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[BowieZ]

hey guys i will be streaming mario maker in about 1 hour from now. I might be streaming some splatoon while i wait for level requests to come in, but for sure in 1 hour i will be streaming mario maker on http://www.twitch.tv/naar82

EDIT: The info to submit levels can be found in the above quoted post

I entered my new level, although it's 5 min away from being finished lol

 

[Lonestar]

Playing several levels in the other page, while offering feedback



Mountain Climb
2411-0000-007E-3BE0

I saw your level in 645's stream already, but playing it was pretty fun anyway. Good flow, many interesting moments. Also,

Spoiler

I could jump to the end card zone just from the clouds in the zone where there's the door leading to the platform under the card zone. Secret way found?

. Well done.

Thanks for the feedback.

Spoiler

Some things from watching it on the stream, reminds me to fix. One, would probably be those offscreen clouds near the end. Not really sure what I was going with there. Think it ends up at the same place as if you just went into the door in the upper left (above the vines).

Another, would be to put destructable blocks between the "entrance pipe" leading to Bowser, and the P-Block pipe. This would force the player to go into Bowser's room and fight him for real, or use the room with the 1-way wall leading to the door that would be inside the blocked off P-Block room. Hit the p-block to get out and then proceed on doing what 645 did (trolling Bowser). Unsure if anyone would attempt to try and enter the secret door behind all the flames (that just puts you next to the pipe that lets you end the level, as a way to skip Bowser).

Then other things, like 645 mentioned, like the spring boards and stuff.

There is a secret way to pretty much skip about half the level. In the area with the thwomps and the chain chomps, there's actually a 1 way wall that prevents you from falling on top of the thwomps. The destructable blocks the Chain Chomps are on, contain leaves. At that point, if you fly/get to the platform with the vines down to the pipe, you can just leap off to the right, "gliding" all the way down to platforms leading to the same end pipe you go to after Bowser (coming in from the left side of the pip, rather than the right side.

If I could figure out a way to stream/grab good screenshots, I would.

 

[Kebiinu]

I'm trying to come up with ideas to make a fun ice level, and every time I mention "ice levels" to people they make this face. Do people really hate ice levels that much? Also, is it more or less hated than underwater levels?

Did you play my ice stage? It has both ice and water elements and people really seem to have enjoyed it. You can check it out below. I included the context so you can see what the theme was behind it.

Hopefully it sparks some creative ideas!

Frost Fossil Depths

Deep beneath the crashing waves of the Mushroom Kingdom sea, there lay a beast of indescribable height. Many knew of its existence, but none dared to search for the legendary beast. Due to drops in temperature, the beast was forced to relocate even deeper into the sea in hopes of a sustainable food source, forgotten forever.

Centuries later, Mario encounters a frozen sea while exploring the coast of Mushroom Kingdom. The temperature drops rapidly, as Mario swims towards a gargantuan ice berg within the depths. It's here, where he see's an entrance to what looks like a cave, leading directly into the mass of ice. The beast is just a legend, but even still, he should be long gone by now, right?

Stage ID: 232B-0000-0072-C515

As far as design wise, it's always good to introduce the player to the different mechanics of ice, like sliding or platforming. Throw some standard platforms as a safety net, then mix and match until you get your full ice dream!

 

[Nocturnowl]

That feeling when I beat my second expert run of 100 mario challenge last night only to unlock the costume for that hideous pink thing called Lottie from Animal Crossing, they genuinely couldn't have given me a more unwanted costume.
Where's my Blathers and Celeste at?

 

[daydream]

just a heads-up: there's about fifteen hours left to get in your vote for group 2 before we move on to a new set of contest levels!

 

[CharminUltra]

So what makes ice levels annoying is getting hit/falling off due to the added slide from the ice. If you can mitigate the punishment from that, or do a clever puzzle utilizing the slide I can see having a lot more fun.

With Ice if I wanted a ~30% complete ratio I would focus more on puzzles / crouch slides and speed and less on precise platforming.

Oh, definitely. My plan was to avoid putting in things like pits and/or spikes that are difficult to dodge, and to focus more on making moving around the level fun (by having players do crouch slides, etc.)

Did you play my ice stage? It has both ice and water elements and people really seem to have enjoyed it. You can check it out below. I included the context so you can see what the theme was behind it.

Hopefully it sparks some creative ideas!

Frost Fossil Depths


As far as design wise, it's always good to introduce the player to the different mechanics of ice, like sliding or platforming. Throw some standard platforms as a safety net, then mix and match until you get your full ice dream!

Thanks, I'll check it out.

