Support NeoGAF

[Blues1990]

I want to submit this level for the NeoGAF challenge. Tell me what you guys think? Constructive criticism is most welcome.

Submission for the SMM-GAF Community Contest #1': Crystal-Clear Waters - 87D6-0000-005E-7372

 

[Conrad Link]

Finished my next level:

Bowser's Basement Plumbing Check

ADD1-0000-005E-5CC0

- Bowser's castle has been having plumbing problems, and there is NO WAY he is calling those Mario Bros. so he goes down to check what the issue could be.

Please give it a go and let me know what you think / comment / star it if you like it or have any suggestions.

Cheers.

 

[Meohsix]

This level started off pretty easy, then got a little asshole-ish towards the end.
And the name might get it deleted, but the kids will love it!
Play ♥b∞b§ Today! 721B-0000-005E-6F77

 

[Ferrio]

So what's the status of the contest? This thread moves too quickly.

 

[zeioIIDX]

New stage called Trick or Trick? It's a ghost house! 8C1F-0000-005E-92DD

 

[Madao]

this is my first Airship.

Aerosmith: A35B-0000-005B-EED7

i also learned how to make sub sections with this one since i couldn't figure it out without reading the manual.

edit: here's also a Cave level.

the Cave of Wonder: 4E7F-0000-005B-C084

 

[Chubzdoomer]

Before I go to bed I have to ask the important question,

Can you survive a ride on the world's most dangerous vine?

Find out on my new level,

One Tash One Vine
9B74 0000 005E 6E12

Hope you enjoy! I don't think it's too tough to survive the whole journey.

LOL, awesome level! It actually makes me wish more Mario games had levels like that. I thought you balanced out the difficulty just about right, because it was definitely challenging but not overly so.

I'd like to see you do another one like this, but with more than one route to take (although I understand that would be pretty tough due to the limited height you have to work with).

 

[TheSlySoul]

So what's the status of the contest? This thread moves too quickly.

Group 1 voting is this week.

Played them all. Gave everyone stars cause I had fun. Some had difficulty issues and some were a bit too flat, but honestly all I played were better than 99% of the 100 Mario challenge levels.

 

[Oni Link 666]

Took down all my levels while I do another editing pass on them. Well, I left one up to do a little experiment. I want to know if I get more plays on a single level if I just have one up. I'm sure you guys will love this one. It's an even better version of...

AUTOMATIC 1-1 AMIIBO PARTY
C8E3-0000-005E-34BF

NOW it's a party!

I'm sure it will be #1 within days.

Spoiler

Don't touch anything.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

I am sad that the secret death SFX are locked to 10/100 Mario Mode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtBsNqjotZE&feature=youtu.be&a

I never play that mode.

Holy shit, so when mario dies, he meets all the previous marios ? deepest lore indeed

 

[daydream]

So what's the status of the contest? This thread moves too quickly.

first page always has your back

 

[Ferrio]

first page always has your back

Ah, wasn't sure it was being updated with the info. Thanks.

 

[Shamrock7r]

Alright I think this is my best level yet. "Chomp Chomp Romp!"

It's fairly medium to slightly difficult. One secret. I try to find that balance of making it tough without being unfair. Tell me what you think. I would appreciate critique

C03C-0000-005E-893F

 

[:Motorbass]

Hey guys! I have another level which I put a lot of effort into!

Cure poor Wiggler! Use your doctor skills and see what's wrong with him from the inside!
Cure the Wiggler! (283F-0000-005E-6609) Difficulty: medium

Also, if you haven't already, please try my other top level:
Flight of the Battleship (F345-0000-0048-5D1C) Difficulty: medium

(thanks to sixfortyfive for the video of several GAF levels)

And this one only has a clear rate of 0.18% even if it's pretty straightforward. You don't even jump once in this level! Only walking and running!
Don't jump (D8D5-0000-003A-0E19) Difficulty: hard

 

[Neki]

Made a new map!
Super Rosalina Galaxy 3EC5-0000-005D-FFED
Rosalina has caught up to Bowser's fleet and must free all her stars before confronting Bowser himself.

Any feedback is welcome.

Quoting for new page, gf said it was too hard but then someone 1/1'd so not sure lol

 

[Blues1990]

Took down all my levels while I do another editing pass on them. Well, I left one up to do a little experiment. I want to know if I get more plays on a single level if I just have one up. I'm sure you guys will love this one. It's an even better version of...

AUTOMATIC 1-1 AMIIBO PARTY
C8E3-0000-005E-34BF

NOW it's a party!

I'm sure it will be #1 within days.

Spoiler

Don't touch anything.

3 Golden Bananas out of a Shigeru Miyamoto. There are no wigglers. There for, it's not a party without wigglers crawling about.

Spoiler

I had fun with this level, especially with all the random costumes I had ended up with.

 

[TheSlySoul]

I just realized springs are programmed to have different physics based on the skin. SMW springs feel just like SMW and SMB version was as finicky as original SMB. So seems there was potential for Mario to have different physics but Nintendo chose against it.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

The more I play excellent gaf levels the more likely I to skip stuff that just had bullshit or bad design. When I see like 15 enemies just all piled in one area I just abandon level. I can't even deal anymore.

 

[Oni Link 666]

3 Golden Bananas out of a Shigeru Miyamoto. There are no wigglers. There for, it's not a party without wigglers crawling about.

Spoiler

I had fun with this level, especially with all the random costumes I had ended up with.

I'm saving the wigglers for #wigglerwednesday.

 

[1up]

Nevermind.

 

[VandalD]

Anteo = Spring up! = 45B4-0000-0053-3581
I hate springs too much to be fair to this level, probably. I like showing that there are two mushrooms to grab if you learn when to jump off of a spring, and that one of those mushrooms is right before a piranha in case you screw up that spring. Can't finish this one without running. That's a major hangup for me with 1-1s. Good level, but I wouldn't put this at the start of a Mario game.

