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Super Mario Maker |OT| Miyamoto Simulator 2015

I don't think I've ever seen a Japanese person design a level that wasn't terrible. I'm still missing about 30 Amiibo costumes, but I don't think I have the patience to unlock the rest.
skeptical.gif
 
Propeller Podoboo's Pursuit (2927-0000-0094-F261)
WVW69idekFwjRXHpDz


Running low on the creative juices but I managed to put this autoscroller together last night which I think has the right balance of difficulty, didn't want to make it too tough because no one likes replaying autoscrollers.
And yes you should take the time to try and push the pursuing clown car back with jumps in case you didn't think of it.

Great idea! The stage is indeed well balanced, challenging but fair. It took me a few tries but I beat it! Stared!

I have a new clown stage:

Clown Attics
Mario finds an old clown in his attic and takes it for a spin. Short and fun level with a little bit of Clown Antics.

ID: 36BD-0000-0096-84C9

WVW69idl1_8aWzloCr

I love the setting : clown and ghost house is a great combo. I beat it first try, I had no idea what I was doing. Enjoyed it though!.

so the other day i was supposed to stream some levels from you guys but mid stream it cut off because my computer decided it wanted to install windows 10 while i streamed lol.

thankfully there was only a few levels left and will finish them in about 90 min from now.

i will also take new submissions as well

the stream link is http://www.twitch.tv/naar82

the submission link is https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GF9h_iHp9GUy2W0Ceh_Z1nFGe-NbgWvUrnXRpBenVbQ/viewform

again i will start 90 min from the time of this post
the queue is https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ReI1dlLyhEHiFXdhN4YDgeinGltMT11VOhQUVXKMcI8/edit?pli=1#gid=1286774421

the last level i finished before stream died was uncover the flag. i will start from the stage after that :)

I submited my new version of

MARIO IN THE SKY WITH BOB-OMBS
WVW69idmBAQcKIneei

C935-0000-0096-8F87

Thanks to those who took time to play it and gave me feedback, I tweaked it to correct the mistakes you pointed and I think it is more fun now.
 
Thanks, which route did you take?

Gonna try your stage with that Beatles reference :p.

I took the far left dor in the clown car room. I was holding the pow and then released when I saw all the shit that was awaiting me, then made a leap of faith and that was done. lol
 
Gotta say, not getting my levels played because I don't have accompanying pictures is really demoralizing :/

Do you play other people's stages and give feedback? That's generally the best way to get people to play yours.

Also have you submitted your levels to the livestreamers that show off levels here?

I mean, try those or post pictures of your levels?
 

Thud

Member
I took the far left dor in the clown car room. I was holding the pow and then released when I saw all the shit that was awaiting me, then made a leap of faith and that was done. lol

Yeah I think I made the secret door (boo route) a bit too easy lol. The bomb route is a bit more satisfying. Either you save a yoshi or you live long enough to see him die.

:)

Starred your course. I like the vine climbing parts! The clown part is a bit tricky with the spikes. Maybe you could give a helmet instead of a fire flower there.
 

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
Here's a quicky from me for today!
Basic Bullets
WVW69idmyNoBrq9AjN

5BE8-0000-0096-BF49

Nothing too fancy, just what I hope is a solid Mario 1 style level. Love to hear any feedback!
 

Oidisco

Member
It's weird, my most popular level by far is one that I didn't even share on Neogaf, didn't post on Twitter or ask any streamers to play it.
 

NetMapel

Guilty White Male Mods Gave Me This Tag
Do you play other people's stages and give feedback? That's generally the best way to get people to play yours.

Also have you submitted your levels to the livestreamers that show off levels here?

I mean, try those or post pictures of your levels?

Challenge you to try to lose in my latest level, Yoshi Please ! ;) I trolled many GAFers last night with it :D
 
Gotta say, not getting my levels played because I don't have accompanying pictures is really demoralizing :/


It's not hard to use the Miiverse image.

You have a page like this. Just replace my name with your Miiverse name (your Nintendo Network ID). https://miiverse.nintendo.net/users/Oni_Link/posts

See those images by my levels posts? On PC, click "view image" on Firefox, "Copy image URL" or "Open image in new tab" on Chrome, or something like that in whatever browser. Now you have the address of that image in your address bar. It looks something like this. https://d3esbfg30x759i.cloudfront.net/ss/WVW69idlE2MDTeeyBn What you want to do it copy the address of that image and paste it in your post using the image codes.

