Level 202 / Discussion

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+ Show component code

:root {
        --sidebar-width-on-desktop: calc(var(--base-font-size) * (266 / 15));
        --body-width-on-desktop: 45.75rem;
    }
    @media only screen and (min-width: 56.25rem) {
        #content-wrap {
            display: flex;
            position: initial;
            flex-direction: row;
            flex-grow: 2;
            width: calc(100vw - (100vw - 100%));
            max-width: inherit;
            height: auto;
            min-height: calc(100vh - var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, 10.125rem));
            margin: 0 var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, 13.6rem) 0 calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, 13.6rem) * -1 / 2);
        }
 
        #main-content {
            position: initial;
            width: var(--body-width-on-desktop, 45.75rem);
            max-width: var(--body-width-on-desktop, 45.75rem);
            max-height: 100%;
            margin: 0 auto;
            padding: 2rem 1rem;
        }
 
        #page-content {
            max-width: min(90vw, var(--body-width-on-desktop, 45.75rem));
        }
 
        #side-bar {
            position: -webkit-sticky;
            position: sticky;
            top: 0;
            left: 0;
            grid-area: side-bar;
            width: var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, 13.6rem) !important;
            min-width: var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, 13.6rem) !important;
            max-height: 100vh;
            padding-right: 2.5rem;
            padding-left: 0.5rem;
            overflow-y: scroll;
            transition:
                translate 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 0.2, 1),
                background-color 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 0.2, 1),
                padding 300ms linear,
                margin 300ms linear;
            border: none;
            border-color: rgba(var(--swatch-tertiary-color, 170, 170, 170), 0.4);
            background-color: rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, 255, 255, 255), 0);
            translate: calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, 13.5rem) * -1 - 1rem);
            direction: rtl;
            scrollbar-width: thin;
            -ms-scroll-chaining: none;
                overscroll-behavior: contain;
            scrollbar-color: 
                rgba(var(--swatch-primary-darker), 0.1) /* Thumb */
                rgba(var(--swatch-tertiary-color), 0.05); /* Track */
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        #side-bar::-webkit-scrollbar-track {
            background-color: rgba(var(--swatch-secondary-color, 244, 244, 244), 0.8);
        }
 
        #side-bar::-webkit-scrollbar,
        #side-bar::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb,
        #side-bar::-webkit-scrollbar-corner {
            width: 0.5rem;
            border-right-width: calc(100vw + 100vh);
            border-right-style: inset;
            border-color: inherit;
            background-color: rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, 255, 255, 255), 0);
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        #side-bar:is(:hover, :active, :focus-within) {
            margin-right: 2.25rem;
            padding-right: 0.25rem;
            overflow-x: hidden;
            overflow-y: auto;
            border-color: rgba(var(--swatch-primary-darker), 1);
            background-color: rgba(var(--sidebar-bg-color, 255, 255, 255), 1);
            translate: calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, 1rem) - var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, 0));
            scrollbar-color: 
                rgba(170, 170, 170, 1)  /* Thumb */
                rgba(252, 252, 252, 1); /* Track */
            scrollbar-color: 
                rgb(var(--swatch-primary-darker, 170, 170, 170), 1) /* Thumb */
                rgb(var(--swatch-menubg-color, 252, 252, 252), 1);  /* Track */
        }
 
        #main-content::after {
            content: " ";
            display: flex;
            position: fixed;
            top: 0;
            left: 1rem;
            align-items: center;
            justify-content: center;
            width: 1rem;
            height: 100%;
            max-height: 100%;
            transition:
                left 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 0.2, 1),
                background-position 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 0.2, 1),
                opacity 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 0.2, 1);
            background: url("https://scp-wiki.wdfiles.com/local--files/component%3Acollapsible-sidebar/sidebar-tab.svg");
            background-attachment: fixed;
            background-repeat: no-repeat;
            background-position: center left 1rem;
            background-size: 1rem 12.875rem;
            pointer-events: none;
        }
 
        #side-bar:is(:hover, :active, :focus-within) + #main-content::after {
            left: calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, 14.5rem) * -1);
            width: 0rem;
            transition:
                left 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 0.2, 1),
                background-position 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 0.2, 1),
                opacity 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 0.2, 1);
            opacity: 0;
            background-position: center left calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, 14.5rem) * -1);
            font-size: 0em;
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            content: " ";
            position: absolute;
            z-index: 9;
            top: var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, 0);
            left: 0;
            width: var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, 14.5rem);
            height: calc(100% - var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, 0.688rem) - 2.313rem);
            margin-bottom: calc(var(--final-header-height-on-desktop, -2.313rem) * -1 - 2.313rem);
            transition:
                translate 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 0.2, 1),
                opacity 300ms cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.0, 0.2, 1);
            opacity: 0.5;
            background-color: rgb(var(--swatch-alternate-color, 0, 0, 0));
            pointer-events: none;
            translate: calc(var(--sidebar-width-on-desktop, 14.5rem) * -1 + 1rem);
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        #side-bar:is(:hover, :active, :focus-within) + #main-content::before {
            translate: 0;
            opacity: 0;
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            margin-top: 1em;
            padding-left: 0.25em;
            border-right-width: 0rem;
            border-left-width: 0rem;
            border-radius: 0;
            background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0, 0);
            direction: ltr;
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        #side-bar .scpnet-interwiki-wrapper {
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        }
 
        /* Print Friendly Formatting by Estrella */
        body.print-body { 
            --sidebar-width-on-desktop: 0; 
        } 
        body.print-body #main-content::before,
        body.print-body #main-content::after { 
            display: none; 
        }
    }

This is the discussion related to the wiki page Level 202.

