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[correojon]

I´ve uploaded 2 new levels in the last days:

Return to Dinosaur Land 1: Start!
23E8-0000-0090-5B83

Years have passed since Mario put a stop to Bowser´s plans in Super Mario World. The peaceful inhabitants could finally go back to enjoying their calm lives and all the past perils were starting to be forgotten.
But once again, Bowser´s minions have returned. They have setup a network of facilities to help them retake the land and maintain it under Bowser´s iron grip. This time, they are ready.
Go Mario! Save the World once again! Return to Dinosaur Land!

This is a simple level and the beginning of the series: "Return to Dinosaur Land". It´s a simple 1-1 revolving loosely around the spiked helmet. For this level I tried to follow the classic approach of 3 heights, where the lower path is easy and safe, the medium is more challenging and the higher one is more dangerous but hides the best rewards.

RtDL2: Feather Beach & Flower Sea
8339-0000-0098-CB7E

Things have changed a lot since Mario last visited Yoshi´s Island. Using some kind of fantabolous plot device with no scientific base, Bowser has managed to manipulate the climate in this location. However, this has caused some weather instabilities in the zone, causing the water to freeze at one moment and melt at the next...
Mario must find a way to stop Global Warming and save Dinosaur Land!

This level plays with 2 mirror worlds: in one the water has turned into ice and Mario must use the Feather to advance. In the other, the ice has melted and Mario must swim and use the Flower to deal with underwater enemies. It´s very hard to die in this level, but getting to the exit is not easy: The whole level is a big puzzle and Mario must switch between both worlds and powerups to advance, as some things behave differently in any of them:

• Ice melts and becomes water
• Goombas become Cheep Cheeps
• Spikes become Urchins and float
• Feather becomes Flower

Mario himself will walk when in the beach and swim when in the sea, which affects directly how he interacts with certain elements. For example, Mario can´t spin jump when swimming so he can´t break Yellow Blocks from above.
Hope you guys like it, I think it´s not a very long level but it will leave you scratching your head a couple of times.
Both worlds are mirrored completely up to the background aesthetic details. Also, there is a cool system that provides hints about secrets which I´ve named "hiding in plain sight". Let´s see if you can find all the hidden 1-Ups!

Please, play and comment!

 

[ciD_Vain]

I made a follow-up to my level Crystal Countdown Cavern. It's called Depths of Countdown Cavern and it's a bit more challenging than the first. If anyone is interested, the codes for both are below.

 

[KeRaSh]

And with that, we come to the final group of the preliminary voting! As you can see, I also added a deadline for the final voting. Figured a week should give everyone the chance to check out the cream of the crop.

SMM-GAF Contest #1

Theme: Level 1-1 for a new Mario game
Description: Creating the first level for an entirely new Mario platformer must be a tough task for the level designers at Nintendo. Certain traditions of 1-1 stages must be respected while also avoiding the dangers of being derivative. Now it's up to you to create a level that would serve as the very first stage of a new Mario game. Think about what direction the game goes in. Think about a new idea that might be featured more heavily and expanded on in certain ways as the game progresses. The first impression is what counts, right?

Voting Rules:

Once the deadline for submitting levels is reached, I will assemble all the entries and post the list in here. SMM-GAF will then go ahead and try the levels. You can assign points to up to three levels - your first pick gets three points, your second pick two points, your third pick one point.

The voting will be done in a group format. With 68 entries, I will post four randomly assembled groups of 17 and we'll vote on one group at a time. Three levels - the ones with the most points - from each group will advance into the final voting group. In the case of a tie in third place, both proceed.

You can give feedback in the thread and reveal your ranking if you wish. However, you must send me your ballot in a PM, this ensures anonymity for those who want it and, more importantly, gives me an easier time counting your votes. Including the creators' names in the ballot is sufficient. Obviously, you cannot vote for your own levels.

The deadlines for voting will be the following:

Group 1 ~ Thursday, Sep 24 (12PM GMT+1)
Group 2 ~ Thursday, Oct 1 (12PM GMT+1)
Group 3 ~ Tuesday, Oct 6 (12PM GMT+1)
Group 4 ~ Sunday, Oct 11 (12PM GMT+1)

Final ~ Monday, Oct 19 (12PM GMT+1)

The final three winners will be included in the Community Showcase.

Group #4

• KeRash
• Sölf
• Ferrio
• Xenoboy
• Hasney
• vikki
• jholmes
• Axiom
• Robin64
• Boy Wander
• Thud
• black_clavus
• Platy
• RZRiot
• Santangelo
• BooJoh
• SuperJay
• dead_lighter

Note: Thanks to Dad, we have an account that has all the group 4 levels starred on it! Punch in this code to access it: EEFD-0000-0091-F4D1

Finally it's my turn to shine!

Spoiler

Preparing myself for epic disappointment...

I'm really interested to see what others think about my level. There's a quick tutorial at the start disguised as different rooms of a house. If you die you have to go through the house / tutorial again and hopefully figure out what your problem was.

