RoadHazard
Gold Member
Fucking hell, this thread is making me want SMM real bad. Which would mean having to get a Wii U too. 
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Super Mario Maker level design layouts and ideas
- Thread starter UncleSporky
- Start date
TheMoon
Member
Stuff like this is why coins exist. Coins have always been used as a hint mechanic or indicator for new areas or to entice you to find out something helpful.
Want you'd want to do is put a coin somewhere obvious that every would just naturally try to collect but you put an invisible block above it. That then serves as a reminder "oh hey, these exist" and might as well be taken as a hint "why is this here? so random? Oh I guess this tells me hidden blocks are a thing in here!" ...it really helps when you try to design something actually solvable and not just create sadistic trial and error puzzle rooms. Which is of course fine as well if you really want to do that.
You can build whatever you want as long as you can complete the level yourself. Everything else doesn't matter.
I think I'm probably going to go with cryptic clues in the title. Lots of puzzles rooms where the player is mostly safe, but unsure how to progress, Ghost House style, then a serious, but fair, platforming challenge to reach the exit. On death/replay they'll quickly progress through the puzzle stage and just have to nail the platforming.
Given that the game assigns difficulty based on completion percentage, or something like that, I don't want an unnecessarily high kill count. The levels with the very highest difficulty are going to be the ridiculously unfair ones which people will quickly learn to avoid, so I want my levels to be somewhere below that so more people play, and enjoy, them.
EDIT: Thanks for the thread, OP. I hadn't really considered how I was going to approach SMM except as a player, now I'm having lots of fun creation ideas.
Given that the game assigns difficulty based on completion percentage, or something like that, I don't want an unnecessarily high kill count. The levels with the very highest difficulty are going to be the ridiculously unfair ones which people will quickly learn to avoid, so I want my levels to be somewhere below that so more people play, and enjoy, them.
EDIT: Thanks for the thread, OP. I hadn't really considered how I was going to approach SMM except as a player, now I'm having lots of fun creation ideas.
The Dutch Slayer
Member
BEST REAL LEVEL YET !
This level is amazing like seriously wow this feels like Nintendo made level wow so good.
This one is a bad design: a leap of faith combined with an obstacle that requires previous information the player doesn´t have way of getting before getting to the obstacle itself. Dying there is totally unfair to the player, which will cause frustration and diminish his will to keep on playing. Instead of putting the pipe near a bottomless pit, place some ground there and give the player a way back up to attempt the obstacle once more, at least this way the punishment won´t be too harsh.
Or better yet make it so the pipe and the blocks can be seen before jumping into the pit. You can also place a secret exit instead of the pipe so the player has a reason to replay that stage as it´s impossible to get in there the first time.
The other designs look cool, specially the Goomba escort mission, very original way to make new use of 20+year old resouces!
This is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking forward to most in Mario Maker: unconventional Mario levels.
That's a super cool Metroid level. It's a big shame about that timer, though.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
Fucking hell, this thread is making me want SMM real bad. Which would mean having to get a Wii U too.
I Wanna Be The Guy
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
Just watched it. Don't like it at all. It's an interesting idea but it just doesn't work for this game. I got pissed off with some of the exploration focused levels in the actual SMB3 where the way to go wasn't obvious, and this level is way more complex than those. The timer just makes a level like this frustrating. I mean even a guy who knew exactly what to do failed to beat the level in time. Imagine how frustrating it's going to be for everyone else. And yeah I don't think it's obvious enough for players to understand what each power up will be needed for.
Maybe something like this? Thomps reset don't they?
Or place some coins below the invisible blocks. Players love coins so they will activate the blocks when getting them
Unless the walls are close enough for wall jumping, that would allow for some good exploring, player is sliding against the wall, if there's nothing to see there he jumps back.
suavelicious
Member
I think I read somewhere that custom sounds would be replaced by a generic squeak or something in online levels...
You can only wall jump in NSMBU mode
Great level! Obviously it needs a few tweaks so that the time limit is not as harsh at it is right now but I love the idea behind it a lot. This is exactly why I think SMM will be incredible. There are so many creative people around. They can finally share their ideas with us so we don't have to wait for Nintendo to release another Mario game.
Lol, I remember this. Mario desperately need more of this to get my interest again. I trust that players will have fun making evil, crazy levels with unpredictable situations. I don't need to be introduced gently to everything, it's been 30 years, I know how to deal with those things and I can learn some patterns. Give me something cruel that Nintendo would never do, guys.
woopWOOP
Member
That Winners Don't Do Shrooms level seems like the sort of bullshit I'd pull off with Megaman Powered Up.
'Oops, you made a mistake! Better walk all the way back or kill yourself!'
Not a lot of ideas yet, gotta test and see how all elements work before I can fit it together nicely.
Also a bunch of Mega Man levels Mario Bros style. Gotta make use of that amiibo :V
'Oops, you made a mistake! Better walk all the way back or kill yourself!'
Not a lot of ideas yet, gotta test and see how all elements work before I can fit it together nicely.
Also a bunch of Mega Man levels Mario Bros style. Gotta make use of that amiibo :V
Heavy's Sandvich
Member
or above
Damn, he stole my idea
Gotdatmoney
Member
Its suppose to be metroid like so lots of exploration. I think this is a prime example of a level that honestly just needs checkpoints if once you get tobroughly the halfway mark you progress saves then it wouldnt be such a slog to replay allof the level. Come on nintendo
revolverjgw
Member
This is going to be, like, the ultimate game
Clever level. Thought the clock was editable, up to 999 since we've one level with hardly any time for it. Guess you have to unlock that feature.
