logikk

Its crazy to think that a level making game like Mario Maker can be the center of all this craziness. Such a great game. It has got to be up there for game of the year now.

Also, super classy move by Patrick to suggest to split the donations between the charities.

If you go to the sub-world, it quickly becomes a dead-end and you can't get back, so that isn't that hard to rule out, once you get through the platforming part. As for the POW and P-block, you can see the POW block immediately in the level, and given Dan's builder tendencies, it seems like you would need it (Patrick doesn't seem to know what for yet). The P-block, again you can easily see, and he kinda found that and the trampoline by accident.

Now that people know the solution, of course when you watch somebody building up to that solution, it kinda looks like they know about it already. That is just what it looks like when people are learning. I fully believe that Patrick did not cheat at all, because his thought processes are similar to mine. "First, I will explore the level to see if the path to the exit is apparent. Next, let me collect a bunch of the puzzle pieces since this seems like a trick now, and I think I will need them somehow to find the exit." If you love puzzle games, like myself, this level is actually amazing.

Spoilers again, cuz why not.

Patrick is looking at it like a puzzle, and he is keying in on some of Dan's builder tendencies. I think he may get this. This is super exciting now. Can't wait for tomorrow.

If you don't do that, he will eventually wiggle and come back to life. You can do this same thing with a koopa who is in a shell. He's just refreshing the timer basically.

I think I had the exact opposite reaction. I think this is the most "Ryckert" level that could have been created.

I was just thinking about all this. I, for one, enjoyed the back and forth leading up to this, and loved watching Patrick attempt the level for the first time. Can't wait til it gets down to the wire and he feels like he is close, but might not be at all. I foresee some more trash talking by Dan before then as well. It's just a win-win-win for everyone involved. A great way to use video games in a new and interesting way, a week full of good content, and money going to charity.

Sure, but one of the original puzzle games, Mazes, do. The whole point of a maze is to give people dead-ends. Since Mario isn't really designed to create "puzzles", seems like Dan uses it to create "gated mazes", where you have to find the keys to get past certain points. These "keys" are hidden and can only be found using Mario mechanics in tricky ways. If you have a good understanding of ALL of these mechanics, and think about the level like a maze, then it doesn't seem so bad. Don't think Patrick is solving it, but I am rooting for him.

You can see the POW block right when the level starts, right above you. Knowing that I need a POW block, I tried to get up there, and failed a lot. Getting a star is very easy, its just in a ? block right in the open. Getting the P-block on the other-hand is really tough to figure out. You can easily see one near the end, but it's really tough to find out how to get it. I couldn't figure that part out, and getting the goomba to do that is kinda BS. But again, it is all possible using logic, just need to find the stuff to do it. I also assumed that the stuff I need is going to be hidden somewhere, so you should expect to have to search for things. Not uncommon in puzzle games.

Of course you can use logic to solve this level. First, just explore to try to find the exit on the first screen. Ahh, it is also the way to the right, past a big wall. So it must be through a pipe/door to get there, or I have to fly over a bunch of stuff. So I tried flying, didn't work out. So next, go through all the pipes/doors. Now to get through the doors that are off the ground, I need a POW block. With these basic rules, you can solve this. The part that takes forever is finding the stuff you need to get into the doors. That is where it is really tough to beat within 72 hours.

Seeing Dan and hero in the same sentence feels weird. I'm really rooting for Patrick on this, just cause I think it would be amazing to see him beat it. It may be a long shot, but would be incredible.