Code:
 [img] address goes here with no spaces [/img]

WVW69idlE2MDTeeyBn



Or you can also use the "insert image" button on the GAF reply screen and paste the image address there. Hope that helps.
 

ohNOitsRO

Member
Do you play other people's stages and give feedback? That's generally the best way to get people to play yours.

Also have you submitted your levels to the livestreamers that show off levels here?

I mean, try those or post pictures of your levels?

I don't give feedback on GAF because whenever I do play I use my phone to search for levels, and multi quoting is very annoying on the phone, but I always leave comments in miiverse which I prefer anyways..

And I've given my level to two streamers here, in which one played my stage for like 30 seconds so I don't really count that... I'm always late to submit levels to streamers here lol

People have the nicest pictures I feel like the stock ones don't cut it
 

NetMapel

Guilty White Male Mods Gave Me This Tag
I don't give feedback on GAF because whenever I do play I use my phone to search for levels, and multi quoting is very annoying on the phone, but I always leave comments in miiverse which I prefer anyways..

And I've given my level to two streamers here, in which one played my stage for like 30 seconds so I don't really count that... I'm always late to submit levels to streamers here lol

People have the nicest pictures I feel like the stock ones don't cut it

I've played your Game and Watch series on stream :D I hope I've shown enough respect for your levels because they're really quite cute. I'm just not good enough to complete them on stream so I apologize :( Did you see me play your third one ?

Also, I agree with timetokill there. The best way to get feedback is to give feedback, especially on NeoGAF. I don't know if your Miiverse name is the same name here. So people might not know you're the one leaving the comments on their stage ! I do love people leaving comments on my stage via Miiverse though. I "Yeah" them all :D I'm lucky because I'm streaming anyways so I just love getting some NeoGAF stages and play them on stream so everybody can enjoy.
 

CrisKre

Member
I made a new level.

Could probably pass for an early Halloween level.


i43Dkgp.png

Trully amazing level and some of the best I played on SMM bar none. I love the fact that it feels unique even in Mario parameters, and the theme is so well excecuted it doesn´t seem to be compromised by SMM being an editing tool of excisting assets. Fantastic work mate!

I will play some more of you guy´s levels as soon as I get home later tonight.
 

ohNOitsRO

Member
I've played your Game and Watch series on stream :D I hope I've shown enough respect for your levels because they're really quite cute. I'm just not good enough to complete them on stream so I apologize :( Did you see me play your third one ?

You are actually the only streamer so play my levels :p I really appreciated it and you did them great justice! And yes I saw the archived stream after I couldn't catch it live :( I need to retweak them
 

Thud

Member
I don't give feedback on GAF because whenever I do play I use my phone to search for levels, and multi quoting is very annoying on the phone, but I always leave comments in miiverse which I prefer anyways..

And I've given my level to two streamers here, in which one played my stage for like 30 seconds so I don't really count that... I'm always late to submit levels to streamers here lol

People have the nicest pictures I feel like the stock ones don't cut it

I played those levels. Why don't you make a new G&W stage?

If you want a cool picture save it on a cool design like the Octopus form or something like that :)
 
Challenge you to try to lose in my latest level, Yoshi Please ! ;) I trolled many GAFers last night with it :D

I'll try it again later, but I just tried like 20 times and couldn't figure it out XD


I don't give feedback on GAF because whenever I do play I use my phone to search for levels, and multi quoting is very annoying on the phone, but I always leave comments in miiverse which I prefer anyways..

And I've given my level to two streamers here, in which one played my stage for like 30 seconds so I don't really count that... I'm always late to submit levels to streamers here lol

People have the nicest pictures I feel like the stock ones don't cut it

Give feedback on GAF. I know it's annoying on phone, so do it on PC or something.

Miiverse comments have the following problems:
- They have a strict character limit
- Unless your Mii name matches your GAF name, nobody knows it's you.

Ultimately you have to do some work to get people to notice your levels. There is a glut of levels to play, and supply outstrips demand, so you have to do something to stand out, and you need to make it easy on people who are looking for levels to play.