I Wanna Be The Guy
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
Yeah the lack of checkpoints is a massive oversight. Without checkpoints long stages just become annoying to play. It really limits the scope you can make your level have whilst keeping the level fun to beat. I agree that a level like this would have been much more appealing with checkpoints.
TheMoon
Member
the timer IS editable. at the very least downward. (500 is the default, no idea if you can go up from there)
Gotdatmoney
Member
My assumption is they did it so testing is easier. But like to me it seems like the test would be as simple as also completing the level reset from the checkpoint. Seems rather simple. I dunno why they dont have them. SMB, SMW and NSMB all have them and that is part of what people remember in those games.
UncleSporky
Member
Yeah, there are always ways to make it less frustrating, or more frustrating. Just wanted to illustrate the concept of getting a shell to break a block down a pit.
If we don't mind the player dying at least once as they look for the right pit, we could put "coin arrows" pointing left in each pit except the first. Like "hey, you made the wrong choice, go left next time!"
Or we could do various clues, like coins visible down only the correct pit...or coins visible in every pit except the correct one.
Or all of the wrong pits could connect underneath and lead to a door that takes you back to the top, but the pipe pit is actually dangerous (which the player will be able to see from the connected area, as a warning).
I only used original Mario sprites as a sort of shorthand. You can't carry shells in Mario 1 style either, so that level would have to be 3 or up anyway.
NSMB wall jumping would be a good way to make the pits less deadly.Very good!
Not even close. This still manages to be predictable and boring, even easy in most parts. Things that shoot at you, blocks that disappear, obstacles.. yawn, I know what to do as soon as I see them. Learn the pattern in 2 seconds and you're done if you've decent reflexes.
No, I want something totally disrespectful of the player. That old video on YT is a prime example of what I consider to be fun after years of classic platform games, because it gives a middle finger to all the good game design rules and it makes fun of you by putting a platform that looks steady but it starts moving as soon as you touch it and puts a block immediately after to stop your jump (any player's predictable move at that point), evil and genius.
Came up with a similar idea months ago:
Suppose one could also call it Cheese Bridge Area 2 in reference to the original infamous level.
Simbabbad
Member
Then millions of authors will wonder why their levels have no stars and are barely played, and not much people will actually see them.
What has this to do with anything? I'm not talking a handful of streamers, I'm talking about players and the way things are set up.
What makes you think I'm worrying? I'm pointing out the way Nintendo made things, these sort of levels will barely be rated at all, and I doubt their designers will go on making the same sort of design after a long string of deceptions. Have you played Tipping Stars and Pushmo World? The best rated levels are by far the easiest ones.
Mitsurux
Member
I think I'm going to try and re-create some of the level layouts from the Mario Clock DS app... there were some interesting levels that were featured as slightly interactive backgrounds (You could jump to interact with the backgrounds, but could not control the direction Mario walked)...
Was also thinking about making a few Mario Beginner levels, as a sort of intro to 2D platforming for my daughter and nephew.. like really simple stuff, each level introducing a basic game play element (like brick and question blocks, jumps and obstacles, how to handle enemies etc)..
Was also thinking about making a few Mario Beginner levels, as a sort of intro to 2D platforming for my daughter and nephew.. like really simple stuff, each level introducing a basic game play element (like brick and question blocks, jumps and obstacles, how to handle enemies etc)..
Well when it was first shown it was 999.
But E3 2015's trailer shows 500 on the clock.
Perhaps the upper limit was removed or made an unlockable that no one had achieved.
I Wanna Be The Guy
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
You cant call dbs on something I already said earlier in the thread, and also months ago. Everyone is stealing my clearly super creative and original ideas. First the carrying the P switch to the goal idea now this.
That would be a great solution: lure the player to a wrong pit with coins so he can see the pipe with the blocked pipes and spikes or whatever underneath it. So he takes the door, returns to the upper part and knows what is awaiting. Instead of punishing the player for exploring you are rewarding him this way, it´s much nicer
Also, I would never use coins to lure the player to a death trap: that breaks all the established consensus and has the effect that the player will fell cheated and stop believing in coins as guides. So when you may need to use coins/collectables to show the player something else he won´t believe them and you won´t be able to transmit that which you are trying to say. The player would get a sensation of moving goalposts and unfairness.
Just try to don´t plan things based on things like "if we don´t mind the player dying once..:". If the player dies it must be because it was his fault, so he can learn what he did wrong and become better. Look at Souls games, they are generally regarded as being very difficult but fair, because if you die it´s probably because you messed up and not because you had back luck in a random choice.
I Wanna Be The Guy
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Does anyone know if voice clips you put in your stage can be put in a level you upload? If you can then I'd definitely have a lot of fun playing around with that.
I'd play the role of villain and put little taunt messages for the player at various points. And a nice NOOOOOOOOOO when tbe player beats the stage.
I'd play the role of villain and put little taunt messages for the player at various points. And a nice NOOOOOOOOOO when tbe player beats the stage.
They say that when you upload custom sounds are replaced with bird chirps.
What I haven't heard is whether you can share custom sounds with people on your friend list.
I Wanna Be The Guy
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Oh that's lame. I can kinda see why, but still. That would have been really cool.
Shuggananas
Banned
I doubt nintendo would like porn sound samples in their levels
Lady Siara
Member
Love this thread. UncleSporky's post in another thread inspired me to do some thinking about levels on my own. I'm pretty excited now that I've considered the possibilities!
Yet that baby sound effect is allowed lol.
I Wanna Be The Guy
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
Sony don't have a problem with it in LBP.
Actually I never uploaded a level in LBP. I just assume the sound samples you put in your level stay when you upload. Perhaps someone can confirmor deny this.