Before my long hiatus in developing Solumnoid, I spent a few long days hunkered down, listening to metal and blasting out some code for an in-game level editor.  The idea was to use it for user-generated content eventually, but also to use it as a tool for third parties to help me design core levels for the game.  The latter hasn't happened yet largely because I haven't asked around outside of one or two people.  However, what I didn't anticipate was that I would end up preferring my own editor to Game Maker Studio's built in editor.  In retrospect, I guess that's one good reason to make a level editor for your game.

Here's a comparison of some of the features:

I'll make a more detailed breakdown of my editor's features eventually when I release the game.  I will say that I'm happy to have succeeded in making an editor that's intuitive and fast for level editing.  Currently I use it for level prototyping.  I plan on making a separate devlog post later about how I approach puzzle design.  The short version of my current puzzle design process for Solumnoid is that I make a fast, playable prototype in my level editor, and then I make it look cooler by recreating it in Game Maker Studio's room editor using tilesets.

Here's an example of a finished prototype of a level using my in-game editor:

As you can see, it's basically the minimum possible outline of the level.  That being said, it's completely solvable in the way I intend it to be solved.  The shape of a level will not change much outside of aesthetic decisions during the conversion process from my level editor to Game Maker Studio's room editor.  

Here's what the above level looks like when I'm (nearly) done tweaking its look:

Yay!

Both of the above steps in my current puzzle-design process for Solumnoid are fun in different ways for me.  Creating the puzzle itself is the most satisfying part, but I have to concentrate pretty hard on it.  In contrast, when doing the tile work, I can put on a TV show on my other monitor (currently watching Syfy's The Expanse) while editing on the other screen.

If you're reading this and you're interested in creating puzzle-platformer levels, I'm looking for people to contribute a level or two, so message me and I'll send you a game prototype!

Now back to work...