One For The Sisters - The first 8 stages of the original c64 Great Giana Sisters remade into one course. The stage layouts and secrets are kept as accurate as possible, but the ? boxes probably arent accurate.
Up & Out - Wanted to explore vertical level design. Mario climbs to the top of a tower, but finds more than he bargained for on the way back down. Theres an optioanl five red coins in the second half of the stage as an extra challenge if you're into that.
Pretty fun, brief challenge. It reminds me of some of the NSMBU challenges. It has the tough, trial and error quality that a lot of courses do, but the bite size length keeps it from being frustrating. I'd like to see you build on that swarm idea... I think it'd be fun to have a short gauntlet of swarm rooms, each with different goals.
This was a really fun, well designed level. I enjoyed it a lot except for the final gauntlet; I got stuck on the part above the falling platforms where you have to bounce off the chomps without hitting the stars. I think it would make it funner if you put a hidden coin block or something in the pit so that if you fall you have a way up instead of just being doomed to die and start again.
This one was fun and well laid out. I recall it being a little easy for my tastes, I think a few more challenges would go far.
This one was tough but enjoyable. I died more times than I wanted to, but I always wanted to try again. Fun, well designed level.
Level Title: Spiny-tingling Fortress
ID: 6888-0000-0221-705C
Bookmark: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/6888-0000-0221-705C
A challenging run through a crumbling fortress. Lots of spin jumping, wall jumping, and spin wall jumping! You only have 30 seconds on the clock and you'll need it all! I was in the middle of making a new course and ended up making some challenges that were tougher than I'm going for, so I decided to put them in their own likely super-expert course.
Up & Out - Wanted to explore vertical level design. Mario climbs to the top of a tower, but finds more than he bargained for on the way back down. Theres an optioanl five red coins in the second half of the stage as an extra challenge if you're into that.
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/82E8-0000-0222-119E
I revised my ghosthouse level to be longer. It's now the length I wanted originally, but I'm worried the premise might lose some fun if it's extended too much. I planned to have two entirely separate red coin hunts in two areas, but the game apparently pools all the coins in the entire level together, so it had to be like this. Thanks to everyone who played the first version, let me know if this one is better:
Ghost Hunt 2
Common guys, a full day and nobody cleared this level ??
I didn't think its really hard. Certainly not as much as my "Now That's A Skull Ride" or again "Fortress of Confusion".
Its true that our levels also receive much less plays nowadays but anyhow. Would love to see it cleared by a Gaffer! A world record around 16 seconds can also be achieved in there.
Mario Wants To Be A Giant
Basically the game doesn't remember the red coins you collected, so even if you've activated the door and die, you need to retrace your steps and collect them all again. This was a source of some frustration, and probably a reason why some players haven't gone on to complete it.
Be careful of trapping players at the top of the screen with your background tiles. Luckily someone has posted a message warning players or a lot of people may end up there. A pretty good level overall though, and fair. Quite a few springs and note blocks sending you upwards before the scrolling catches up, but you've been wise not to put any enemies in the way.
Thanks for playing.This was a fun and devious level, but I had a problem working out where to jump at times.
First of all, I had no idea there was a spike hidden in the lava, and because it is invisible I wasn't sure what to make of the arrow - it's pointing towards the wall rather than the spike. It didn't help either that the spike helmet above me was so tantalisingly close that I spent ages trying to catch it. I thought by getting it I could take a hit off the spikes and saws above to reach the wall.
It was only after attempting this by spin-jumping did I accidentally land on the hidden spike. Problem number two, the mushroom, pipe and a Bob-omb was another red herring to where I needed to go, while the arrow behind the Thwomp is practically hidden until it drops and it's too late. Eventually I figured it out and executed well enough to get to section of saws, again with no obvious path. I stopped at this point, as it began to feel like piecemeal progression through trial and error.
Sorry if this sounds harsh, you're obviously a talented designer but maybe here you've been too clever and not thought about dumb-arses like me!
My first Key door stage is done:
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/7D30-0000-0225-F109
-Platform action puzzler which requires skillful use of Yoshi and the Cape in order to collect all the key coins.
-Two secret areas, two alternate exits to the goal and four collectible 1-Ups.
-Reset doors are by the primary key tasks so the player can start over as many times as they need. I also moved the first checkpoint flag back a bit and added an additional reset door next to it which takes the player back near the beginning of the stage in case they missed any coins. Before it was still possible to backtrack and get all the coins just not as accommodating as it is now.
I had a lot of fun making this stage and tried to pack it with fun extras for the player to explore and discover if they wish. I'd appreciate feedback, and feel free to recommend a stage for me to play.
