Awaiting the checkpoint and Mushroom>Item update so I can hop into GAF levels again. You guys have some great content already, can't wait to see what you'll be able to do using the new tools!
I've made a few levels I really like, but this is the first one I wanted to share with GAF.
Bullets, Bombs, or Bouncybouncy
6B4E-0000-00CA-2B4C
There are three possible routes to beating this level:
One requires some bravery and platforming skill.
One requires some excellent timing and maybe a little critical thinking.
And one requires a bit of patience and a good deal of attention.
One of those ways results in what I think is a pretty sweet secret route.
Like everything else, this will be much easier when the checkpoint update drops, but it's definitely still doable.
The video of Carnivore Hollows (1CAE-0000-0062-93FD) failed during upload, so i´ve left it uploading again, will check it when I get home and post the review, sorry for the wait. BTW, your design style in general and your level Heaven´s Keep in particular have inspired me for a new course, so thanks for that. I hope I can achieve something of similar quality.
Thank you very much (again) and don't worry, I can wait. I am very happy to see other people being inspired by my levels so I'm of course very excited for your new stage.
Good level, I was wondering the whole time why some gates were not material..
It hit me on the last room, you can jump on the gate facing you and as long as you are on the other side it's totally immaterial!
As I know most of you love Music Blocks..
Title: A Nice Stroll.. ID: 7852-0000-00CF-CF49 Difficulty: Hard
"Rules": I play random levels from the last page / pages and I give feedback on them, both here and on Miiverse, which means you get a star anyway (it's a difficult world we live in, too many people are stingy with stars, yadda yadda yadda ).
So...let's go!
Choose Your Own Adventure
D55C-0000-0067-7413
I like the concept, and I like the execution. It's fun to see where all the path lead, and
I like how there's a fourth path, basically, if you take the trampuline in the middle pah. And a major short cut, too
. It's not difficult, but it's pretty enjoyable and decently structured. Approved.
One-Way Heroics
(1B45-0000-00C8-3082)
An interesting challenge, a creative way to use this tool. It's not unfair, considering how
there aren't bottomless pits and you get infinite Super Mushrooms at the final segment, so retries are possible
. It's fun and different, very good job.
P-Switch Poltergeist House
0557-0000-00C8-563B
Great, GREAT! Creative, fun, always ready to surprise you, challenging but not frustrating. And yes,
the way you structured the ending(which is actually the beginning)is great, it really surprises the player when it happens
. Now you got a new follower
That's it for now. As always, if you want to check my levels and give feedbacks, here's my page on MarioMakerHub.com
Thank you very much (again) and don't worry, I can wait. I am very happy to see other people being inspired by my levels so I'm of course very excited for your new stage.
I just discovered that instead of "Heaven´s Keep", which I hadn´t played, I was refferring the whole time to your Overgrown Ruins level, that in which you have to activate a PSwitch to go through the stage again. My next stage will be an attempt at "fair trolling", but the one after that, which is in development already will be heavily inspired by yours, both in the main layout and in the challenge design/evolution.
Anyway, here´s the promised video for Carnivore Hollows (1CAE-0000-0062-93FD): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMX2L66GhFw
I have mixed feelings about this course...The level is about Chain Chomps and is divided in 2 parts. The first one is the overworld: this part is small and features 2 or 3 challenges at most and a secret area. Here Chomps are tied and you just have to wait for the ideal time to get through. This part feels a bit basic and short, it should´ve been used to expand on the main mechanics (more on that later).
The second area is the underworld, where Chomps have broken free of their chains and roam free bouncing around. There are nice theming details, like skeletons in some pits telling a story of Chomps eating the ones who had them chained. Also, cool detail in giving the player the Yoshi skin, as that relates directly to the dinosaur skeletons. In this area the main mechanic is developed: bouncing Chomps. There are pits where they´ll fall, so the player has to either jump above them, wait for the Chomp to fall in or, jump inside himself and deal with the Chomps in close proximity. As usual in Dimentio´s levels, the main mechanic is introduced really nicely, challenges are setup fo the player to master it, then it is spiced up by altering simple parameters and finally an unexpected twist is added, (this time in the shape of Mega Chomps coming at you from the opposite direction in 2 cool, yet a bit simple and easy escape sequences). However, there´s something missing, I think the mechanic progression is not developed fully, it falls short and leaves you expecting more. There´s only one secret area that expands the level minimally. I replayed the level 3 times, I even downloaded it to see if there were other secrets that I had left out and which brought the mechanics all the way to the end, but couldn´t find anything.
