Don’t get me wrong, I love jumping puzzles. But the zephyrite bamboo stick just don’t do it for me. I constantly bang my head on invisible things, get stuck between spokes or slide off things that shouldn’t slide. It’s even worse with the wind jump and its own bugs.
So please, add as many and as difficult jumping puzzles as you like. The more the better. But no more bamboo. It’s super frustrating if the only difficulty comes from fighting the camera.
If you can read this then it is proof that ArenaNet’s moderators just, kind and fair.
I agree though, the bamboo has terrible collision for jumping. It’s painful to see what the environment artists come up with sometimes, in light of the game’s dodge ice skate mechanics, and the terrible camera system.
Speaking as a level designer, please take the following guidelines to heart:
Objects should have proper collision. It should be perfectly clear to the player, which objects he can safely stand on, and which will cause him to slide off. No ice skating!
Objects should be large enough to support the character. No platforming across needles! Just make normal platforms.
There should be enough clear space above the player, so he doesn’t bump into things that are off screen.
No platforming across diagonal objects! See the ice skating rule above.
Please prevent the camera from getting stuck on nearby objects. If the player walks up to a wall, and he instantly finds himself unable to see anything, that’s bad. The camera should not zoom in on the player, just because the player approaches an object in the environment.
Please provide easy ways for players to retry a jumping challenge. High difficulty is fine, but players shouldn’t be forced to return to the nearest way point, and then walk all the way back. And if they reach the top, make it the actual top. Don’t force players to go back down, just to pick up a crystal to go back up. Just place an extra crystal at the top. Things are allowed to be hard, but be lenient.
No enemies that cause you to fail a jump, due to the terrible in-combat slow down. Just put those enemies elsewhere. And please prevent situations where a player may get permanently locked in combat, during a jumping puzzle. That is just not cool. I’m not saying you can’t have some enemies in a JP, but please consider carefully where you place them, and if they might have a less than enjoyable effect on the JP.