Actually its not exactly the case. If you die while collecting red coins, they are remembered by the game. If you die with the key, the game doesn't remember the key and you have to redo all the coins. Thing is, its why I explicitely made the last red coin to be near the door and there's no ennemies or spike or anything to die on between when you get the key and reach the door. Also, once you open the locked door once, its impossible you need to open it again because right when you cross the door, you're imprisoned in the mini-room where the huge mushroom is with no way to die. This means you need to break the room and after that, if ever you need to shroom back, you don't need to use the key ever again. This was all thought out to minimise the impact of how the checkpoint actually saves the game.
Now, the worse than can happen to a player is to lose the big shroom while reaching bowser. You need to either take the door again if you near the end (bringing you back at the shroom) or again, you dial back a little in the level and reach that green door that is like in the middle of the level and serves the only purpose of also bringing you right back to the beginning where the shroom is.
I don't expect people to grasp all this right away of course. But if they know their game or try the level a couple of time, they gonna realise they only have, at worse case, some minimal backtracking to make.
Oh by the way, if you want to speedrun the level, let me give you a hint --> There's a special "way" to go through the level for speedrunning. Its subtle but it makes you skip quite everything and even get to bowser without the huge schroom!
Its a hard thing to work around, since I wanted the level to have the same layout for both portions (although I wound up cheating the cannons for the scrolling half). I hoped the doors and being at the "top" of the section would dissuade players, although I probably should have used arrows to make it clearer. Thanks for the feedback!!
Thanks for playing.
There is no hidden spike in the lava. What happens is the spiny helmet falls into the lava and you bounce off of it as it sinks. The arrow is just to give you an indication of where you will bounce from, but you really don't need to do much other than hold the spin jump button, dash, and right at the right time. It makes more sense for the arrow to tell you where to bounce to since spin jumping to that arrow in the lava is pretty much the only thing you can do.
I put the rest of the arrows in that section there to let you know that you needed to wall jump. It doesn't matter that you can't see the thwomp coming because it's never a danger to you. It gives you plenty of time to perform the wall jump. It shouldn't take long for anyone to figure out that the mushroom and pipe are off limits at that time because I made it super impossible to even get close to making that seem like a viable option and the arrows are there.
As for trial and error... well, yeah. It's a super expert speed run course that is only 30 seconds long. If you go any slower than full speed or make any mistakes you will die (the WR currently is 29.683), and the level is so fast that it's impossible to know what's coming up next, but it shouldn't take more than a few deaths each time to figure out what your mistake was. That's just the way these kinds of levels work. This level is pretty forgiving compared to other levels like it since it doesn't give you many options and it doesn't troll you or require super advanced skills. With these kinds of levels it doesn't hurt to watch a clear video first since figuring out what to do on your own isn't as important as executing it.
Recently my young nephew (only just turned 3 last week) has been trying to play video games every time he comes over to visit. It has given me a lot of insight into how very young kids approach challenges. More notably though, I've realised that none of the games I own are even remotely playable to him, not even stuff that's supposed to be for kids, like Kirby. He's yet to learn stuff like conditional timing, failstates, or symultaneous input, so even something as basic as jumping over an enemy is frustrating to him.
I decided to create a level in Mario Maker that he could finish, without just making it a straight line devoid of challenges. The key problem is that I couldn't rely on him recognising hazards, nor could I include things that require special timing or moving while jumping. The level had to look natural and not patronising, but it also had to give my nephew as much time as he needed to overcome each hurdle in the stage.
While I succeeded, and he can indeed finish the level unaided, this level SOMEHOW has a 42% completion rate. Everyone who played the level completed it, but a couple of people tried to speedrun the stage, contributing a disproportionately unfair number of deaths.
A level for toddlers (no really)
Thanks a lot. He's been trying to get a grasp on playing games for a while now, so he has a good handle on which inputs move the character. The issue has always been the fact he can't press a button while moving at the same time, which renders every platformer under the sun unplayable to him. This level was my attempt to draw him into making that kind of complex input naturally.Cool story. It looks quite complicated for a 3-year old to complete, but good on you and him. How long did it take for him to grasp playing Mario and how long did it take him to complete the level?
Ok looks like I was inspired and pull out another. This one is a try at some original theme and while not being "hard" per see, this level is meant to be navigated carefully.
THE HAUNTED SWAMP
Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Have fun!
This level was fun, intense and very athmospheric. Good stuff.
Sorry for not being active lately I blame twilight princess and pokemon rubis for my lack of diligence.
This level was supposed to be sent after the coin update but I really had trouble making the level come together.
Unchained Chomp's Prison
Nintendo embracing idol culture at last!
This one gave me a bit of trouble, managed to get all the coins (I think that's required).MARIO WANTS TO BE A GIANT
- Grab all the coins and complete the level as giant Mario
- Speedrun the level under 25 seconds
- Complete the level with 50 coins (55 of you count red coins)
Have fun! I'd love to receive any feedback.
