Development update: progress on level 4

Hello and welcome to the first of hopefully many development updates for Amazeing!

A while ago I shared a screenshot of level 4, which is going to be in a level with lots of rain and epic sunrays through the clouds. Well, I've made considerable progress, as seen in the screenshots below.

This first screenshot is a top-down view of the map, and there's quite a lot to talk about with this. First, this is probably the largest terrain I've made yet- the many hills and mountains help blend in with the fog to create an illusion of a larger, more vast landscape, that you can see better in the next screenshot. Also, the level consists of a wide outdoor area. This is to bring slight relief from the past 2.5 levels, consisting of tight mazes. What's that .5 though? Look carefully, and you will actually notice that the maze on the left is almost the same design as the tutorial maze on level 1! This is just a little easter egg (I guess?) that I added into the game. But what's that large square to its left? That's the other part of this maze, which I will go into more detail later.

Here's a closer view of the explorable area of the level, at least on the outside. You can see the first part of the maze's layout better, but notice that I made the walls higher and the passage tighter. This is the sort of progression that I've been intending for my mazes as they progress. In the distance you can see part 2 like above, as well as a golden tower on a hill in the distance. What might that be? (hint: it will help you progress through the level). You can also see more rain from the last screenshot (I made it more visible) and the iconic cubes, still residing despite the rainy day.

Here's what's underneath the square on the level- part 2, or at least what I have so far. I've been testing with how exactly I want the level layout to be. I'm trying a difficult but interesting multi-level staircase maze layout, that I think would bring a really unique and interesting challenge to the game (but nothing too difficult). On the right, you can also see some movable objects and their switches, hinted in the demo's bonus level. Level 4 will be using them more in detail, as well as using object specific switches. For instance, you can't put a cube object on a circle switch. Oh yeah, and there's rain going through the roof- I guess I need to fix that!

One last thing, I would like to share some changes I've made to previous levels, to show more progression in this weather. Below is what level 3 looks like so far. I have some work to do with the textures to make it look more rainy.

And on level 2, I am working on implementing some oncoming clouds in the horizon and above, to hint at an approaching storm. Right now, I'm trying to figure out the best way to add overhead clouds that look good. I am also replacing the wall textures so the maze no longer gives you a headache if your eyes are sensitive.

If you like what you see here, be sure to download the demo if you haven't already (link at the top of the blog)! And be sure to check back (hopefully) weekly for more updates, and subscribe to Quantum Quantonium on Twitch and Youtube for dev livestreams!