Now that Mario Maker 2 has given us the ability to smash our levels into a single world, it’s time to make some Worlds!! I bet SB is gonna make some dope stuff.
Here’s the rules:
Rules are fake ideas, so these are more like “guidelines”
Please use levels you’ve never uploaded before! That way it’s freshly baked just for SB
Other than that, I don’t care when you make the levels/world, but the deadline for submission is May 31st. That’s a little over a month from today.
There’s no minimum or maximum amount of levels per world, but I’m guessing that 4-8 levels is gonna be the sweet spot. But you do you.
When you’re done with them, please DM me the code for the world, the description you want me to put up, and a screenshot or two of it.
At the beginning of June, I’ll make a big post with everyone’s contributions so that they’re all in one place! If you’re late, then you can always post your own world after the fact, but I want to get as many as possible in one megapost. I think that’ll be fun to share around afterwards too.
In the meantime, let’s use this thread to discuss our ideas, themes, tips/tricks, WIP screens, levels that we want people to test, etc.
I’m trying to come up with some unifying themes for my levels. I think I might do either:
An enemy showcase, where each level only uses 1 or 2 enemies and tries to get every interesting situation out of that
A traditional-style SMW map of increasing difficulty levels, but focused on a single gimmick like block destruction, riding enemies, etc. Just like, really dig in on a single mechanic
But I might just end up doing a cool level pack. My goal is 4 levels, since I think 1 a week is pretty doable.
I’ll try to at least make a level or two just for SB but I’ll likely put a few ones that I’m very proud of that I would really like more people to take a look at
One of the things that the World maker brings is the ability to connect levels geographically, so that’s what I’m leaning into. Specifically, I’m going to make levels that mirror the way the world is built so that it feels like traversing a landscape rather than an individual challenge. Other than that, I’m going full Normie. No gimmicks or anything, just my best shot at making Good Mario Levels
Did not make any progress in the past week but had an epiphany yesterday about how to start in earnest. Basically my approach will be to start from the end and work backward. What I mean is that I will make all castle/boss/end game levels first and then figure out three or four smaller levels for each that prepare the player for the challenges and things I do in the castle levels. This way I have a scaffolding to start from with my design sensibilities without being paralyzed by the blank canvas effect that comes from starting from scratch completely blind at the beginning.
So today I will start with making my world 1 castle level and figuring out how the levels leading up to it need to be structured to best prepare the player for the tricks and traps and things I want to put in it. I think this will be a solid method for producing levels that hew as close as I can get to that ideal Mario level standard of not to easy/not to hard.
Yeah absolutely. I’m not possessive of my “design ideas” or whatever. I want the secret sauce to not actually be secret. Part of my problem last week, beside just being busy with work and stuff in general, was not really knowing how to continue from what I had already started. So the easy solution seemed to be to just make the final level first. The path leading up to it presents itself for me that way and I just have to go along and fill in the blanks.
I’m working on level 1, I forgot how much fun it is to just make levels in this game. I’ve settled, for now, on 5 total levels but I might cut one if I end up feeling like I am rushing a level. I’m very slow at making levels, primarily because I test each section individually about 10 times as I’m making it, then I tend to run the level from the beginning after finishing each section.
I’m at the halfway mark now, and I ran the level about 10 times from the beginning, making little changes along the way, so I think I’ve got a good base. Now to, uh, do the other half.
One of the things I love doing is sticking with 1 or 2 enemy types. In this case, I’m using monty moles and hammer bros ONLY, plus on-off blocks. I think it should be a lot of fun to play once I’m done.
I’m also trying to stick to a “2 difficult screens and 1 easy screen” as a nice rhythm.
Honestly, I’ve gone full Regular-Ass Mario Level here and I’m not ashamed of it.
My first castle is going well but I’m still a little ways from being done. My layout is about 2/3 complete and as I’ve been going through I’ve begun solidifying my idea of what the level should be overall. Right now it’s a winding, deadly platforming gauntlet.
I also take a long time to make a level. Sometimes I think I should plan more to cut down the time it takes because mostly when I start I just make a big play space and start messing around with some element or enemy and then get an idea that I’ll build on. Then the level starts to take shape and I zoom out and appraise it then play it from the start to see if I can make it to however far I’ve built without dying. So far I have not been able to get all the way through what I’ve made without dying so it’s still too challenging.
My goal for today is to finish the layout and start smoothing out the rough edges. I also want to go back after I’ve settled on the overall layout and make everything more aesthetically pleasing. Still a lot of refinement to go before I get there.
I finished my layout and was able to go through the whole thing without dying. Right now I’m compensating for the brutal platforming challenge by making sure each section has a block with a powerup in it so you can always afford to take a couple hits from the hazards.
It’s okay but I think I’ll trim back some of the hazards.
