxious and make a shitload of noise
-Placing unedited eggmobiles (recolored into king boom boo or not) tends to be a bad idea, especially if they're in a huge room

darkdreams
-No sense of direction at all
-Running around a series of identical hallways looking for tiny white sectors is not fun
-The paper with the code in particular is impossible to see, I literally only found it because the hurt timer decided it was time for me to take damage, which happened to knock me into the paper
-Speaking of the hurt timer, you should have made an actual entity that stalks the player and punishes you for being too slow rather than just inflicting completely unavoidable damage after a set time
-There is an inescapable pit in the bathroom
-lol the buggy deathstate
 
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I would of entered like said in the first post, but I completely forgot about this. And I never got to the map.
________
Maybe I should introduce a new level sometime, that's if i ever start it.
 
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Here come my votes! After playing these, I really wish I would've entered :(
I just suck at custom textures/sprites/soccing, and am far too lazy to do that AND build level geometry.

1. House
This was actually pretty good! I didn't have my hopes up for any of these entries, but I actually quite liked this one. I love space-warping shenanigans, and this one pulled it off really well. Yeah, the solutions to some of the rooms may not have been obvious, but it was all put together in a way that the player was never stuck for too long. I also really liked the kinda storyline, too. Even if the level wasn't exactly "creepy", some moments (especially the end) definitely had an unsettling quality to them. The only problem was that the visuals were meh. Just adding some quality lighting would've boosted this wad's aesthetics. People always underestimate lighting, but it's something I ALWAYS notice. Light has to come from somewhere, people!

2. Ghostly Maze
Okay I take back what I said about silly scary being lame. This one was actually pretty amusing in a cute sort of way :3
I just wish there would've been more ideas implemented into the wad, rather than just a lame maze. Whenever I encounter a lame maze in a game, I always just turn left at every corner until I solve the damn thing. Not my idea of fun! Although I really did like how you modified the tunneler enemies. I think a room based around running away from those guys (without having to be a maze!) would've definitely been spooky. Also if the door had to be opened by more challenges throughout the mansion/castle, then I think this would have been my top pick. The aesthetics were definitely good! I played this one last and it was really a sight for sore eyes.

3. Suspense
Some good ideas, not so good implementation. The other levels at least has kind of a sense of cohesion, but this one was just kind of a mishmash of random "scare" tactics. Also, too much darkness. Making your way around in nearly absolute darkness can only be fun for so long. However, it was entertaining while it lasted, at least. Which is more than I can say for the last entry on my list.

4. DarkDreams
I had some high expectations for this one at first, as it kinda seemed to be selling itself as one of those creepy adventure games where you go around this dark place finding papers with clues and writings and stuff. But it was mainly just trying to find the correct way to go in the dark (which isn't very entertaining - those corridors are LONG) whilst getting hurt randomly here and there. And the first person, while having the potential to be really creepy, isn't used well here. Especially with the random falling floors and cheap deaths. I think the main thing with this wad is that it does have potential, it just isn't realized. Like the part where you accidentally "crush" someone in the bathroom? That was awesome! Maybe if this was just a wad where the player was forced to do terrible things without knowing it. That's unsettling for sure!
Also the bad grammar really takes away from the experience. It's hard to be scared when the level seems to be talking to you through google translate. To be clear, I'm not insulting the you if you're foreign! You just should've tested the level with someone who could've corrected the mistakes!

All in all, I liked this! I wound up playing four rather amusing levels that wouldn't have existed otherwise. In this community, that's a HUGE step up from what I would've been doing otherwise: nothing.
 
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1. DarkDreams
This map is the one that fit the theme of the contest the best. The only problem was the lack of decoration and the huge amount of useless sections.
2. House
The main problem of this map was the incredible lack of decorations. I liked the scenario and the ending was the best one i have seen in a srb2 level.
3. Suspense
This one have a good notion of "scary". I liked the changement of scenery at the beginning and the quick apparition of the ghosts those gimmicks was very interesting. But the gameplay was sometimes confusing and i had a lot of problem in some sections of the map.
4. GhostlyMaze
This level have a good potential but many problem too. the mazes are just boring and simply using jump scare is not a good idea it make the level very boring and frustrating.
 
If you were not scared by these levels, then you shouldn't vote using only arguments that aren't relative to the theme of the contest....

While I agree that it's important that the accomplishment of that goal should be the primary judging point, the fact of the matter is, every element of level design will factor into this goal. And that's the cool thing about level design. In a level, you can use:

  • Visuals
  • Battles
  • Gimmicks
  • Platforming
  • Exploration
  • Script
  • Music

Each of these things can serve to further your purpose of scaring the player if used in the right way, and they should. They're what makes a level a level in the first place. If someone submitted, say, a wad that consisted entirely of a rivetingly terrifying cutscene, it would fail the contest, for the sake of not being an actual level by definition.
 