 

[Naar]

going live now on http://www.twitch.tv/naar82 and playing your levels!

 

[Lonestar]

Oh, definitely. My plan was to avoid putting in things like pits and/or spikes that are difficult to dodge, and to focus more on making moving around the level fun (by having players do crouch slides, etc.)

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Yeah, if your ice stage is the one 645 did earlier, I did like those bits, and would like to see more of them.

 

[Camjo-Z]

Posting up my Game and Watch level again.. Hard to get plays when there isn't a pretty picture accompanying the level

The idea is awesome, but the execution is really flawed.

Manhole: Definitely the most faithful to the original G&W game, but should be about half as long as it is. Once you figure out the trick you're stuck waiting a good 20 seconds for the Koopa to finally get to the bottom.

Fire: Not really any challenge here, especially since you're given another G&W suit right after you get past the only obstacle. Took me a while to get the resemblance to Fire but once you see it it's pretty clever.

Octopus: Squids... are like octopi, I guess? Not really feeling it here, and it's the easiest room as well.

Oil Panic: Can't see any connection to Oil Panic, but the gimmick is clever. However, it devolves into annoying enemy spam as it goes on, and trying to space a Bob-omb properly in order to kick it into place while simultaneously avoiding the rest gets very annoying. Not a good way to end things, especially since the rest of the level has basically no difficulty up until this point.

Overall, could be a really great level, but needs a lot more polish.

 

[Atreides]

Interesting idea, but

Spoiler

not knowing how it only makes coins fall if they are visible on the screen meant that I probably wouldn't have figured this out. I think having a different layout or using that sublevel room to guide people to the concept of a pow making coins fall, specifically if they are on the screen, would have done more to help people figure it out on their own.

Maybe if you had something like a platform of coins-turned-blocks that you can only access once you hit the P-Switch which is in the right position to scroll the coin to jump on out of the screen, or once you introduce the concept in the subroom, you make the puzzle part of the main room more difficult since people can already wrap their head around what they are supposed to do once they put 2 and 2 together.

Yes, I'll have to be careful to introduce these kind of game mechanics beforehand, I'll be careful in future levels.

 

[BowieZ]

New course:

Super Mario Adventure: World 1-3
Code: A95B-0000-007F-8986

This fair but challenging high-wire course is littered with secrets but are you deft enough to attempt to reach them? And can you find the double-storey Toad House and pilfer its secret gold? The course is akin to the entirely optional 1-3 of SMB3 but a little longer and harder.

Previous courses:

Super Mario Adventure: World 1-2
Code: F4C4 0000 005D 7664

Super Mario Adventure: World 1-1
Code: 56E3 0000 0040 BF67

"Whacker Mole Hollow"
Code: 029E 0000 003B E066

"Cheep Shot Grotto"
Code: 9499 0000 002A A377

 

[jarosh]

Had a chance to play another GAF level this morning, here's the full replay:
Reverse Engineering by Jarosh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWlCJ4V08R0

Jarosh, I liked your level, it wasn't overly difficult and had some cool uses of the thwomps. I never did figure out what the purpose of that very first P-switch was, though -- the one that the thwomp lands on and does nothing more than block your progress until the timer runs out. Was there a way to avoid that?

My streaming time is usually pretty limited but I try to fit in what I can.

Thanks for playing and sharing the video! Was a lot of fun watching you play.

This was actually the very first level I made. I had to apply several fixes to it, that's why we're at v3 now, from my profile it may look like this is the newest one.

I'm gonna explain the thought process behind the first P-switch really quick:

Getting locked into that small space is supposed to be a learning tool. First, I had not known about thwomps being able to hit P-switches before I started making the level, so I thought I should get other players to get used to that idea. I am locking you into that space because it's a real consequence, a "punishing" one if you want, one that you cannot escape. It happens due to an external force hitting the switch. That's part of what the level is about. If you could simply run through there, it wouldn't quite hit home. But being locked into that space forces you to think about the potential danger of a thwomp hitting a P-switch. (I put a coin block and a 1-Up in there so you would have something to do at least.) And then just a few seconds later there's another thwomp hitting another P-switch, removing the floor under your feet and dropping you into a bunch of spikes if you don't react quickly enough. And most players die here at first. This is quite intentional. It's a "cheap" death, but one that most will immediately realize they "could have seen coming", because just a moment ago they were shown the consequences of a thwomp hitting a P-switch while running blindly.