 

[correojon]

I made a new level.

Could probably pass for an early Halloween level.

I played this yesterday, unfortunately it was late so I could only give it a try. I´ll definitely be completing it today though. This level has the best theming I´ve seen yet. It´s very clever how it tells the story and the twist was awesome. I went from "this is nice" to

Spoiler

"OMG what happened you blocked the exit"

to

Spoiler

"A cemetery? That big tomb...this is GREAT!!!"

.
AMAZING level.

 

[Platy]

Finally it's my turn to shine!

Spoiler

Preparing myself for epic disappointment...

It is quiet.... too quiet

 

[Boy Wander]

I played this yesterday, unfortunately it was late so I could only give it a try. I´ll definitely be completing it today though. This level has the best theming I´ve seen yet. It´s very clever how it tells the story and the twist was awesome. I went from "this is nice" to

Spoiler

"OMG what happened you blocked the exit"

to

Spoiler

"A cemetery? That big tomb...this is GREAT!!!"

.
AMAZING level.

Seconded. Watched Naar play this on stream last night. The attention to detail is great (something I don't have the patience for when making a level but appreciate). Great level!

 

[Oni Link 666]

 

[HP_Wuvcraft]

I loled.

 

[StayDead]

Oh man that's good.

 

[Platy]

A parents perspective. There are a lot of kids playing this game. Watching my son build levels, one enemy is never enough - there has to be at least five and at least two of them need to have wings and at least one of them has to be massive, and at least two of them need to standing in a column. I try to tell him what's fun and what isn't but I guess his brain is just wired differently at the moment. Kids are about what looks cool in their eyes, not what plays well.

....but does he beat it to upload ? =P

 

[Boy Wander]

....but does he beat it to upload ? =P

Check my uploads. If anyone is wondering why some of my levels look like they've been built by a child, they have.

Spoiler

The rest have been built by someone with the mind of a child

 

[one_kill]

Just sharing my levels again. Most of them are short and relatively easy.

The 3rd Labyrinth: 7B4B-0000-008C-4286
Just a simple level that centers on using the shell and tanooki suit.

Diddy's Banana Coin Plantation: 44DB-0000-0082-7881
Collect banana coins as Diddy in this vine swinging level.

10 seconds to finish: 08F9-0000-007C-6742
Try out this challenge level which should take you less than 10 seconds to beat.

Welcome to the Star Show: 1CBE-0000-0079-6BE2
Enjoy the star show! This is a short level with no challenge whatsoever (even though people still die).

Runnin' & Jumpin' feat. lotsa $$: 6FE7-0000-0074-CF09
A challenge level that mostly requires you to maintain your momentum.

Rush: 0A57-0000-001B-18C3
The first level my brother and I built.

 

[correojon]

Mega review incoming:

Finished Planet 1-6 of my Super Mario Planets series ! Took me a while to get right!
In this level, Mario jumps from bubbles of thougths to bubbles of thoughts. The thoughts of a smiling mountain? Flying fishes on rails? What's going on!?

Code: 3F6C-0000-0092-9BA3

The theming is nice, I instantly understood that you´re travelling through thought bubbles, however I had trouble distinguishing exactly what these thoughts were.

This is an autoscrolling level focused on platforming and the use of cloud platforms as the main mechanic and Winged Mega Cheep Cheeps on rails as support mechanic. The first part of the level focuses on the platforms themselves, presenting them in static formations which you have to jump from one to the next. This felt awesome, the freedom of movement these platforms provide felt really good. However, sometimes the path to follow is not clear, or you can´t see very far and that made me die a few times. Once you know the path to follow this problem disappears, but it felt a bit unfair. Maybe the author could use some coins to guide the player to the correct path in the most confusing moments, specially in the first part of the level.

Little by little the level adds more and more Cheep Cheeps: first they only cross between some platforms making you time your jumps between static targets, while slowly gaining more presence in the level until they take the spotlight in the last challenges. This progression is done really well. At the same time the cloud platforms start moving in rails as well, which mixed with the Cheep Cheeps create some nice and engaging challenges. This author has an ability of creating fast paced platforming sections which in reality aren´t that fast or frantic, but give the impression of it and feel great to play (see the platforming sections of Planets 1-theFireOne or 1-2). The player has to jump around constantly avoiding many different hazards, but the targets are big, move in predictable ways and there´s plenty of room to move. What´s more, these sections come later in the level and use everything that the player has been learning through the level, so they feel like the natural thing to happen.

Cloud platforms were a very nice choice for this level, but Mega Winged Cheep Cheeps on rails were even a better one, as they provide many functionalities that mesh very well with the main mechanic:

• Predictable path
• Big targets
• Can be jumped on
• Help pacing with the autoscroll
• Can be jumped on more than once
• Will change behaviour when jumped on, adding even more challenge and spicing things up for confident players

There are also a few secrets here and there, hidden in a way in which just with a little observation you´ll be able to find them. The feeling you get when you try to hit an invisible block you know is there and it turns out to be is very rewarding and this author also has a good hand in placing this kind of secrets.