One cool detail are the irregular floors and ceilings: they add a lot of character to the stage and affect gameplay at the same time, this is an example of the minimalistic design that Dimentios does so well.
Conclusion: Good level with some cool details, but the mechanic progression seems to not be developed fully and it leaves you with a feeling that the level is missing a big part.
Now time for some short feedback on the levels I played yesterday (videos are uploading, I´ll post them later). First of all, I had a blast playing these excellent levels, all of them had something that made them truly memorable and enjoyable. GAF delivers.
Plumber´s Perilious Pilgrimmage (8030-0000-00AC-94B6) Jarosh
I had a similar idea for using PSwitches in interesting ways, but you went all out and surpassed even my wildest dreams. I love it when people take a well-known basic element and twist it and squeeze it to create new gameplay uses and this level does that. I couldn´t beat it, in fact it was the only level which resisted me in the whole session. It may be because it was the first one I played and was still warming up, but I´ll definitely go back to it. It´s an awesome level with very creative uses of the PSwitch as an obstacle.
Super Ma*CTHULHU FHTAGN* (EEAF-0000-0061-9899) Jarosh
I loved this one, it´s in the same league as Long Live Koopa Queen which is one of the best SMM stages I´ve seen. Awesome theming, cool surprises (the fake goal and Chtulhu´s appearance were amazing!), challenging platforming...I didn´t like some coins leading you to your death sometimes, though I think this only happened in the "Dark World" so it can be part of the theme. Instant classic.
Reverse Engineering (C77C-0000-0072-826E) Jarosh
VS
Hard Hat Area
As promissed, I´ll try to review the evolution in the design between these 2 levels: one is the first stage Jarosh created and the other is the latest. Both are very good levels: Reverse Engineering is about Thwomps and Hard Hat is more thematic than mechanic-driven. As such, they go in different ways: while Reverse Engineering develops the mechanics through the level, Hard Hat Area develops it´s challenges instead, upping the difficulty in the process through addittion of new elements and providing more varied challenges.
Another glaring difference between them is the level layout itself: even though there´s a kind of backtracking and some secrets in RE the whole stage is pretty linear (first go all the way to the right, then all the way to the left). HHAa´s path is linear too, but it´s constantly changing direction, forcing the player to go right, up, down and left at different moments and features much more branching, specially to find secrets. As a result HHA´s layout is more interesting than that of RE, gives the whole level more character and puts it in a different league.
So in conclusion, I think you have evolved from basic mechanic-driven linear courses to challenge thematic-driven ones. I think your levels shine specially in the theme and ambient department, you really have top skills to set the mood or convey an idea to the player.
Cloud Bully (5A71-0000-00AE-D1AB) woopWOOP
When I read the title I thought this level was going to be about Lakitus or other cloud enemies harassing you from above. When I started the level and saw what it was really about I couldn´t help but start laughing, awesome idea! The level layout accompanies it perfectly, both the main mechanic and the layout mesh really well. My only complaint is that it´s too short!
There was a part where the Bully was above some Piranha Plants and wouldn´t push them away and I found no way to pass other than damage boosting through.
Really fun level.
The Magic Koopa Troopa (B959-0000-0052-36DA) Anteo
Short level requiring you to traverse the level back and forth. It was nice and engaging, though a bit short. Simple fun, I enjoyed it.
I've been here before (A703-0000-0052-40AF) Anteo
A really twisted puzzle level I which you´ll get lost more than a few times. I had already beaten it and it shows in the video, as even if I didn´t remember the layout I knew what my main objectives where. Great idea and good execution, I liked it a lot.
