Organization How would you like our levels to be categorized?

Panoramic: in this category you put levels that only are artistics with the only objetive is walk arround and the level is wonderfull.
Creative: in this category you put levels which are really creatives, with hidden objective, or something like that.
Classics: in this category you can put all levels which are towers, cubes, lakes, and thinks like that.
Chalenger: in this category you put levels really dificults, levels which you need big skills to pass.
and Unplayable: you know what i mean, levels without objetives or impossible by the laws of the game.

 

and the idea by difficulty (easy, normal, hard), or by level size(small, medium, big) are great ideas for me

 

Does it have to be categories? I'd prefer tags. Compare Gmail's Labels with Outlook's folders. Much better if something can be in two places if that feels right...

What I however really would want is user-generated votes on difficulty of a level.

 

A level could have many categories, that need a database... with time categories could be added or removed, and abling narrowed multiple category search.

My advice, just start with simple categories in a database, add more with time.

Overlapping is not a problem, dabases handles this all the time.

 

levels are also categorised in such like that arcade , misiion , time limits, missions such as that

 

I agree with this idea, tags are more fast than categorized, and don´t have problem if some levels are repeated, if you want easy levels you can see easy levels, if you want to see easy, creatives, classics levels you can do, is a good idea for me

 

I like the idea of difficulty levels based on community votes. It's easy to accidentally mislabel your own level as easy when you think its hard or vice versa.

As far as the tags vs categories, I think tags would be more useful. You could limit the levels to only hard if you wanted, or to hard levels with balls, or hard levels with balls AND red robots AND a code machine AND water. The sky is limit.

However, if we can only choose one. I think style of level (balls, vs puzzles, vs skill) is a much better method than difficulty alone. Difficulty is much too subjective and would not provide the best user experience.

 

By size (small, medium, big), by dificult (easy, normal, hard), as well as the other fan page of this game.
but in this page we us tags
but other categories well i offer
Panoramic: in this category you put levels that only are artistics with the only objetive is walk arround and the level is wonderfull.
Creative: in this category you put levels which are really creatives, with hidden objective, or something like that.
Classics: in this category you can put all levels which are towers, cubes, lakes, and thinks like that.
Chalenger: in this category you put levels really dificults, levels which you need big skills to pass.
and Unplayable: you know what i mean, levels without objetives or impossible by the laws of the game.
you know about they are becouse i posted, but if somebody have more ideas i want to know

 

Here is my short version list, they can be categories or they can be tags. Personally, I like the idea of having upper level categories, so that you have a page to go to that has the type of puzzle you happen to like…, with tags as the subcategories.

Explanations follow in my next post… This is just an easy-to-read list. If you want the full descriptions, see my next post


1. AGILITY
* Trick Shot:
* Catch:
* Balance:
* Falling:

1. DODGERS:
* Gauntlet Run:
* Faulty Towers:
* Hurry Ups:
* Stand still and you're dead:

1. PUZZLES: Requires observation, brain power, and a bit of trial & error to solve.
* Puzzle Box:
* Maze-Classic:
* Puzzle Path::
* TriL and error only

1. MODULAR: not a fully connected level. Large sections must be moved or shifted to complete the level
* Pull Apart:
* Sliders:
* Tool Box:
* Shifters:

1. CHAOS: involves randomness of motion, shaking, rolling, that eventually leads to a win. Somewhat luck-based with a large portion that is out of the control of the player.
* Brute force/patience.
* Fling things:
* Botless


1. DEVELOPERS or EXAMPLES
* Unusual physics/mechanics:
* Conceptual:
* Bugs:

1. SELF-PLAYING:
* Start, watch,
* Start, watch, interact to stop:
* Patience:

1. OTHER:

 

And here is my long version of the same list… With explanations of how I arrived at those names and categories:


1. AGILITY These are levels that you know how to solve, but that require precision and/or split-second timing to complete them. Tag: skill
* Trick Shot: Precision oriented. Requires launching a ball or a bot towards a specific target. May require speed, specific angle, or delicateness of touch. Does not include simple releases. Tag: ball games, kick ball
* Catch: requires maneuvering an element to catch another element.
* Balance: requires careful maneuvering of an element to either prevent another element from falling off, or to direct an element to the goal. Balancing may involve one or more elements along more than one axis.
* Falling: B-bot is required to fall off of something or down a hole in order to reach the next section of the level. Falls under agility, because of the bug that is often used to cause this to happen. Tag: dropping

1. DODGERS: Requires maneuvering B-Bot along a path fraught with peril, zappers (usually on Bots) and/or autonomous moving blocks
* Gauntlet Run: Timing oriented. (most common, so will have 1000s of levels! Can it be broken down any further? I'm not sure)
* Faulty Towers: tall towers and things that fall over and then spin around the board, in a seemingly random way while you try to run to the goal without getting knocked off the board. Tag: chaos, tentacles, snake
* Hurry Ups: Not only do you have to dodge moving elements, but you have to hurry up to get ahead of, or past, a moving element before it blocks your path to the goal.
* Stand still and you're dead: must keep moving, from the second the level opens, you cannot stop to rest or think...just start running. Extremely challenging.