I know a lot of people use GAF to find levels, and if somebody plays one of mine I make sure to play one of theirs if I can make the connection.

Also, I'm a livestreamer so I tend to play a LOT more levels than I create. I actually only release like one level a week. But it also means I don't have a ton of time to scour the thread for levels, so I only play the ones that belong to people that commented on my levels, ones that catch my eye (generally with good pictures) or are submitted to me for the stream. Unfortunately that means simply posting a code in this thread isn't likely to grab my attention.

It's just how it is. You have to either play the game or accept a lower play rate. I don't even have a ton of people play my levels! It is what it is.
 
People have the nicest pictures I feel like the stock ones don't cut it

Press the home button, go to the internet, navigate to i.nintendo.net, choose a service there like facebook or tumblr, log in, upload a screenshot of whatever is currently on your screen, post online. Nice hi-res good quality stuff.
 
I wish there was a way to find out which Challenge level your stage has been selected for.

I would play some easy, normal, and expert challenge runs...after doing them, look through your recently played list, and record all the completion percentages to get a general idea of what percentage is which difficulty, then look at what your own completion percentage is.

I have a feeling before there is sufficient data, all levels go into normal.
 
Hi guys! I <3 this game! I have to keep deleting levels to upload more, lol. Here are the ones i have uploaded sans the last one, which I haven't screenshotted yet.

I made this first one while waiting to get all the assets.
Still waiting on all the assets.
I actually sketched this out in out in excel before the game came out and worked on it and uploaded it in different stages until I got all the assets. This is the 3rd pass at it.
This is the final version of the planned out level with all the doors and pipes, etc.
I don't know what I was going for here. I think I just wanted to write words in coins, lol.
I had an idea with this one... I forget what it was. It took me a while to beat it to upload. It's not even hard. I'm impatient. (That and those damn Magikoopas pop up in unexpected places.)
This was supposed to be something else.. I forget what tho. lol.
I'm not sure why this one doesnt have more clears. There are no enemies... just coins. But ok.
Eh.. this one is alright. The one comment said it was the best level they ever played...
I think they have low standards.
You play mine and I'll play yours...
Unless its one of those annoying self playing levels.
 

.J.

Banned
Forgive my ignorance, guys, but how do you screen shot from the Wii U? Bonus question: How does one manipulate the game's screen shot system to take a good one for sharing?
 
R

Rösti

Unconfirmed Member
The quality of screenshots from in-game posts sure is something else. Here's a portion of my latest course anyway:

blockolandzcsc4.png


Blockoland

ID: FB10-0000-0096-9DDB
Length: Medium/Long
Difficulty: High

This course doesn't feature too many enemies and instead you control Mario as he travels through the course via different blocks (they can be both friend and foe). Three levels - One introductory, one with a bit higher challenge and lastly one ending with Bowser.

It is quite difficult, but there are some alternative paths you can take for a slightly less intimidating challenge. I think it came out well; not as much craziness as in my other courses. Give it a go and let me know what you think.
 

jnWake

Member
Press the home button, go to the internet, navigate to i.nintendo.net, choose a service there like facebook or tumblr, log in, upload a screenshot of whatever is currently on your screen, post online. Nice hi-res good quality stuff.

Even if you're too lazy to do this (like me!), you can save it in the Miiverse album and then get the link of the image in the Miiverse website.

It's so absurdly easy to get screenshots from the Wii U that there's no excuse.
 

Kumubou

Member
Just playing through some of the

HURRY UP MARIO!

- You short on time buddy, better get moving!
- Can you both finish the level on time and with 50 coins??

55D4-0000-0095-A08D


Have fun. I'd love to receive any Gaffer feedback
For a speed-oriented level, the overall path is not easy to figure out on the first couple of playthroughs. Even when going for 50 coins in the time limit, it doesn't seem like it's really optimized to be played fast. That might be intentional? The one-way barrier and the mushroom is a total dick move, though. :p

Hello everybody,

this is my third Day on Gaf.

i would be very happy, if someone would like to Play my Levels, me and my gf made so far.

Cloudy times: E4AD-0000-0058-D435

This one's is an easy one from my better half.

Jr`s backyard fight: AD86-0000-0058-8579

I haven't seen a Level, that is designed like this one.
Not difficult. Hope you like it.
The first level was pretty solid, felt deceptively open although it runs into the issue a lot of airship levels do where the bottom/top get cut off due to the movement.

