Celeste: The Chapter Expedition - A Cliff Notes Chapter by Chapter Analysis
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2018
- Celeste is an accessible (yet still difficult) 2D Platformer built on the idea of Generosity and Multiple Approaches. Join Design Frame in his journey through Celeste's chapters as he picks apart Celeste's countless mechanics, systems, and ideas.
Welcome to The Chapter Expedition - A Chapter by Chapter Analysis.
If you want to support Design Frame's content, please consider Patreon
➜ / designframe
Discord ➜ / discord
Twitter ➜ / designframegame
Facebook ➜ / designframe.casestudies
Music & Links
Neoseeker
www.neoseeker.com/celeste/walk...
GDC Talk with Matt Thorson
• Level Design Workshop:...
Daryl Talks Games
How Celeste's Mirror Temple Creates Fear
• How Celeste's Mirror T...
Why Video Game Developers Should Understand Functional Fixedness
• The Concept All Game D...
All music is from Celeste, except:
Some VA-11 HALL-A soundtrack in the Prologue.
The opera was provided by Matthew Frazier.
Here's Zac Frazier's channel:
/ @zacfrazier
Conclusion segment by Design Frame.
#DesignFrame #Celeste #CelesteGame #GameDesign #GameDev #Gaming #Games #IndieGame #IndieGames 
Игры
I have to disagree with your argument that many of these level gimmicks, like the traffic blocks, aren't introduced in safe environments. In my opinion, they are. It's just that a safe environment in Celeste is different from a safe environment in a platformer where death is more punishing.
All the screens where new gimmicks are introduced are very short screens, or are longer screens with the new gimmick introduced right at the start. They player learns how the gimmick works, and if they die while learning, they lose 5 seconds of progress tops. That's absolutely a safe learning environment. This isn't a game where you have to sit through a lengthy game over screen and lose a precious extra life to get another shot at the level. Respawns are fast and infinite.
That's a very good point! I still think the spike trap should have been used as a humorous twist, but your point stands for probably most of the systems like the rock platforms (that also happen to introduce the flying strawberries). I greatly appreciate the feedback and I'll definitely take it into consideration in the future :)
To add to that, you always have the get-out-of-jail-free card that is the dash available to you. That mechanic alone gives you essentially 8 potential recovery options in an emergency. I totally understand the value in introducing mechanics in a safe environment, but i don’t think it’s a hard rule that developers need to stick to for every game. I feel like explicitly introducing things in a safe way would have actively discouraged me from experimenting as much as I did and I’m sure others feel the same too. When death is so meaningless it seems counterintuitive to prevent it from happening. Like you said, in a game where there’s no punishment for death everywhere is kind of a safe place to introduce mechanics. I think dying as much as possible is valuable to show players what the game expects of them and what happens when you fail, no matter where it is or how many times you fail. After you die about ten times you start to understand that you’re never going to be kicked back to the beginning of a Chapter or the title screen. People may not understand that as a beginner, and I think that specifically could have been spelled out a little more at the beginning for the people who need it, but they’ll figure it out very shortly after starting the game.
I went into this game blind, all I had heard was that it was an indie game being considered for GOTY by some people. This was actually the game that caused me to start paying attention to small indie games that go “viral” because there’s likely a good reason. But as soon as I died for the first time and immediately respawned I “got it” and began seeing how far I could push and experiment with the mechanics to find unintended ways to make it through a screen. I must have died 100 times between Chapters 1 and 2 just trying to see how much I could optimize it. I eventually learned things like the ground-dash and spike jumps (they might have actual names but I don’t know) without ever consulting a guide about speedrunning. They were just things that came naturally through messing around with the tools the game gave me. There are some areas in the game that I’ve probably never completed the “intended” way.
