A little feedback for all the levels from group 2 of the Community Contest. As before, this is just a dump of all the notes I took while playing the levels. I imagine some of my notes are complete gibberish, and I doubt I gave every level the attention it deserves. So if my comments on your level sound harsh/stupid, please bear in mind that they do not reflect on my actual opinion of the level.
Conor_Fool
I love the clean open space at the start of the level.
You should have included regular yellow blocks amongst the first set of ? blocks; it's important that the player is familiar with what the blocks are, as soon as possible (especially in a stage about p-switch mechanics)
Requiring a koopa shell to uncover the first P-switch isn't very safe. The player is likely to miss it if they are not already aware that shells can do this (or accidentally kick a Galoomba into the Koopa). Just put the P-switch on top of (or inside) a regular block that Mario can hit from below.
I like the platform over-routes you have to bypass some of the enemies. I don't think you need to put the fire-flower at the end of the first one though. You don't have to explicitly reward a player for taking a route that is more convenient for them. If anything, the player who falls down is going to need a power-up more.
Please don't have a left/right bonus room whose exit takes you to an earlier point in the level. Either put the exit pipe later in the level, or make the bonus room run from right/left.
The P-switch platform just before the goalpost is a nice touch, but it should be shaped more like a staircase to better communicate your intent.
The P-switch mechanic doesn't really escalate from the point where you first introduce it. I can understand not wanting to stress the player, but the mechanic actually gets less involved later in the level, which makes the level peter out somewhat.
Peltz
I like that the first pipe cannot be entered. It's a small point, but many creators neglect to include empty pipes, which makes finding the bonus rooms insultingly easy.
I love the double whammy of a leaf and a vine, both popping up out of blocks and rising past the player. I think the scenario should play out later in the level though, because that really is the climax moment there (plus you're superceding the mushroom almost immediately with an upgrade)
I also like the succession of wood blocks that box in various Goomba enemies. This kind of fake danger is very satisfying to new players; they'll try to avoid falling in, but if they do they'll probably just kill the enemy in the pit.
You're giving out too many leaf powerups, it's okay to just have two and ask the player to avoid damage (particularly because your level has very few sources of damage). And you only give the player running room once in the stage, which makes flight more of a case of "clearly I'm expected to fly here", and depreciates the value of the leaves you keep giving to the player.
The Bonus rooms are way too active for a 1-1 stage. The first one in particular can be frustrating to escape from.
Finn
This level is just plain difficult, putting unfair requirements on the player as soon as they start playing, and requiring some alarmingly accurate jumps in order to finish the level. The first jump over the muncher pit that is literally one tile from your face is borderline parody. You have to give the player room to figure out their movement mechanics, you can't just challenge their mastery over the game immediately.
The concept of segregating the stage into discreet islands, each with a different challenge to overcome, is a fresh one. And it could have worked if the islands were more spacious and the challenges were less aggressive.
xandaca
Boxing in the first Galoomba with single blocks is actually more dangerous than if you let it roam free. In order to reach it, the player already needs to demonstrate that they can jump, so they have the ability to face a Galoomba. But with a block in their way, they might end up getting hit by the Galoomba anyway, which is frustrating.
You put Yoshi in a weird, ugly place. I appreciate the call-back to Mario World's title screen, but it would probably make for a better experience if you just placed Yoshi's block in the air somewhere, later in the level (where you place him, it's tempting to abandon Yoshi completely when you discover the vine route)
I really like the vine-route that rejoins the main path from a higher vantage point, it just feels really nice to take a secret route that doesn't lead to a dead end or a leap of faith.
The sub-level is a lot harder than it should be, given how trivial it is to find. It throws in a lot of new enemies without any fanfare.
Adding blocks and a P-switch to the entry pipe just makes it incredibly obvious that it's a pipe that can be entered. You already have some excellent contextual clues in the level design. The regular blocks are overkill.
Losing the P-switch and the feather renders the level unbeatable. You shouldn't force the player to learn to fly; let them discover that ability at their own pace, or use the level design to nudge them in the right direction.
Outside of the mandatory flight, you did a good job at predicting when and where the player will try flying.
Putting Lakitu close to the ground is a chaotic way to introduce him. Honestly, his movement is entirely incompatible with a 1-1 stage because of how unpredictable and janky it is. Forcing the player to confront him immediately is troublesome. The cloud is nice, but you could just put an empty cloud in a block if you want the player to get a feel for cloud-flight.
