morandiphoria

Prompt 4: Describe what it was like solving a single level (level 4).

"Morandiphoria" by Parker Lougheed is based off the Sokoban base rule of pushing blocks into a target. Parker takes the base Sokoban rule a step further by making it so multiple blocks (cans of paint) must be pushed by the character (paintbrush) into the target (big paint jar). In this level, the idea of portals were introduced in the previous level where paint cans can be pushed by the brush into the portal to teleport to a different area. I first tried pushing the paint cans to the top of the page and pulling them down. Unfortunately, I had to restart because while you can push paint cans, you can't pull them. So, I had to maneuver around the paint can to push it. But I had to restart again because there was not a way to have pushed the paint can up without getting it back down. So, I had to push the paint can down before moving it over. The next paint can I worked on was the one in the lower right. Again, I had to restart because I locked myself into a corner where I could not push the paint can down into the portal. To get this second paint can in a portal, I had to push the paint can out of the initial constraint and then maneuver myself to the top of it before pushing it down into the portal. The third bucket of paint on the bottom left used similar rules to the paint can on the top left. So, I was able to get that one without any undo bottoms. In reflecting on my experience, I think I had to hit "Undo" quite a bit because Parker seemed to set up the levels so that there was a "obvious" first step but those first few steps were actually the incorrect way to go. By creating these tricky first steps, Parker was able to create a pleasantly frustrating Morandiphoria level for me.

prompt 3: 

The rules of morandiforia are based on the Sokoban game. The game is very simple, but with some improvements. To begin with, the player must simply push the buckets to the target place in a relatively straightforward way, similar to the Sokoban game. In the process of playing the game, we know that the most significant goal is to fill up the big paint bucket with three small ones. As soon as the bucket is full, the exit will appear, allowing the player to go to the next level.

It's interesting to note that the designer adds a teleporter in the second level in order to allow players to move from one location to another, which is much farther away. By using symbols of the same color, the designer informs the player where they are starting from and where they're aiming for. The addition of such items appropriately increases the difficulty of the game, but without making the player feel too difficult to handle. During the game, I found that it was also important to determine which direction should push the bucket. For example, if I push the bucket down to the teleporter, and it sticks to the lower edge at the destination, I would not push it up anymore. There is also the fact that if the target is near the teleporter, then the player may always need to change position back and forth, which adds to the challenge of the game. So it is interesting to see that players need to consider not just the next step, but several steps as well to win the game. 

Prompt 3:

The core rules of morandiphoria are quite simple, and are very much sokoban inspired. The main difference, though, is rather than putting each individual 'crate' object on their own targets, they all share the same target. And, as is shown by the last level, not all of the crates have to reach the target for the level to be cleared. This is indicated by the target filling up as what seems to be the liquid from the crates filling the target of the level. This is important because once a crate has been pushed onto the target tile it disappears. Once a crate has disappeared from the level, it is no longer a  collision obstacle for other crates the player can push to the target. This mechanic creates a certain complexity for the player to consider when pushing crates toward the target, since trying to push the crates towards the target without considering the order in which one does it may block the players movement in places, creating a situation in which the player must restart the level as it becomes unsolvable. This is reinforced by the player's lack of a pull verb to move the crate out of an unsolvable situation when its been pushed into a bad spot. The teleporters which the player uses to teleport the crates and themselves must also be used wisely, as the crate will appear on the opposite end its pushed into the exit teleporter from the entry side teleporter. With the lack of a pull verb, this mechanic also must be considered so that the player doesn't reach an unsolvable state in the level.