So I thought about doing a look into my internal process for building a more "meat and potatoes" Mario Maker level that I prefer.
First thing I always start with a basic 'hook' concept. In this case the level requires you to get a tanooki leaf at the end of the level, then go back to the start and fly up to an exit. Kind of like 2-4 in SMB3 but it requires you to fly to that upper level. But pictures speak louder then words so let's get rolling.
So here you see the very start of the level. The up arrow is (along with the name of the level) hopefully enough to clue you in that you can fly up through those blocks. But you need the Tanooki suit to do that, and for that we need more level.
I try and have levels ramp up in difficulty. It accomplishes two things. First it helps let a player know what "kind" of level this is. It is easy to forget that the average person has no idea if this level will be a Cat Mario level of player killing or themed level around a mechanic only possible in Mario Maker. Simple jumps like these put you in the right mood for lack of a better term. Also if you die in a level you are far more likely to jump back in if your first thought is not "Oh god there is that part at the beginning I have to go through again $%&@ this!"
I add in some goombas and piranha plants to have an actual challenge though. Super easy but something you get to avoid almost entirely once you get the Tanooki suit. Also gotta make sure you don't trap players in places they cannot get out of. Put an invisible block there to help with escape.
Again taking inspiration from SMB3, this time making an area similar to 2-1. Would love to have some jumping fire snakes to put here as well but c'est la vie.
In the right hand area I put something to entice the player, a star. Also that ! block contains a 1-up. But how do you get in there?
Via a hidden P-block in the first area. The Koopas took several positioning redos before they went in a pattern I liked. The idea being you have to jump into some small amount of danger to hit those blocks, and even when you do one has to be careful not to fall back in. Also note the note block placed to help with access to the top section should you fall down. A totally optional area but that star could come in handy....
Here! Well actually this quite the tease considering that you probably are not small mario at this point and cannot fit down there anyway. But there must be something down there! Indeed while the top block has a standard mushroom, the bottom block has a fire flower in it. Not much but still I feel it is very "Mario-ish". This section went from concept to execution almost instantly, no real iteration needed.
So those little black plants are called Munchers and I had a thought about how to use them more.It is hard to tell from this shot but the block above the note block is another note block, but that one has a Muncher in it. The concept being you jump on the top one and it would pop out the bottom, then bounce up and down between the the two. There was just one small problem.
When I actually jumped on the block the Muncher would bounce off the bottom block so quickly it would end up on top of the upper note block and bounce there. Not my original intent so I had to redesign. But that said, a quirk of the system I will remember and try to use in a later level.
Moving the note block up one space solved the problem. This let me do my original idea, being that by jumping atop the note block you create a danger below. If you fall down going back is problematic, maybe you skip it? But there is a Kuribo shoe up there!
And you want that shoe because there are a trio of Thwomp up ahead. But this is not a trick of timing though, they all start on the ground. So they pose a stationary threat instead of a moving one. Difficult jumping without the shoe, probably a lot of deaths happening here. Also I put the mole enemy in so you can get high bounces off of them, also I wanted to use them later in the level and get the player used to their A.I.
After the Thwomps come, a block cube? Well that is just what I started with, the koopas might give away my intent with this section. They say a sculptor creates by just removing everything that isn't the statue, so let's remove some blocks.
Now we are talking. Still look like a mess of blocks? Well there is actually a 1-Up in one of those ! blocks in that mess. The only real way to get it is with a kicked shell, two actually. But if you kick in the wrong order the pattern will be wrong and you get nothing! May actually be more trouble then it is worth, but wanted to play with shell bouncing since it is a Mario staple.
Next up, donut blocks! (yes that is what they are called) Realistically most players will not have a problem with this section, I just like making areas that can potentially cause panic for no real danger. Also good players often enjoy bypassing hazards entirely via good jumping.
More donut blocks, but now with evil plants. As with most pipe enemies, if you are quick you wont even see them show up. But most players check for warp pipes almost habitually, which gives time for at least the second one to come up. I could easily see someone dying here.