Before releasing the level the author told me he was doubting on which scrolling speed to use. Finally he settled for the slowest one and I think it was a great choice as it has allowed him to develop more the challenges and mechanics in the level. A faster speed would have probably forced the player to rush through many areas and a lower level of complexity would have been required for the challenges, producing a less interesting level. So, good choice.

Conclusion: Very good level, interesting mechanics, solid interactions between them, nice evolution, cool theming and engaging platforming sections. VERY recommended.

 

[Nostremitus]

My latest level.

Climbing Bowser's Tower

(5E55-0000-0091-97C6)

 

[chrixter]

So my first level is almost done after all this time! Going to comment on some more stuff before I finish it.

I made a new level.

Could probably pass for an early Halloween level.

Nice job creating atmosphere and tension in building up to a climactic encounter. The hardest part was not allowing myself to be distracted or startled by the coins being shot out. The concept made me chuckle.

Posting again. Would love some feedback. There are lots of secrets and puzzles here, and i just hope i didn't over design it. Had a blast doing it!

Big trouble in Little Toadkyo!

(8C80-0000-0091-14B6)

I beat this with 23 seconds left so it felt really long. I died the most on the first Bob-omb section, but wasted the most time on trying to jump/ride that single donut on rails towards the end which was frustrating in a silly way. I could tell there were a lot of secret areas and I think I reached a couple, but if I had found any more I probably would've run out of time. Seemed a little too stingy with powerups; I found two mushrooms and a Buzzy Beetle helmet, which for a level that took nearly 500 seconds isn't much. Thankfully the level is fair for the most part and I did enjoy it.

So, I've uploaded another level (with a Halloween theme!):

Before And After The Apocalypse - (6E6B-0000-0092-75BA)

Levels designed around some sort of duality are usually cool, yours included. For the final Dry Bones encounter I left the POW Block alone and allowed it to cordon off most of the enemies on the left side, so I only ended up having to manage 2 or 3 of them on the right side. Probably not your intention there?

Finished Planet 1-6 of my Super Mario Planets series ! Took me a while to get right!
In this level, Mario jumps from bubbles of thougths to bubbles of thoughts. The thoughts of a smiling mountain? Flying fishes on rails? What's going on!?

Code: 3F6C-0000-0092-9BA3

Still not sure what was going on, but I had fun. One of the giant fish screwed me over and prevented me from walking through a cloud wall to reach a pipe at the bottom in time (it seems that was intended as a potential outcome given the fish's placement). Otherwise it was straightforward but again, not sure what to make of the thought bubbles. Perhaps I just wasn't paying close enough attention.

Here are 2 level I made so far, no idea if they are good or not but I like them

Airship armada

C919-0000-0073-4A1C

I died a couple times but it was fun and not too difficult. I will say though that when you have that many cannons firing on screen at once, my instinct is to simply rush through the chaos and hope for the best rather than be deliberate and methodical in my platforming.

Choose your Class


Start the adventure and link the fire. Fulfill your destiny, lest ye go Hollow.

In true Souls fashion pyromancy is OP and it isn't as hard as people expect going in! There was one part where it seemed impossible to not take damage as I crouch-jumped under some spikes, so that felt like BS. Not sure if that was intended or if I cheesed my way through (which, let's be honest, I did in Dark Souls as well).

Return to Dinosaur Land 1: Start!
23E8-0000-0090-5B83

On my first run I got stuck in the area where the Spike Helmet comes out of the pipe: I ran quickly to the right and jumped through the opening right before the Spike Helmet came out, but then it spawned on my way up, damaged me, made me lose my Spike Helmet, and started bouncing back and forth, so my only recourse was to die/restart. Probably just a fluke though.

RtDL2: Feather Beach & Flower Sea
C35B-0000-0092-A9DD

I timed out on this one. I just couldn't figure out where to proceed after the area with the P-Switch. I seemed to be going around in an endless loop. I'll give this another shot tomorrow.

Climbing Bowser's Tower

(5E55-0000-0091-97C6)

Lacks focus, I think. Everything seemed sort of random and it didn't feel like much of a climb either. I skipped past Bowser and thought the level was going to go somewhere eventually but then it abruptly ended. Also, the first Fire Flower is unnecessarily difficult to obtain with only one space above it and then having to crouch-jump to get back out. I mean I grabbed it but then was quickly damaged by a projectile, lol.

 

[NetMapel]

One of the funnier "internet meme", I suppose, that happened due to Mario Maker is all the streamers yelling "YOSHI PLEASE" whenever yoshi does something unintended lol. Like you trying to catch a running Yoshi while facing a tough Bowser boss fight or something. YOSHI PLEASE~

 

[KooopaKid]

Mega review incoming

Conclusion: Very good level, interesting mechanics, solid interactions between them, nice evolution, cool theming and engaging platforming sections. VERY recommended.

Thanks for that awesome review!

