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10 Things Mario Maker level designers need to stop doing
10 years ago
WARNING: The following journal entry may contain strong content of an anthropomorphic and/or homoerotic nature.
Now that I have your attention... Not all of us can design levels as good as Nintendo can, but for god's sake, 100 Mario Challenge on Expert is currently a grueling trek through abysmally unfun bullshit. And in the week or so I've owned the game, I've had enough time to figure out what exactly doesn't work when you're designing a level.
I'll go on record with saying that, while I'm not the BEST Mario player by any means, I've been playing since the NES days and know what I'm doing. The points I'm about to bring up shouldn't be dismissed "just because I suck."
So here's what I think the Mario Maker community desperately needs to STOP DOING:
1. Don't immediately put the player in danger.
The starting platform should be a safe zone. Not moving Mario for two seconds shouldn't mean he immediately dies. Give the player enough time to get their bearings and take in their surroundings before putting them in danger. Dying in the first few seconds isn't due to lack of skill, it's a cheap shot.
2. Don't make pipes or doors that immediately kill the player.
This one can be forgiven if the incorrect paths are CLEARLY marked as such and the player deliberately goes against that advice, but there is nothing that will make me skip your level faster than opening a door that promptly drops me into lava. I shouldn't have to be nervous when opening a door or going down a pipe because half the time they end up killing me with no warning.
3. Stop overusing sound effects.
It's really hard to use a lot of sound effects in a way that isn't annoying. It's ESPECIALLY annoying when you use them in a way that mocks the player.
4. Just because the editor has a lot of things, doesn't mean you need to use ALL of those things.
In Mario Maker, less is more. Don't clutter up the screen with literally everything available in the editor just because you can, or because LOL DIFFICULTY.
5. Hiding enemies in blocks is overdone.
Putting enemies in question blocks can be okay if done sparingly, but filling your level with question blocks full of mega enemies that can and probably will immediately kill you upon their summoning is just stupid. In Mario, a player's natural reaction to discovering a ? block will be to hit it, and a player shouldn't be punished for following their natural instincts.
6. Stop forcing the player to make blind jumps.
In official Nintendo levels, Mario will never be forced to make a blind leap into an abyss and hope for the best. Coins are always used in these circumstances, which are supposed to guide the player. It's not the player's fault if they die after a blind jump if they've been given no indication of where to go, which brings me to my next point...
7. It's not cool to deliberately guide the player the wrong way.
Arrow signs and coins that deliberately guide Mario down a path to his death aren't funny. It's just another cheap shot.
8. Mind the length of your level.
It's much easier to handle a very difficult level if it's not lengthy. An unforgiving, endless gauntlet isn't gonna be enjoyed by many.
9. Don't design a level around the exploitation of a glitch.
Designing a level with the assumption that the player will know some obscure glitch to take advantage of to beat it means it is literally impossible for the 99% of people who don't know it.
10. Finally, and this is probably the most important of all: PLAYTEST YOUR LEVELS.
Before uploading what you think is a masterful creation, grab a few friends and have them test it out first. I've been blown away when watching friends play my levels because they discovered some way through the level that I hadn't thought of while designing it. A blind reaction to your level will also give you an idea of how difficult it will be for the average player who has your level come up randomly. Take notes on their reactions as they go through... are they getting upset at a particular part? Consider toning those parts down.
I don't expect that this journal will reach a particularly large audience, but at the very least, it helps me get some frustration off my chest. I'll go back to designing levels that aren't complete bullshit now. :3
I'll go on record with saying that, while I'm not the BEST Mario player by any means, I've been playing since the NES days and know what I'm doing. The points I'm about to bring up shouldn't be dismissed "just because I suck."
So here's what I think the Mario Maker community desperately needs to STOP DOING:
1. Don't immediately put the player in danger.
The starting platform should be a safe zone. Not moving Mario for two seconds shouldn't mean he immediately dies. Give the player enough time to get their bearings and take in their surroundings before putting them in danger. Dying in the first few seconds isn't due to lack of skill, it's a cheap shot.
2. Don't make pipes or doors that immediately kill the player.
This one can be forgiven if the incorrect paths are CLEARLY marked as such and the player deliberately goes against that advice, but there is nothing that will make me skip your level faster than opening a door that promptly drops me into lava. I shouldn't have to be nervous when opening a door or going down a pipe because half the time they end up killing me with no warning.
3. Stop overusing sound effects.
It's really hard to use a lot of sound effects in a way that isn't annoying. It's ESPECIALLY annoying when you use them in a way that mocks the player.
4. Just because the editor has a lot of things, doesn't mean you need to use ALL of those things.
In Mario Maker, less is more. Don't clutter up the screen with literally everything available in the editor just because you can, or because LOL DIFFICULTY.
5. Hiding enemies in blocks is overdone.
Putting enemies in question blocks can be okay if done sparingly, but filling your level with question blocks full of mega enemies that can and probably will immediately kill you upon their summoning is just stupid. In Mario, a player's natural reaction to discovering a ? block will be to hit it, and a player shouldn't be punished for following their natural instincts.
6. Stop forcing the player to make blind jumps.
In official Nintendo levels, Mario will never be forced to make a blind leap into an abyss and hope for the best. Coins are always used in these circumstances, which are supposed to guide the player. It's not the player's fault if they die after a blind jump if they've been given no indication of where to go, which brings me to my next point...
7. It's not cool to deliberately guide the player the wrong way.
Arrow signs and coins that deliberately guide Mario down a path to his death aren't funny. It's just another cheap shot.
8. Mind the length of your level.
It's much easier to handle a very difficult level if it's not lengthy. An unforgiving, endless gauntlet isn't gonna be enjoyed by many.
9. Don't design a level around the exploitation of a glitch.
Designing a level with the assumption that the player will know some obscure glitch to take advantage of to beat it means it is literally impossible for the 99% of people who don't know it.
10. Finally, and this is probably the most important of all: PLAYTEST YOUR LEVELS.
Before uploading what you think is a masterful creation, grab a few friends and have them test it out first. I've been blown away when watching friends play my levels because they discovered some way through the level that I hadn't thought of while designing it. A blind reaction to your level will also give you an idea of how difficult it will be for the average player who has your level come up randomly. Take notes on their reactions as they go through... are they getting upset at a particular part? Consider toning those parts down.
I don't expect that this journal will reach a particularly large audience, but at the very least, it helps me get some frustration off my chest. I'll go back to designing levels that aren't complete bullshit now. :3
DrewExposed
~drewexposed
alot of yup in this, except for the first one, killing them off asap should be discouraged.. but if your going for a Kaizo-Induced challenge stage then by all means go for it.. most kaizo esq levels do that so that you're thrown into madness immediately and don't have much time to react.. whats fucked up is that these ballbusting stages can show up in 100mario challenge... i think the >1% clear stages shouldn't show up in it and instead have their own 'Insanity mario challenge' course of say.. 3 stages and 100 lives... that could be interesting. On another note Ross pretty much breaks all of these rules and i think his stages are actually nice.... although he's still a huge piece of shit.
tofubread
~tofubread
Yeah, there are quite a lot of troll levels that just fuck people over, and i'm not even sure how the hell they got passed the radar, but they did >~<