For the second level, I didn't like how tight the area with the bom-ombs was... and I didn't get to finish the level as this level also manged to hard lock my Wii U! Ended up running past the three Bowser Jrs. at one point, grabbed a P switch to turn some coins into blocks and and ka-chunk. Weird. D:


I made a new level. (41DB-0000-0092-8628)

Could probably pass for an early Halloween level.
Everyone has been signing the praises of this level, and I can see why. I was not expecting the last part, as it fits with the level so well while providing a legit challenge. Everyone really should play it.

I am highly impressed with those of you who are actually able to let the timer run out and lose properly.

I just updated it again for higher challenges >:O

ECBD-0000-0095-B25C

Actually, it would be hilarious if we make this level have a super low clear rate and have this appear in Expert 100 Mario challenges hahaha
I have to admit, I don't get this level, at all. Even trying to intentionally lose is annoying, since you can't quickly replay a level you finish. Jerk. :p

I've finally finished my first level!

Cloudrush Castle
5F9F-0000-0095-B6F3


It's designed entirely around riding Lakitu's Cloud (but Lakitu himself does not appear) and taking advantage of its small size, fast speed and high maneuverability. Challenging but not hard was my goal.

It features two boss encounters: a high speed chase and an aerial firefight. Desperately looking for feedback on these, especially the first - I have the layout memorized so I have no idea if that section is reasonable for first-timers. I hope they're fun!

I actually liked this level a lot, although I think it would have worked better as a SMB1 level so you could have used the Mystery Mushroom as a power-up so you can keep the one block hitbox while still being powered up. Being powered up felt nearly useless since it made you so much easier to hit.

The first boss sequence is great and doable blind thanks to the coin paths, but the second one drags on for too long. It's both too easy as you get a fire flower what, every five seconds and most of the obstacles will never hit you, yet annoying since you can't hit Bowser half the time. I also managed to run out of pre-placed clouds in the boss room -- thankfully, you put a pipe in there spawning more clouds.

I also suspect this level is too difficult for most people -- apparently I was the first person to finish it (in about 40 attempts)?
 
R

Rösti

Unconfirmed Member
5 and 6 posts up from your posts, respectively... :p
I'm aware of how you take high quality screenshots, I was just too tired to fiddle around with Facebook/Twitter etc. The shot I posted was generated automatically, so I went with that.
 

Thud

Member
Forgive my ignorance, guys, but how do you screen shot from the Wii U? Bonus question: How does one manipulate the game's screen shot system to take a good one for sharing?

A few posts above have that covered. You can also use the save option to look at the preview your level will have. I actually use it to see where it centers.
 

ciD_Vain

Member
Rösti;181109122 said:
I'm aware of how you take high quality screenshots, I was just too tired to fiddle around with Facebook/Twitter etc. The shot I posted was generated automatically, so I went with that.
The screen that gets used is wherever you are on your level when you press Upload.
 

Ranger X

Member
Easier With Mushroom 01(ver.3)
find and preserve the mushroom to make the end of the level easier.
(CDBD-0000-0054-89A7)

WVW69iZ5qJgjM-Oioa



Easier With Mushroom 02(ver.3)
finish the level with the mushroom or the red shell...
(AD5E-0000-0054-9394)

WVW69iZ5ww8qIYBt1p



Easier With Mushroom 03
Preserve the mushroom so the end level is easier. Try to also finish with 40 coins!
(5C69-0000-004E-96F4)

WVW69iZqU5oEwEhvTj



Easier With Mushroom 04(ver.3)
Preserve the mushroom to make the end easy. Multiple secrets in this one. Beat Bowser with a Star!
(0E53-0000-0060-0C10)

WVW69iaaVRsd67hAzX



The Great Tower (ver.2)
Have some verticality in your life!
(7371-0000-008F-2632)

WVW69idEHRwgmkrsZM



Lava Mushroom Bridge (ver.2)
Classic Mario level. It can also be completed by running without braking if you're a good player.
(9A92-0000-0091-37A4)

WVW69idNaMIg4o0iS9



Hurry up Mario!
You gotta be fast here because there isn't much time! Once you're becoming good, try to complete with 50 coins!
(55D4-0000-0095-A08D)