I revised my ghosthouse level to be longer. It's now the length I wanted originally, but I'm worried the premise might lose some fun if it's extended too much. I planned to have two entirely separate red coin hunts in two areas, but the game apparently pools all the coins in the entire level together, so it had to be like this. Thanks to everyone who played the first version, let me know if this one is better:
Ghost Hunt 2
Okay, few of mine from recent weeks. Play-tested by torturing 12-year olds with these.
Red Coin Redemption Underwater
Code: 792C-0000-0225-7F22
I kinda ran through that one, a bit too busy for a 1-1, really liked it, there's really more to it than what I played. I actually went to an exit of a secret passage but couldn't make my way back.One of the first levels I made is still the most popular I have, here:
1-1: Super Mario GAFWorld
Code: CD0C-0000-004A-C8AF
Recently my young nephew (only just turned 3 last week) has been trying to play video games every time he comes over to visit. It has given me a lot of insight into how very young kids approach challenges. More notably though, I've realised that none of the games I own are even remotely playable to him, not even stuff that's supposed to be for kids, like Kirby. He's yet to learn stuff like conditional timing, failstates, or symultaneous input, so even something as basic as jumping over an enemy is frustrating to him.
I decided to create a level in Mario Maker that he could finish, without just making it a straight line devoid of challenges. The key problem is that I couldn't rely on him recognising hazards, nor could I include things that require special timing or moving while jumping. The level had to look natural and not patronising, but it also had to give my nephew as much time as he needed to overcome each hurdle in the stage.
While I succeeded, and he can indeed finish the level unaided, this level SOMEHOW has a 42% completion rate. Everyone who played the level completed it, but a couple of people tried to speedrun the stage, contributing a disproportionately unfair number of deaths.
A level for toddlers (no really)
Liked that level, the secret passage was not too obvious and rewarding.
Like this level, the boss at the middle point is weird considering it's literally the last boss of smb3.And another one.
Bowser's Big Box Brawl
Ok looks like I was inspired and pull out another. This one is a try at some original theme and while not being "hard" per see, this level is meant to be navigated carefully.
THE HAUNTED SWAMP
Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Have fun!
I'm going through the levels, they're not really hard but they sure as hell are better than the stuffs 100 Mario throw at me.On the theme of kids I finally gave my 7 year old a NNID yesterday after months of him begging to play "real people" online in Smash. Well, it turned out the first thing he wanted to do was release his SMM levels! Here are 3 of his best, see what you think:
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/profile/smashjnr?type=posted
As I said in my Miiverse comment this is a great stage with very smart construction on the
puzzles. Sometimes I find hardcore puzzle stages to be a bit too demanding but even though this one was hard I never got frustrated and never gave up partly because the traps were so clever that I kept wanting to see whatever new event the level was going throw at me, the stage does a good job of gently pushing the player forward despite its rather high challenge level.
Not many people playing levels any more, but here's my latest if anyone's game:
Rhythm is a Piranha
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/E7E0-0000-022F-A7DF
Difficulty: Super Expert
Bop those Piranha plants out of the way to reach the finish within the 30 second limit!
This is a 'die and retry' level that places a premium on rhythm and jump-timing. Hopefully you'll enjoy the ride as much as I enjoyed making it. It was liberating going back to making a stripped down, focused level after my last concoction.
Just uploaded my first attempt at a "desert" themed complete with a bunch of pesky, roaming, makeshift "Pokeys" I made for the player to contend with:
Pokeys in the Desert
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/A3A5-0000-0231-AF4F
-Key door stage with easy-medium difficulty, meant to be more laid back
-One hidden shortcut to the exit
-1 secret "daredevil" mini area and two hidden 1-ups
Thanks Mael, am glad you had some fun in there.
I am holding on some level feedback because I even wonder if half the peeps are still reading this thread. Maybe I should spit it out like you did anyways...
I dunno
It's been a while since I made a level! Have Calamity Circuitway:
I was going for an eerie theme. I tried using non-functional tracks to connect all platforms for aesthetics and to subtly convey information to the player. The platforming is on the hard side and purposefully a bit uncomfortable -- the jumps flow wrong and it feels unsafe. There's also a bit of (non-fatal) misdirection near the end. Taking the top of the pole is harder than wimping out and taking the lower half.
It ended up quite cool, I'd say.
EDIT: A link might be helpful, right?
Okay, few of mine from recent weeks. Play-tested by torturing 12-year olds with these.
Red Coin Redemption Underwater
Code: 792C-0000-0225-7F22
I'm going through the levels, they're not really hard but they sure as hell are better than the stuffs 100 Mario throw at me.
For smm players' collective sake ask him to do more.
the concepts are interesting and the execution is not bad at all.
The end part of brothers of doom is a bit confusing for some reasons.
