Well.. here are one player's data points and observations on the first 24 levels anyway for what they're worth.
Thoughts on Levels:
1,2) easy.. nice introductions
3) first got stuck, then restarted and got it.
4) cool that you intro moving the gravity wells... that was fun
5) hmmm.. this one has stumped me for a while so far... hah! Nice.. this one took me between 5-10 minutes to solve. I realize now that when I'm playing in zones where my frame of reference is upside down I am misinterpreting the tile layouts and my normal platformer instincts are off. It took me awhile to realize that I could make a simple jump that if the gravity frame had been flipped I likely wouldn't have paused at all... very cool.
6) I know this is the first level you have introduced a (probable) enemy on but it still seemed WAY too easy. I was able to solve it first go without even getting anywhere near him. Perhaps consider introducing the first enemy where there might be more threat involved?
7) Ok.. seems like you are doing what I recommended in #6 above on level 7.. there is slightly more threat even though the first enemy you encounter is pointlessly trapped by the first block I guess you are being really easy with introducing the concepts though without including potential of any danger. You may want to consider that people often learn lessons a bit better when they have been burned though so sometimes it is good to design for this potential. Good case in point is the second enemy... he drops behind you and if you aren't quick with the 'x' control to push the block left and then jump he will get you. That danger makes that part a lot more fun etc. I know that you are aware of this stuff and have likely just aimed at an easier arc.
8 ) Ah.. new gadget on level 8.. gravity switch control. Well, besides the obvious that the graphics make it very hard to determine its function ahead of time trial and error does reveal that anyway. This puzzle is nice and simple and intros this new gadget fairly well I feel.
9) Fun level. A nice little further exploration of the gravity switch gadget and how to work with block columns in a changing gravity environment.
10) Very fun. I like that I could solve it using platformer timing skill rather than just thinking. I like the blend so far of puzzle solving and platformer skills needed. This level starts me looking forward to some more advanced levels as these first 10 have been VERY basic and easy so far. Of course each player will be different... but these almost feel tutorial in nature still.
11) This level introduces more switches and blocks and takes a good combo of puzzle and platformer skills to solve. Still fairly easy but definitely a little harder than some others so far.
12) I'm not sure if I solved this level as "intended" but I felt that there were likely multiple solutions. Here it is unclear to me what controls the switching of the pushable gravity wells versus the stationary ones. It seems that the switch control lines jump when I push the first movable well. While this is neat it makes me unsure of how the mechanic currently works. Perhaps it shall be revealed later but at this point I have not grasped how you make the control line decision between. Also.. there was a crazy blue glow that triggered when I moved the wells near each other at one point.
13) Another enemy level. It seems like with the 3 levels you've introduced enemies on you err on the said of making them really easy and simplistic. Each enemy level feels like a bit of a notch down during your already fairly shallow difficulty angle. Not anything wrong with that but that is how I am perceiving the curve so far. Also.. because I feel that I've been partially 'trapped in tutorial land' for awhile now (almost 50% done the levels) I am hoping for more challenges a lot by this point already and this level is the first let down along that expectation for me.
14) While easy, this level at least is a bit interesting to me in how you can 'trap' the enemy under the block. Not sure if this is the only solution but it was the first (and only) I tried where I just kept flipping the first gravity switch as I helped the enemy all the way over. Now that I think about it this is likely the solution you had in mind as the enemy falling into the hole is what will support the block and lead the player to be able to escape. Nicely done puzzle actually. It sort of "self solves" which would be my only complaint but still not too bad and it did make me smile to trap the enemy like that with a flip of the second switch. I did secretly hope my block would squish the guy though but that didn't happen. That would of course change the puzzle too though.
15) Weird level. Still not sure what you are trying to indicate with the strange blue glowing dots between zones when a block touches them. I also had know idea that I could push a block through the exit. I tried because I couldn't think of anything else to do. This seems like it will need to be communicated as it confused me anyway.
16) What a wild spinning level. First time you introduce sideways gravity mechanic. Seems like maybe that would be good to introduce earlier on as it may make for some slightly more interesting early levels? This one is still fairly easy to solve but proves quite amusing for a minute or two as I have fun entering an orbit around the middle area. Having only one pushable block makes the solution a little too easy again as I have been taught by this game so far that almost every object is used and if there is only one object then use it. Also.. there aren't many options to mess up and push the block somewhere else so this level sort of self solves again once you push the first block. I'm guessing that it is likely still fun enough in that this level has more of a bias towards the platformer skill set as you try to land in the various areas.
17) Alright. This was the first level that felt about medium in hardness. There were a few nice mechanics used as well as the introduction of a new gadget (the teleporter) that made this a lot of fun to solve. A good 50/50 mix of puzzle solving and platformer twitch skills to get the timing right. I liked this level a lot.
18) That was a fun little level. I will say that it is going to drive me CRAZY in the sideways frames of reference if you make me have to use up and down to move left and right. I would love the option to just use left and right still and have my brain do the directional mapping as I feel that would be far easier for me then to remember to switch key axises.