 

[Robin64]

Holy crap, my Light and Shadow course has been showcased on the official Mario Maker website.

http://supermariomaker.nintendo.com/play/

 

[timetokill]

Holy crap, my Light and Shadow course has been showcased on the official Mario Maker website.

http://supermariomaker.nintendo.com/play/

Very cool! Congrats!

 

[cloudyboy]

I went ahead and uploaded a video of this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwcz-V3D6co

Pretty weird stuff. Now if only I could come up with some non-trolly ways to use it.

Very cool glitch, I do hope that nintendo make use of thsi glitch and not patch it, it is quite interesting.

 

[Simbabbad]

Very cool glitch, I do hope that nintendo make use of thsi glitch and not patch it, it is quite interesting.

I really don't see one single good thing that may come from it. The door on spikes wasn't too bad, this is just terrible.

 

[UncleSporky]

I went ahead and uploaded a video of this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwcz-V3D6co

Pretty weird stuff. Now if only I could come up with some non-trolly ways to use it.

Thanks a lot for making a video of this, excellent demonstration!

Great to have a permanent record of it for whenever it gets patched out.

I really don't see one single good thing that may come from it. The door on spikes wasn't too bad, this is just terrible.

I dunno, I thought I used it in a pretty decent way. It can be used for nasty stuff, but I love the solid-looking blocks that are actually coins when you hit a P-switch. I think the potential for abuse is too great to leave it unpatched, but there's some potential for benign fun if the creator is willing to be fair.

 

[Simbabbad]

I dunno, I thought I used it in a pretty decent way.

I wasn't targeting you, I love what you do and you said yourself "if only I could come up with some non-trolly ways to use it". The online levels are already messy enough, we don't need established visual clues to be completely wrong. I hope they at least patch the way to create such stuff, even if the already created levels using it are left as they are.

 

[UncleSporky]

Oh I know, I didn't take offense or anything, I was just disputing the "one single good thing." There are few fun possibilities but they all depend on the creator playing fair, which is why it still should be patched out, it's too easily abused.

 

[Model 500]

Finished Planet 1-6 of my Super Mario Planets series ! Took me a while to get right!
In this level, Mario jumps from bubbles of thougths to bubbles of thoughts. The thoughts of a smiling mountain? Flying fishes on rails? What's going on!?

Code: 3F6C-0000-0092-9BA3

Hello my nemesis, played your level and recorded it for feedback, here's the video:

https://youtu.be/qOI7MgMegVw

 

[Draggyrider]

also if you want to play a level i actually put some thought into it would be these 2

The Mario Trials (B908-0000-0085-67F4)

Up Goes Down (24E6-0000-0072-92FD)

Having not really played the new SMB series much, I think I'm missing a lot of new mechanics.

The Mario Trials: Got stuck after the first wall jump. Can't seem to get high enough

Up Goes Down: I liked this level a lot, but it really needs a checkpoint system since its fairly long and you probably will die once or twice to figure out the layout of the level. To make it easier on the player, I would suggest instead of falling to death, have ground underneath with a wall blocking progress. Then have a door back to the start of the section. Perhaps even a a pipe with mushrooms if needed. Still its an awesome mechanic!

 

[KeRaSh]

Thread is moving pretty slowly so I'll just post my levels in case someone hasn't played them, yet:

http://www.mariomakerhub.com/makers/KeRaSh

Remember that my level Mario 101 is part of the current group of contest entries. I'd love some feedback.

There's a quick tutorial at the start disguised as different rooms of a house. If you die you have to go through the house / tutorial again and hopefully figure out what your problem was.

 

[RowdyReverb]

Holy crap, my Light and Shadow course has been showcased on the official Mario Maker website.

http://supermariomaker.nintendo.com/play/

Well deserved. Congrats

 

[El Pescado]

Just finished up my complete World 6. Only two more worlds to go and I'll have made a full 8 World Mario game done in true Nintendo style with increasing difficulty and no stupid enemy overload or Kaizo stuff.

Here's the code for Pesca 6-1:

B73E-0000-0093-C8CF

 

[Sephzilla]

Just finished up my complete World 6. Only two more worlds to go and I'll have made a full 8 World Mario game done in true Nintendo style with increasing difficulty and no stupid enemy overload or Kaizo stuff.

Here's the code for Pesca 6-1:

B73E-0000-0093-C8CF

Cant wait to play it. Your levels all feel legit as hell.

 

[vikki]

Thanks again.

I really just don't want anyone to die, but don't think that area would work without pits. (As there's no reason to attempt to jump then and there then)

I have changed the location of the two hidden item boxes, so they are right above the pipe so hopefully hard to miss. I agree and didn't want to put any arrow anywhere.

I'm glad you liked the level.

Here's the updated version.
It's my 9th course and I'm at 48 stars, hopefully I'll cross 50 today! (This is not me asking for pity stars, just expressing happiness.)



edit: I was planning on looking up your levels now, but as I erased and reuploaded, your name is no longer there! If you try again I'll be sure to check out your levels.