HOLY CRAP! That was intense and HARD! I got the bad habit of spinning in midjumps, that threw for a loop in this level something fierce.
If it wasn't so fun I wouldn't have finished it.
I think I got the shortcut, I didn't get all the red coins so I feel like I need to come back to it!
e: okay I got the other path, it was great.
It really felt like the kind of desert level you find in mario games with passageways with pyramids and underground damp interiors.
really nice! Feels like I kinda prefer the way people make the theme fit rather than just be given the theme just like that.
The loop-structure of the level's two parts is really satisfying. The disparate ideas wind up feeling like an organic path, and it never feels like a chore to go back to look for missing coins.I didnt really pay attention much to the stage thumbnail so it was really cool to go "alright well I'll go up here first and see where this right path goes later" and realize that I had circled back to where I started.Here's my first one in a long while:
Ghost Hunt
I had a lot of fun using red coins. My goal was to make a non-linearish level to explore with some of the tricky puzzle vibe that ghost houses should have but without being long winded like some ghost houses can. There are really only two paths to take, but I really like the structure of it. The red coins allow for dramatically different levels now that you can incentivize exploration.
I didnt find the level obtuse at all! While I didnt figure everything out right away, there was enough room to experiment and puzzle out what to do without feeling lost for too long.This level was supposed to be sent after the coin update but I really had trouble making the level come together.
Unchained Chomp's Prison
I guess you can cheese the end part in some way otherwise it's downright evil.
It's probably the 1rst level I tried to make without an obvious easy path,
tell me how you liked it or if it was really way to obtuse.
Seriously no one I demoed the level was able to finish it and they didn't get what path I wanted them to take so I added pointers although I feel like it's now a little too obvious.
You can bypass some parts with some bugs I guess.
MARIO WANTS TO BE A GIANT
- Grab all the coins and complete the level as giant Mario
- Speedrun the level under 25 seconds
- Complete the level with 50 coins (55 of you count red coins)
Have fun! I'd love to receive any feedback.
Ok looks like I was inspired and pull out another. This one is a try at some original theme and while not being "hard" per see, this level is meant to be navigated carefully.
THE HAUNTED SWAMP
Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Have fun!
Recently my young nephew (only just turned 3 last week) has been trying to play video games every time he comes over to visit. It has given me a lot of insight into how very young kids approach challenges. More notably though, I've realised that none of the games I own are even remotely playable to him, not even stuff that's supposed to be for kids, like Kirby. He's yet to learn stuff like conditional timing, failstates, or symultaneous input, so even something as basic as jumping over an enemy is frustrating to him.
A level for toddlers (no really)
Okay, few of mine from recent weeks. Play-tested by torturing 12-year olds with these.
5A & mahdoton
Code: 7BD7-0000-0219-A372
Dug the stage, felt very Nintendo-like in its construction! I wish there were more instances where bouncing off the wigglers was required, but it doesnt detract from the stage.
Like I said in my Miiverse comment, I loved that there was an overworld portion to still trek through after the big fight with Bowser. I agree with Mael that Id have liked more to that section.And another one.
Bowser's Big Box Brawl
Here's my first stab at a vertical level, Tall Tower, Tiny Hero, featuring Chibi Robo. I've tried to make it pretty easy, but there's an optional 10 red coins that get progressively more difficult to get. I'm hoping for a Normal rating but I'm probably nowhere near!
https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/102B-0000-01FF-894E
Course: 8 Minutes, 5 Numbers, 1 Code
Looks highly interesting. Bookmarked the shit out of it!
Ok looks like I was inspired and pull out another. This one is a try at some original theme and while not being "hard" per see, this level is meant to be navigated carefully.
THE HAUNTED SWAMP
Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Have fun!
Course: 8 Minutes, 5 Numbers, 1 Code
ID: 85C5-0000-0234-C196
Bookmark: https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/courses/85C5-0000-0234-C196
Description of Gameplay Elements: Kiavik asked me to design a passcode system for him for a level he was making. I designed some prototypes for him, but I grew fond of one of the designs he didn't pick and wanted to make a level using it.
The first main room of this course is the room where you enter the passcode:
You have to hit 5 of these 8 ?blocks in the correct order to beat the level.
Going through the pipe in the center of the passcode entry room takes you to the second main room:
Each of the doors leads to a set of 4 paths each corresponding to the 8 arrows (one for each direction):
On each path you complete small fun challenges/puzzles like this:
Playing through the level will reveal the code you need to input in the main room, but I won't spoil how
I haven't played in awhile, but watching people stream made me want to come back and make some levels again. Here's my first real attempt at a puzzle level. There's 4 sections each with a different puzzle. This will most likely become a Super Expert level. If you're aware of the tricks though it will probably be pretty easy. FYI: there are no hidden blocks in the level.
Title: Trapped
Level code: 78BA-0000-0235-E003