WVW69idhp3coAhRNHb



:)
 

NetMapel

Guilty White Male Mods Gave Me This Tag
I have to admit, I don't get this level, at all. Even trying to intentionally lose is annoying, since you can't quickly replay a level you finish. Jerk. :p

Hahaha thanks for trying. It's not really a level at all but more like a joke. I've had friends who are not gamers so they found Mario to be challenging sometimes. They can handle World 1-1 fine and all but I thought it'd be a good joke to make a level that they seriously absolutely cannot lose. I called it "Yoshi Please !" because of the new joke I hear from streamers now playing Mario Maker. Yoshi can sometime do silly things in the game so streamers go "YOSHI PLEASE !" and I thought that was hilarious.

It is actually more challenging than I thought because GAFers here have been able to let the timer run down with their superb Mario skills lol. So this level took me a lot of attempts to create.
 
Bob-Omb's Forest Assault
9AAC-0000-0094-D6F8


tkyRJgA.jpg

I didn't really get a lot of commentary on my last level. If anyone wants to play it and give feedback that would be great.
 

Bydobob

Member
Only managed to play 5 Gaf levels tonight but here goes:

HURRY UP MARIO!

- You short on time buddy, better get moving!
- Can you both finish the level on time and with 50 coins??

55D4-0000-0095-A08D

WVW69idhp3coAhRNHb



Have fun. I'd love to receive any Gaffer feedback

If I'm honest I think this one needs more time in the oven. Other than the time limit there isn't much to do here other than wall jump and avoid the odd spike. If the intention is for it to be a maze, well it's simply not mazy enough. There was an interesting grassy area I got to, but seemed to lead nowhere. If you're going to place a diversion then it should lead to some kind of reward. This area turned out to be far too close to the flag pole though for anyone to bother. I notice in your description that one of the aims is to collect 50 coins, unfortunately Mario Maker doesn't yet show perfect coin runs so there's little motivation for a player to do this.

Hello everybody,

this is my third Day on Gaf.

i would be very happy, if someone would like to Play my Levels, me and my gf made so far.


Jr`s backyard fight: AD86-0000-0058-8579

I haven't seen a Level, that is designed like this one.
Not difficult. Hope you like it.


Would love a review^^

Had to play this one again because I couldn't remember much about it. The problem you've got are a couple of P switches are from question blocks, and if you run everywhere it's quite easy to pick up and throw unintentionally into the abyss, forcing a restart. The second issue is the boss fight. Whilst a neat idea, you've made the level too open so that you can just jump up a few times and exit out of the door. Taking a hit or two in the process isn't a problem either as you've placed 3 fire flowers on the way to the exit! Last of all, I'd question the usefulness of having a section with Bob-ombs to explode spinning blocks beneath you in SMW, as you can just as easily spin jump your way through them.

I've finally finished my first level!

Cloudrush Castle
5F9F-0000-0095-B6F3


k4FX3Sh.jpg


It's designed entirely around riding Lakitu's Cloud (but Lakitu himself does not appear) and taking advantage of its small size, fast speed and high maneuverability. Challenging but not hard was my goal.

It features two boss encounters: a high speed chase and an aerial firefight. Desperately looking for feedback on these, especially the first - I have the layout memorized so I have no idea if that section is reasonable for first-timers. I hope they're fun!

I really enjoyed this level, right through to the panic driven finish. I didn't quite know whether to spin jump my way through the spinning blocks at the end though as big Bowser must've taken about 30 hits before he finally went. I was beginning to think he was indestructible so lost a few lives exiting the cloud. I never knew clouds didn't disappear if they are on rails either, that's useful to know for future!

I made a sequel to my most successful Mario Maker stage (currently over 80 stars).

Big Brain Academy Bros. -2nd Grade-
166C-0000-0095-CDA4
WVW69idicaYsJrzGNF

You've passed the first grade but are you ready for another test? The puzzles are getting harder...

Let me know what you think about this. I will play the final group of contest levels later today.

I was cursing aloud at the obscene trial and error nature of this level - until I realised what those bloody numbers meant! Then I saw the genius and really enjoyed trying to count everything while keeping an eye on my platforming. Great, great idea and well executed.