Jocchan = Welcome to Retroland 1-1 = 546B-0000-0022-5E73
This would be good for the start of a game that features something like huge Mario, and I like how you put blocks where even a new player would probably run into them and break them. Enjoyable level. Just don't know if it'd be a 1-1 if only because of surprise piranha plants out of pipes and jumping koopas. I think a bit more focus on huge Mario stomping on goombas and breaking blocks would be a better fit, especially since you lose what the level is showing off if you get hit once.

Jucksalbe = New Super Mario World 1-1 = 97E5-0000-0052-4858
The placement of the blocks over the first pit means that if a new player were to walk up against those blocks, then jump to get over the pit, they fall in. So it's actually a bit more dangerous with those there than without the blocks. Not something I'd do for the first pit in a Mario game. I would either make it two to three blocks wide, or just get rid of the blocks. If you kept the blocks but made it wider, you could do the one block thing later on in the level. I liked the tightly packed pit of goombas, potentially teaching a player that after they stomp a goomba in SMW style, they can be kicked to defeat other enemies. The pipe exit up next is the same layout as the jump I was talking about earlier, except you can't die because there are blocks and a pipe. It's just weird that this same jump later on is safer than much earlier in the level. The stairs in the underground seem designed around getting you hit unless you jump over the wall spiky (IDK their names) while on a flat surface. If you jump near a stair, you'll likely hit the ceiling or run into a wall causing you to fall onto the wall spiky. The clown car could actually end up killing you if you manage to not grab the fire flower, which is a bit mean.

Yuterald = Tree of Beginnings = 9DA5-0000-0051-D259
I think I played an earlier version of this. Anyway, I like this level a lot, but I really don't think it's a 1-1. It's visually interesting but also potentially confusing. There are running sections and jumping sections that mean I would never hand this over to a Mario newbie and expect them to be able to complete it, particularly if they didn't know they could climb vines or go in doors.

Junahu = Koopa Plateau 1 = 46EB-0000-0046-D07B
I like the loose shell that ensures not only that the koopa can't get you, but that the player might then learn about kicking shells, plus it can't come back and kill you. The noteblocks and scattered ? blocks give veteran players something to speed through the level jumping on, while providing practice for newbies for noteblocks, though I wouldn't put springs or noteblocks in a 1-1. Nice level.

TheSlySoul = SMB3 1-1 Redux = D3FF-0000-004A-2BBD
Good job introducing mushroom and regular platforms. Short, doesn't go crazy with enemies, but still has secrets to find. I liked it. Very much a SMB3 1-1 redux, as it says.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

We all know that every story must come to an end sometime.
But let me start from the beginning here.

It was a dark and scary night...



Course ID: BBA4-0000-005D-7639


Some dev commentary with spoilers.

General stuff

Spoiler

It took me around 3 hours to get this done. Basically what I wanted to do at first was simple: to create an SMB3 Ghost House level, because I hadn't used either before.
I had the simple premise of Mario walking up to a ghost house. That's basically it.
The Saw-esque traps and meat grinder and Thwomp mincer in the basement were the parts where I thought to myself "I am an evil person to do that to characters from the Mario universe" which only helped to get across what I wanted to do with this level: Tell a story.

Story

Spoiler

The overall story is that Mario finds this forsaken house in the middle of a forest (hence the Super Leaves raining down). I would've loved something like rain, but alas, the limitations got me there. In there he is attacked by the house itself in the form of many death traps. Can he find his way out of them and also find out who is pulling the strings behind all this?

The Level Design

Spoiler

You start out as Raccoon Mario mainly because I didn't want the transformation sequence be a nuisance when walking up to the house's entrance.

The "spooky" piano sounds are red music blocks with Munchers hopping around on them producing cliché scare chords.

The entrance itself has Spike Traps so the player cannot abuse their Raccoon powers and fly out of the level.

The doors should signal what I was going for: Random death traps in a scary house. But instead of just being (relatively easily avoidable) death traps I wanted the player to do something to get out of there.

So the first door leads to a fire hazard course, which originally had some Kameks in it, too, but that got WAY to hard with all the fire in there. Some Fire Bars were there too, but again, that section would've been way too hard with them still there.

I'll skip the second door for now and get straight to the third door: It leads to a simple "LOL NOPE" kind of moment where you hear something crash down from above, just to see that it's a giant Thwomp, quickly crushing its way towards Mario, crushing him if the player isn't smart enough to quickly exit the room through the same door.

Door number four just leads to the exit of door number one.

Now door number 2. This leads to a falling scene where you can clearly see a giant Bowser Jr. falling to his death. This is supposed to be the first hint that there are other people in the house suffering some kind fate because of its death traps. It's also supposed to show how gruesome the big boss of this house can be, sacrificing his only child because of God-knows-what. Anyway, a well placed arrow tells the player to steer towards the right side of the room, where he will land safely on a small "island" of sorts with a pipe on it, leading to the basement of the house.

The crates you land on are supposed to be filled with spare parts of the giant machinery that the house is made out of. No way to show this, so the player's imagination is supposed to handle that. The player also immediately notices the giant saw blades with platforms above them, so the player gains an easy and safe way above the machine, up on the catwalk where he will see how the machine works. It spits out other "people", screaming for their lifes, hopelessly of course, as they immediately get grinded by the saw blades. I found it funny, yet scary how the Hammer Bros always get to chuck one last hammer before dying horribly.
The other side isn't much better. The player sees other "people" and a bowl of sorts, getting filled with them. Nothing else is happening, until the player jumps up to the second catwalk, where he notices another giant Thwomp. The Thwomp was positioned just so that the player cannot avoid it under any circumstances. He is forced to provoke the Thwomp so it falls down, crushing everyone beneath him.
The player continues his way, noticing all the cells (which are actually supposed to hang from the ceiling, but the way the camera works in Mario Maker you cannot see that, sadly). One Bob-Omb goes crazy and suicides, a Wiggler is also stark mad, a Spike Top has gone so crazy he walks up and down the walls and a Koopa Troopa became a Dry Bones, while many before him already died and rotted away in the same cell.

