Why make intentionally bad levels?
I didn't mean that bad levels should be made intentionally, I meant that it shouldn't be considered a bad thing if the levels vary in quality, which they almost certainly will for most creators. Sometimes, the levels that may be considered "bad" by some players can actually be interesting for some other reason; maybe they raise a particular design issue that can be a talking point, or maybe they simply make the other levels look better!
Time attack levels I would add to variety, but on the other side: Why do you specifically need to have timers or disjointed levels?
Let's say a pack could contain one or more of the following different level types:
1. Disjoint union
2. Timed level
3. Multitasker
4. Superlemming
5. Limited skillset
Some or all of these elements can be combined, but it is also possible to make a level such that it
only fulfils one (and not any of the other) type criteria.
My issue is that packs are slowly but surely edging towards
nearly always only fulfilling criteria #5, and barely ever any of the others. Even when one of the other criteria
is included, it's usually still a "limited skillset" level.
So -
I'm not so much advocating timers and disjoint unions as I am calling out any level type which looks like it's becoming too dominant. If disjoint unions started appearing all over the place, I'd probably say there should probably be the odd level which
isn't a disjoint union. Also, if everyone started making any-way-you-want levels, I'd probably say the odd limited-skillset level wouldn't go amiss. It's all a matter a balance.
LemRunner for example only has locked exit levels and I wouldn't call out that pack for a lack of variety there.
That's different, since the pack clearly has an underlying concept (i.e. all locked exit levels). Not only that, but this particular concept doesn't preclude the use of several different level
types, i.e. x-of-everythings, limited skillset, any-way-you-want, timed levels, disjoint unions (which, as tan x dx has pointed out, would be particularly interesting for locked exit levels), etc.
My issue here is not with repetitive
theming (a lot of my own level packs are based on a single theme or concept), but with designers always building the same
type of level, i.e. limited skillset & only one possible solution.
The mindset shifted to puzzle centric from execution centric as execution held solutions and ideas back
Execution-based stuff isn't necessarily the only alternative to limited skillset puzzles, and is perhaps more to do with UI than level design.
Catering to both on the same engine will result in a mess. You need to do a thing right and commit to it and not do two things unfocussed. This problem can be very serious in software developing!
Agreed, NeoLemmix (and Lix) is what it is
because it caters to a particular playing style, and it does the job excellently. However, it is still possible to make very interesting levels which don't necessarily require the use of a particular skillset or a single solution. Variety and innovation are always possible no matter what the medium.