I just realized this comment was 4 years old but I had already typed this out so oh well.
after 20 minutes I look and see "how long is this video?"
well.
time to make some popcorn and settle in for a relaxing evening.
good work dude.
dude, I'm glad to see that you started on youtube fairly recently, because with all the work that goes into a video like this, you deserve more subscribers
I'm glad you recognize how much work goes into this! That's why I've decided to separate my Mario Odyssey analysis into a series; it's just too much otherwise, and I can release other videos in between. Thanks for subscribing! :)
yooooo, this is the best Celeste video on youtube, and i've watched them all!! hahah
i really love how in depth you went into the successes and failures of each room, holding the design of the game to the standards the developers set for themselves, and discussing how you experienced the design as a first-time player. i also really love how the amount of time you spent discussing a part of the game was proportional to the emotions that part of the game conjured within you. as someone who primarily experiences emotions while silently and unflinchingly gripping a controller, i get SO much out of hearing others discuss their game-related emotions.
and i had so many of the same feelings you did while playing Celeste! like your confusion about that little dead end in chapter 5!??! i spent 10 minutes just jumping back and forth between the wall and the red bubble, convinced i was missing something! and that nagging feeling that the game under-utilized the dream blocks! i fall asleep at night hoping i'll wake up to a whole new level dedicated to those! and omg, those pink spikes in chapter 6 that seemingly telegraphed a hidden pathway only accessible via block heads and feathers!?!?! i was CONVINCED there was a secret there!! i would regularly replay the level, looking for a way to get that block head out of its little rock cage! i ultimately decided the whole room was just loose ends left behind by cut content, though it still kept me up at night.... until now! thank you for validating all these little unresolved Celeste emotions that have been ruining my sleep! hahah
but where is the second half of your video talking about the B and C sides!?!?! i wanna hear you air out all your frustration with chapter 3's B side! i'm sure i felt the same way! actually, chapter 3 always left a sour taste in my mouth, and i never knew why until watching your video. it's the chance/luck of getting by those fast-moving depression blobs! it feels so good to have language to call that stuff out! thank you!
wait!! you never even talked about The Core! i feel like the inclusion of that level actually really threw off the pacing of the game's narrative... something about it just feels off for some reason... won't you please explain the rest of my Celeste feelings to me? hahaha
but seriously, i went actively looking for an in-depth Celeste analysis, and you did not disappoint me! this is exactly the kind of content i needed today, thank you so much. the perfect amount of nit-picking, the perfect amount of humor, the perfect amount of clips and references to other Celeste-related content on youtube, the perfect balance of dry analysis and emotional tirades... just perfect. it is not easy to sustain a viewer's attention for three full hours, but i watched your whole video in one sitting, so you've definitely got talent haha
You had me smiling, thank you very much for taking the time to watch and then write this! :)
I'm glad to hear that I hit a balance. I try to provide evidence where I can but hearing that I also hit that emotional flair you mentioned is great. I really hope I manage to maintain that for future videos... it's difficult when I want to talk about every single thing haha.
The Chapter 5 dead end I almost forgot to include, as you could tell haha, but it confused me so much I had to add it in... I was just as confused as you, believe me! Chapter 2 set up the atmosphere really well, with the before and after Dream Block change, but yeah it felt shorter the more I thought about it. That huge open area in Chapter 6 where the pink spikes are just kinda there for no reason...? I still think that could have been one of the best secrets in the game! Oh, and yes, Chapter 3 becomes an absolute nightmare in its B-Side levels... I don't like it one bit haha.
Since this was one video and not a series, I didn't feel like extending it past the base game was worth it unless I received enough requests. From what I remember, my favorite part about Chapter 8 was the ice block (and bumpers, of course). The fire blocks that pushed in the direction you reside were great too, but those fireballs aren't my favorite, maybe because they can fall into the same trap as Chapter 3's blobs.
But, yeah, Chapter 8, B-Sides, and C-Sides could still be the subject of future videos, but it's difficult to say when. I currently don't have as much time as I would like, and I don't have any help or others producing videos for the channel (yet), but another Celeste video is always a possibility! Thanks for showing interest.
Again, thank you for the kind words. I'm glad I was able to keep your attention the whole time :)
Gonna be watching a piece of this every day over the next few weeks, so far the first 5 minutes have been lovely :) #ChillHard
I appreciate it Daryl! :)
A note about trampolines and the clouds. Trampolines in real life DO work with momentum. In video games I typically see them used more like a spring as you see in other chapters.