Then follows the player's possible escape. He walks through the door, a light is shining above him through the window through which a Super Leaf from outside made its way. The player is basically forced to grab it. The arrows are signaling to run around and fly up. Munchers are placed so the player is forced to lose his newfound raccoon ability and quickly go through the door.
While writing this I just noticed that you can get stuck in this room by losing your raccoon powers and falling down instead of going through the door. Sorry about that.

Anyway, the player goes through the door, where the big boss, the puppeteer, Big Bowser awaits him.
This battle is basically exactly the same as in Super Mario Bros. 3. I noticed that Bowser has different abilities in different Mario styles, so recreating the Bowser fight from SMB3 was a fun thing to do, although I had to work around Mario Maker's limitations once again, though using Bowser-actived P-Switches to let him fall to his doom AND opening the way for the player is something I'm kinda proud of finding it out but I don't think I'm the first to find that out.

The pipe leads once again outside and to the goal. Mario just got through a very horrible night.

There is a small easter egg in the entrance area of the house: to the right of the fourth door you will see a room filled with coins. You can actually get there. But how you can get there, you have to find out yourself (it's very simple actually).

So yeah, that's it.
I had LOTS of fun creating that level.
Thanks for everyone who read through the commentary. Even though this thread moves so fast I really hope a lot of people are able to play this level. I'm very proud of how it turned out.

EDIT:
I also recreated the Intro Stage of Megaman X just for fun, give it a try:
1A54-0000-0056-1E76

I played your level just on how cool I thought you were able to make the outside look with the leafs. I will say your level was mechanically solid but traps are pretty bullshit. The fact that I climbed all the way up that incredibly tedious fire burner section to pop out on the other side actually pissed me off. You should avoid making the player do that much work as a troll. The section is not fun (because of how slow you have to move through the burners) so it also being a troll makes it significantly worse. The faling part is also an unfair troll. I thought to go to the middle but there is no actual reason to do so.

You made the bowser level nice and short which is good. Not sure if the room with the heavenly light has another way up if you lose the raccoon power up to the bowser flames but maybe think of one if it doesn't. I like the look, did not like the traps.

 

[QuixoticNeutral]

I just realized springs are programmed to have different physics based on the skin. SMW springs feel just like SMW and SMB version was as finicky as original SMB. So seems there was potential for Mario to have different physics but Nintendo chose against it.

My first stage after getting the game revolved around SMB springs (128A-0000-002B-853E, for those interested) and something I picked up in testing was this: the window for the extra lift you get when jumping off objects in SMB is so tight that it's dramatically affected by HDTV lag. That's why it feels so finicky. If you've ever seen the sluggishness that a lot of Wii U users report with VC games that are all digital input, it's much the same thing here: the TV display is several frames behind the GamePad. While most games seem unaffected (I've been playing Splatoon, Smash, and Bayonetta all this time without noticing input lag, and those are games full of moments where every frame counts—but analogue input has a way of compensating), SMB physics are a real problem. Meanwhile, playing on the GamePad display, my springs were totally reliable.

The solution is to set the TV to a low-latency Game Mode, but not every player will know to do that rather than blame the springs. I'm proud of the stage I made, but the completion rate is dismally low (probably because of this), and from now on I will probably just avoid do-or-die mechanics that depend on bouncing off objects with well-timed button presses, at least in the SMB skin.

 

[timetokill]

The Color Dimension (8F91-0000-005A-39AA)
Sequel to The White Dimension. To bring more variety, I made rooms based on different colors: white, orange, blue and black.

God damn it, you beat me to it XD

 

[GurgleBot20]

This is my third level. I tried experimenting a bit with alternate paths, but I'm not sure how apparent that is.

Spiked Shrooms (3B5B-0000-0059-4587)

 

[Smiles and Cries]

so I have yet to download this game but been thinking a lot about music themed stages

I guess you can't really use music clips as your sound effects right?

they would be replaced anyway right?

even if I uploaded a video with the music clips youtube would flag it I'm guessing?


what I was thinking was using samples from popular 1970's music (funk & disco) just to create fun stages with cool sounds but as I think about it I just see them getting deleted by youtube

another way (the hard way) is using music notes to create the music

should I just go for it?

 

[pinkurocket]

Here is my second course. (Technically third)

Of ice and fire.

2E92-0000-005E-EAEB

I did take inspiration from Neogaf member Storm Kyleis' monochromatic stages, but I used the blue and orange for an ice and fire segment. Tried my hand at a bit more platforming as well. I'll make a presentation card for it tomorrow if I still like it then.

Edit: reuploaded the stage after making some stages, the code in this post has been updated.

 

[bart64]

I just realized springs are programmed to have different physics based on the skin. SMW springs feel just like SMW and SMB version was as finicky as original SMB. So seems there was potential for Mario to have different physics but Nintendo chose against it.

I think you're right. Having played a bunch of 100 levels, I can see that it would be tough to pull off a mode that alternates styles. It takes me a while, hours sometimes, to hone in on different Mario physics.

I suppose there can be a work around, but I appreciate their decision. There is a bunch of thought put into this game, like how newer objects were added to older styles, sometimes sharing and sometimes not sharing the mechanics, how the terrain types and game modes were adapted to the editor, how see less everything is. I can see how this turned into a big undertaking and why they decided to make it a big production.

 

[Junahu]

So, I played through all of the levels of the first group of the contest. I went through each stage as if the run button was broken. If there were any obvious secrets requiring running, or major alternate routes, I went through the level a second time, just as myself.