Propeller Podoboo's Pursuit (2927-0000-0094-F261)
WVW69idekFwjRXHpDz


Running low on the creative juices but I managed to put this autoscroller together last night which I think has the right balance of difficulty, didn't want to make it too tough because no one likes replaying autoscrollers.
And yes you should take the time to try and push the pursuing clown car back with jumps in case you didn't think of it.

The penny dropped a bit late on this one too - wish I'd actually read your post! Again, great idea and awesome fun butting that pesky clown car away. Can see you racking up big numbers with this one and a fair amount of plagiarism!


I've reuploaded my latest level after discovering a slight flaw right near the start of the level. Also made slightly easier. Thanks for the star chrixter but it's now been deleted!

The Hammer Bros' hideaway
B424-0000-009E-873F
 

Hyoukokun

Member
Burn It With Fire

0EA5-0000-007D-F850

The Koopas really, really shouldn't have planted those seeds they found.

WVW69icA8JsyizkF9e


My take on Alien-esque sci fi horror done Super Mario style. The ending may be a bit much, as I see a lot of deaths there; I'd welcome feedback and ideas for improvement. So far I think this has been the best-received of my levels.
 

Brydo0

Neo Member
CQcIKczUAAA8a-T.jpg


A Well-Lit Cave - 28C8-0000-008A-2ACC

Would love some feedback on this level, no one has completed it as of yet (0/58 currently) but it should be manageable :)

Tried to slow down the gameplay so that each area is not turned into a full-on running blitz. Also played with the idea of different pathways and multiple uses for items.

Thank you for checking it out!
 
I have made a new level, the first one didn't seems to really catch on !

I played sewer city. It was good. At first I did not catch on about being small to entee so I just went around in circles. After I figured that out it was pretty simple. I would say you should put an arrow pointing to that small hole as I imagine a lot of people missed it. The other piece of advice I have is to use a pipe to regenerate the star. I didnt make ut down that path the first time. I was stacked with enough power ups for it not to matter but just a thought. Starred
 
CQcIKczUAAA8a-T.jpg


A Well-Lit Cave - 28C8-0000-008A-2ACC

Would love some feedback on this level, no one has completed it as of yet (0/58 currently) but it should be manageable :)

Tried to slow down the gameplay so that each area is not turned into a full-on running blitz. Also played with the idea of different pathways and multiple uses for items.

Thank you for checking it out!

Your idea of manageable and my idea are two very different things :p You ramp up the difficulty really quick without introducing the skills you want the player to learn. I don't think the level is particularly hard but you just ramp up the difficulty in the firebar maze part by adding a RNG magikoopa. I got put into a situation 4 times in the 5 minutes I played where the only outcome was death. People quit mighty fast after stuff like that. I could finish this level with patience but I dont really have it for levels that use RNG to determine if you live or die. First suggestion. Get rid of the magikoopa in that section if you actually want people to complete it.
 

Bydobob

Member
CQcIKczUAAA8a-T.jpg


A Well-Lit Cave - 28C8-0000-008A-2ACC

Would love some feedback on this level, no one has completed it as of yet (0/58 currently) but it should be manageable :)

Tried to slow down the gameplay so that each area is not turned into a full-on running blitz. Also played with the idea of different pathways and multiple uses for items.

Thank you for checking it out!

Well, liking a challenge as I do I gave this a go. It's brutal. Must've lost about 10 lives in the same spot, and that's the bit at the first Thwomp. Your window of opportunity to land the jump requires perfection, and that's not including the Kamek that quickly appears if you hesitate too long. Sorry, but I saw that there was an entire section like this and stopped playing.
 

Jeeves

Member
Bob-Omb's Forest Assault
9AAC-0000-0094-D6F8


tkyRJgA.jpg

I didn't really get a lot of commentary on my last level. If anyone wants to play it and give feedback that would be great.
I liked this quite a bit, the aesthetic is very cohesive and fun. I enjoyed exploring the jungle part once I learned to take it at its own pace (those bob-ombs!) and the second part utilized an idea that I built a whole level around, can't help but appreciate seeing a different take on it. Also you Goldilocks'd the difficulty: just right!
 

KenOD

a kinder, gentler sort of Scrooge
Right, forgot to post a stage of my own, so here's to continuing my trend of Mario riding something.