I did play the level last night. Had to restart once because I almost ran out of time. I fell in the pit again because I hit a hidden block, I though I had hit them all, then I beat the stage. I found a flaw, nothing that big, but i'll pm you just in case you dont feel like fixing it. Still fun to play and I really like the incorporation of the star for jumps.

 

[Putosaure]

Hey GAF, why don't you try my new level packed with bouncy bootsy action ?

Sweaty Boots

(8A09-0000-0091-22B3)

 

[Pinky]

Pinky - Mario Enters The Kingdom
Felt unique and creative, some elements were slightly more advanced than I'd expect to see in a 1-1.

Pinky - Cool concept and design, and some satisfying secrets. However, the second half spends too much time over bottomless pits with trickier jumps for a 1-1, in my view.

Thank you for your input!

 

[SmiteOfHand]

My favorite levels from the last few pages:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=180406446#post180406446

Took me a while, but I made it. Really well designed. And hard! But if you see the pattern of the movement, it's possible.
It's a bit long for my taste, almost gave it up. Could have been two less exhausting levels, but such a level is also nice once in a while.

Spoiler

You heartless sadist. ;-)

So far no one else has beaten it, so I challenge you guys and girls. Try it.

You are still the only person to beat it. Congrats and respect.

The Patience Room

(1C20-0000-0086-24B8)

The nice thing is that it can be challenging without being too frustrating without a checkpoint since the level is very short.

This looks like my sort of jam. Will check out later.


I think people are knee-jerk reacting to the extremely difficult levels, for totally understandable reasons. I mean there is a whole lot of bullshit out there and the hidden block above a pit joke was played out long before Mario Maker came along. Also if that is not what you come to platformers for than of course you will skip immediately.

It would be cool if we collected a playlist of levels that are designed intentionally difficult for people looking for that sort of thing, but also doing their best to not fill it with a bunch of unfair bullshit. Splitting out to its own "Super Hard Levels" thread seems like a bit much, but maybe a collected Google doc or something?

 

[V-Faction]

In true Souls fashion pyromancy is OP and it isn't as hard as people expect going in! There was one part where it seemed impossible to not take damage as I crouch-jumped under some spikes, so that felt like BS. Not sure if that was intended or if I cheesed my way through (which, let's be honest, I did in Dark Souls as well).

I'm glad you liked it. Like any Souls game, don't feel bad for taking those advantages. Each path is meant to be a choice, even if choosing whether to be Small Mario or Super Mario.

An earlier version had Mushrooms instead of Fire Flowers for the Bonfires. Plenty of Mario levels are already Dark Souls-esque in difficulty, which is not what I wanted for this theme.

 

[AtomicShroom]

I'm sure this has been brought up by now (and I won't be assed to go over 294 entire pages to find out, sorry), but the one thing that's sticking up like a sore thumb about the game to me is the uselessness of 1ups, coins, and coin blocks. Since you have infinite lives, those items are pointless. There's no urgency or desire to collect coins or 1up shrooms. They're there for show and nothing else. Coin blocks are only there for one purpose: wasting your time. The second I hit a block and realize it's a coin block, I just move on. It annoys me more than anything. Whenever I come across a bonus room filled with coins, I'm like "eh... whatever.". Bonus rooms of coins and 1ups are not bonus rooms anymore. There's nothing to gain from them. I find that rather disappointing. I guess there's a use if you're playing the 100-mario challenge.. but what are the odds of your level being picked in the randomness?

I guess this would go hand in hand with my other biggest gripe, which is the inability to setup a world or an adventure with your levels and a set number of lives, which would make those items feel relevant. It's quite a shame...

 

[KooopaKid]

Hello my nemesis, played your level and recorded it for feedback, here's the video:

https://youtu.be/qOI7MgMegVw

Thank you so much for playing my game!
Your death at the beginning where mainly because you were a bit reckless and wanted to explore so I can't really fix that
The 5 hidden 1-Ups in all my levels probably can't be found on a single playthough but I you search a little the clues are there.
Nice save BTW when you jumped back on the fishes!
You didn't starred it you monster!

 

[Jocchan]

Levels designed around some sort of duality are usually cool, yours included. For the final Dry Bones encounter I left the POW block alone and allowed it to cordon off most of the enemies on the left side, so I only ended up having to manage 2 or 3 of them on the right side. Probably not your intention there?

Such an obvious exploit, can't believe I didn't think of that. Will be fixed ASAP. Thanks!

Holy crap, my Light and Shadow course has been showcased on the official Mario Maker website.

http://supermariomaker.nintendo.com/play/

Congrats! It's a cool level, and one of the inspirations for my latest one.

 

[correojon]

First of all I wrote these reviews from some short notes I took. Also English is not my mother language, so if anything comes out as harsh please excuse me and take this into consideration as it´s in no way mi intention. The order is just the order in which I played the levels:

• Mushroom Kingdom Stroll: Nice 1-1, although maybe there are too many different elements and none of them are developed.
  
• Hello world!: The level is too empty, apart from the first enemies the rest is just a boring looooong straight walk to the goal, which isn´t even visible.
  