As I went through each stage, I paused frequently to take notes. I just wrote down whatever thought popped into my head at the time, good or bad. Because of this, the notes are probably a little confusing, and refer to specific parts of each level. Sorry about that. I also apologise if my notes on your level sound overly critical, I just wrote whatever I was thinking at the time, and any critique I make does not reflect on what I actually think of the stage as a whole.

Super Mario Adventure: World 1-1

• First block contains a mushroom (traditionally the first block always contains a single coin)
• First screen looks a little tight and is high on the screen. It made me think I could explore the area below where I stood.
• some blocks are two tiles from the ground, which is very tight for super mario when he needs to jump onto an enemy.
• Double ended pipes are a little ugly
• Theme seems to be that blocks are physically attached to objects in this world, rather than floating in midair. It's a nice expanson on the theatre themes from SMB3, but it can feel a little cluttered sometimes, having a mushroom platform accompany every block.
• The pirahna plant is a little abrupt, after all of the empty pipes preceeding it
• Cool toad house, but it probably should contain a power up, preferrably a fire flower.
• second and third areas of the level are very strong, mostly because they open up and build gradually on a vertical element. Third area could do with some manner of shortcut, in case the player falls all the way to the bottom
• Transition room that immediately goes to level exit feels superfluous

Adventure 1-1 ~ Grass outskirts

• First goomba is a little too close. Hard to hit a good stride before having to deal with it.
• Goomba's spacing prevents player from bouncing from one to the other (unless holding run)
• Clouds going to the left after a vine climb is a nice callback to SMB3
• No immediate danger from making blind leap off of clouds
• Bonus room is excessively generous, that's like a full life's worth of coins there
• Enemy placement after bonus room punishes hesitation. Enemy placement in general is a little excessive, with no easy over-routes (platforms, raised pipes, etc) to bypass them.
• Nice placement of fire flower in second bonus room.
• Good use of grass platforms to make second half of level visually distinct.

Basic Introduction

• First block being a multi-coin block feels odd, slows play down when it should be gearing up speed.
• First blocks uncomfortably low, forcing rather cruel choice of either engaging the goomba, or letting the mushroom run away.
• Four equally spaced pipes of varying heights is a nice structure for a tutorial, but is visually unappealing, and their purpose is kind of transparant to the player.
• None of the pipes lead to a bonus room
• single tile ledges are difficult to stand on (middle platform, right hand side, you can't casually walk off onto this ledge without slipping off and dieing)
• decent over-route bypasses
• Nice introduction to bizarro elements.
• Level ends abruptly.

Underground Tutorials

• No nearby mushroom is very suspect
• Player is assumed to know that running bypasses single tile gaps
• Giving powerups as rewards for using the tutorials is a very neat idea, empowering the players who would most likely need the help.
• Very nearly fails the no-run test, some jumps were extremely tight when not using the run button.
• Tutorials aren't set up very holistically, and there are no miiverse posts to act as tutorial text
• P-switch tutorial doesn't escalate into a test like the previous tutorials do (you can just walk to the exit while ignoring the P-switch). It's also the most "self evident" element you showcase, making it very easy in comparison to running and wall jumping.
• It's a generally cool idea, but tutorialising incidental gameplay mechanics doesn't really work as a 1-1.

1-1 Super Mario GAFWorld

• Nice isolated introduction to Mario World's weird blocks
• Koopa troopa in relatively enclosed space between pipes is a bit dangerous. No easy bypass to this section either (can't even running jump between the pipes)
• Pirahna plant is cruelly placed.
• Nice call-back to Mario World's 1-2 with the multiple koopas on a raised platform. A bit tricky to kick a shell at them though.
• Coins overlapping with para-koopas is incompatible with Mario Maker's mechanic of letting Yoshi eat coins. I don't want to eat the coins, I want the para-koopa!
• P-switch leads to very obvious entrance to bonus room... turns out to be the exit FROM the bonus room.
• The actual entrance to the bonus room is very difficult to find
• General lack of powerups; one mushroom at the start, one hidden fire-flower at the end. I would have liked it if the note block 1up was a mushroom.
• Bonus room is a auto-scroller, that doesn't stop at the end, crushing the player unless they leave.

Stroll through the Mole Hill

• Immediate super mario is fine. I personally prefer finding a mushroom, but this convenience is nice too. It's consistant with the 3D Mario games.
• Not sure what to make of the initial screen. Player is relatively safe, but the use of a pit immediately in front of them to stop the monty mole looks messy
• Nice consistancy with mole placement. Coins may be a bit much, but it visually looks like bait for their trap, which is a nice touch.
• Giant-para-mole in an enclosed inaccessible space looks out of place.
• Nice element of exploration, though dead ends could do with a power up at the end.
• I didn't see any power ups at all along the regular path [edit: this complaint is incorrect]
• The gimmick doesn't smoothly escalate; adding wings to the moles is an abrupt jump in difficulty, due to the extra hit needed to kill them, coupled with the extra mobility they gain.
• Mega moles aren't positioned in a way that allows them to emerge before getting stomped on, ruining the surprise somewhat.

spring up!

• Coins on the floor are visually ugly. The theme of the level is springs, so they definitely should be airborne.
• Nice enclosed practice for the spring mechanic.
• Mechanic escalates relatively smoothly
• Cool hidden 1up from spring block.
• Hidden block mechanic introduced in an abrupt way at the very end of the level.
• fails the no-run test.

Welcome to retroland 1-1

• Introduction of mega mushroom is far too soon in the level, player hasn't had the chance to actually play with the regular mechanics in order to understand what shortcomings the mega mushroom overcomes
• Initial screen is not a close enough facsimilie of the original 1-1 for my personal taste.
• Level doesn't seem to be layed out in a way that is conducive to cathartic mega-mario gameplay. Lots of dead stops with pipes and it's fairly easy to take a hit.
• Nicely constructed bonus room that encourages the player to backtrack to find another entrance.
• Lots of pipes, but no way to "sense" which one leads to the bonus room.