I use this tool a lot when designing levels in general. Forcing the player to encounter something, giving him all the information he needs, then immediately using it against him in a punishing way. It's neat because while it often results in death, which forces the player to learn and master something, it usually DOESN'T feel frustrating (at least for the type of player I'm targeting), because on his very first death the player tends to realize immediately what mistake he just made and how he could have prevented it, connecting the dots with what he'd just encountered before. Still, I wish you wouldn't have to be forced to wait EVERY single time in this particular case. I'm sure there's a more elegant solution. I think it's merely a mediocre level overall, fwiw.

I also use this device in my Cthulhu level in one spot and I was happy to see it work on gaffer/streamer Kyzon who, upon his death, immediately exclaimed that he "just saw that piranha plant!" and should have known better.

Spoiler

Oh and btw, you CAN actually stop and let that thwomp hit the first P-switch WITHOUT getting into that little space. If you pull it off and run back to the start, there's a major secret and shortcut that I don't think anyone's discovered yet.

 

[Model 500]

Jumpman to the Rescue
C664-0000-0047-837E

I couldn't complete it..too though. But it's not frustrating. It's a bit frustrating if you try to complete it in 20 seconds, but it's still fun.

Thanks for playing, that sounds pretty good, was aiming for a challenging but 100% fair stage that would inspire the player to get better every take while enjoying the set pieces and tight spots. Thanks for your comment in Miiverse as well, replied with some tips!

Will definitely try your stages as well.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Re-uploaded my new level with some slight changes and a different name.

Monty Mole's Chargin' Chomps
E47E-0000-007E-F5FA
http://abload.de/img/wiiu_screenshot_gamep9dukr.jpg[img]

Feedback would be appreciated. I'm never sure if I've got the difficulty right for my levels, and this one more than ever feels a little off to me.[/QUOTE]

This is such an inventive use of Monty Mole, I love it for that alone.
As for difficulty feedback it's mostly fine though the final stretch may be a bit cluttered with gnashing teeth.

Went back and played a bunch of your older stages that I'd missed, they were a great batch, great use of the snake block in that bob-omb stage.

 

[aidan]

I'm gonna explain the thought process behind the first P-switch really quick:

Getting locked into that small space is supposed to be a learning tool. First, I had not known about thwomps being able to hit P-switches before I started making the level, so I thought I should get other players to get used to that idea. I am locking you into that space because it's a real consequence, a "punishing" one if you want, one that you cannot escape. It happens due to an external force hitting the switch. That's part of what the level is about. If you could simply run through there, it wouldn't quite hit home. But being locked into that space forces you to think about the potential danger of a thwomp hitting a P-switch. (I put a coin block and a 1-Up in there so you would have something to do at least.) And then just a few seconds later there's another thwomp hitting another P-switch, removing the floor under your feet and dropping you into a bunch of spikes if you don't react quickly enough. And most players die here at first. This is quite intentional. It's a "cheap" death, but one that most will immediately realize they "could have seen coming", because just a moment ago they were shown the consequences of a thwomp hitting a P-switch while running blindly.

I use this tool a lot when designing levels in general. Forcing the player to encounter something, giving him all the information he needs, then immediately using it against him in a punishing way. It's neat because while it often results in death, which forces the player to learn and master something, it usually DOESN'T feel frustrating (at least for the type of player I'm targeting), because on his very first death the player tends to realize immediately what mistake he just made and how he could have prevented it, connecting the dots with what he'd just encountered before. Still, I wish you wouldn't have to be forced to wait EVERY single time in this particular case. I'm sure there's a more elegant solution. I think it's merely a mediocre level overall, fwiw.

I also use this device in my Cthulhu level in one spot and I was happy to see it work on gaffer/streamer Kyzon who, upon his death, immediately exclaimed that he "just saw that piranha plant!" and should have known better.

Spoiler

Oh and btw, you CAN actually stop and let that thwomp hit the first P-switch WITHOUT getting into that little space. If you pull it off and run back to the start, there's a major secret and shortcut that I don't think anyone's discovered yet.

Just want to say, I love hearing these sorts of design and development discussion from other Gaffers. I've been pleased with how much fun I've been having designing levels (when I bought the game, I was only planning on playing levels built by other players, didn't think I'd build anything), and I think it's great to see this sort of methodology from other gamers who are stepping over into becoming game designers. I feel like I can learn a lot about designing a level by reading breakdowns like this and playing the level to see how the original concept was successfully executed.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

anyone not having much fun with this? it made me crave a real mario game. i went out and got wiiu mario just because i wanted professionAlly built levels.

im now going to grab a nunchuck/wiimote to play galaxy 2.

i guess i have this game to thank for that, but i sunno, i have tried but playing peoples levels just doesnt compare.

dont mean to be a downer, more mario is always good, i guess a level editor isnt really my thing, curious if anyone else hit the same wall though.

will say that the ease of editing and the package they put together is outstanding

 

[Nocturnowl]

New course:

Super Mario Adventure: World 1-3
Code: A95B-0000-007F-8986

This fair but challenging high-wire course is littered with secrets but are you deft enough to attempt to reach them? And can you find the double-storey Toad House and pilfer its secret gold? The course is akin to the entirely optional 1-3 of SMB3 but a little longer and harder.