On a trampoline, you jump on it for the first time and the springs will keep you bouncing for a bit. If you time your jumps in a rhythm with the springs, you'll keep a steady pace. In Celeste, this is what happens when you're standing in the cloud. What this allows the game to do is to let you do what you can also do on a real trampoline, what I call a super jump.
If you come down from a bounce, and don't push off immediately, but rather wait to push off as the trampoline is pushing you back up, you'll get extra height, just like in the game.
Likewise, if you were to push off the trampoline right as you're landing, you'll cut off your bounce, and stop, just like a short hop on a cloud in Celeste.
That being said, the clouds are indeed a frustrating and I can see how it's not well understood to start out with. But to say they're not trampolines because they work off momentum is wrong.
Hmm... I must have been mistaken then, thanks for bringing it up. I'll keep it in mind. The main point was just that it felt unintuitive and it took me until the B-sides to figure out why it sometimes worked and sometimes didn't haha.
20:00 i'd say that section serves as a way for players to see the rest of the challenge so they can decide if they're going to do it.
48:05 that isn't a mic bump at the end of the piano clip, its the sound made when releasing a pedal of a piano, since the prior note was sustained
i'm happy to post a 4 second youtube video demonstrating
Oh crap, I had no idea at the time. Thanks for letting me know!
I’m really going to enjoy this. I spend some time diving into the level design of Celeste but it will be interesting to see such a detailed look into the rest of the games design philosophy.
I hope it won't disappoint!
I got through the whole video, and I quite liked your analysis. Some points seemed a little small, but since it's a pretty in depth analysis, I think it's reasonable. One comment I have is that, at least for me, the clouds were very intuitive. I definitely figured out how they work pretty naturally during my first 4A run. With that said, since it may not be the case for everyone, the point may still be valid, though subjective.
Thanks for the comment! The next game I'm currently working on will be a series, which will allow me to hit every point more thoroughly, so I hope that will quench your thirst!
I would still have to disagree with you regarding the clouds. While everyone has their own experiences with a game, that doesn't mean the design is properly conveying its function. Both the trampoline-like nature and the momentum gained can be reasoned by physics, but then the argument becomes: For which does the button become the trigger for? That isn't properly conveyed and could go either way and, thus, is an objective design flaw.
Two possible ways to fix this:
1. Have the button work for the former just as it does for the latter. This is guaranteed and essentially results in "You want to jump higher? Okay, you jump higher." This removes skill regarding timing the button press to gain the most momentum, but that isn't required in the base game and is required for a single level in the B-Sides.
2. Require the maximum obtainable height to reach the first platform. This isn't guaranteed, but it has a much higher chance of pushing the player in the right direction compared to the current introduction.
It's also my fault that I didn't expand on that in the video. Sometimes certain ideas are fleshed out in the comments section because of thoughtful folk like you :)
Holy shit! You're back! I'll be watching this in the near future.
I never left. These videos just take way too long to make haha
Yeah, I know that. I mean that you’re back with another video.
Ah, well I hope you enjoy it! :)
Fan-fucking-tastic vid. Saw it in one sitting.
I'm honored :D
This is an incredible, top-notch video. Must have taken a lot of hard work. Thanks so much! I find myself agreeing with most of the things you say. Some mechanics are very well-taught, some are very poorly taught (worms + clouds, especially). I agree that mechanics should be introduced in a safe environment. Even in Celeste, potential death will limit some players from exploring new mechanics. Without the safe area, you might just brush over it as fast as you can, not giving it enough time to play with it. I think it shows that some of the best mechanics are the ones where they followed that rule.
Clouds definitely weren't intuitive for me, but I do see how the way the made it goes with the game, in its momentum-based platforms. Still, I feel like it violates the rule to be generous. Couldn't stand feathers in tight spaces - doesn't even make sense in the game design. Disappointed they used Clouds and feathers more than their chapter's respective blocks. Critters were awful "timing" challenges that broke the whole momentum of the game. Chapter 3, in general, is where the game took a nose-dive. Poorly introduced mechanics and a story that feels too side-questy. Not being able to backtrack to get the Blue heart (That killed my love of exploring for the rest of the game). The side-scrolling sections with critters broke me (just a few more checkpoints please). On top of that, I didn't realize you had to move to the next screen during the boss (because it stopped scrolling the screen) so I spent 15 min trying to bounce on his head a few times. It's definitely intentional that for Ch3 to make you feel fed up with it, but that's a very tough thing to balance in a game - and for me, it ruined the game. By the time the glorious Ch5 came, I just wanted it to be over.