I still couldn´t find a way into the room with the Kuribo Shoe though, so I might revisit this one later :S
Heaven´s Keep (887A-0000-007F-C5A0) Dimentios
Very cool and engaging airship level with the usual suspects: cannons, Bullet Bills and some cool secrets. Great layout and very cool challenges with lots of bullets which sometimes allowed you more freedom to traverse the level and others tested your reflexes. I specially liked the twisted layout.
Aerial Port (F60F-0000-0012-941E) Dimentios
Really engagin level, it does nothing "special", meaning that there´s no new mechanic or reinterpretation of the basic elements, but they are used together in a masterful way. I think you make awesome "basic" levels. I don´t mean the levels are basic themselves, but that you can take any basic elements and use them in great, well-planed setups to create solid enjoyable levels. Sort of "minimalistic", in a way that the result is much more than the sum of it´s parts.
There was one thing I didn´t understand: in the part where the big Bomb-Ombs appear there are small Bomb-Ombs that can be used to open a shortcut under the pipes for small Mario. However they appear from the right, so you really can´t open the shortcut until you´ve already passed the part where it would be used. As the autoscroll made it risky I didn´t bother to open any of them, but it left me wondering if there was a hidden purpose.
In general I think your levels are quite the opposite of those of jarosh´s, in which he goes heavy on theming and gives less weight to mechanical continuity, while you center your levels in the development of the main mechanic and add the theme as a layer over it. Two different approaches that both give awesome results.
Egg Carrier Yoshis! (9B5E-0000-00B5-34B2) Kiavik
Amazing puzzles, really squeezes the abbility of Yoshi to carry eggs to create very clever puzzles. The reset room is a nice detail of quality and of designing with the player in mind, but I would have made it a bit more accesible so you don´t have to climb, fall back and run back to Yoshi eveytime. Still, just a very minor complaint on a very engaging and solid level. Loved it!
The Pits and the Pendulums (2E7C-0000-00BC-6683) Kiavik
This is just the opposite of what I told Dimentio in the Aerial Port review (in a good way): this level takes an enemy (Chain Chomps) and uses it in a totally new (and awesome) way. Loved every challenge, the mechanic is totally developed in an excellent manner and the idea is really brilliant. The last challenge looks incredibly hard, though it´s much easier in reality and that makes you leave the level with a huge feeling of accomplishment. Great level from start to finish.
Corona Mountain: hat beats lava (F368-0000-00C6-3146) CrisKre
Another example of taking simple elements and mixing them to create something new. Apart from the main mechanic, which is very well used, the whole level layout and design are top-notch with lots of secrets and enganing challenges at every step. Very, very good level, I really recommend it.
A bob-omb of ice and fire (58E7-0000-00BF-B4E8) CrisKre
Corona Mountain was awesome, but this one somehow even surpasses it. Every pixel of the level is used for something with masterful craftmanship. Many different secret routes with great rewards which add a lot of replayability, engaging and surprising challenges...a fantastic chaos of many different elements that join together perfectly to create a piece of game design art.
There is some theming in both your levels, but it sort of gets overshadowed by the magnificient gameplay.
I once got trapped in the room just before the goal, you should look at that, the level encourages exploration so much that I think more players will probably fall in the same trap.
If Dimentios levels are minimalistic yours are on the totally opposite end of the scale. Awesome job.
Shine a light (3 Ups, 100 coins) (291F-0000-00AB-7E77) Weng
Nice level, a bit short. I think I can understand why the completion´s rate is so low, I didn´t pay much attention to the title so I found the solution by chance, I knew there should be something so I just started messing around and it was when I found the
hidden block
. It wasn´t until after that it made sense.
This solution felt a bit random honestly. I think this is where most players are getting stuck. You must consider if it´s worth it, as players who don´t speak english or who don´t pay attention to the title may not be able to find the solution.
Also, the Hammer Bro was a good resource to force the player to go up, but it felt a bit out of place.
Nice level anyway, I liked it.