I saw the one way arrow thing in the autoscroller and made a huge mistake, see before the screen fully scrolled across thought I was supposed to go in there and smack the block with my Tanooki Tail, oh I was wrong, so very wrong.

Otherwise I really liked how layered this level seemed, like there were numerous options in how to move forward.

 

[Thud]

I'm trying to come up with ideas to make a fun ice level, and every time I mention "ice levels" to people they make this face. Do people really hate ice levels that much? Also, is it more or less hated than underwater levels?

I love them in regular marios.

Especially SMB2.

 

[Lonestar]

anyone not having much fun with this? it made me crave a real mario game. i went out and got wiiu mario just because i wanted professionAlly built levels.

im now going to grab a nunchuck/wiimote to play galaxy 2.

i guess i have this game to thank for that, but i sunno, i have tried but playing peoples levels just doesnt compare.

dont mean to be a downer, more mario is always good, i guess a level editor isnt really my thing, curious if anyone else hit the same wall though.

will say that the ease of editing and the package they put together is outstanding

My guess is, at some point someone will pool together the high quality levels into a nice list.

Heck, I've had more fun trying to create a level, right down to the little edits to get things right, planning shortcuts while also trying to plan out ways to stop level breaking tricks.

But I would have more fun with a couple more things, like the obvious (Checkpoints and sliding terrain).

 

[ohNOitsRO]

The idea is awesome, but the execution is really flawed.

Manhole: Definitely the most faithful to the original G&W game, but should be about half as long as it is. Once you figure out the trick you're stuck waiting a good 20 seconds for the Koopa to finally get to the bottom.

Fire: Not really any challenge here, especially since you're given another G&W suit right after you get past the only obstacle. Took me a while to get the resemblance to Fire but once you see it it's pretty clever.

Octopus: Squids... are like octopi, I guess? Not really feeling it here, and it's the easiest room as well.

Oil Panic: Can't see any connection to Oil Panic, but the gimmick is clever. However, it devolves into annoying enemy spam as it goes on, and trying to space a Bob-omb properly in order to kick it into place while simultaneously avoiding the rest gets very annoying. Not a good way to end things, especially since the rest of the level has basically no difficulty up until this point.

Overall, could be a really great level, but needs a lot more polish.

Hey man thanks for the feedback! Well yeah Octopus was about dodging the octopus in the original games, but I wanted to make a section where you're dodging multiple "octopi" as opposed to just one giant one that I would make and it would be even easier to dodge. And oil panic is hard :/ I should tweak it, but with some patience it's really easy to eye some spots to stand in safely and time your kicking of bombs! Thanks for playing though man really appreciate it

 

[choodi]

I uploaded a new stage.

This one is designed around the idea of getting a good jumping rhythm and flow going.

It shouldn't be difficult

Spoiler

in fact it is probably very easy

, but the fun should come from the jumping rhythm being very satisfying.

Keen to hear the feedback.

Jump to the rhythm C71B-0000-007E-9E02

 

[BowieZ]

I saw the one way arrow thing in the autoscroller and made a huge mistake, see before the screen fully scrolled across thought I was supposed to go in there and smack the block with my Tanooki Tail, oh I was wrong, so very wrong.

Otherwise I really liked how layered this level seemed, like there were numerous options in how to move forward.

Hope you enjoyed it! But just how did you get to the one-way thing so quickly? lol, cos yeah if you get to it before it shows itself as a koopa trick, then that would indeed be quite unfair!

What's a recent level of yours I can play?

 

[Mcdohl]

Ok, I'll give this a shot.

I would appreciate some feedback for my level:

The Flying Fortress of.....Love

Course ID: D5F3-0000-007E-40A3

An intermediate-level type of course.

It's not: chaotic, gimmick, auto-play, music, amiibo display, extra easy, nor insanely hard.

My goal was to create a level that is fun to play. But without the characteristics described above. I wanted to create a stage as if it was part of an actual Mario game.

I hope you guys enjoy it.