BearPig 27 Sep 2021 01:44

This is a really interesting idea! I like the originality of chalk walls yet still it sustains the Backrooms eerie yet familiar feeling to it. I do think it is a bit short though and the ideas could be expanded a bit more. +1

Last edited on 27 Sep 2021 01:44 by BearPig Show more

Reader's crit for this level

Sariastuff 27 Sep 2021 10:12

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My rating system's point value meanings

9-10/10 = Excellent!
7-8/10 = Good!
5-6/10 = Ok.
3-4/10 = Bad.
1-2/10 = Terrible…
0/10 = Awful…

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Idea
Creativity: 9/10
One of the more creative liminal space ideas I've seen thus far. The idea of a giant chalkboard maze is really cool, and the art you made for it perfectly encapsulates the feel of the level. The only thing I didn't enjoy much is the writings themselves, which I'm going to elaborate on later on in this criticism.

Expansion on the idea: 5/10
Expansion on the idea was attempted, but it was done in a cliche way (Overarching meta entity/ies being present in the level that make you "one of us"). This is one case in which I think less expansion on the idea could have been useful, a sort of dread created from mystery which is lost upon further explanation of "ooohh noooo there's a scary monster that's attracting me to die :(".

Intrigue: 6/10
Much like the previous point, there is a lot of potential with intrigue. You create these human figures in the background that don't really do anything other than lurk and watch, which is an idea I love so much! Sadly, that intrigue is thrown out of the window when the journal is introduced, since you overexplain the concept of why they exist.

Worldbuilding: 10/10
It's a small thing, but those tiny paragraphs of the M.E.G. warning people to take shovels and things they can use to detect receding parts of the floor are chef's kiss . There's also the fact that this article actually doesn't feel professional, whilst being written well in a way that sits perfectly between clinical, non-clinical, and guide, which is the tone writers should aim for on this site!

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Execution: 3/10
As I have stated previously, this idea has the potential to be one of the best classic liminal space articles in a while, but the over-explanation in the log is a big detractor in this article's quality, since it just takes a big page out of those 1.5-esque format screws that everyone does so much. You have a level, and there's an ambiguous entity living in the level, and people enter normally there but suddenly "Oh no, I've been corrupted and am now a pawn for this entity!".

It's also effective in killing every single bit of intrigue that had been built in me as I was reading this. You pull out that amazing atmosphere of dust everywhere, of feeling small, of feeling threatened by things which you don't know are there, and then suddenly: bam, everything is explained and all my interest is gone.

There's also the hinting of this level having Level 0's isolation effect, but it's only mentioned briefly in two parts of the article, and there's no paragraph explaining it, which threw me off a bit.

SPaG: 7/10
The flow is a bit wonky in some spaces, and semicolons are used incorrectly in some places, but it's a good piece of writing as it is.

Structuring and formatting: 9/10
Not much to fault it for here, the structuring's alright and I like the log's divblocks. My only issue is the small 'entities' section, which just feels a bit unpolished in the grand scheme of things. I'd suggest integrating it into descriptions, or adding more. Other than that, solid structure.

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Did I enjoy reading this?
Yes and no.

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Overall verdict:
I think I've said it enough times already, but god I wish that log was removed. You had captivated me in the first parts of this article with your brilliant descriptions, the ambience, the writing itself, but the log just overexplains too much, and kills the mystery of this article entirely. What I think you could've done is the same kind of journal entry, but without the elaboration on the chalk entities. Show how barren this maze of chalk truly is, show someone experiencing distress at not being able to escape this place, show the paranoia they experience when they feel they're being watched, show the desperation of them realizing they're most likely going to die there hungry and alone.

I would be glad to reverse my vote if you do decide to take my criticism. I feel like this idea has so much potential compared to most of the stuff we see nowadays in SL, but as it stands, I'm giving this a very tentative downvote due to everything I have mentioned above.

Disregard the text above

This criticism is for an older version of the article, and the article itself has been reviewed and changed. +1.

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There are roads,
a samurai must travel…

Last edited on 29 Sep 2021 17:54 by Sariastuff Show more

Re: Reader's crit for this level

EpicNecromancer1 27 Sep 2021 12:39

Hmm, so sort of dropping all the rewritten parts of the log, and making it seem like it was just randomly dropped instead or something? I could consider that. Thanks for the feedback!
(This is my first level by the way, I'm surprised you liked it as much as you did, heh).