Goomba Adventure (C9CC-0000-00B5-4B8A) Roi
I liked this one, it was cool inflitrating the Goombas The theming is the best part of this level. The challenges are nice too. However, it seemed that the level guarded more secrets and alternate routes than there really were, I think this is a missed oportunity as they would have suited in perfectly: this level screams "adventure in an old temple" to me and so I was expecting cool secret passages at every turn.
Also, there was a pile of Mega Goomba stuck over a Paratroopa that seemed to give access to a hidden pipe, but I couldn´t reach it as the first Goomba always fell from the pile after touching the ceiling due to the Paratroopa´s vertical movement. I tried once cheesing my way into the pipe from the other side by damage boosting through some Grinders, but you had that covered with some horizontal springs, good call there
Enjoyable level, but I think there are some missed chances.
I'm looking for more feedback on Snake Oil, but if you've played it before then by all means go onto something else.
I'm at PAX for the next few days and they have a Mario Maker tourney that is between two pre-set teams. I'm a bit bummed we can't have a Team GAF. We'd bring home GAF Gold!
I´m sorry guys, but by the time I saw your posts I had already recorded the videos. I´ll write them down for the next time though. Axiom, I´ve already played Snake Oil, but I have no problem replaying and recording it
, I meant the second *row* of yellow blocks that you have to destroy with a bomb. I add some sign to show there was something hidden, stil not obvious enough it seems !!
Oh I see now, I interpreted the arrows as just telling me to blow the blocks to pass through, didn´t get
they were refferring only to the second column of blocks
. I think that´s a bit out of place honestly, in such a fast level with tight timing you shouldn´t use these kind of puzzles that force the player to experiment, as that takes time and the level is setting just the opposite mood right from the start (RUN!), it should be more straightforward. Anyway, I finally beat it!
A bob-omb of ice and fire (58E7-0000-00BF-B4E8) CrisKre
Corona Mountain was awesome, but this one somehow even surpasses it. Every pixel of the level is used for something with masterful craftmanship. Many different secret routes with great rewards which add a lot of replayability, engaging and surprising challenges...a fantastic chaos of many different elements that join together perfectly to create a piece of game design art.
There is some theming in both your levels, but it sort of gets overshadowed by the magnificient gameplay.
I once got trapped in the room just before the goal, you should look at that, the level encourages exploration so much that I think more players will probably fall in the same trap.
If Dimentios levels are minimalistic yours are on the totally opposite end of the scale. Awesome job.
15:33 Corona Mountain: hat beats lava (F368-0000-00C6-3146) CrisKre
25:17 A bob-omb of ice and fire (58E7-0000-00BF-B4E8) CrisKre
The last one featuring the missing levels is still uploading.
I´ve just uploaded a new level: RtDL8: Forest of Delusion (681F-0000-00CA-FC09)
After putting an end to Bowser´s operations in the Cookie Mountain Mine Mario enters the Forest of Delusion. This forest brings memories of the twisted mistery he had to solve to exit in Super Mario World, but even that can´t prepare Mario for what he´s about to face...
Trust nothing Mario, for here nothing is what it seems!
Usually I put a lot of powerups in my levels and try to keep instant death situations to a minimum, but for this level Evil Correojon has taken over XD
This is a sort of trolling level, but all deaths are avoidable if you proceed with care and take a good look at your surroundings before attempting anything. When in doubt, just assume the worst and you´ll prevail.
Please tell me your opinion about it, I´m pretty sure this won´t be a popular level online, but I had great fun designing it and would love to hear people´s reactions.
Haha I saw a comment on one of Chagama's levels (the guy who is making all those Japanese song stages) and it said, "Please stop making levels, you're ruining the game."
I made a new level tonight, but I'm not going to upload it until the checkpoint update. Also I learned that boos are super fast if you put wings on them.
15:33 Corona Mountain: hat beats lava (F368-0000-00C6-3146) CrisKre
25:17 A bob-omb of ice and fire (58E7-0000-00BF-B4E8) CrisKre
The last one featuring the missing levels is still uploading.