Later tonight I'll give some of the stages you guys have been posting here a try

 

[NA48]

Just popping in to say I've been loving your levels, gaffers. I've been flipping through this topic and playing levels for a little while now, and it's been solid gold. Keep it up!

 

[Nocturnowl]

Finally finished my latest stage! Took a little while due to work and other priorities. Check it out! I think you'll find the aesthetics pleasing, and gameplay solid!

Piranha Swamp Romp!

Feedback is always appreciated! I'll edit this post with feedback of prior levels, on this page!

I did find the aesthetics pleasing and gameplay solid, how did you know?
You really pulled off a swampy vibe within the SMB1 parameters and the water bits were well done.

 

[CharminUltra]

anyone not having much fun with this? it made me crave a real mario game. i went out and got wiiu mario just because i wanted professionAlly built levels.

im now going to grab a nunchuck/wiimote to play galaxy 2.

i guess i have this game to thank for that, but i sunno, i have tried but playing peoples levels just doesnt compare.

dont mean to be a downer, more mario is always good, i guess a level editor isnt really my thing, curious if anyone else hit the same wall though.

will say that the ease of editing and the package they put together is outstanding

I'm the opposite. Game or level design is something I had never considered seriously before (except when the first LBP came out, although my excitement for that game died within a week), but I'm utterly addicted to MM.

If they fix the content search and discovery tools before the year is over, this might just be my GOTY.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Hope you enjoyed it! But just how did you get to the one-way thing so quickly? lol, cos yeah if you get to it before it shows itself as a koopa trick, then that would indeed be quite unfair!

What's a recent level of yours I can play?

Oh I randomly started just rushing ahead, you know the way one shouldn't play an autoscroller.
Also tried your Whacker Mole Hollow but timed out in the final section, you had me puzzled there.

As for me
Grow with the Flow: (DE34-0000-0063-6259) is probably the best of my more recent batch of stages.

I actually haven't posted my most recent stage yet so I may as well do so now.
It's a pretty standard stage where I wanted to make the airships feel more like water based ships, that aside there's not much else to it, though some of my more simple stages have gone down better with the star nabbing so who knows, maybe this has its moments.

Unease on the Seas (5F6A-0000-007D-7909)

(pictured above, my cumbersome attempt at a ship figurehead)

 

[KingBroly]

I'm going to post my code for I Wanna Be The Luigi again. It's a very tough, but fair level. No cheap tricks. Only skill. Only one person's beaten it so far to my knowledge.

ID: 107C-0000-007C-0786

The original was definitely more organic, but I feel like this one is harder while not trying to laugh at the players like most troll levels. I don't need to troll. The spikes are enough.

 

[timetokill]

More and more I find myself wishing you could simply apply whatever "background" you want to the lowest X tiles of a map screen.

For instance, apply water/lava/nothing. It would be cool to make stages where it's a land-based map but you could fall in the water. Especially if we had access to those big fishes that swallow you whole.

 

[Kebiinu]

More and more I find myself wishing you could simply apply whatever "background" you want to the lowest X tiles of a map screen.

For instance, apply water/lava/nothing. It would be cool to make stages where it's a land-based map but you could fall in the water. Especially if we had access to those big fishes that swallow you whole.

I agree. I had a hard time making a swamp stage because I feel like the theme I went with, didn't have the necessary water bits in the land areas.

This game could use an update or two! I'm excited.

 

[UncleSporky]

More and more I find myself wishing you could simply apply whatever "background" you want to the lowest X tiles of a map screen.

For instance, apply water/lava/nothing. It would be cool to make stages where it's a land-based map but you could fall in the water. Especially if we had access to those big fishes that swallow you whole.

I want to just apply level-width chunks of ground tiles, and have them not count against my limit!

 

[correojon]

I'm at 35 now. Looking at it, I have hits and misses.

This one below was a super hard one that has done average:

This level is really frustrating. You have to go under 8 Thwomps to take a shell and get back under the same 8 Thwomps with the shell. Of course after some time the Koopa will pop from the shell so you have to throw it and try to stomp it again, while praying that one of the surrounding Thwomps doesn´t kill it and forces you to go back again. After tying 5 or 6 times I gave up. You can´t even run under the Thwomps to speed things up, it´s really repetitive and frustrating. To make matters worse, I managed to get to the second floor in the second area and all I found, after passing under another 4 Thwomps, was a pipe which did nothing (someone has even left a comment there asking if something was supposed to happen). So to get back to the beginning I had to go under 24 Thwomps and just as I was about to reach the beginning the Koopa popped back out, so I threw the shell and a Thwomp smashed it, making all my effort for nothing. At that point I paused and quit.

