“Somewhere over the rainbow / Way up high / There's a land that I heard of / Once in a lullaby.”
One of America’s classic songs, Somewhere Over the Rainbow is one of the best known pieces from the classical movie, The Wizard of Oz. Early in Atmosphir’s history, the well-known EliteBlackDragon was inspired to incorporate this song and movie into what would become one of the game’s instant classics, titled “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” In this level, the player must follow a yellow-brick road in order to reach the finish flag. In the process, a giant rainbow must be crossed.
In the newest version of Atmosphir, EliteBlackDragon has produced yet another excellent level, a sequel titled “Somewhere WAY Over The Rainbow.” While the original involved a straightforward golden road contrasted with blue skies, this latest masterpiece features a golden road set in the vast expanse of space, complete with changing gravity and more jumping than ever before.
The concept of the level is simple enough: Simply follow the path, touching gravity changers and gathering treasure. Occasionally you will need to jump though loops which will cause a chain reaction of gravity shifting, and at the very end, you have the option to use a loop-de-loop in order to collect some hidden points.
While the level itself is as simple as they come, the true significance behind the level lies not in the blocks it is made up of, but in what the level signifies as a whole. This level was created before the game’s prebeta launch, constructed in an exclusive DEV version of the game which only few were allowed to access. Out of all the levels that the seven of us created, this one truly shined above the rest.
I find it difficult to explain exactly why this is so. While many of the DEV Testers made levels to simply test concepts, EliteBlackDragon took the next step and actually built something out of these new gameplay aspects. In my mind, this will always be the case. EliteBlackDragon has set a simple precedent, but at the same time, such a high one. In no time, this level reached the most played during the initial weeks of prebeta access, and with good reason; the community can see what this level does.
And so, EliteBlackDragon, I tip my hat to you. You have always been an inspiration to many, ranking high with famous designers such as Bigdrip and OkaySamurai. It makes me glad to see that you haven’t lost your touch, even after the longest of waits.