I´ve just uploaded a new level: RtDL8: Forest of Delusion (681F-0000-00CA-FC09)
Usually I put a lot of powerups in my levels and try to keep instant death situations to a minimum, but for this level Evil Correojon has taken over XD
This is a sort of trolling level, but all deaths are avoidable if you proceed with care and take a good look at your surroundings before attempting anything. When in doubt, just assume the worst and you´ll prevail.
Please tell me your opinion about it, I´m pretty sure this won´t be a popular level online, but I had great fun designing it and would love to hear people´s reactions.
"Rules": I play random levels from the last page / pages and I give feedback on them, both here and on Miiverse, which means you get a star anyway (it's a difficult world we live in, too many people are stingy with stars, yadda yadda yadda ).
So...let's go! P-Switch Poltergeist House
0557-0000-00C8-563B
Great, GREAT! Creative, fun, always ready to surprise you, challenging but not frustrating. And yes,
the way you structured the ending(which is actually the beginning)is great, it really surprises the player when it happens
. Now you got a new follower
That's it for now. As always, if you want to check my levels and give feedbacks, here's my page on MarioMakerHub.com
Hey thanks!! I realize that my favorite item is the P-Switch so I've made a few levels that utilize them. Try out my most played level Crystal Countdown Cavern 2BC8-0000-0080-CCA6 and its follow-up level Depths of Countdown Cavern 5B84-0000-0093-355F if you want to play more P-Switch levels! The latter is more difficult!
I've actually played your latest 4 levels and enjoyed them a lot! I like all the secrets you have in all of them. So fun to replay and discover new areas.
Thanks a lot for playing my levels! I finally got to watch the video.
In Koopatraz, you were wondering how to open the pipe with the bob-ombs at the end if you had been small. Actually, there is a hidden room with a super mushroom in the pipe directly underneath.
The trouble you had with the final puzzle in Dino Cloning Lab was painful for me to watch. What a relief when you finally figured it out! It's interesting to see that even things you think are obvious can give people trouble. But the same thing happens to me of course when I play other people's creations.
Thanks a lot for playing my levels! I finally got to watch the video.
In Koopatraz, you were wondering how to open the pipe with the bob-ombs at the end if you had been small. Actually, there is a hidden room with a super mushroom in the pipe directly underneath.
The trouble you had with the final puzzle in Dino Cloning Lab was painful for me to watch. What a relief when you finally figured it out! It's interesting to see that even things you think are obvious can give people trouble. But the same thing happens to me of course when I play other people's creations.
This is true. Its very enlightening to see people play your levels because you see people with different playing styles tackling things completely different.
Plumber´s Perilious Pilgrimmage (8030-0000-00AC-94B6) Jarosh
I had a similar idea for using PSwitches in interesting ways, but you went all out and surpassed even my wildest dreams. I love it when people take a well-known basic element and twist it and squeeze it to create new gameplay uses and this level does that. I couldn´t beat it, in fact it was the only level which resisted me in the whole session. It may be because it was the first one I played and was still warming up, but I´ll definitely go back to it. It´s an awesome level with very creative uses of the PSwitch as an obstacle.
Super Ma*CTHULHU FHTAGN* (EEAF-0000-0061-9899) Jarosh
I loved this one, it´s in the same league as Long Live Koopa Queen which is one of the best SMM stages I´ve seen. Awesome theming, cool surprises (the fake goal and Chtulhu´s appearance were amazing!), challenging platforming...I didn´t like some coins leading you to your death sometimes, though I think this only happened in the "Dark World" so it can be part of the theme. Instant classic.
Reverse Engineering (C77C-0000-0072-826E) Jarosh
VS
Hard Hat Area
As promissed, I´ll try to review the evolution in the design between these 2 levels: one is the first stage Jarosh created and the other is the latest. Both are very good levels: Reverse Engineering is about Thwomps and Hard Hat is more thematic than mechanic-driven. As such, they go in different ways: while Reverse Engineering develops the mechanics through the level, Hard Hat Area develops it´s challenges instead, upping the difficulty in the process through addittion of new elements and providing more varied challenges.
