I did a topic in the past where I tried to outline what makes levels difficult.
Of course difficulty can also be highly subjective and a level that's a major roadblock for one can be quckly solved by another person.
But the main things I want to point out are the following (at least for puzzle-centric content):
A) The usage of unusual skill combinations - or rather tricks.
B) The amount of possible actions that you can make to progress inside the level in a meaingful way. Or as I called it back then: Entropy.
These are usually the things that make a puzzle centric level hard.
If you need to discover a new trick, or have so many possible ways to proceed then things get difficult.
You mentioned: "2: Sharp timings"
I would argue that this something you want to avoid as much as you can in puzzle-centric content. This contributes more to execution-centric content.
Of course you cannot always avoid it and having everything to fall into place at the perfect time can be very satisfying, but this is very difficult to achive without it just getting plain frustraiting to play.
Most likely you just end up with annoying stff like:
- The time limit is barely enough to complete the level (even when using the intended method!) and you need to readjust a few skills / turn up the RR earlier to get these exttra seconds, so you nearly need to make a TAS.
- Tight timings depending on multiple lemmings and you need a long time to get them right even though you clearly see what needs to be done here.
Just very rarely are these implemented in such a way that they feel good without testing patience.
They also get worse the longer the level goes!
The main goal is still to make even the hardest level somewhat fun!
Of course you cannot prevent these completely at some point.
I try to reduce these instances in my levels and when I need them I try to give the extra seconds that won't open backroutes, try to make timings forgiving or ensure things fall into place automatically when the correct way is found.
Still sometimes they cannot be completely avoided.
Of course difficulty can also be highly subjective and a level that's a major roadblock for one can be quckly solved by another person.
But the main things I want to point out are the following (at least for puzzle-centric content):
A) The usage of unusual skill combinations - or rather tricks.
B) The amount of possible actions that you can make to progress inside the level in a meaingful way. Or as I called it back then: Entropy.
These are usually the things that make a puzzle centric level hard.
If you need to discover a new trick, or have so many possible ways to proceed then things get difficult.
You mentioned: "2: Sharp timings"
I would argue that this something you want to avoid as much as you can in puzzle-centric content. This contributes more to execution-centric content.
Of course you cannot always avoid it and having everything to fall into place at the perfect time can be very satisfying, but this is very difficult to achive without it just getting plain frustraiting to play.
Most likely you just end up with annoying stff like:
- The time limit is barely enough to complete the level (even when using the intended method!) and you need to readjust a few skills / turn up the RR earlier to get these exttra seconds, so you nearly need to make a TAS.
- Tight timings depending on multiple lemmings and you need a long time to get them right even though you clearly see what needs to be done here.
Just very rarely are these implemented in such a way that they feel good without testing patience.
They also get worse the longer the level goes!
The main goal is still to make even the hardest level somewhat fun!
Of course you cannot prevent these completely at some point.
I try to reduce these instances in my levels and when I need them I try to give the extra seconds that won't open backroutes, try to make timings forgiving or ensure things fall into place automatically when the correct way is found.
Still sometimes they cannot be completely avoided.