19) Hmmmm.. this level would be fine if it wasn't for those damn up/down mappings...
20) This level was great. Took a good bit of puzzle solving and about 6 restarts before I had it. I was mainly stumped on where to put that last block and had just missed the obvious. I would class this level as Medium/Hard or Hard even.
21) Haha.. this was an awesome level. It was really great sense of accomplishment on this one once I figured out what I was supposed to do and how to time it. I guess that black blocks are blocks that the player can't move?
22) Nice and challenging puzzle. I wish that there was a better way for you to indicate the hidden switch in the column of blocks though because currently that might be tough to notice for awhile. There is the subtle hint of the connecting white line but that seems more like a serious case of programmer art or indicating too much of how the mechanic works in a visually simplistic manner. I know this is still a prototype but I do encourage you to solve the whole 'control line' concept in a visually pleasing manner. This will also help perhaps with some of the difficulty of this level. It took me awhile to realize there was a switch hidden in the blocks. I perceived the extra control line as a glitch for quite awhile. This level took at least 10 restarts for me to solve and somewhere between 5-10 minutes. It was a lot of fun once I got the movements down though.
23) Once again.. a nice medium/hard puzzle. Took me about 3-4 restarts to win this one.
24) This level was my bane. I almost quit on this level. I would guess it took me about 30+ restarts to win. I realized I was missing something obvious and was attacking it from this one angle. Once I realized how to trap the critter with the block I was OK. This is definitely a nice hard puzzle.
25) The gravity enemy introduced on this level is an interesting concept. I'm not sure why, but something about it lets me down a little in how it reacts. My best guess is that somehow I find it odd that it is 'an enemy' instead of a 'device'? That is the feeling I'm getting though on what bothered me. I like the idea of a gravity well that moves towards the player. Perhaps I don't like the fact that it kills me if it touches me. Just seems like a mixed concept... but not 100% sure on that. Maybe if there were more levels with them on it I wouldn't mind so much. As far as the level goes, it is fairly easy to solve with the exception of trying not to get killed by the enemy gravity well. This feels like a Medium level.
26) That was an amusing little level. A new widget introduced (gravity switch button on pushable block). Took me about 5+ restarts to solve this one and was a good bit a fun to figure out the right combos and placements. Medium difficulty.
27) Oh man.. this level was insidious to me. Took me like 30+ restarts but luckily this one was a lot quicker to 'cycle' then level 24. I realized I had forgotten the way the gravity switch blocks worked with the control line swapping to nearest gravity well. Once I realized that I solved it pretty fast. Before that I was trying to time by jump through the falling gravity enemy corridor and dieing... a lot!
28) Though this level was fairly easy... I am still a little confused as to how exactly the zones work on this one. I have little idea about the symbol with the 4 arrows on it. I was able to work it out and win but I did not get a confident sense of how these items work from this level.
29) I couldn't figure out this level and eventually had to skip. Tried MANY times. One positive thing about this level is I finally determined how the new gadgets from level 28 worked. Those are pretty cool. It is like 'gravity memory' and a 'gravity clearer'.
30) This was a beautiful level. Reward of accomplishment is quite high once you figure this one out. Combines some great puzzle elements. Hard difficulty. Took me about 20 restarts but for most of them I learned something new every couple of restarts so it never got too frustrating as I always felt like I was making further progress towards understanding where to put everything.
Well.. I was able to solve 29/30 of the puzzles.
Random thoughts on game while playing:
1) I love the the tingling sensation my brain gets as I pass through changing gravity zones and feel the mental flipping that occurs in reversing the controls. It is fun and rewarding to master smoothly moving between zones. It triggers the sensation I like when a game can begin being 'played like an instrument' and so it is nice that there are hints of that phenomenon going on here and there via the controls/mechanic.
2) It is a great visual and fun mechanic when you move between two opposite gravity zones and are thrown upwards into the one zone from the other. This effect really reminds me of the acceleration trick from the game Portal and is a nice 2d corollary here.
3) It is really fun to push the gravity wells around as well as flipping gravity switches. Representing it via the color coded tiles really works well for me too. So far it has been really fun to play based on this mechanic alone.
4) It seems that you don't use enemies too frequently and I can't decide if that is odd or not. Like, you asked what feature to cut and I think I'd cut enemies.. EXCEPT that level 24 was so great because of the enemies involved with the puzzle.. so now I'm not sure. They just feel really under utilized until level 24.
5) I wanted to pull this point out into it's own as I had talked about it in the level observations but I feel it bares repeating. Please consider making the controls for left/right stay uniform and letting the player remap the directions in their heads instead of making them use the up/down keys in the sideways gravity zones. I found it mind-numbingly difficult to control the way it is now. I would hope that people can remap their perspective frame of reference as humans are naturally very good at that kind of thing (many psychological experiments have been done with 'upside down glasses' etc and its amazing how quickly we can remap / switch. Switching keys though seems somewhat counter-intuitive to me. Heck.. just give it an option and you can support all types of players I'd guess!
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