I fully agree with you.

But I still think that with a such theme, making a level that is scary or not must be the main criterion for judging the interest of a level.
 
Yes, but a level which has very scary visuals but nonexistant or unscary gameplay or music or enemies, will actually detract from the scariness of the entire level. A good example of that in this contest, would be the Dark Dreams level, with the minuses in the halls. The level had a pretty dark and eerie atmosphere, but the minuses were so unscary that they were actually comforting.
 
Yes, but a level which has very scary visuals but nonexistant or unscary gameplay or music or enemies, will actually detract from the scariness of the entire level. A good example of that in this contest, would be the Dark Dreams level, with the minuses in the halls. The level had a pretty dark and eerie atmosphere, but the minuses were so unscary that they were actually comforting.
Though I haven't written up a vote yet, I'd just like to interject to say that I have the exact opposite opinion on the use of minuses, particularly when they were introduced suddenly. They're quick, hard to see in the dark, and they make a sound on their approach; I actually freaked out a bit when I started hearing them without prior warning.
 
That's a valid point. I was going slow when I encountered them, so they didn't really serve to surprise me. That being said, the level could probably have benefited from some sort of minus edit, like the ones in the example map that CoatRack posted. Even if they still had the dirt thing, something BESIDES a minus popping up might have been a little more un-nerving. Especially if the sound they made was replaced with a more crashy sound like it was digging beneath tiles.
 
House > Suspense > Ghostly Maze > Dark Dreams
House
This level is my favorite mainly because it presents exactly what it wants to present without extraneous effort required by the player. It's not without its problems though, the obvious one is that it's really ugly. All of the walls use the same texture and there's very little decoration throughout. I also would have liked if it actually looked more like a house, rather than just a collection of rooms connected by hallways. While I liked that the level tried to present a story, I didn't like how it was told. You see these notes giving you messages about your surroundings, then all of a sudden those vanish and the ghost story starts. I would have liked the story better if it eased into it more slowly, rather than just having it appear randomly.

Suspense
This almost took first place, it's one of the best looking levels in the contest and presents itself well. However, the reason I'm putting this level below House is because I feel like Suspense is asking you to complete challenges that, frankly, I think are completely dumb and unnecessary. An example of this are the random Megaman blocks sort of thrown in the middle of the level; there's not really a reason for them to be there and it's just easier to use the wind shield to jump over them. The second part that I had trouble with was when you were in the house with the six openings. There doesn't seem to be anything pointing you in the right direction here, so the first time through I just wasted time going through all of the doors until one of them arbitrarily let me continue on my way. It wasn't scary or challenging in any way, and I left that room feeling annoyed that I had to do that. Despite that, however, the atmosphere is unmatched and definitely provokes an other worldly vibe, which I loved. I hope you try your hand at something like this again.

Ghostly Maze
It's honestly tough to find something I liked about this level, considering it seems to try at all costs to provoke me into hating it. The screaming detons strewn about the level do nothing to make it more challenging, and all they accomplish is getting a cheap scare out of the player with virtually no effort. The level is actually improved if you take them out, though not by much admittedly. When you take out the enemies that serve no purpose other than punishing the player when they take a wrong turn, a dull and jumpy level just turns into a dull level. After I navigate this maze, I'm treated to a recolored Eggmobile disguised as King Boom Boo. I imagine this is more of a joke considering the discussion last page, but it doesn't really add anything meaningful to the level. It's still just the eggmobile, defeated just as easily as ever. To end on a somewhat positive note, I suppose, the aesthetics of the level weren't bad, and I felt like the faces hiding throughout the level were a nice touch.

Dark Dreams
I had a tough time figuring out this level, and unfortunately I don't mean that in a good way. One positive thing I can say about the level is that it would be the second best looking level in the contest, if I could actually see anything. There's a lot of detail in each room, and it definitely produces the intended atmosphere, to the point where I would say that this is the only level that can actually be considered "scary". Unfortunately, this level is made worse by all sorts of bad design decisions, such as making the player hunt down buttons in order to proceed, hurting the player at timed intervals with no way to prevent it, having the roof collapse possibly on the player, killing them instantly, making every hallway look the same so I couldn't tell if I'd been here before, and lastly making the level so dark you cannot see a damn thing. I understand that having a low light level can go a long way towards scaring the player, but if I'm actively looking for something then the darkness becomes less scary and more frustrating. Upping the brightness to something more reasonable would at least make the level more playable, but with so many other bad gameplay decisions that isn't enough to save this ship.
 