New super Mario World 1-1

• First bonus room placement is rather bizarre
• Initial area feels bland, with three equally spaced block towers of increasing height. It's cool that a full jump over the third one will hit the question mark block.
• A non-running jump can very easily fall into the first hole, due to the previous blocks encouraging the player to walk into the block before jumping over it. It would honestly have been easier to navigate if the safety blocks weren't there at all.
• Question block over-route to bypass the galoomba mosh-pit is a little too obvious, It would be inordinately harder to fall into the pit than it would be to walk over it.
• second bonus room isn't aligned to the center of the screen. And while the player can't trap themselves in this room, they can make it extremely difficult to leave.
• Blocks to trap the starman aren't really neccessary, given the large open space that comes after it and the obvious intention that you should run here.
• Introduction to a spiked enemy you shouldn't jump on might be a little abrupt. And it doesn't show up again anywhere else.
• Lots of empty blocks in the underground area. In super mario world, empty blocks don't have much purpose being placed liberally like this.
• non-sequitur clown-car section at the end of the level. It's actually rather tricky.

Tree of beginnings

• Initial screen is very cramped. Could do with being moved to the right a few tiles so it doesn't feel so 'in medias res'
• Jump to single tile block, followed by mandatory spring jump, followed by cramped jump across the pit Mario just spring jumped up.
• Lack of airspace in general makes it hard to get a feel for Mario's jumping or running.
• Thematically very pleasing, though the theme overrides the level design on occasion.
• Vine mechanic presented to the player without any explicit guidance that they can interact with it (they have to jump AND hold up in order to find out that they can climb it)
• Jumping dismount required from vines. Failing them tends to cause the player to die
• Nice use of multiple routes to funnel players down a path that suits their level of skill and encourages exploration
• Underground section requires skills that the player has already demonstratedly failed to acquire (running across single tile gaps). the difficulty of this section is rather high, considering it is the path that unskilled players will fall into
• fails the no-run test
• No power ups at all?
• general difficulty is far above what I would personally consider suitable for a 1-1

SMB3s 1-1 Redux

• Initial screen is cramped. No room to run around before jumping is required.
• superfluous vine on first screen
• Placement of first question block is ugly, and contains a mushroom, rather than the prerequisite coin that is traditionally found inside.
• knowledge of shell grabbing is presumed. Just kicking the shell has underwhelming results (though at least it's easy to stop the shell to try again)
• Extremely over-generous bonus room, considering how trivial it is to find (remember, the player can enter through the exit pipe too). The camera also scrolls to the right, when it really shouldn't
• Level is too compact. Difficult to get a good pace going at any point.
• Nice use of stacked goombas as the final beat of the level.

Koopa Hill

• Nice use of vertical space on first screen.
• First green koopa is too dangerous, considering how eager players are to jump to the block.
• First block contains a mushroom, instead of the typical coin it traditionally has.
• First pipe on the first screen leading to the sub-level feels a little too obvious. Shell chasing is also a gimmick that should be introduced a little later into the level.
• Nice arrangement of pipes and blocks to gradually build jump confidence.
• genuinely liked the multi-coin block placed between two pipes to ease the frustration of anyone who didn't make the jump
• The pipe structure for the second bonus room looks rather ugly
• The two bonus rooms should probably be switched around?
• Final jump to top of goal-post is too far considering the goal-post itself is a timing challenge

Kuribo's shoe 1-1

• surprisingly well executed beginning. Though opening with the stage's gimmick isn't usually what a 1-1 stage does.
• Required kuribo's shoe almost immediately. Presumption placed on the player to know what the shoe is immune to and what the shoe can do (shoe dismounts in particular)
• screen arrangement draws attention to the alternate route instead the expected route.
• very disparate sprite elements used (buzzsaws and thwomps)
• coins used to mark the pipe that leads to the bonus room. There are very obvious pipes (there are two candidates) nearby that players would naturally try entering, if it weren't for the coins spoiling the secret.
• Pretty nice flow to the pipe section in general
• other bonus room directly pointed out to the player using an arrow.
• exit pipe from first bonus room literally does not work. shoe dismount required to leave, making the bonus room itself useless.

1-1 Difficulty *oooo

• First interactable elements are a little close to the starting position.
• Wonderful introduction of first goomba, who gradually walks into the screen while Mario interacts with the first blocks
• Nice enclosed jumping practice to earn mushroom powerup.
• Mushroom almost immediately superceded by easily found fire flower. The block with it in should be on the opposite side of the pipe.
• Carrying the koopa shell over the pipe to fire it at the other grounded block rewards the player with literally nothing.
• Nicely constructed bonus room with a natural entrance. Additional coins for more aware players.
• Nice use of block platforms and bridges to add more visual flow to the level.
• It might be a bit much to have two Goombas underneath the two rows of breakable blocks. One would be plenty here. Otherwise it's a very well designed section.
• Placement of one multi-coin block in between three platforms looks a little ugly and is too low to be satisfyingly jumped up into. It feels like it should contain something substantial
• Overhanging block left after kicking koopa shell into the blocks doesn't contain anything when it really should have something inside.
• bizarre pipe structure at the very end of the level that leads to a superfluous undergound "section"

World 1.3 - 1.3

• 1-1's first blocks are too close to the player. The goomba is desynced from how the arrangement is meant to play out.
• Bypassing the initial leaf powerup with the bonus room is rather clever, as it plays into the player's familiarity with the first game.
• Difficult to find enough room to run with the raccoon suit.
• The gimmick didn't escalate much at all. It would be fair to say this level is part of SMB3's 1-1 mashed into the middle of SMB's 1-1, which dissapointed me somewhat. The coolest part was the staircase leading to the end card.
• The second bonus room's secrecy is ruined somewhat by the fact that the exit pipe is a legitimate entry point.