1. PUZZLES: Requires observation, brain power, and a bit of trial & error to solve.
* Puzzle Box : To solve one must open the "box" by manipulating movable blocks, walls, or levers, to locate a hidden Goal block. May or may not have a B-Bot or draggable block inside.
* Maze: just the standard maze, either above ground or between bricks, with the standard dead ends, and B-bot trying to find the only path to the goal. Movable elements are minimal, the focus is on the maze path itself
* Puzzle Path: Involves getting a bot to the goal block by interacting with movable blocks and/or other Both the bot and Win blocks are visible at the start.

* (Tags below can be used on other categories, but it was the puzzle section that triggered my thoughts about these)
* Single B-bot: only the yellow bot is available to follow the path
* Single R-bot: only one red bot is available to follow a path, and must be guided to the goal by the player
* Multiple bots: yellow bot must reach the goal with either the help or hinderance of other bots on the board
* Help bots: level contains one or more help bots, that may or may not be required to complete the level
* Hidden bot: bot cannot be seen at the beginning of the level, but appears after something has been accomplished
* Hidden goal: goal cannot be seen at the beginning of the level
Revealed goal: A hidden goal in which something must be accomplished before the goal is either seen or made accessible for a win
* Trial and error: Hidden mechanisms that must be set in a specific position before a hidden path can be navigated. Both bot and goal are visible.
* Trial and error Hidden: Hidden mechanisms that must be set in a specific position before a hidden path can be navigated. Either or both, bot and goal are hidden from view as well.
* Precision ending: this warns people that there may be an imminent failure to complete the level after everything else has gone well.
* Releases: launching an element by using another element with a set speed or angle that simply releases another element to move on its own. No Precision required
* Sculpture: these are intended to display the shape of a real life object or they use text as a design element

1. MODULAR: not a fully connected level. Large sections must be moved or shifted to complete the level
* Pull Apart: these allow you to pull an element out to use elsewhere, or to pull an entire section away in order to see inside. May or may not contain a B-bot.
* Sliders: similar to the pull apart, in which you slide sections within sections to line up areas so the bot(s) can travel toward the goal, or escape hazards.
* Tool Box: individual small elements tucked into a wall, section or box, as if stored there, that you can pull out . of to use elsewhere. Often just a single stack of draggable blocks for B-bot to access a higher level
* Shifters: one or more large platforms shift to reveal a different pattern on the same level Tag: rotate, rotation

1. CHAOS: involves randomness of motion, shaking, rolling, that eventually leads to a win. Somewhat luck-based with a large portion that is out of the control of the player.
* Brute force/patience. A lot of randomness, but with continued effort and persistence one reaches the goal. Levels consisting of arenas packed with R-Bots that you have to muddle your way through have a somewhat similar feel.
* Fling things: Has a bot solution, or the bot may only be a decoy or distraction from the real solution, which can only be beaten by throwing or dragging something that hits the goal flag. No precision required. Often random. May have more than one solution.
* Botless: No bots. These are full of movable blocks. The goal flag button must be hit with a movable block. The goal flag may or may not be visible at the start. Tag: trick shot



1. DEVELOPERS. Tag: Examples
* Unusual physics/mechanics: interaction required, may be unsolvable.

* Conceptual: to show a specific mechanic, such as how to make a conveyor, how to make motors turn faster, etc

* Bugs: just weird things you'd like someone to know about.

1. SELF-PLAYING: These "play by themselves" and either start automatically on opening the level, or by tapping a location for B-bot to move to, or by moving X items to start the sequence in motion, and all you need to do is watch, sometimes for 5 to 12 minutes...or more.

With tags like
Automatic (no b-bot, no interaction)
One tap
Two moves
Etc

* Start, watch, stop: these levels require you to do somehing to start a rather lengthy sequence, and then watch while the sequence puts the bot in a position where the player is again needed to complete the level. Bot may or may not move out of position if you don't act in time. Tag: Timing
* Patience: Ones that take a long time to complete due to having to wait long periods for something to occur before you can move on

"practice/tutorial" tiny, super easy playable levels that beginners need to cut their teeth on before they tackle the really rough ones

1. OTHER: A catchall for levels that are not immediately discernible as to where they belong… A pile of stuff we can go to and stare at a while until inspiration hits and we can say "yeah, this fits in that other category after all". A sorting bin that we need to keep up with or it will become the largest group on the planet. It shouldn't be used for junk. Real junk should be deleted. It should be used for levels that does not fit into any category.

 

Here is my list of tags, Insome cases they do incorporate a category name because not everything fits in a single category…

But you can often look at a level and know what its basic category is likely to be, with tags added for secondary categories.


