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Hi, this is Mark Brown with Game Maker's Toolkit,
a series on video game design.
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Games with user generated content can be great stepping stones for wannabe designers.
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Games like LittleBigPlanet, simple level making
engines like Duke Nukem 3D's Build, the track
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editor in Trials, and modding tools for Skyrim
let you try your hand at design, without having
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to learn Unity, or Xcode, or something like
that.
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Which is why I was excited to sit down with
Super Mario Maker, the Wii U game where you
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can build your own Mario stages. I didn't
want to build troll levels or goofy gimmick
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stages - I wanted to see if I could build
good levels that follow Nintendo's design
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philosophies, and could feasibly exist inside
a Mario game.
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But when I was faced with a blank screen and
a box full of goombas and pipes and coins,
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I realised that didn't even know where to
start. Even after thinking back to my video
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on "Super Mario 3D's 4 step level design",
I felt stuck.
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Luckily, the other advantage to these level
editors is that they come with a wealth of
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content to look at for ideas and best practices.
Aka, the game itself. Or in the case of Super
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Mario Maker, four games: Super Mario Bros,
Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario World, and
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New Super Mario Bros U.
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So, with that in mind, I wanted to analyse
a favourite level from each of these games
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and figure out how they're built, how they
challenge and surprise the player, and if
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there are any ideas I can borrow, or steal, for my own
stages.
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Let's start with New Super Mario Bros. U,
and the level Seesaw Bridge, which is in
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the Soda Jungle.
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MARIO: Let's-a go!
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The first thing we see in this level, is actually
kind of weird. There's a Wiggler on these
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blocks, and it isn't exactly a threat. All
you can really do is kill it. An easy win
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before a slightly tricky level, perhaps?
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We're then introduced to the stage's main
mechanic: these bridges that automatically
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see-saw up and down. We get a feel for them,
but we're in no real danger: the tip never even
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goes underwater, so Mario is safe wherever
he stands, and only has to make a small jump
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to get on.
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We get a power-up box, and now a bigger jump
between two see-saws. The arc of the coins shows
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us the optimum time to jump off the bridge.
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The Koopa Troopa isn't so much a danger here.
It's the set up for a fun moment: Mario veterans
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will want to lob his shell at the other Koopa,
and - thanks to the layout of the level - this
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will take out three Wigglers.
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Before we move on, you might have noticed
a not-so-secret pipe. This takes us to an
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area with the game's optional pick-up: a big
coin. It's a really hard challenge, using
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mechanics we haven't come across yet, designed
specifically for veterans.
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Anyway. Back up top, we see the basic see-saw
mechanic has now become more challenging. There's
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a bigger gap to jump, the platform now dips
into the poisonous water, and we see our first
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interceptor. These are enemies that periodically
appear between platforms to make you consider
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timing, as well as jumping and landing.
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We get another jump, with another interceptor, this
time with Wigglers on the platforms so you'll
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have to bounce off their backs to proceed.
It adds a slight wrinkle to the basic jump.
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Now the challenge is really starting to ramp
up. These bridges have only one pivot point,
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and so spin in a full 360. Plus: their spins are
out of sync, so you can't just wait for them
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to line up and will inevitably have to do
some tricky jumping to stay alive.
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That block is interesting. Mario games are
always asking you to make tricky decisions.
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You can wimp out and ignore the block, or
you can risk everything to get a 1UP mushroom.
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It's optional, though, so players get to choose.
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This section looks quite intimidating, but is actually
another set-up for a power trip. Mario
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games, at the end of the day, want you to
have fun and this sort of moment is just there
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to make you smile. It's really hard to mess
up, too, as the placement of the Koopa and
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the Wiggler will make almost every player
throw a shell to the right.
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These red rings cause time-sensitive coins
to appear. This is important, because playing
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Mario at a high speed is really fun and exhilarating,
but it often makes more sense to play it slow
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and move slowly. These brief spurts of speed
add short moments of speed-running flair to
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the game. Imagine how different, and how boring
this section would be if you waited patiently
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for each spiky ball to fall before jumping.
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Next up, a mutation of the spinning bridge.
This time, it's so long that you can't hope
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to jump to the other side mid rotation. But
a cheeky ring of coins will encourage some
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players to make a dumb decision.
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Part of ramping up the challenge is increasing
the distance between safe zones. On this image,
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the red areas are where Mario can fall in
the water, and the green areas are safe. As
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the level goes on, there are longer and longer
periods where Mario has to think fast and
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react on the spot, without being able to relax.
