WEBVTT 00:00:05.520 --> 00:00:11.710 Hi, this is Mark Brown with a special spin-off episode of Game Maker's Toolkit. 00:00:11.710 --> 00:00:18.550 I am not a games designer. That's not a big secret. I could perhaps have made it a little clearer 00:00:18.550 --> 00:00:23.079 earlier. I can't speak from experience or a position of authority. 00:00:23.079 --> 00:00:29.419 I'm a games critic by profession, and that's the manner with which I approach these videos. 00:00:29.419 --> 00:00:34.050 I analyse, critique, break down, and examine existing games to see what makes them tick, 00:00:34.050 --> 00:00:36.840 and see if they have anything we can learn from. 00:00:36.840 --> 00:00:41.870 The videos are primarily designed to be interesting to people who simply play games. To get a 00:00:41.870 --> 00:00:46.920 better idea of why your favourites are so damn good. But, of course, as the name suggests, 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:51.800 I also hope that developers - particularly indie game makers and students - can get something 00:00:51.800 --> 00:00:52.870 out of it too. 00:00:52.870 --> 00:00:59.050 Well, these past few weeks, I got some tangible, immediate feedback that you can. And that 00:00:59.050 --> 00:01:03.540 this method has merit. That there's something to be gained by looking at and learning from 00:01:03.540 --> 00:01:04.640 existing material. 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:08.960 And it came in the form of your Super Mario Maker levels. Which is what I'm showing on 00:01:08.960 --> 00:01:13.729 the screen right now. These are stages that you shared with me on Twitter and on YouTube, 00:01:13.729 --> 00:01:18.380 often saying that you took the design ideas that I highlighted into consideration when 00:01:18.380 --> 00:01:20.499 crafting your course designs. 00:01:20.499 --> 00:01:25.549 So, in Iglian's levels, he gives you safety nets while you're figuring out how the stage's 00:01:25.549 --> 00:01:31.079 mechanic works. He builds his entire course around one concept, making it more difficult 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:32.530 and interesting as he goes. 00:01:32.530 --> 00:01:37.969 I remember wondering why he put a random enemy wandering around a block, and then understood 00:01:37.969 --> 00:01:42.719 that it gave you a chance to see how this foe works before it reappears in the middle 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:44.350 of this tricky section. 00:01:44.350 --> 00:01:49.689 I liked "The Spring's The Thing" from Nick Burnham. I love this bit especially: it lures 00:01:49.689 --> 00:01:53.729 you down here, making you think that there must be something good in that question mark 00:01:53.729 --> 00:01:59.649 block. But nope! It's just a coin. That bit really made me laugh. 00:01:59.649 --> 00:02:04.789 And Mithoswrath has lots of fun at your expense in Raccoon Plains, with invisible blocks and 00:02:04.789 --> 00:02:08.450 runaway mushrooms that keep you guessing all the time. 00:02:08.450 --> 00:02:13.440 Others discovered unique gimmicks, within the limitations of Mario Maker. Travis built 00:02:13.440 --> 00:02:17.280 an entire level around enemies being shot out of cannons, and ramped up the difficulty 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:19.060 beautifully. 00:02:19.060 --> 00:02:24.010 Drew Fitzpatrick's stage is all about springs on springs, and introduces the idea in a safe 00:02:24.010 --> 00:02:32.520 space so you can test out the timing and physics in peace. Violet's gliding ground grotto, 00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:35.830 which is a name that sounds like it has been ripped straight out of a Mario game, has these 00:02:35.830 --> 00:02:41.540 terrific bouncing platforms. 00:02:41.540 --> 00:02:46.430 Carlos found that falling platforms don't fall if you're bouncing on a spring, and made 00:02:46.430 --> 00:02:52.290 a stage around that. But he introduces the idea bit by bit, in a forgiving and thoughtful 00:02:52.290 --> 00:02:52.900 manner. 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:59.160 Overall, your levels are great. And it's because you took basic lessons from Mario games - lessons 00:02:59.160 --> 00:03:04.660 about evolving challenges, limiting your toolset, and considering safe zones - but you made 00:03:04.660 --> 00:03:10.900 something new. Something fresh and different and personal, but inarguably improved by taking 00:03:10.900 --> 00:03:12.930 note of what came before. 00:03:12.930 --> 00:03:17.780 I must add, that the whole thing filled me wth pride. I've had a number of developers 00:03:17.780 --> 00:03:22.150 tell me that others videos have helped them. I've had teachers ask if they can use my videos 00:03:22.150 --> 00:03:25.540 at school. I've been asked to talk about this stuff at an event next year. 00:03:25.540 --> 00:03:31.370 But, nothing quite matched seeing your stuff, and realising that you had used my analysis 00:03:31.370 --> 00:03:36.060 to make your stuff better. And it has made me even more excited to keep making the show. 00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:40.320 To keep thinking out loud about games - old and new - in the hopes that it can help someone. 00:03:40.320 --> 00:03:41.000 Somewhere. 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:46.790 Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I wanted to share the code for the level I made in that video. 00:03:46.790 --> 00:03:51.550 The course is called Saw Subject, and it's not exactly the same as the stage in the video. 00:03:51.550 --> 00:03:57.340 It's better, thanks to your smart feedback. I used red bullet bills in the 1up chase and 00:03:57.340 --> 00:04:02.260 fixed the spike trap at the end. I added a precursor challenge to the note-block leap 00:04:02.260 --> 00:04:06.790 and smoothed out the difficulty spike on the flamethrowers. I killed the coin-spewing troll 00:04:06.790 --> 00:04:09.520 pipe and removed some of the spinies too. 00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:13.150 In the interest of time, I've put 'thank you's to everyone who helped with the new version 00:04:13.150 --> 00:04:14.630 of the stage in the description. 00:04:14.630 --> 00:04:19.760 I actually have another level too. This one is called Pipeflip Airship, and is a mind-bending 00:04:19.760 --> 00:04:25.220 stage where the entire level flips upside down whenever you go in a pipe. I took inspiration 00:04:25.220 --> 00:04:29.530 from the Super Mario Bros 3 level we looked at in the video, where the world changed whenever 00:04:29.530 --> 00:04:33.460 Mario went through a door. I also put in a joke at the player's expense. But you'll have 00:04:33.460 --> 00:04:35.930 to play it yourself to see that. 00:04:35.930 --> 00:04:40.720 But this isn't about me, it's about you guys. So, I wanted to say thanks for sharing your 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:46.150 levels with me. It was actually quite an amazing experience and I can't quite put into words 00:04:46.150 --> 00:04:51.940 how it made me feel without this video going completely weird. So I'll just say, cheers. 00:04:51.940 --> 00:04:56.160 And also thanks to everyone who has just been watching the show. I've been doing Game Maker's 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:02.169 Toolkit for almost a year now and your support has been incredible. I appreciate every comment, 00:05:02.169 --> 00:05:08.070 like, upvote, retweet, article, forum thread, and email. And, of course, an extra special 00:05:08.070 --> 00:05:10.820 thanks to my incredible Patreon backers.