Silent_Ocarina
First ? block contains a mushroom instead of the prerequisite coin. It's an important tradition in Mario games, and it has intrinsic value to the pacing of a level.
I like the use of platforms to circumvent the potentially tricky encounter with the para-koopas
Three multi-coin blocks in a row is a bad idea. It either slows the action to a crawl, or forces the player to leave some blocks un-finished, neither of which is fun.
There should be a trail of coins drawing a jump arc over the pit, rather than two groups of coins either side. Considering how you're about to introduce the propeller mushroom, which heavily relies on coin trails to quide it, it would have been worth preceeding it with a coin trail to set the mood, so to speak.
I like the layered secrets that come out of hitting the vine-block, along with the trail of coins at the end flagpole.
The bonus room is a little generous, but you definitely don't need those arrow markers to show where the extra lives are. Trust that the player will want to play around with their new toy in this safe enviroment.
The level ends a bit abruptly after finding the propeller mushroom
correojon
This stage has an overall problem with attempting to squeeze too much out of the limited space you have. It creates an incredibly cramped, and disjointed stage that weaves in and out of itself. Even the very beginning of the stage, when there's only one path, starts with the camera sitting uncomfortably low to the floor.
Most critically, the feather path is neutered by a total lack of vertical clearance. It gets so bad that you have to mark out a part of the stage explicitly as an "okay you can fly now" area.
There are a lot of individually nice moments in the stage, such as the bonus room with the wigglers, the way that you get the player to discover how the spin jump works on spiked enemies (I don't approve of forcing the player to use a spin jump, but I appreciate the moment none-the-less). But the whole experience is too closely packed together and feels messy as a result.
KooopaKid
Right off the bat, the player needs to jump up to the first island, without having a chance to get used to their controls.
It fails the no-run test, not because you have to run, but because you have to carry items, which requires the run button.
You have backtracking and exploration, which are normally fine, but it's probably not a good idea to make it mandatory in a 1-1
I love the way you guide the player to the hidden vine block on the first island.
The skull platform rides are fun, though I worry how a new player would react to being on one. They look quite dangerous and move quickly.
It's easier to lose Yoshi than you think. The donut platform section in particular is brutal.
I appreciate being able to skip the donut platform section with a little bit of spacial reasoning.
I didn't see any power ups other than the first mushroom
On the whole the level is active and enjoyable, but it's asking a lot of the player
OmegaDL50
The low blocks and the small platforms created a weird sensation that super mario was bigger than he really is. That's quite clever if it was deliberate
Jumping onto the warp pipe is a bit hit and miss as super mario
The compact bonus rooms are quite nice. sometimes it's okay for a bonus room to just be a little cavity with an item inside y'know?
The call-back to Mario3's flying section is a little too direct.
The bridges in the air give Mario enough room to build up a flight, and seem to be positioned explicitly to allow this, but flying from the platforms leads nowhere.
Level is well constructed overall, but the time limit could be higher. I had to rush somewhat
balladofwindfishes
It's a bit of a cruel trick to lure the player onto the first platform with the Koopa
The bonus room scrolls in all directions, but it's just a tiny alcove with an item in it. If that's the only thing you're using the sub-level for, you should keep the camera locked.
You use parakoopas brilliantly to scare the player up to the platform with Yoshi on it, whilst also keeping the player relatively safe from the pirahna plants.
A pit full of munchers to cross with Yoshi feels wierd in a 1-1. It's a nice bit of design, especially if Mario loses Yoshi because he will then run clean across the munchers unscathed. But the munchers don't show up again, so it feels a little contrived.
There were an awful lot of pipes, and it made me a little on-edge because too many of them had enemies inside.
haha, you knew I'd try to spin-jump through those blocks and kill myself. I should be impressed, but now you have a trio of regular blocks that act inconsistant with the rest of the blocks in the level. And as far as I can tell, there's no secret to that area
Gsnap
Fails the no-run test almost immediately, which is a real disappointment, because the rest of the level pretends that that section never happened, and gradually builds up the player's skill from the ground up.
Well placed hidden block with a star in it
Wonderful little trap with the multi-coin block and a fire-spitting pirahna plant.
The bonus room is a little garish looking
Difficult to get the P-switch in the bonus room. Would be better if the P-switch were atop a regular block.