Stop & Go : A3F0-0000-0093-5041

Two paths to take; Up to ride a cloud or Down to ride a small convoy, both with traffic of their own. Up is the easier path. Down requires some skill and remembering not to panic.
 
OK. I decided to Shia LaBeouf it and threw together a submission form for difficult but fair courses. Quote for the link and please be considerate about sharing it.

The final list will be made public for anyone who wants a hellish playlist of well designed, challenging courses. The exact process of whittling down the list will be about as unscientific as these things usually go but I will do my best to consider things from as many angles as I can. Anyone who would like to help in reviewing the courses give me a PM and we can figure something out.

Fair warning, if this gif makes you nope then this is probably not for you. That said dense, hellish courses are not the only ones up for consideration. Anything that challenges the player is acceptable whether that is skill, puzzles, scoring, or something else entirely.

What is more important is weeding out bad difficulty design. Good and bad are subjective and context is king and so on and so forth, so here is a list of things that I personally think account for bad design. Keep in mind every single thing in this list can have exceptions and is not necessarily an immediate fail.


  1. Suicide as a learning mechanism. This one is a biggie. Blind jumps with a very high probability of death unless you land on the single platform off the screen is not clever. Asshole hidden blocks were really funny about a decade ago. Anything that requires the player to learn something where the outcome is certain death will be heavily scrutinized.
  2. Requiring glitches for progress. Using some strange physics behavior that requires frame accuracy to progress in a level can be fascinating but not really what this list is about.
  3. Towering enemies/spam. Yes, it is very cool that you can stack 50 enemies on top of each other, and spawn endless amounts of hell. This can go very bad, very quickly. Approach with caution.
  4. Wasting the player's time. This is very tricky. Some people find analyzing and observing a stage boring. "Stop wasting my time" is subjective. Here are a few examples of time wasters that can often be designed around.
  5. Difficulty ramp. If the entire course is being used but the really challenging bit is right at the end then that means the player has to go through a bunch of filler to get to the good part.
  6. Extremely obscure puzzle solving. If you have to find a hidden block with a bomb in the very top left corner of the course and then know you have to carry that all the way to the end then all that has happened is delaying the real challenge, wasting the player's time.
  7. Super human pixel accuracy. This one is dear to my heart. Good patterns. Tight timing windows. Difficult executions. I am a fan. There is a big difference between a timing window that is 100ms, and 10ms.
  8. RNG. This one is tough. Enemy AI can be unpredictable and as such very exciting. RNG on its own is not bad design, but can very often be used in bad ways. Scenarios where the player dies because they have no options and just has to hope for a run with fortunate RNG is often wasting their time.
This list is not absolute and it is definitely not exhaustive. Just trying to make it clear that I will be working hard to create a final list of solid courses. Don't be shy about submitting your course, even if you think it isn't very hard. Challenge comes in a lot of forms.

I played through the courses so far and really enjoyed them. Thanks to everyone who submitted and by all means keep them coming.

I can already see some categorization forming so maybe something like an overall list with everything, and a few lists broken out by some common themes for people looking for a particular challenge. Also no puzzles so far, send them my way!
 

B_Bech

Member
Tiki Beat Beach

(7361-0000-0095-1CDF)


Inspired by the cover of my very tattered Super Mario comic book!

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WVW69idgSIk6cpNz8F


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A level that is simultaneously easy and a blast to play. Hang ten!

Just quoting this so more people can see it. I'm seeing extremely positive reactions on this stage. How's the stage making everyone? Anyone streaming? I'm looking to play some Gaffers' entire bodies of work. I want to see your progression and analyze your styles and design choices as a whole. I will obviously be posting my thoughts here afterwards. Anyone courageous enough to participate?
 

Jeeves

Member
I'm looking to play some Gaffers' entire bodies of work. I want to see your progression and analyze your styles and design choices as a whole. I will obviously be posting my thoughts here afterwards. Anyone courageous enough to participate?
If you'd like. Here's my newest level, to get you to my profile: BE0D-0000-0090-215F

"Bit of a Pickle" is one that my girlfriend made, FYI, and "The Goomba Who Sold the World" is more of an inside joke than anything, with not much to it. You're welcome to play them but they don't really factor in for your purposes.

I need a good dose of inspiration so I can fill out my uploads with better stuff!
 
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