My only point of contention in the video was that I loved the way momentum was introduced in the first world. I agree that they shouldn't have had the spikes kill you accidentally (seems like a very odd choice in a game meant to be generous). But, I was shocked when I passed by the first mandatory momentum section, learned momentum in the optional sections, and came back to find I now understood it. That was the highlight of the game for me (along with the mirror girl chase sequence).
Honestly though, amazing work on the video. I don't understand the downvotes. You say one valid critical thing and people get bent out of shape, but it's clear you love the game.
Thank you for this great comment! And thank you for your kind words.
It's fascinating to hear your experience with the game. I didn't even consider that someone might think the Ch. 3 boss sequence was an arena. Critters were definitely my least favorite part of the game; the Ch. 3 B-sides especially felt like luck. Most of Ch. 3 felt well-designed though and I believe most of the Critters were slow enough to be less about luck, so it wasn't enough to ruin my experience. I remember Ch. 3's Blue Heart cutting off backtracking... yeah, that Blue Heart in particular was frustrating so I agree with you. If you feel yourself becoming frustrated like that, I find it helpful to take a break and come back tomorrow to clear your head. I'd hate to see the game ruined for you to that extent.
There will always be people who can't take criticism and would rather close themselves off, but it's fine, as long as someone finds it useful or entertaining, I think it's worth it and I'll keep on striving to improve. Besides, I'm very much used to dislikes from my Mario Odyssey criticisms. Thankfully Celeste fans are much less crazy!
By now I have seen many different analysis of this game but this may be the most in depth one I have watched. I understand that this may not be your most popular video so youmost likely won't be doing more videos of Celeste and it seems to be already your longest video, but I would be interested in watching your opinion on B-sides and the Core as I have not seen many reviews or analysis talking about them as they are post-game content. I would ask you your opinion of the C-sides but with their short length I can't imagine you have much to say about them.
I disagree with some of your opinions like your opinion of feathers in closed spaces but overall this video has given me much to think about this game as it is my favourite videogames and the one that has gotten me back into 2D plataformers aside from the ocassional Mario. As for my favourite chapter I would have to go with the summit because despite its difficulty and its length I completed it in one sitting and its the chapter I enjoyed the most (aside from its C-side), although I would not be able to say why apart from its uplifting music.
This is how I know you watched the whole video! It means a lot, thanks so much! :)
I would have to agree that the feather point is probably the most contentious in the video, given that the problem stems more from the control scheme than anything. If the feathers were better taken advantage of in wide open areas, then I might have been more satisfied with them. It's difficult to say.
I do want to discuss the B-Sides and Chapter 8; I just don't know when since I want to spread out my time given that these take a while to make. I also want to improve my efficiency with these videos. As far as not being my most popular video: I'm not a known channel in general so that doesn't affect what I focus on. I appreciate your interest! It helps me know what people want to see.
The Summit is very solid. The situations I pointed out were my only gripes with it, which is impressive. It's up there as one of my favorites.
Yes would love to see a chapter 8 video 😊😊
My favourite chapters are chapters 2b and 6. I love 2b because it makes excelent use of the dream blocks, which are easily my favourite mechanic due to the following. the use of them in chapter 2b made you constantly be super fast, which is always fun in celeste. It is also great when you jump from dream block to dream block non-stop. I liked chapter 6 because i honestly did not expect this amount of story from a platformer, but FYI i am new to platformers except the mario series.
Yeah for sure, the dream blocks were a blast and the story and characters were extremely well-done and seamlessly integrated into the game!
Your complaint about setting a precedent reminds me a lot of one of Joseph Anderson’s criticisms of Super Mario Odyssey. There are some moon types that only once throughout the entire game such as a moon for sitting on a bench or spinning your hat on a sign. Once you see find these you will need to sit on every bench and spin your hat on every sign in the whole game. Setting a poor precedent can definitely be a major issue that will end up wasting a player’s time for no good reason.