• Welcome to Super Mario 3!: Good, has some powerups and secrets, simple layout, well positioned enemies...It´s a correct level, no flaws but also nothing shines specially.
  
• Back to Basics: Has powerups, secrets, friendly layout, good enemy variety and positioning...Another correct level, but again, nothing shines specially.
  
• World 1-1 Mushroom Hills: Good enemy variety and positioning, powerups are present but nothing is developed around them. The level layout is interesting and there are some nice sections. Coins are used well for guidance, I specially liked the moment when coins guide you to make a jump to land on a Goomba. Maybe a bit too simple and short, but it´s a good level.+
  
• 1st Level of Konami´s 16´s Mario: Not a 1-1, I even double checked to see if this level was really in the contest...It´s not a bad level, but it doesn´t comply with the contest requirements.
  
• Beginner´s Backyard: Nice! Different routes that invite exploration, good enemy selection and positioning, very good layout...Only complaint is that there are bottomless pits right next to where you get the star. As the star invites you to run like crazy I almost fell into the pits, that part felt a bit trolling. Anyway, very good 1-1.++
  
• Mushroom World 1-1 (Lost Levels): Nice 1-1, good enemy variety, different powerups, secrets...however the powerups are not developed, for example you get the star almost at the end with not enough enemies for it to be of any real use. Also, there were some bottomless pits.
  
• Koopa Island 1-1: Very good, but some parts felt a bit too advanced for a 1-1, while at the same time guiding the player excesively with arrows when coins would´ve been a much elegant solution. Anyway nice level, good enemy selection and placement, lots of focus on exploration, secrets...Very nice.++
  
• Yet Another Alternate 1-1: Very nice 1-1, powerups, secrets, nice enemy selection and positioning, good coin guidance, nice powerup usage, There are some bottomless pits, but they are small and well located.+++
  
• Super Mario 2D World 1-1: Very good enemy placement and selection, nice secrets and nice coin guidance. However the level felt too short and didn´t encourage exploration, strengthened special by a point of no return. ++
  
• Kubrick the Koopa´s Hideout: Didn´t feel like a 1-1. Many bottomless pits, few powerups, too linear and a final boss. Not a bad level, but not fit for a 1-1.
  
• Mushroom Kingdom C137: Good coin guidance, some exploration, nice enemy selection and placement, powerups...Getting the feather allows you to skip almost half the level by flying. A good 1-1.+
  
• A Very Mario 3 Time: Good enemy selection, placement not as much. The first Koopa made me miss the Mushroom so without it there were many things I couldn´t do in the level. The racoon feather block was activated by a shell thrown from far away, so if you don´t start running immediately after you throw it the powerup will go offscreen. In the end I had to get through all the level as small Mario and missed many things, felt like I was being punished for poor deisgn decissions. Good level layout, but felt somewhat unfair.
  
• 1-1 "Mind your business above!": Nice layout, good enemy selection and placement, secrets...The underground part felt a bit too much for a 1-1. Nice level.+
  
• Peaceful Plains: Nice 1-1, good layout, secrets, nice enemy selection and placement...Good 1-1.+
  
• 1-1 Pleasant Fields: Nice layout, enemy selection and placement. Secrets were a bit lacking, like they were thrown as an afterthought. Correct level.+
  
• Mario 101: Great level, awesome twist on a 1-1, introducing the basics one at a time in safe environments and very nicely themed, then asking you to use them in the "real" level. Also, cool secrets. Minor complaint: the winged Koopa coming down the stairs may be a bit too much for a 1-1, but it´s just a minor complaint. +++

Good luck to all contestants!


If you feel like it, please try one of my levels....if you didn´t like my critic you can always throw me back some angry words XD:

Return to Dinosaur Land 1: Start!
23E8-0000-0090-5B83

Years have passed since Mario put a stop to Bowser´s plans in Super Mario World. The peaceful inhabitants could finally go back to enjoying their calm lives and all the past perils were starting to be forgotten.
But once again, Bowser´s minions have returned. They have setup a network of facilities to help them retake the land and maintain it under Bowser´s iron grip. This time, they are ready.
Go Mario! Save the World once again! Return to Dinosaur Land!

This is a simple level and the beginning of the series: "Return to Dinosaur Land". It´s a simple 1-1 revolving loosely around the spiked helmet. For this level I tried to follow the classic approach of 3 heights, where the lower path is easy and safe, the medium is more challenging and the higher one is more dangerous but hides the best rewards.

RtDL2: Feather Beach & Flower Sea
8339-0000-0098-CB7E

Things have changed a lot since Mario last visited Yoshi´s Island. Using some kind of fantabolous plot device with no scientific base, Bowser has managed to manipulate the climate in this location. However, this has caused some weather instabilities in the zone, causing the water to freeze at one moment and melt at the next...
Mario must find a way to stop Global Warming and save Dinosaur Land!