It´s not that the level is hard, it´s that it gives you a slow, monotonous and repetitive task that drags for too long. To get the shell and get back to the beginning you have to pass under 16 Thwomps, stopping every time to wait for each one of them to fall. It´s not something difficult to do, but it´s really frustrating. oh and you get no powerups so any little mistake means instant death.

You should totally redesign it: allow the player to run under the Thwomps, put the shell closer to the beginning, reduce drastically the number of Thwomps, remove that fake pipe, add different more varied challenges, give the player some mushrooms...do everything in your hand to help the player enjoy your level.

This one below was a complete dud, and I don't get why. Too simplistic? Too hard?

Right from the start you launch the player to a high speed platform on an irregular track and ask to do a difficult jump over a bottomless pit. The platform is too wonky so even if the player does the jump correctly, some part of the platform can touch him slightly making him miss the jump. Then, you have to repeat the same thing 2 or 3 more times: if you miss any of them you die or fall back to the starting point.

The problem with the platforms is that they "vibrate" too much: I felt like it was almost a matter of luck if I managed to make the jumps instead of having learned how the platform worked. The level didn´t introduce these platforms in a safe environment to let the player play with it, try things and learn how it works. As a result of all of this, the player can´t understand how to improve and if he somehow manages to advance any mistake will totally reset his progress.

In general, you have to design your levels thinking more about the player. Your objective is to make him enjoy your levels and have a good time. Use consistent mechanics and use time and space of the level to make sure the player understand how they work before applying any penatly. Regarding penalties, think that you are competing against 2 million levels (literally) so you have to give good reasons to the player to keep on playing your level. Everytime someone dies in your level is an opportunity for him to skip it and try a different one, so when someone fails think of ways to encourage him to try again. The easiest way is to remove bottomless pits and just let the player try the jump again, or give him powerups so that he can take hits instead of dying instantly with any obstacle.

Good luck for your next levels!

 

[Neki]

Anyone have any factory levels? Need to steal some ideas and inspiration

 

[BowieZ]

Oh I randomly started just rushing ahead, you know the way one shouldn't play an autoscroller.
Also tried your Whacker Mole Hollow but timed out in the final section, you had me puzzled there.

As for me
Grow with the Flow: (DE34-0000-0063-6259) is probably the best of my more recent batch of stages.

I actually haven't posted my most recent stage yet so I may as well do so now.
It's a pretty standard stage where I wanted to make the airships feel more like water based ships, that aside there's not much else to it, though some of my more simple stages have gone down better with the star nabbing so who knows, maybe this has its moments.

Unease on the Seas (5F6A-0000-007D-7909)

(pictured above, my cumbersome attempt at a ship figurehead)

Whacker Mole Hollow has a 4% completion rate :/
70 people attempted it 148 times. Just 6 completes. So obviously the puzzle is too obscure and I kinda regret that.

(Assuming you figured out the doorstep trick but got stuck after that... there's naturally a way to trigger the ?-switch, but you need to trigger something else first! Hint: what have you been triggering throughout the level that might be able to help you? Question is, how do you get close enough to trigger it?)

Grow with the Flow was awesome! Dodging stuff on vines is a refreshing change after so much platforming. Except that 1up trick near the start caused all of my deaths, the rest of the level was fortunately in one go! Unease on the Seas was very well designed. One of the best 'airship' levels! Thank God I didn't follow the bullet bills off the end of the ship though (where you get the fireworks effect), as nothing is after it. Would've made a good secret!

 

[jarosh]

Just want to say, I love hearing these sorts of design and development discussion from other Gaffers. I've been pleased with how much fun I've been having designing levels (when I bought the game, I was only planning on playing levels built by other players, didn't think I'd build anything), and I think it's great to see this sort of methodology from other gamers who are stepping over into becoming game designers. I feel like I can learn a lot about designing a level by reading breakdowns like this and playing the level to see how the original concept was successfully executed.

Thanks!

I actually thought I WOULDN'T have fun with Mario Maker because my day job already involves designing levels. But it turns out that the playfulness and new possibilities and restrictions of the engine are just so much fun to explore! Nintendo did a great job gameifying a level design tool. It's not without its flaws for sure and the online aspect leaves a lot to be desired, but I do hope that some updates are coming!

Fwiw, my biggest gripe is the lackluster copy/move/paste tool. It's very restrictive and cumbersome. As a level designer you should be able to design big chunks of a level in isolation, before you know where they fit in the big picture. But Mario Maker makes it very difficult to move around or copy larger parts.