Another glaring difference between them is the level layout itself: even though there´s a kind of backtracking and some secrets in RE the whole stage is pretty linear (first go all the way to the right, then all the way to the left). HHAa´s path is linear too, but it´s constantly changing direction, forcing the player to go right, up, down and left at different moments and features much more branching, specially to find secrets. As a result HHA´s layout is more interesting than that of RE, gives the whole level more character and puts it in a different league.
So in conclusion, I think you have evolved from basic mechanic-driven linear courses to challenge thematic-driven ones. I think your levels shine specially in the theme and ambient department, you really have top skills to set the mood or convey an idea to the player.
I find it interesting that I have found so much joy in creating themed courses that are (for the most part) only moderately challenging. I absolutely love subverting expectations and throwing in little twists that put a smile on people's faces, but I also enjoy giving that sense of a grand adventure, a journey. That's why courses like Hard Hat Area, Grand Vertical Adventure and Long Live Queen Koopa appeal to me. Though personally I am more often drawn to a different type of level. My favorites are typically streamlined, minimalistic courses with a great platforming flow or even very abstract levels that are almost entirely focused on mechanical aspects.
I also watched your videos. Really fun. Thanks a ton for recording everything! It's neat to observe and analyze what kind of player someone is. There are so many different types I've observed from the many streams I watched. You're a skilled, but careful player, always curious to test the limits of what is presented to you, and exploring every possibility, but nevertheless ready to take off without looking back when things get hairy. In that sense, you are the perfect playtester! I can tell you are paying attention to every detail and playing very deliberately, sometimes even to the point of looking for a complex solution to a simple problem.
I noticed that you played version 2 of my Reverse Engineering course, even though you posted the code to version 3. Curious. Though it's my fault that 2 is even still up. I really oughta delete it. It's fundamentally broken, as the spin jump in the SMW theme allows you to bypass 90% of the level.
Now I'm off to playing lots of levels from this page, including several of the ones you've played that have me intrigued.
I played this before reading your description and I have to admit I didn't get the light switch concept. Even though, I still enjoyed the level a lot.
I also played your two other most recent creations. Both are absolutely outstanding! I loved all the secrets and how you're rewarded for keeping the helmets. It's crazy how fast you churned these out considering the care that obviously went into them.
As for bugs, I got stuck during the Lakitu cloud section in Bob-Ombs of Ice and Fire (I hope I'm not confusing them now), where I didn't manage to get through fast enough and then couldn't find a new P switch to open the way (I left a comment at the spot). Maybe I just missed something? In Corona Mountain, it's a really minor problem but I skipped half of the part where giant lava bubbles follow you on rails because I jumped over them with a wall jump (not sure if that's fixable).
This is a brilliant idea, but the actual level design is a bit simplistic. At the second part with the piranha plants, I suppose you have to bump the red Paratroopa to the right and then clear the plants with its shell, but I couldn't find a way to get the cloud to do that.
Good level, I was wondering the whole time why some gates were not material..
It hit me on the last room, you can jump on the gate facing you and as long as you are on the other side it's totally immaterial!
Yeah, that rule really confused me when I first found it out. It doesn't even depend on where you're moving in from, but on the point where you left the ground! In theory the tutorial at the beginning (where you fall down) is supposed to show you that, but I guess I should have made it a bit longer. The problem is I wanted to save one puzzle for the end. Well, if people get the rule at the end, then that's fine too I suppose.
I played this before reading your description and I have to admit I didn't get the light switch concept. Even though, I still enjoyed the level a lot.
I also played your two other most recent creations. Both are absolutely outstanding! I loved all the secrets and how you're rewarded for keeping the helmets. It's crazy how fast you churned these out considering the care that obviously went into them.
As for bugs, I got stuck during the Lakitu cloud section in Bob-Ombs of Ice and Fire (I hope I'm not confusing them now), where I didn't manage to get through fast enough and then couldn't find a new P switch to open the way (I left a comment at the spot). Maybe I just missed something? In Corona Mountain, it's a really minor problem but I skipped half of the part where giant lava bubbles follow you on rails because I jumped over them with a wall jump (not sure if that's fixable).
The reason I'm churning these levels so fast is simple: I'm just sleep depraved because I'm addicted to this game, lol.
