:
|
The only thing that would need to be changed in the first few levels would be getting rid of the secret areas, as Abe doesn't actually need to free any of the Muds to escape. However, either the Return to Rupturefarms would need to be expanded or the number of Muds overall would need to be reduced. I'm fine either way.
|
While I agree with most of what you’re saying, I don’t think that the Mudokons and secret areas from the early areas of the game need to be removed.
The secret areas are secret, and will most likely be missed by players the first time through. Keeping that around for a second, “perfect” run adds replayability and some extra depth to the gameplay for dedicated players.
As for the Muds encountered on the regular path, keeping them around but not making it necessary to interact with or rescue them would be very similar to how the original game worked (I can’t think of any single Mud in Zulag 1 that must be rescued), would add some believability to the world (otherwise why is Zulag 1 entirely devoid of Mudokons?), and introduces them as a gameplay element early on (so players can get introduced to them and have a rough idea of how to interact with them/how other characters and hazards interact with them).
Basically, keep secret areas around for seasoned players, and keep the Zulag 1 Muds around but don’t make it mandatory to rescue them.