 

[AjNimajwalHansel]

Ancient Undersea Castles:
7F47-0000-007F-B1CB

2 things I'm not too fond of: NSMB Theme and Underwater Levels. Tried to make the combination fun.

Other courses:
Chompin’ at the Bits 3DD4-0000-003D-783B
Grand Ghost Galleon 0303-0000-0061-321E
Escaping the Martian Menace 5C98-0000-0068-C846
Keep of Sacrifice 9274-0000-0079-F788

 

[BowieZ]

Clouds wear goggles underwater? That is so goddamn cute!!

 

[CharminUltra]

POWer Overwhelming

(87C7-0000-007E-5979)

I uploaded a new level last night. It's a relatively-easy/traditional level that I designed around one item (guess which one! ). Let me know what you all think!

Clouds wear goggles underwater? That is so goddamn cute!!

Yup, just noticed that the other day (I have hardly touched underwater levels). It's adorable.

 

[Lonestar]

anyone else know of the hidden mini game with the 2nd function of the cloud? Fly Swatter mini game.

 

[Platy]

Anyone have a link to a tutorial on music making ?

I have some ideas of gameplay+music that I wanted to try but I have no idea how to even start understanding music levels =/

 

[Link Man]

Anyone have any factory levels? Need to steal some ideas and inspiration

I've got a level with a factory, though that part is a little basic.

 

[AdanVC]

I saw this on tumblr hahaha

Anyone have a link to a tutorial on music making ?

I have some ideas of gameplay+music that I wanted to try but I have no idea how to even start understanding music levels =/

Here's a tutorial
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/805618-super-mario-maker/72481056

You just need to know how to read musical notes so this kind of levels take some time to create and pull right but I guess it will be worth it since this levels become popular very quick on course world.

 

[Dimentios]

Update:

Vegetable Stronghold (XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX)

...

Sawblade Walker (C7F1-0000-00E6-01C6) Reddit-Contest Winner

The dangerous sawmill factory beyond the clouds.
Legends tell of a mysterious shoe to overcome all the saw blades.

Glacier Cocktail (9E99-0000-00B3-4A19)

Advance through the glacier caverns which are home of the
Monty Moles. Watch your step, since it's getting colder
and colder the deeper you progress.

Overgrown Ruins (9A3F-0000-00A5-F79F)

Explore the forgotten ruins deep in the jungle which have been
conquered by nature and their inhabitants.
Legends say, you must follow the golden route to the exit...

Heaven's Keep (887A-0000-007F-C5A0) Featured by Nintendo

The mysterious levitating fortress beyond the clouds.
With several canons and bullet bill launchers this place is heavily guarded.
A certain area of this fortress seems to be structured like an old airship...

Sunken Airship (2053 0000 0012 5786)

An old airship on the ground of the sea where several boos are now living.
Also, it seems that the old canons are still working. So be aware!

Carnivore Hollows (1CAE-0000-006-93FD) Featured by Nintendo

Exploring the depths of the Carnivore Hollows and their inhabitants.
Chain Chomps everywhere! Can you reach the secret pipe?

Aerial Port (F60F-0000-0012-941E)

A well guarded aerial port deep in the sky of the mushroom kingdom.
Watch out for Koopa Troopas and Rocky Wrenches.
Hmm, something is twinkling beyond the clouds...

Mushroom Cavern (A9F2 0000 001B DE44)

A mysterious cavern full of mushrooms and several pipes.
Only the difficult route leads to the goal.
Avoid the piranha-plants and the buzzy beetles.

Golden Fortress (0EE5-0000-0034-5018) Reddit-Contest Winner

Inside of the legendary golden fortress.
Thwomps and Koopa Troopas are guarding this quiteful place.

Mining Melancholy (C745 0000 0052 42AA)

Diddy's single adventure in the dark mining cave.
Apart from some plants here and there he is completely alone.
Can you find the three hidden 1UP-Mushrooms on your way out?

 

[KooopaKid]

Ok I've reworked 50% of Planet 1-2! Here's V4! This time with mushrooms. I aim around 10% completion rate. Tell me how the difficulty is like now. Thanks!

Code: 6A8A-0000-0084-78B8

It's very polished now! Quite proud of it!

 

[Naar]

thanks for watching the stream guys!

also thanks shibafan for informing me about the submission form. i was confused how others did it and linked it to the spreadsheet.

I just did my own and plan to use it for when i stream tomorrow!

 

[JPickford]

Zone Of The Warp Zone: 57FC-0000-007F-58BE

This one has been described as "tough". It can't be that hard if I can do it.