Some of the issues you mention I plan on fixing once the checkpoint update goes live. I have a list of things to update in some of my levels. Because of the type of levels I like making checkpoints are a great update, since the levels are long and intricate.
I'm glad you enjoyed On-Off spooky switch. I thought some people might not get the concept, thats why I chose the name and gave so many frog cues in there, lol.
Just played a ton of levels. These two stuck out to me:
A bob-omb of ice and fire
58E7-0000-00BF-B4E8
CrisKre
Your aesthetic sensibilities still go against every fiber of my being. And if there's any one word that describes your design philosophy it's probably "excess". But what can I say, this was a TON of fun. I should not like this level! You packed so much stuff into it, so many different mechanics and ideas. And they shouldn't all work together in the same level, and they certainly have no right to be this much fun. You're like a madman gleefully throwing everything at a course you can come up with and (over-)designing every little detail. And somehow it works! You glorious bastard. Your best level yet.
The Pits and the Pendulums
2E7C-0000-00BC-6683
Kiavik
Probably another odd one to single out. I only say this because I don't think the core mechanic around which the entire level is built is all that much fun, at least not to me. But I can't help but absolutely love this based on the level design alone. So much care was taken in easing the player into each new step of the mechanic. And the elegant, simple and brief initial tutorial almost brought a tear to my eye. This kind of unobtrusive, yet player friendly design that focuses on organic tutorials is way too rare in Mario Maker, and something every level designer should strive for.
Just played a ton of levels. These two stuck out to me:
A bob-omb of ice and fire
58E7-0000-00BF-B4E8
CrisKre
Your aesthetic sensibilities still go against every fiber of my being. And if there's any one word that describes your design philosophy it's probably "excess". But what can I say, this was a TON of fun. I should not like this level! You packed so much stuff into it, so many different mechanics and ideas. And they shouldn't all work together in the same level, and they certainly have no right to be this much fun. You're like a madman gleefully throwing everything at a course you can come up with and (over-)designing every little detail. And somehow it works! You glorious bastard. Your best level yet.
The Pits and the Pendulums
2E7C-0000-00BC-6683
Kiavik
Probably another odd one to single out. I only say this because I don't think the core mechanic around which the entire level is built is all that much fun, at least not to me. But I can't help but absolutely love this based on the level design alone. So much care was taken in easing the player into each new step of the mechanic. And the elegant, simple and brief initial tutorial almost brought a tear to my eye. This kind of unobtrusive, yet player friendly design that focuses on organic tutorials is way too rare in Mario Maker, and something every level designer should strive for.
Same as usual, yadda yadda ! Hope to see you there Once again, GAF, have some mercy on me when you submit your stage. Let's just have some fun and not grill me because I get salty easily Spooky levels welcomed because it's Halloween !
Same as usual, yadda yadda ! Hope to see you there Once again, GAF, have some mercy on me when you submit your stage. Let's just have some fun and not grill me because I get salty easily Spooky levels welcomed because it's Halloween !
Same as usual, yadda yadda ! Hope to see you there Once again, GAF, have some mercy on me when you submit your stage. Let's just have some fun and not grill me because I get salty easily Spooky levels welcomed because it's Halloween !
So a guy played my new stage and died almost 50 times before beating it... I swear it's not that hard. Honestly, there are a lot of bad players out there especially seeing the peculiar places they die on your stages haahaha.
I´ve just uploaded a new level: RtDL8: Forest of Delusion (681F-0000-00CA-FC09)
Usually I put a lot of powerups in my levels and try to keep instant death situations to a minimum, but for this level Evil Correojon has taken over XD
This is a sort of trolling level, but all deaths are avoidable if you proceed with care and take a good look at your surroundings before attempting anything. When in doubt, just assume the worst and you´ll prevail.
Please tell me your opinion about it, I´m pretty sure this won´t be a popular level online, but I had great fun designing it and would love to hear people´s reactions.
Okay, that was fun! It took a minute to click and understand what you where g oing for here, but once it did it was a blast! You did some crazy things in here. I ended up not wanting to follow any arrow! I'd love to see a streamer tackle this one for the salt alone.
