NOTE: This thread is purely my opinion, and is written out of free expression and to promote discussion. You are free to disagree, in fact I encourage you guys to share your opinions, however I humbly ask that you keep the replies civil as this is ultimately supposed to be a mature discussion, and the people who made levels put in a ton of effort and should be commended likewise.

When I heard about the Space Gauntlet Contest, I was intrigued and mildly ecstatic for the upcoming entries in the coming months given the sheer success and unfiltered creativity that outlined much of the NCS Gauntlet entries. However, fast forward today, and I found that my hopes for the SGC entries have seldom been satiated, and instead I found myself somewhat more disappointed than I would have appreciated.

Don't get me wrong, I believe that several of the SGC entries are quite good, and I believe that several of the in-game ratings that the levels received are near-accurate and a good reflection of the effort that is put into the levels. However, I feel that the dynamic and mindset that has been put into creating these levels have significantly shifted post-NCS gauntlet that the levels polarize between overwhelming or underwhelming, or a mix of both. What I find is that a lot of levels are leaning more towards coming off as a light-show, intending to be as attention-grabbing as possible through rapid visual changes and flashy colours, in a similar vein as how TikTok edits and YouTube shorts oscillate between different frames to keep its target audience engaged for a short duration. Several levels follow this trend, actively marketing towards the audience with these now-generalized trends in the editor. This is a trend that I think is clever for levels to exploit because it shows the creator knows their target demographic and adhering to societal and social changes to best capture the attention of the people that play this game. However, with this trend being more mainstream, I find that the focus of these entries has less been about the genuine aesthetic and thematic representation and more so "how can I get players to obsess with my level".

To put this into further perspective, I wish to highlight Starbladesaster by ElMatoSWAG, which is perhaps the biggest "offender" out of all the entries I've seen and a frame one example of a level being designed to market towards the audience more than to emphasize on authentic, tailor-made block designs. The level throws in a TON of flashy pulses and shader usage, to the point they end up becoming the central highlight of the level to uphold the visuals, as opposed to the actual structures themselves. The focus is emphasized on the sheer intensity and chaos ensued from the visuals than it does the artistry of the block designs themselves. This is a concern that I had with Own Display too, however in Starbladesaster I find the rapid visual changes to be more obscenely bloated and overdone. Ultimately, I find that ElMatoSWAG decorated Starbladesaster the way it is intentionally, because at the end of the day even if one or more of us might not like the level, there's a lot of people who do, and the comments section of the level is undeniable proof of this. There are a lot of people who would go as far as to consider the level "Robbed of Mythic" when, at least for me personally, the level felt like no more than an Epic rating, perhaps just a Feature. Ultimately, the level did get Legendary, and more often than not people are excited about this rating. It's still a decent level at the end of the day, but I think this situation is a clear example of how the ever-changing community, both in demographic and social approaches, are simultaneously pushing the needle for what is especially successful and rewarding in the creating scene. If you were to ask me, I think ElMatoSWAG's best level is still "Yeux" because despite its short length it still eloquently conveys its unique block designs without leaning too much into theatrics, and I think is overall the most cohesive visual output they've done. I would love to see another ElMato level similar to that approach in the future.

I find that a lot of other levels try to capitalize on this trend, either leaning towards "hyper-realistic block designs" or very flashy pulses and colours, which may be a good marketing scheme for the level and creator themselves, but in the grand scheme of things many of these levels end up feeling like an afterthought towards the designs themselves. Several levels felt like they were inherently flashy or trying to fit within the common convention of being this sophisticated art level that the level ends up lacking a true identity in an attempt to be something else. As a result, these levels also suffer in gameplay, either from being very unsightreadable due to camera shaders being excessively used or the level trying to play it abnormally safe. Perhaps I'm just too oldschool and showing my age as a 21-year old in the community, but more often than not I found myself disappointed by the entries.

Levels like space i guess, hideout and 102 blues are examples of levels that dial back on the flashy details and focus more on capturing its intended aesthetic as much as possible to provide a truly meaningful thematic experience, which is what especially made space i guess my #1 favorite level of the contest even with the wave of creating titans releasing last-minute levels in mind. Overall, I was hoping for better levels from the participants, but admittedly I was somewhat disappointed, and I hope that entries in future contests could ditch the need to use the shader and colour triggers excessively and focus more on promoting the art of executing the block designs themselves.

So, when I say the entries are disappointing, I do not in the slightest mean that the levels by quality are disappointing, because they objectively are some of the most advanced and detailed entries we have seen in any official contest ever in the history of this game, and a lot of creators have tapped in to their greatest potential likewise. However, the dynamic that leans towards what's more eye-catching in modern practices, followed by the continued application of this trope by several levels, end up causing the overall experience to feel more manufactured and artificial as a result instead of a truly authentic experience formed by a genuine player-level connection. These levels are special, however I think more emphasis on concept and execution could go a long way, and I hope that future levels do the same. I truly think creators still haven't scratched the surface of what bangers they canmake with the 2.2 editor down the line.