Time for some Mario Maker only crazyness. You can't jump over this section, it tall enough that you have to go under. But most players will not be able to resist hitting those bottom blocks to see what happens. You really should show some restraint however as they contain...
Fireballs!? At this time of year? In this kind of level? Well if you hit too many then going back that way could become very problematic. You see they keep going back up and down from off screen. Remember though part of the overall theme of this level is these are hazards that you will encounter twice. But on your way back you will have the Tanooki suit and can go over most of them. Speaking of which.
We have reached the end of the bottom portion! And here is your prize, a pipe that constantly drops Tanooki leaves (in case you lose one). I put the ramp on the left to force players to fly out, so I hope you know how to do that or this level will suck. But there is actually a far worse problem here, can you see it?
If you get to this section with the shoe, you are stuck! You would have no way to fly properly and no way to get out of the shoe. The solution I came up with is to add in a stationary Thwomp to help shed those extra shoe pounds. The blocks are there to let players try to enter the pipe (you can't) without resorting to flying shenanigans.
It is worth noting that at this point I tested the "flight" back through the level and noticed two important things. The first being that the flight mechanics in Mario Maker are slightly different then they were in SMB3. You don't go straight into a "flight" jump when you leap at max speed, it only kicks in on the second jump now. Also maintaining your P speed seems much easier now, landing for a moment to keep momentum up. But last and perhaps most important is that those Muchers in the note blocks disappear if taking too far off screen. On a return trip they are just gone (assuming you let them out). But enough on that, we need to build the topside of the level now!
Here we are on the topside. At this point the level is already a bit much, so I decided to make this area easier. More of a victory lap then anything else. The spiny guys are there to slow you down so you have time to watch the not quite synchronized moles pop up out of the ground. Kind of wish they stayed at a set level ala Super Mario World but this works too.
Mole wave! This was actually tricky to set up right. I originally had them higher up but as it turns out the in ground moles will not trigger if they are too far away from Mario in elevation. A careful observer will note that I have star power at the moment. I end up changing the location of the star, so running through the mole line is no longer possible. More on that later.
My original concept for the end of this level was simple. You get stars, you run, you do the cool screw attack jump, you get coins. Simple, especially with the shadow trail to help path out the coins. There was one problem though. While the stars would not start moving until you got close, apparently being in the bottom part of the level was close enough! As a result by the time you got here the stars were long gone.
So at the start of the coin jumps I put a star dispensing pipe. The problem was now that it took so long for the star to come out I feared that many players would miss it entirely. So I had to redesign. Also if you are wondering about the flowers, you can easily use the copy tool to...well... copy.. any of the blocks that spawn background elements like that. Cool if you want more bowser statues in your castle.
This was my solution to the problem. Not perfect but should be enough to slow down players enough so they see the stars come out. It also had the side benefit of making sure players go towards the end instead of back. Killing the mole line with a star power kind of trivializes the other 1-Ups in the level and the coins as well.
Speaking of which, coins are one of the last elements I add to a level. Normally I put them in places to guide a player or grab their attention. But they can also be used for aesthetic reasons. Here they make support struts for the boxed in areas, giving it even more of a 2-1 look.
What I learned making this level:
- Enemies placed in note blocks can have strange interactions
- Moles have tricky activation requirements
- Stars can get activated even when not on screen
What I would do differently if I rebuilt it:
Honestly there might be too much of the bottom area that is "optional". Meaning blocked off rectangles and the koopa shell puzzle you can basically ignore and still complete the level. I might consider making more required obstacles. But the current setup might not be bad, just not sure how many people will actually interact with it all. My most serious concern is people not "getting" the level. It is straight up named "Get the leaf, go back" but that guarantees nothing. Heck I am sure there are a good number of people out there that do not even know how to fly with the Tanooki suit, or even that you can! Also Kuribo's shoe might make a better lure to get players into an area then any other power.
Well that is all for now. Just wanted to test this format and see how it might work for getting across the process I use for making a level, or what is going on in my head at least. Curious to see what kind of reception it gets. If you want to check out the level yourself, here is the level code.
EEAC-0000-0063-F69F
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