This level plays with 2 mirror worlds: in one the water has turned into ice and Mario must use the Feather to advance. In the other, the ice has melted and Mario must swim and use the Flower to deal with underwater enemies. It´s very hard to die in this level, but getting to the exit is not easy: The whole level is a big puzzle and Mario must switch between both worlds and powerups to advance, as some things behave differently in any of them:

• Ice melts and becomes water
• Goombas become Cheep Cheeps
• Spikes become Urchins and float
• Feather becomes Flower

Mario himself will walk when in the beach and swim when in the sea, which affects directly how he interacts with certain elements. For example, Mario can´t spin jump when swimming so he can´t break Yellow Blocks from above.
Hope you guys like it, I think it´s not a very long level but it will leave you scratching your head a couple of times.
Both worlds are mirrored completely up to the background aesthetic details. Also, there is a cool system that provides hints about secrets which I´ve named "hiding in plain sight". Let´s see if you can find all the hidden 1-Ups!

Please, play and comment!

 

[UncleSporky]

I'm sure this has been brought up by now (and I won't be assed to go over 294 entire pages to find out, sorry), but the one thing that's sticking up like a sore thumb about the game to me is the uselessness of 1ups, coins, and coin blocks. Since you have infinite lives, those items are pointless. There's no urgency or desire to collect coins or 1up shrooms. They're there for show and nothing else. Coin blocks are only there for one purpose: wasting your time. The second I hit a block and realize it's a coin block, I just move on. It annoys me more than anything. Whenever I come across a bonus room filled with coins, I'm like "eh... whatever.". Bonus rooms of coins and 1ups are not bonus rooms anymore. There's nothing to gain from them. I find that rather disappointing. I guess there's a use if you're playing the 100-mario challenge.. but what are the odds of your level being picked in the randomness?

I guess this would go hand in hand with my other biggest gripe, which is the inability to setup a world or an adventure with your levels and a set number of lives, which would make those items feel relevant. It's quite a shame...

As a creator, the best reward you can give a player for exploration is an invincibility star!

Everyone just uses them as necessities like, "oh here's this room full of enemies you would never be able to get past, you need this star." That's so boring and predictable. Nintendo nearly always gave them out as rewards for exploration.

It adds a great moment of tension, but positive tension, like "oh shiiit I gotta make good use of this!" as the player freaks out to get past as many enemies as possible. It's a great feeling.

It seems like a lot of people don't like using them because they're worried their level will be trivialized, but this doesn't have to be a problem. The best way to hand them out is to put them in a small room after using a pipe, so the player has to make their way back to the level to make use of them, shaving off some of that invincibility period.

 

[SmiteOfHand]

I'm sure this has been brought up by now (and I won't be assed to go over 294 entire pages to find out, sorry), but the one thing that's sticking up like a sore thumb about the game to me is the uselessness of 1ups, coins, and coin blocks. Since you have infinite lives, those items are pointless. There's no urgency or desire to collect coins or 1up shrooms. They're there for show and nothing else. Coin blocks are only there for one purpose: wasting your time. The second I hit a block and realize it's a coin block, I just move on. It annoys me more than anything. Whenever I come across a bonus room filled with coins, I'm like "eh... whatever.". Bonus rooms of coins and 1ups are not bonus rooms anymore. There's nothing to gain from them. I find that rather disappointing. I guess there's a use if you're playing the 100-mario challenge.. but what are the odds of your level being picked in the randomness?

I guess this would go hand in hand with my other biggest gripe, which is the inability to setup a world or an adventure with your levels and a set number of lives, which would make those items feel relevant. It's quite a shame...

They are useful for levels designed for score. Which I admit is not much of a thing in the community but it is a valid design approach.

 

[jarosh]

I played this yesterday, unfortunately it was late so I could only give it a try. I´ll definitely be completing it today though. This level has the best theming I´ve seen yet. It´s very clever how it tells the story and the twist was awesome. I went from "this is nice" to

Spoiler

"OMG what happened you blocked the exit"

to

Spoiler

"A cemetery? That big tomb...this is GREAT!!!"

.
AMAZING level.

Nice job creating atmosphere and tension in building up to a climactic encounter. The hardest part was not allowing myself to be distracted or startled by the coins being shot out. The concept made me chuckle.

Thanks guys!

Now that I'm done with another level (and yet another massive time investment) I finally have time to start playing a ton of gaffer levels I've been bookmarking.

 

[KooopaKid]

This level plays with 2 mirror worlds: in one the water has turned into ice and Mario must use the Feather to advance. In the other, the ice has melted and Mario must swim and use the Flower to deal with underwater enemies. It´s very hard to die in this level, but getting to the exit is not easy: The whole level is a big puzzle and Mario must switch between both worlds and powerups to advance, as some things behave differently in any of them:

• Ice melts and becomes water
• Goombas become Cheep Cheeps
• Spikes become Urchins and float
• Feather becomes Flower

Mario himself will walk when in the beach and swim when in the sea, which affects directly how he interacts with certain elements. For example, Mario can´t spin jump when swimming so he can´t break Yellow Blocks from above.
Hope you guys like it, I think it´s not a very long level but it will leave you scratching your head a couple of times.
Both worlds are mirrored completely up to the background aesthetic details. Also, there is a cool system that provides hints about secrets which I´ve named "hiding in plain sight". Let´s see if you can find all the hidden 1-Ups!