 

[KooopaKid]

Update:

There's a bug a your new level: you can get stuck after the two downward vines if you jump "above" the screen.
Very good presentation otherwise! Finished it and starred it. A bit too easy for me. I found the below part a bit repetitive looking. That's all the "negatives" I can come up with.
Please give feedback on mine too. Thanks!

New course:

Super Mario Adventure: World 1-3
Code: A95B-0000-007F-8986

This fair but challenging high-wire course is littered with secrets but are you deft enough to attempt to reach them? And can you find the double-storey Toad House and pilfer its secret gold? The course is akin to the entirely optional 1-3 of SMB3 but a little longer and harder.

Very nice looking level. A bit slow, since it's quite easy but it's only 1-3 after all. The secret pipe seemed impossible to take on my 2 first tries! Good job, starred!
Note : You can get vaught by surprise by red koopas when you jump up because they are off screen sometimes!
Awaiting feedback from you now

 

[urfe]

This level is really frustrating. You have to go under 8 Thwomps to take a shell and get back under the same 8 Thwomps with the shell. Of course after some time the Koopa will pop from the shell so you have to throw it and try to stomp it again, while praying that one of the surrounding Thwomps doesn´t kill it and forces you to go back again. After tying 5 or 6 times I gave up. You can´t even run under the Thwomps to speed things up, it´s really repetitive and frustrating. To make matters worse, I managed to get to the second floor in the second area and all I found, after passing under another 4 Thwomps, was a pipe which did nothing (someone has even left a comment there asking if something was supposed to happen). So to get back to the beginning I had to go under 24 Thwomps and just as I was about to reach the beginning the Koopa popped back out, so I threw the shell and a Thwomp smashed it, making all my effort for nothing. At that point I paused and quit.

It´s not that the level is hard, it´s that it gives you a slow, monotonous and repetitive task that drags for too long. To get the shell and get back to the beginning you have to pass under 16 Thwomps, stopping every time to wait for each one of them to fall. It´s not something difficult to do, but it´s really frustrating. oh and you get no powerups so any little mistake means instant death.

You should totally redesign it: allow the player to run under the Thwomps, put the shell closer to the beginning, reduce drastically the number of Thwomps, remove that fake pipe, add different more varied challenges, give the player some mushrooms...do everything in your hand to help the player enjoy your level.



Right from the start you launch the player to a high speed platform on an irregular track and ask to do a difficult jump over a bottomless pit. The platform is too wonky so even if the player does the jump correctly, some part of the platform can touch him slightly making him miss the jump. Then, you have to repeat the same thing 2 or 3 more times: if you miss any of them you die or fall back to the starting point.

The problem with the platforms is that they "vibrate" too much: I felt like it was almost a matter of luck if I managed to make the jumps instead of having learned how the platform worked. The level didn´t introduce these platforms in a safe environment to let the player play with it, try things and learn how it works. As a result of all of this, the player can´t understand how to improve and if he somehow manages to advance any mistake will totally reset his progress.

In general, you have to design your levels thinking more about the player. Your objective is to make him enjoy your levels and have a good time. Use consistent mechanics and use time and space of the level to make sure the player understand how they work before applying any penatly. Regarding penalties, think that you are competing against 2 million levels (literally) so you have to give good reasons to the player to keep on playing your level. Everytime someone dies in your level is an opportunity for him to skip it and try a different one, so when someone fails think of ways to encourage him to try again. The easiest way is to remove bottomless pits and just let the player try the jump again, or give him powerups so that he can take hits instead of dying instantly with any obstacle.

Good luck for your next levels!

Thanks for the honest advice!

It's really interesting how playing your own levels is completely different from playing others. I honestly really like my frustrating thwomp level, so I'll prob redesign the other one first, as to me its flaws are more apparent.

however,I'll likely redesign both levels when I have time. I've favorited who I believe you are, and will give your levels a go.

 

[Dimentios]

There's a bug a your new level: you can get stuck after the two downward vines if you jump "above" the screen.

Arg, damn. Thanks for the advice. I won't update it tho. Those mistakes always seems to slip in. Can't blame the curiosity of the player. But I will keep this in mind.

Will play two or three of your's right now!

 

[tomutwit]

Huh, I didn't realize the game tracked hours spent creating a level until your post. I see it now. Unfortunately it seems time doesn't carry over when you save your level as a new save. Whenever I'm about to make a drastic change (e.g. scrapping an entire section or something), I create a new save and keep the old one as a backup, and the time resets for the new save. So my latest iteration says 4 hours when in reality it's been at least a few dozen.

Where does it say that? I can't see it.