super mario nexus 1-1

• First goombas are placed too close to the player. The player needs a chance to jump up onto the platform instead of engaging with them.
• The goombas' spacing is also awkward making it difficult to hit both with one jump.
• It's difficult to get the leaf after revealing it.
• No room to run with the raccoon suit after first getting it. No jumps that would benefit from the raccoon suit's flutter
• Having a para-koopa to draw the player's attention upward is pretty cool, especially with the leaf powerup nearby.
• superfluous arrow telling the player to go upwards. The pit here shouldn't be this wide. It would actually be okay to not have a pit here at all
• obvious mid-air pipe that should go to a bonus room, doesn't. There are actually a few pipes that feel like entrances to bonus rooms
• single tile gaps sometimes aren't enough for kicked shells to fall down, which can ruin the nice shell setup you have.
• Far too easy to lose the replacement leaf powerup immediately after getting it
• Nice use of a multi-coin block to delay the player while they assess the pirahna plant coming out of the pipe.
• Too many pipes in the air, distracting from the main aerial secret and contributing to general clutter
• Lots of nice visual variation and some nice structures that encourage the player to play around. Level 'feels big'.
• Moving platforms are a bit excessive, as the level is lively enough already. Having this gimmick appear so late in the stage makes it feel cluttered.

koopa plateau 1

Spoiler

• This is my stage, so I will stick to negative feedback here.
• Buzzy beetle shell instead of a koopa shell is visually obtuse, and a betrayal of the level's title and theme.
• Pit that kicked shells fall into makes obnoxious sound as the shell bounces back and forth.
• POW Block near to Yoshi gives the player too many gimmicks to internalise at once (should probably be a koopa for Yoshi to eat)
• Note block burried in the ground is visually ugly
• Difficult to jump onto the second Yoshi (requires a short jump)
• Coins above the note block bed should be higher. As is, they don't encourage the player to bounce enough.
• hard requirement to bounce high off of a note block to clear the level.
• Too many power ups and gimmicks too close together make it difficult to set a good pace for the level and slows things down.

By far the most frequent problem I noticed with these stages, is putting stuff too close to the player's starting position, which forces them to engage with the level before they can even get a feel for their movement. Pacing problems are expected when there is so little space to work with, but the first screen of the game is absolutely critical, and it should be relatively barren as to give the player an empty space to work with.

There were also problems with bonus rooms, namely their exit pipes. All pipes in Mario Maker are two-way, so every exit is also a second entrance. I entered more than one bonus room from the wrong end, and it really fouls up the pace of the level when that happens.

Forgetting to give powerups to Mario was alarmingly common too. But not as common as stuffing a mushroom in the very first block the player sees. If you're going to do that, you may as well just give the player a mushroom when the level starts.

I was pleased with how well most levels integrated multi-coin blocks as a tool to slow the player down. And virtually every stage gave the player some isolated jumping practice at some point.

Of the levels I played, my favourite would have to be Nohar's "1-1 Difficulty *oooo". I suspect this level will be the favourite of most people. It's supremely well constructed, cribbing liberally from the SMB3 playbook whilst also adding subtle spins of its own.

 

[Rabbi_Vole]

This game easily justifies the WiiUs existence.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

This game easily justifies the WiiUs existence.

Lots of things do. NSMBU justified it on launch day.

 

[VandalD]

Stroll through the Mole Hill

• Immediate super mario is fine. I personally prefer finding a mushroom, but this convenience is nice too. It's consistant with the 3D Mario games.
• Not sure what to make of the initial screen. Player is relatively safe, but the using a pit immediately in front of them to contain the monty mole looks messy
• Nice consistancy with mole placement. Coins may be a bit much, but it visually looks like bait for their trap, which is a nice touch.
• Giant-para-mole in an enclosed inaccessible space looks out of place.
• Nice element of exploration, though dead ends could do with a power up at the end.
• I didn't see any power ups at all along the regular path
• The gimmick doesn't smoothly escalate; adding wings to the moles is an abrupt jump in difficulty, due to the extra hit needed to kill them, coupled with the extra mobility they gain.
• Mega moles aren't positioned in a way that allows them to emerge before getting stomped on, ruining the surprise somewhat.

There were two mushrooms in ?-blocks along the main path. You're right that the dead end below the triple jump could use something. In retrospect, I wish I had placed a fire flower somewhere in this level. Would've helped the exploration be a bit more rewarding, and likely would've helped smooth the difficulty. Thanks for the post!

 

[Papercuts]

Welp. Just did a level called "100% impossible" that used the door glitch invincibility to get through a massive floor of spikes with enemy and bowser spam everywhere.

First time I saw that pop up but I'm the only one who beat it so far, that stuff diluting the level pool is really shitty to see.

 

[Naar]

So i made a big "fuck you" level in honor of all the sadistic levels i see popping up in this game.

there is no special tricks to it. its just a really sadistic level and you have to think like that to win

I would be surprised if people beat it quickly. i made sure to put a few "fuck you" obstacles in the way (although if you are really good you can beat this level "unscathed")

again no hidden doors or special paths in this stage. ok no more hints from me!

233A-0000-005E-B50C

233A-0000-005E-B50C

 

[TheSlySoul]

Thanks for the critique Junahu, I will take notes since I will want to make an actual platformer some day.
Think 1-1 is the hardest thing to nail down because many played felt world 2+ material. 7-1 will be much easier for me, ha ha.
Also to the creator of Bowser Mysterious Ghost House, you really need to use coins to lead the player. I like your ideas though, but had to quit because I was tired.

 

[1up]

Just did a quickie wall jumping level.

Give it a shot and let me know.

A314-0000-005E-8517

Up and Atom!

 

[octopiggy]

Got 2,000 stars and my 8th medal!

 

[TheSlySoul]

Got 2,000 stars and my 8th medal!

You need to share your Star getting secrets to me.
Congrats though!