Please, play and comment!

What a clever and well-though out level! I think it's one of the best I've played about switching dimensions in SMM, the other being the Quantic Factory from you and the other a level called Super Mario Galaxy 3. Usually levels playing with dimensions in SMM are purely cosmetic, not so much here! Good job! Starred!

 

[chrixter]

I'm sure this has been brought up by now (and I won't be assed to go over 294 entire pages to find out, sorry), but the one thing that's sticking up like a sore thumb about the game to me is the uselessness of 1ups, coins, and coin blocks. Since you have infinite lives, those items are pointless. There's no urgency or desire to collect coins or 1up shrooms. They're there for show and nothing else. Coin blocks are only there for one purpose: wasting your time. The second I hit a block and realize it's a coin block, I just move on. It annoys me more than anything. Whenever I come across a bonus room filled with coins, I'm like "eh... whatever.". Bonus rooms of coins and 1ups are not bonus rooms anymore. There's nothing to gain from them. I find that rather disappointing. I guess there's a use if you're playing the 100-mario challenge.. but what are the odds of your level being picked in the randomness?

Agreed on 1-Ups. At least include a power-up as a reward for exploration.

Coin blocks have their uses in certain cases. I can see why someone might want to have an easy section with some coin blocks to hit just to give the player a breather in between tougher sections or something. There's still a certain satisfaction for me in jumping into those blocks and seeing a coin pop out along with the classic sound effect. But I skip blocks with multiple coins, and where it becomes obnoxious is when there are zillions of coin blocks on screen for no good reason.

Coin themselves can be vital. When smartly placed they can help guide players or indicate alternate paths and such. I know you're talking about bonus coins and stuff though.

 

[rawk]

I'm working on a new level that takes place inside a series of Jack-O-Lanterns. Should be done soon.

Man, I love the miiverse integration in this game. Seeing the little cartoons people draw in my levels makes me happy.

 

[(mat)]

Not a lot of people know what my Bob-omb Shooting Gallery courses are about, so I made a short gif using footage from Naar's stream (thanks, Naar!) to give you an idea of what you're in for.

Shoot through the holes at bob-ombs, in order to set off chain reactions and move through the course! This is a gif from Bob-omb Shooting Gallery 2: D0E8-0000-0054-F4A2

Give it a shot, and enjoy!

 

[Jeeves]

Shoot through the holes at bob-ombs, in order to set off chain reactions and move through the course! This is a gif from Bob-omb Shooting Gallery 2: D0E8-0000-0054-F4A2

That was really clever and it taught me some useful stuff I didn't know about bombs and p-switches. Very glad I played!

 

[Model 500]

Thank you so much for playing my game!
Your death at the beginning where mainly because you were a bit reckless and wanted to explore so I can't really fix that

That is my style for sure If you wanted though, you could make sure the player knows for sure whether to scan upper or lower parts of the level without missing a pipe, etc. Although, the nature of the level becomes pretty clear after the first miss, just my style of approaching most levels. Nothing in the design was an issue for me, keep the levels coming

The 5 hidden 1-Ups in all my levels probably can't be found on a single playthough but I you search a little the clues are there.

Give me fire flowers or stars and I'll search for them, 1UP's, well, I'd rather jump down a cliff

You didn't starred it you monster!

Some day it will happen

 

[AtomicShroom]

Coin themselves can be vital. When smartly placed they can help guide players or indicate alternate paths and such. I know you're talking about bonus coins and stuff though.

Yes, they can be vital as path indicators. But they're not vital as coins. Like, when they're there just to be collected, I really don't feel inclined to make any particular effort to go grab them.

 

[Schlomo]

I'd love to get some feedback for my latest level (and the other ones too if you feel like it...):

MARIOWOOD
(9571-0000-008F-EE78)

After a series of commercial flops, our washed-up hero travels to the huge sign once erected in his honor, which has now fallen into disrepair. Will this be his last journey? Is there no more room for old school heroes in this world?

RtDL2: Feather Beach & Flower Sea
C35B-0000-0092-A9DD

Took me a moment to get what's going on, but it's a pretty clever layout! I was stumped for a while where to go with the switch but figured it out. Fun level overall.

Finished Planet 1-6 of my Super Mario Planets series ! Took me a while to get right!

Code: 3F6C-0000-0092-9BA3

Cute little level! Rather easy, but fun just to jump around in. It also made me want to use cloud platforms in a level just like you did!

Sabotage the Mole Fleet!
7980-0000-0093-0DD0

This was my favorite level out of the ones I played today! Excellent theme and execution, perfect difficulty. It feels great to see parts of the ships fall down, and the finale is the best!

I also played your Goomba who sold the World level but didn't really get it...