The bench moon specifically does set a precedent, but a very specific one, where the player is inclined to sit on anything that involves a person. With a game like Odyssey, however, it's likely for the player to believe that individual moons like that are unique and won't happen again. Unfortunately, that's clearly not the case for many moons, as showcased throughout the entire game. The precedent could be lessened by prompting the player to press A while next to the bench and would also make more sense 'cause nobody expects that jumping and standing on a bench is required in order to sit on it. Sitting next to NPCs could have been taken advantage of for character or world building in every kingdom (ideally, they wouldn't hand out moons). As is, there's no reason to believe that sitting is even possible unless the player discovers this by accident.
Man, Odyssey can really get me going on its design haha. But yeah, I think Odyssey has that issue here and there.
The clouds DO act like trampolines- trampolines are totally momentum based. They're introduced fine because by chapter 4, basic horizontal movement should be easy for the player.
1:30:10 she did get sleep - she was sleeping for all of chapter 2
I could be wrong, but I think a lot of your gripes were 100% intentional by the devs. I just want to focus on Ch.3. I think you're 100% correct, the main gimmick of chapter 3 is artificial difficulty. But then again, so is Oshiro, and perhaps maybe that is more true than meets the eye. Oshiro is heavily concerned about other people's views on him and his hotel and constantly overthinking things. In other words, his problems only occur in his own head, which means he is creating his own problems.
I don't want to dive in too much, but I think this artificial difficulty is completely intentional. After all, they were heavily focused on the story.
Hmm... are you referring to the Critters? In Chapter 7, there's a great example that I cover regarding the Critters used well versus not used well, so I don't think it's intentional, I just think Matt didn't see it as Trial & Error and the consequences of such design. I think the Critters were generally fine but were still a symptom of something ugly that most definitely was ugly in the B-Sides especially.
Regarding Oshiro, I do understand where Oshiro, as a character, is coming from, despite feeling contrived, and Oshiro as a mechanic feels fine. I praise those lengthier stretches, especially regarding the tactics Matt used (avoid waiting, collectibles, and multiple approaches).
Please let me know if I'm misunderstanding you. In either case, thank you for commenting!
@@DesignFrameCaseStudies I didn't really have a lot of problems with the critters. I figured out that for the critters (and the rest of celeste), you respawn at the perfect timing to jump through everything if you go fast enough.
whaaaaa i had no idea you can touch the spring with seeds........... i remember i completed that room by accident through the trick where you can regain your dash without collecting the seeds if you immediately fall after landing on one of the platforms. it took me so long to complete 😭
I don't remember what you're talking about since it's been so long, but it's always fascinating to hear how everyone completes levels differently :) I really want to replay Celeste, and I certainly will if I make a DLC video. I want to but it doesn't fit in my video schedule yet.
Nice song dude
Thanks for lending me your voice man! I greatly appreciate it.
I Would like a B-side and Chapter 8 Video.
There are several sequels of videos I want to work on, this being one of them! Thank you for sharing your interest!
I like waffles
Not a bad thing to like!
Badeline. :3
I think it's a bit unfair to show The Kid's Warp Zone as if it's indicative of SMB's difficulty as a whole. You could do the same with 7-C in Celeste.
Agreed. The point was that SMB is hardly comparable outside of "difficult 2D platformers." Different focuses, different goals.
Your video is amazing, however, there is no reason you couldn't have split this into 8 videos, you know? And even talk about The Core that way.
(and by the way, you SHOULD make a Heart of The Mountain video if you haven't done it yet)
Well, my Mario Odyssey analysis is broken into a series, so I've indeed decided to go down that route! But there's also a drastic difference in run time.
I may revisit the game for a Core / Heart of the Mountain video but I currently don't have plans for one. I appreciate the interest, though, and I'll keep it in mind :)
Yeah, like, still, why not put on a small amount of time editing this one and split it into 8 videos, then talk about the core in a separate one?
You'd just need to slightly edit the beginnings and ends of each section to better fit the new format and that would be it, it's already internally split between chapters.
True. I'm not sure I would split it for such a short(er) game, but it's definitely something I'm doing for future videos currently.