TAGS
Difficulty tags: tutorial, simple, easy, medium, difficult, tricky/sneaky, but hard, challenging, impossible ( not really impossible, but you're probably going to need a hint)

Size tags: (May show a range of block sizes or grid dimensions...not yet determined)
tiny - not very many blocks, possibly spread out over a small area
minimal - extremely compact mechanisms in a small footprint
small
large
giant
full world - fills the whole grid…or most of it

Mechanics tags: ball, drag/push, balance, shake, fall, r-bot, motors, windmill, fan, elevators, rails

Other tags that may interest players, if only as a way to identify something they're trying to find that they vaguely remember seeing as they were looking through the levels, or through their own card collection in the app: underwater, pipes, cage, binary, code, decode, math, fractal, cat, heart, love, text, words, firearms, vehicles, maze, zappers, hazards, luck, industrial, factory, island, farm, house, building, machine, bug

This is NOT an all-inclusive list. Tags will likely evolve as level ideas evolve.

 

Using difficulties is subjective… Not objective.
What one person finds easy, another may find difficult, and vice versa. That makes it subjective, not objective, and there are no absolutes when it comes to difficulty, There is no way to accurately measure, and verify, without a doubt, the difficulty of something that all will agree on,, so there is no way that difficulty ratings can be objective, when the perception of difficulty varies between players.

Perhaps a comparison of the two terms is necessary for clarification:
"An objective perspective is one that is NOT influenced by emotions, opinions, or personal feelings - it is a perspective based in fact, in things quantifiable and measurable.
A subjective perspective is one open to greater interpretation based on personal feeling, emotion, aesthetics, etc.Aug 24, 2015"
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-objective-and-subjective


The overlapping "problem" isn't a problem. Every level fits in at least one obvious major category. Tags can be used for anything that fits in more than one category, but those "overlaps" are merely secondary to the obvious major category that it is already in.

 

Categories should be based on what you look for first when looking at levels if used. For me it is complexity - I'd rather play a level with high complexity and easy difficulty than the reverse (but preferably high complexity and hard difficulty).

As for subjectivity vs objectivity - as long as users set the category themselves there will be a certain level of subjectivity. Don't think there is much point to discussing which will be least subjective (it it's all about the uploader).

 

I did not misunderstand you. There is no such thing as "more" objective. either it is objective or it isn't. Just like you can't be "a little bit" pregnant. . Difficulty is a subjective thing, based on emotion and perception... it cannot be measured by any specific thing, like 3x3 grid is easy, 10x12 grid is hard...so nothing can be more objective if it still cannot be measured, and true in every case that uses the same measure or reason.

However, with the categories there are specific descriptions that are measurable,,.and true each time. this makes the category idea objective, because certain criteria is followed each time.

A level that requires precision AS ITS MAIN FOCUS (such as a ball game) has specific elements... One of which is a swinging arm, or requiring a yellow bot to move a ball

If it is lacking those precision elements, or has a lot of other different elements, or, as you put it " multiple mechanics" then its MAIN FOCUS is different and it falls in a different category. there may still be a small bit of agility required such as moving a ball into a crevice so that the bot can walk across the crevice, so that would get an agility TAG. But it would not be considered an agility level in terms of Category, if the entire level's FOCUS is not agility.

I mentioned using tags for the "overlap" not just because you were so opposed to putting a level into more than one top level category. But mostly because each level has only one top level category as its FOCUS, though it may have minor elements that deserve tagging as well.

You do not see the complexity of these levels as being comparable to books in a library...where there is only one top level category, (the focus of the book) a hierarchy of a secondary, tertiary, quaternary, and beyond, subcategories and now in our computer age, a few keywords (tags) as an additional aid. but, a book can have only one call number ( and a level can have only top level category) … And that is the one for its MAIN FOCUS

@FabianS "Complexity" is also a subjective thing. What makes a level "complex" that is measurable in all cases? this again goes back to the "difficulty" idea, as difficulty is not necessarily related to complexity. A level with only 20 blocks may be more complex than one that fills the entire world, and requires only one tap for the bot to do it's own thing and play the level by itself. and what one person believes is complex, another feels is too easy. You have to have a very specific definition for " you have to have a very specific definition for "complexity", just as you would need to have a specific definition for "Difficulty". neither can be defined in objective terms, hence both are subjective.

Categories are subjective… They are measurable, and easily defined.

Users are not going to be setting the categories

The creators, and players, are not the ones doing the categorizing or the tagging. That is what us moderators are supposed to be doing. that is why we are here. I have a background as a librarian, if you haven't guessed by now.. and I suspect that the other moderator in here just doesn't want to do the hard work involved in doing this correctly.

We were "hired on" when there were less than 500 levels there are now nearly 2000 levels, and we still have not been able to agree on what to do, because my method of categories is too difficult for the other moderator to understand, because he does not have the mind of a librarian, nor does he see these levels as being comparable to books in this "repository library of Mekorama cards"

This means that it is getting harder and harder to complete the task. It needs to be resolved ASAP. I had tons of time when I was hired on. I've now gone back to work and my time here is now limited...and the number of levels are growing and growing and growing.

It sure became obvious when school let out… The number of levels uploaded increased from 5 to nearly 50 over a 24 hour period.