#1: House
It's ugly, it could use more variation in puzzles, and I think the story could be fleshed out more, but this level is easily my favourite of the bunch. You also get extra points from me for being creepy without lowering the light level. Seriously, I hate wandering around in the dark, not being able to see a thing.

#2: Suspense
This level has the visual design that was missing from House. I loved the otherworldly feel to this level, and I even enjoyed some of the gameplay gimmicks (platforming on invisible blocks not being one of them). I feel that taking the best parts from House and the best parts from this level and merging them together would make an excellent stage.

#3: Ghostly Maze
One thing I liked about this level was simply the playful "haunted house" feel about it, with the visuals and the skeleton decorations and such. I can almost imagine this level being built in real life at a theme park or something (minus, y'know, the gameplay elements or the boss fight). But yeah, mazes aren't fun, being hurt when you reach a dead end is not fun, the boss was not fun.

#4: Dark Dreams
Sorry, but I gave up on this level when I somehow got stuck inside a FOF control block. I feel the concept has potential, but I couldn't even be bothered to beat the stage, so I can't fairly put it above Ghostly Maze.
 
1. House
Well, this map was extremely unsettling. The strange story was great, and was, in the end, really unsettling, but not creepy per se. This map, though, was truly lacking in visuals and lighting, which, if included, would have probably made this far better of a map than it currently is. My only other complaint is that some of the teleporters were noticable due to textures (mostly flats) being misaligned between the parts. Excellent concept, just could've been executed better.

2. Ghostly Maze
I feel like this one satisfies that "sp00ky scary skeleton" criteria that was outlined above. I actually did jump on that first ghost thing that flew at me. But after a few, they started to just be annoying and bothersome, especially while trying to navigate a god damn maze that could've been something more creative. All in all, this map made the atmosphere it was trying to make, and didn't break, so I'd say decent map indeed.

3. Suspense/Desolation/Peaceful Enough?
So that flash in the beginning was nice. It built suspense. I was hoping that the level would utilize this switching mechanism to a greater extent, but alas, this level squandered it. The color effects were nice, and the concept was cool, but it just turned into a bunch of gimmicks thrown together with no rhyme or reason. The spirit-bridges was a neat little addition, but it got super annoying towards the end, and that ending was just...why? This level, like the others, suffered from too much dreaming and too little execution.

4. Dark Dreams
Alright, no. This map created a really great atmosphere, and squandered it like Suspense/Desolation. The "paper" linedef triggers stopped working after the first few, and I got totally confused and lost due to things not executing properly (I believe). This gummed up the map and I had to noclip and use automap to find my way to the end. I also kept running into Tailses that just stood there and did nothing...and I kept taking damage every few minutes for no reason... but on the pro side, some of the areas with random lighting looked quite good.

Summary: concept of House + atmosphere of Dark Dreams + visuals of Ghostly Maze = perfect level for this competition. Sadly, no one level by itself combined everything together perfectly...
 
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Suspense > House > Ghostly Maze > Dark Dreams

#1: Suspense
The visuals in this map are brilliant, it really sets the suspenseful mood in here. The part where you almost drown just before the water goes down was a great idea as well. However, the fact that almost everything was tinted gray was a little depressing.

#2: House
Well, while this level is GRAY GRAY GRAY everywhere, the story was compelling and immersive, and your use of the gargoyles was brilliant as well. You also have shown to master the teleporters extremely well too.

#3: Ghostly Maze
Mazes aren't really a good idea in any sort of gametype, especially not if said mazes way of scaring you involves cheap jump scares. The evil laugh you use as a pain sound at first is somewhat unsettling, but due to the fact that you'll be hearing it quite alot it becomes downright cheesy.

However, the visuals in this level are quite good, they really fit the theme quite well, like the creepy faces that are scattered throughout the level, and the blue flames, which give this level quite an otherworldy feel.

#4: Dark Dreams
Well now! You seem to have gone with the theme of darkness, which can be quite scary when excecuted the right way. Your combination of darkness coupled with the hollow music gave quite a creepy atmosphere.

However, the trying to find my way through the darkness was incredibly annoying, not helped by the fact that there are cheap jump scares through being blindsided by enemies, and an invisible timer that hurts you all of a sudden. The aimless sense of direction was so bad I couldn't even find the exit. Like has been suggested, it would have been much scarier if it was like a monster was stalking you, for example the Tails Doll from the Tails Sanatorium wad, THAT would've been scary as all hell.
 
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