 

[Yuterald]

Thanks for the feedback so far from everyone who's played my stage! I know my level doesn't exactly adhere to traditional "1-1" elements and ideas, but it was the very first conceptual stage I designed (it's gone through about 5 revisions, too), so in my eyes, it's my own personal "1-1". I really wanted to sell verticallity (in this instance, climbing a tree) and I'd like to think I did a fairly good job at it, given the limitations that are present.

I've yet to creatively exhaust myself on the original Mario Bros. template and I'm going to continue to fine-craft this tree-motif I've created as well. Here's my latest stage, inspired by Robin64's "Light and Shadow" stage. My take on a light/dark-side version of a stage.

Cursed Woods: 959B-0000-005E-A918

Here's my second tree-level:

Worm Root Way: AF0C-0000-0053-F38F

I'll start playing the rest of the Round 1 submissions for the contest throughout the week and I'll report back with some impressions. Thanks again.

 

[Gotdatmoney]

Here is my second course. (Technically third)

Of ice and fire.

2A92-0000-005E-A8E2

I did take inspiration from Neogaf member Storm Kyleis' monochromatic stages, but I used the blue and orange for an ice and fire segment. Tried my hand at a bit more platforming as well. I'll make a presentation card for it tomorrow if I still like it then.

I like this level. The actual platforming bits are great. But I have some comments. That bowser actaully ruins sections of the platforming. The fire section was already perfectly fine in challenge before all those bowser flames just started spamming all the fuck outta no where. Because the flames are random you can put yourself in positions where you can't avoid them to no fault of your own. I fell on one just by rhe screen scrolling down.

For the ice section the jumps with the blue platforms with wings, dont make them jump off the rail. Having to off yourself because you miss one jump is a bit mean.

Other than that good level. Killed it thematically.

 

[octopiggy]

You need to share your Star getting secrets to me.
Congrats though!

It's easy. Just steal music, gameplay and general design from an existing well loved franchise and watch the stars roll in.

1,394 of those stars came from my WarioWare level. I suspect the rest are just riding on the coattails of that. I'm am pretty proud of all of my levels though (well, most of them at least).

 

[Kriken]

So, I played through all of the levels of the first group of the contest. I went through each stage as if the run button was broken. If there were any obvious secrets requiring running, or major alternate routes, I went through the level a second time, just as myself.


Kuribo's shoe 1-1

• surprisingly well executed beginning. Though opening with the stage's gimmick isn't usually what a 1-1 stage does.
• Required kuribo's shoe almost immediately. Presumption placed on the player to know what the shoe is immune to and what the shoe can do (shoe dismounts in particular)
• screen arrangement draws attention to the alternate route instead the expected route.
• very disparate sprite elements used (buzzsaws and thwomps)
• coins used to mark the pipe that leads to the bonus room. There are very obvious pipes (there are two candidates) nearby that players would naturally try entering, if it weren't for the coins spoiling the secret.
• Pretty nice flow to the pipe section in general
• other bonus room directly pointed out to the player using an arrow.
• exit pipe from first bonus room literally does not work. shoe dismount required to leave, making the bonus room itself useless.

...Fuck, I didn't realize the exit was wiped away. Feel awful for not inspecting the pipes before uploading

 

[Ramsiege]

Finished my next level:

Bowser's Basement Plumbing Check

ADD1-0000-005E-5CC0

- Bowser's castle has been having plumbing problems, and there is NO WAY he is calling those Mario Bros. so he goes down to check what the issue could be.

Please give it a go and let me know what you think / comment / star it if you like it or have any suggestions.

Cheers.

I liked it. Really tested my reflexes near the end.

 

[Yuterald]

Tree of beginnings

• Initial screen is very cramped. Could do with being moved to the right a few tiles so it doesn't feel so 'in medias res'
• Jump to single tile block, followed by mandatory spring jump, followed by cramped jump across the pit Mario just spring jumped up.
• Lack of airspace in general makes it hard to get a feel for Mario's jumping or running.
• Thematically very pleasing, though the theme overrides the level design on occasion.
• Vine mechanic presented to the player without any explicit guidance that they can interact with it (they have to jump AND hold up in order to find out that they can climb it)
• Jumping dismount required from vines. Failing them tends to cause the player to die
• Nice use of multiple routes to funnel players down a path that suits their level of skill and encourages exploration
• Underground section requires skills that the player has already demonstratedly failed to acquire (running across single tile gaps). the difficulty of this section is rather high, considering it is the path that unskilled players will fall into
• fails the no-run test
• No power ups at all?
• general difficulty is far above what I would personally consider suitable for a 1-1

Fart, now I want to go back and revise again, ha! Thanks for all of this, though. Will take most of this into consideration going forward.

 

[Kebiinu]

Guys! I completed a new level, and I really think it's the pinnacle of my experience thus far! I'd appreciate it if you would try it and let me know your thoughts!

Big-Tall Mountain

Unrelated to the infamous Tall-Tall Mountain portrait of Peach's Castle, Big-Tall Mountain is similar in name alone. It's here we have Mario scaling the outskirts, caves, and cliffside of Mushroom Kingdoms forgotten tower. Where giant mushroom spores accelerate growth to surprising degrees, and those lost forever inside the caverns live on to become shuffling corpses. Can Mario reach the peak?
Stage ID: 9BD9-0000-005E-AF76

I'm going to check back the last few pages and try those stages.

Edit: I'll go ahead and add my contest entry here as well. I had submitted it a few pages back, but I'm always looking forward to feedback!

Koopa Trails (Level 1-1)

This stage has our hero learning the ropes and getting back into shape for his next big adventure! Fairly linear, but not without it's share of surprises. Rumor has it...there's a strange leaf that allows you to soar into a sky of riches. Just how much of that is true?
Stage ID: 427A-0000-0051-51C6

 

[Junahu]

Junahu = Koopa Plateau 1 = 46EB-0000-0046-D07B
I like the loose shell that ensures not only that the koopa can't get you, but that the player might then learn about kicking shells, plus it can't come back and kill you. The noteblocks and scattered ? blocks give veteran players something to speed through the level jumping on, while providing practice for newbies for noteblocks, though I wouldn't put springs or noteblocks in a 1-1. Nice level.