I thoroughly enjoyed finding the secret sky area. It was incredibly satisfying and completely circumvented my expectations
El Pescado
The jump required to get the first mushroom might be a bit too much, even lost levels let you get the mushroom with just basic standing jumps
There are too many multi-coin blocks, though I can kind of see why you needed some of them.
It's too easy to lose the mega mario power-up to the nearby pirahna plant (the only one in the level!). It ruins the catharsis
You can't do the kick-the-shell-and-chase-it-for-a-1up thing as mega mario.
...that's it. Everything else is incredibly well designed and fits exactly with smb1. I'm mightily impressed.
Kebiinu
I like the way jumping is taught here with a platform and a goomba the player wants to avoid.
You probably could have gotten away with a couple of ? blocks on top of the first blue platform. It's a bit sparse as is, and you run the risk of players not stopping and jumping right into the pirahna plant as it's emerging from the pipe
Nicely placed warp pipe. Using a couple of extra coins to indicate the right pipe is clever, though ideally you shouldn't need to visually distinguish your warp pipes.
The first bonus room is just weird. There are barely any coins (but there are some), and a single block with a 1up inside. Also the camera isn't locked vertically, which makes the bonus room flow poorly
Exit pipes are legitimate entry pipes too. This is why you didn't have to point out the correct pipe to the player; two of the three pipes work. Just make the pipes differet heights and most players will try entering one.
The second bonus room is very very nice. It's cleanly presented and the player is required to tail whip in order to leave.
The "fly here" section is a little too telegraphed. Either have the line of coins for the run up, or the line of coins to show the flight path. Having both is holding the player's hand too much.
I love the use of platforms and vertical space throughout this level. It gives the player a lot of natural jump practice.
some random decoration was left in the middle of the end card screen, which is ugly.
Belgian Dude
The first screen is a little busy.
I like how each house has a little arrangement inside for the player to practice skills with. It gives the level a very unique pace and feel.
You can see other house interiors from the one you enter, which ruins the illusion somewhat.
I adore how the player automatically stomps a goomba upon entering the second area, thus removing it from play until the player enters the goomba house and then leaves again.
It is rather easy to miss the first propeller mushroom power-up. Due to how the camera works, players may not even realise that the power-up is flying away.
The way you get rid of the koopa shell after it has been kicked is a bit clumsy. Players who have been hit, might mistake the tunnel as the correct way to go, and kill themselves as a result.
Azure Dream
Theres quite a long distance before anything engaging happens to the player. The open space is greatly appreciated, but it needs some blocks, or some platforms in order to break things up.
That's quite a nice way of giving the player a helmet power-up. I like that lingering in the room let's you see how the helmet deflects falling objects.
Hilariously cruel way to show the downside of a spiked helmet. It's a bit unfair to make the player WANT to take damage though, especially since they don't know the level is almost over.
Moving platforms feel like an out of place gimmick in this level. You could have done more with the spiked helmet instead.
Lulzwagon
The level starts all cramped up in the top corner, which is a little ugly, and leaves little vertical space to play with.
Using doors to switch characters instead of pipes leads to the issue of having to cram the entire stage into just the main level. Though I assume you didn't have sub-levels unlocked at the time you made this.
I jumped down a pit to my death because the camera made it feel like there was more down there.
The jump arcs you draw with coins at the end of the level are difficult to follow without running. The coins should be higher up in the air.
The level is a little on the short side, but I really like how the two characters face different types of challenges
Chopper
This level is a bit chaotic. it uses a few too many different enemy types and gimmicks in quick succession. It manages to be relatively clean though, which is impressive.
It is incredibly difficult to mount Yoshi, due to how close to the platform his block is.
Cleverly hidden vine block.
The whole bullet bill chase went better than I was expecting, though it relies on the player walking, rather than running.
I like the falling platforms and how you don't give the player any safe practice with them, but rather use the level design to inform the player of what is going to happen.
The skull platform at the end is just out-of-place though.
Boba2007
First block contains a mushroom instead of a single coin.
I love the bonus room, and how the entry pipe and the exit pipe both feel like legitimate entry points.
The platforms and bridges give the level a great aesthetic structure. It all feels cohesive
The hidden vine is a little tricky to find. I only found it because the level preview indicated that there was more level up there.
Usually a bunch of multi-coin blocks in a row doesn't work, but having them be so high up makes it easier to accept, and it does have a good pay-off for players who found the hidden vine.
I like how cleanly integrated the moving platfoms are, but they should have been introduced earlier in the level, so that you could escalate the gimmick a little more.