Okay, that was fun! It took a minute to click and understand what you where g oing for here, but once it did it was a blast! You did some crazy things in here. I ended up not wanting to follow any arrow! I'd love to see a streamer tackle this one for the salt alone.
I find it interesting that I have found so much joy in creating themed courses that are (for the most part) only moderately challenging. I absolutely love subverting expectations and throwing in little twists that put a smile on people's faces, but I also enjoy giving that sense of a grand adventure, a journey. That's why courses like Hard Hat Area, Grand Vertical Adventure and Long Live Queen Koopa appeal to me. Though personally I am more often drawn to a different type of level. My favorites are typically streamlined, minimalistic courses with a great platforming flow or even very abstract levels that are almost entirely focused on mechanical aspects.
You should do a colaboration with Dimentios, that level would have the best of both worlds. With his abbility for development of mechanics and your theming it would be something really unique.
I also watched your videos. Really fun. Thanks a ton for recording everything! It's neat to observe and analyze what kind of player someone is. There are so many different types I've observed from the many streams I watched. You're a skilled, but careful player, always curious to test the limits of what is presented to you, and exploring every possibility, but nevertheless ready to take off without looking back when things get hairy. In that sense, you are the perfect playtester! I can tell you are paying attention to every detail and playing very deliberately, sometimes even to the point of looking for a complex solution to a simple problem.
Thanks! Yeah, I always try to go carefully to see everything, but once I´ve explored a part I just run through it. When playing 100 Mario challenge however I run from the start and only if I find the level interesting start going more slowly. Still, skillwise I think I´m in the mid-low tier
I noticed that you played version 2 of my Reverse Engineering course, even though you posted the code to version 3. Curious. Though it's my fault that 2 is even still up. I really oughta delete it. It's fundamentally broken, as the spin jump in the SMW theme allows you to bypass 90% of the level.
I can't believe how much more fun Expert 100 mode is when you just blindly skip every single Japanese level that pops up. I saved so many deaths just from things not immediately falling on my head alone.
Hey guys! I haven't uploaded a new stage in a while, but I finished this stage the other day; I worked pretty hard on it, and I hope it shows. It's not at all similar to my lukewarm "Boo's Music Box!" stage, so I hope it's well received!
Wiggler-Canyon Havok!
Mario has ventured far into the peaks of Mushroom Kingdom, searching far and wide, for potential Bowser-related activities. Instead, he encounters a vast canyon of enemies and secrets. Perplexed at first, Mario treks through this canyon of danger, seeking signs of Bowser. However, the further he travels, the more it becomes clear that the situation won't transpire as expected; but it certainly escalates. Get out of there, Mario!
Figured I'd stick my course on here in case anyone is interested!
The idea was to make a level with an element of backtracking/power-up progression - but still ensure there's a high level of second-to-second gameplay, and that the critical path remained intuitive and readable.
It's currently sat on around 280 plays, 90 stars and a completion of rate 70%.
Now I am not sure if this is a problem but when I first uploaded the course, I completed my level without losing a life once. Then recently after one week away from my Wii U, I thought I give my stage a go but it took me the best of 12+ lives to beat my own level. I dont know if I had mad skills at that time to finish it but, is my level that hard to beat? :|
Made another quick poster for my other Halloween level "Where's My Mommy?"
This is a little experiment using actual dialog via in-game comments. I tried to keep the story relatively simple so that it's easy to follow. Check it!
(Quick disclaimer: I don't own the artwork in these posters, I just designed the layout.)
Reposting because I didn't want it to fall to the bottom-page graveyard.
Wiggler-Canyon Havok!
Mario has ventured far into the peaks of Mushroom Kingdom, searching far and wide, for potential Bowser-related activities. Instead, he encounters a vast canyon of enemies and secrets. Perplexed at first, Mario treks through this canyon of danger, seeking signs of Bowser. However, the further he travels, the more it becomes clear that the situation won't transpire as expected; but it certainly escalates. Get out of there, Mario!