Thanks for the commentry. I was very particular in making the first area as safe as possible without removing enemies entirely. I wanted to funnel players who didn't know how to jump, into a bonus room where they could learn in an enclosed space, but I still wanted it to look like they were being active players, even if all they were doing was walking to the right.

I agree that note blocks aren't a great fit for a 1-1. I was struggling to think of a good secondary gimmick for the level. Just being a level filled with koopas is too dry, and I couldn't use more complicated koopa forms (giant/flying) to pad out the concept, so I needed something else for the player to engage with.

In hindsight, Yoshi was probably enough, particularly if I gave the player more encouragement to eat enemies. But I decided to use note blocks because their bounciness is a good complement to a level that teaches jump confidence/control.

Spoiler

I also wanted to play on SMB3 nostalgia a little by sticking a starman in a note block.

There were two mushrooms in ?-blocks along the main path. You're right that the dead end below the triple jump could use something. In retrospect, I wish I had placed a fire flower somewhere in this level. Would've helped the exploration be a bit more rewarding, and likely would've helped smooth the difficulty. Thanks for the post!

Oh dear you were right about the extra mushrooms. I'm really sorry about that, my mind must have been drifting. I can't remember why I didn't notice them the first time. It was either because I didn't need them, or because I was too focused on jumping onto every coin to bop the next monty mole. I'll edit an "[edit: this complaint is incorrect]" into my original post.

edit:

Fart, now I want to go back and revise again, ha! Thanks for all of this, though. Will take most of this into consideration going forward.

I thoroughly enjoyed every level I played from the contest, and yours was definitely not an exception. It was incredibly well constructed, to the point where I totally forgot about the inherent limitations of Mario Maker that the level was surely hitting up against. It has a sense of place that I haven't really seen out of any other MM level, and I did enjoy snooping around looking for other routes and such.

 

[Chezzymann]

After watching streams for a while (still haven't bought the game so correct me if I'm wrong) I'm beginning to think there's a problem with the 100 Mario challenge difficulties. Seems like normal is super easy and boring, which makes most streamers go to expert, but expert encompasses about 90% of the range in difficulty. There's pretty easy levels in expert and also incredibly hard ones. And a lot of streamers get stuck on the super hard ones which makes it not fun to watch after like 30 minutes.

I have a feeling the rate of difficulty is kind of like an exponential curve when it comes to the levels, but when organizing easy/medium/hard Nintendo decided to do something like "100-66% completion rate for easy, 66-33% completion rate for normal, and 33-0% completion rate for expert" when it should probably be something more like "100-33% completion rate for easy, 33-10% completion rate for normal, and 10-0% completion rate for expert"

 

[Azure Dream]

Ugh Imgur isn't working for some reason so I can't take a picture right now, but my latest level Terror in the jungle needs some loving. Not a single star yet and a low completion rate I don't think it's even that hard, and it's just a straight forward, fun platforming level.

C03F 0000 004C 26F6

The various costumes didn't really fit with a theme. The platforming was alright. Getting off vines can be a bit fiddly, and once or twice I fell off the side of one while just trying to change sides. A bit of a squeeze trying to get past the Giant Chomp without damage. Final bit left me wondering if I was meant to be able to get into the top area with the giant enemies or not.

Finished my next level:

Bowser's Basement Plumbing Check

ADD1-0000-005E-5CC0

- Bowser's castle has been having plumbing problems, and there is NO WAY he is calling those Mario Bros. so he goes down to check what the issue could be.

Please give it a go and let me know what you think / comment / star it if you like it or have any suggestions.

Cheers.

Liked it! I had to go back and replay it (why doesn't the Cleared screen have a fast replay button?) because I took the secret path first, but even that was involved and entertaining!

My minor complaints are that the first drop down can be blind into lava (donut blocks or a blue platform would fix that), and there were almost too many Amiibo mushrooms around. Hazard buffers aside, they robbed some of the fun of of seeing what was in the blocks.

But otherwise, nice level!

 

[Hylian7]

After watching Game Grumps play SMM the other day, I saw that Ross made a level that was ridiculously difficult and he uploaded it. After two episodes of Arin and Dan trying to beat it, Ross came in and showed them a secret way to beat it: A completely random spot where you have to bounce on the homing Bullet Bills to hit a hidden block that contains a vine, use the Bullet Bills again to get onto the vine, climb up, jump and hit another invisible block under the door, go in the door, and drop out over the exit and just duck and Bowser will eventually jump over you. It's kind of funny that he probably didn't beat the level the "normal" way to upload it and just used his own secret to do it. I wonder how many other levels that I have skipped in 100 Mario Challenge used the "completely random hidden way out" trick.

 

[VandalD]

After watching streams for a while (still haven't bought the game so correct me if I'm wrong) I'm beginning to think there's a problem with the 100 Mario challenge difficulties. Seems like normal is super easy and boring, which makes most streamers go to expert, but expert encompasses about 90% of the range in difficulty. There's pretty easy levels in expert and also incredibly hard ones. And a lot of streamers get stuck on the super hard ones which makes it not fun to watch after like 30 minutes.

I have a feeling the rate of difficulty is kind of like an exponential curve when it comes to the levels, but when organizing easy/medium/hard Nintendo decided to do something like "100-66% completion rate for easy, 66-33% completion rate for normal, and 33-0% completion rate for expert" when it should probably be something more like "100-33% completion rate for easy, 33-10% completion rate for normal, and 10-0% completion rate for expert"

Speaking of normal being super easy and boring, I'm playing through normal right now and got 4 auto stages in a row. I haven't had to press any buttons now for something like five minutes. Hell, I'm posting here now while "beating" a level.