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So, here, you can't even see the next safe
spot. You'll have to just go for it and react
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to whatever the level throws at you. Complete all this,
and you'll get a reward: an easy three Koopa
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kill.
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And now, the final challenge: a whole bunch
of different spinning bridges. There's a mutation
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we haven't see before. And a long distance
until the next safe space. And we finish with
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an echo to the beginning: a Wiggler that is
no threat to us, but we can't help but kill him.
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MARIO: Oh yeah, Mario time!
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There are loads of great moments in Super
Mario Bros. 3, but one level really stuck
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out for me during this playthrough. It was
a level that trolled me. That played a joke on me.
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It's stage 4-6, which is in the game's iconic Giant Land.
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We actually get a reminder of that New Super
Mario Bros. U level, here. There's a Koopa
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who can't hurt you, but you'll probably kill
it anyway, because you're a terrible monster.
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This is more of a gimmick level than anything.
You can switch between the giant enemies and
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the normal sized enemies by going in these
magic doors. It doesn't change much, but it
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gives the player an interesting choice, and it's a clever
idea overall.
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Now here's where the joke happens. You bound
over this Koopa, and end up flying into this
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wall, which spits out a star man. If you've
never played a Mario game, this thing makes
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you invincible for a short time and lets you
instantly defeat any enemy you touch.
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Once you get it you start to kill enemies like
this Goomba, and then, while you're on your
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murderous rampage, you decide to kill this
Koopa too. But as you try to escape, an invisible
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block appears over your head. And then another!
And another! The third one spits out a 1UP
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mushroom but you probably won't get it, and
also your star man has run out before you
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get to easily dispatch a pair of Koopa.
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It's a moment of surprise. It's a joke between
the developer and the player.
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Definitely a memorable moment.
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The rest of the level is pretty typical. Some
jumping puzzles, and a reminder that while
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Koopas aren't a particularly tough enemy to
dispatch, their predictable patrol pattern
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can add a slight element of timing to a simple
jumping section like this.
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For Super Mario World, we're checking out
Chocolate Island 3. The mechanic in this level
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is actually a more challenging version of
one seen much earlier in the game, in Donut
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Plains 3. This time around, the rotating platform
only has one arm.
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We start, as usual, by getting to experiment
with the idea in a largely safe environment.
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It's easy to get on board, there are no enemies,
and there's only one platform between safe zones.
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Straight away, we see an addition to the challenge.
Now, a Koopa is on the central point, which
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means that if we need to land on that section we'll
have to be careful not to touch the Koopa
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or bounce off its shell into danger.
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Now we have three spinning bridges between
safe zones. And look at how the distance between
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these platforms is smaller than the distance
between these. It's subtle, but it's
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still a step up.
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Again, we can choose to contend with the Koopa
and get this block, or ignore him altogether
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and run along the top.
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Here, the two spinning platforms are out of
sync. Again, a subtle change to how things
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work but it adds an extra challenge for Mario to
overcome. And, like before, we get to choose
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whether we want to risk going into this pipe.
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If we do, we're given a really good reward. Not just
a bunch of coins, but a fun and cathartic
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mini-game in which to collect them. Mario
levels are all about balancing moments of
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threat and moments of pure fun. And providing
satisfying rewards to moments of risk. It's
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actually more of a risk than you might realise:
you'll miss the mid-level checkpoint if you
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take this route.
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Anyway. That checkpoint is, quite cheekily,
hanging in the air and only accessible if
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you take this tricky high route and then land
on this small platform.
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After some more jumping, we see a mutation
to the challenge. Now, instead a Koopa, the
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central platforms are patrolled by Fuzzies
which you can't land on, and they go underneath
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to force Mario to duck during the low points
of these swinging platforms. We also get a
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classic intercept.
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And then the big finale. Six platforms between
safe zones, some of which are out of sync.
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There are Fuzzies on almost every central
point, and a question mark block and two Koopa
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coins to encourage risky play. And a Koopa
Paratroopa intercept.
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Finally, a vine and one last echo of the level's
mechanic, let us end the stage.
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Finally, Super Mario Bros. These stages are
often a little more simple, as Nintendo was
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finding its feet and, this being the first
game, every challenge and enemy would be exciting
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to players in a way that, say, piranha plants
just aren't anymore.
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But there's still plenty to learn, and not
just from Stage 1-1, which may be the most
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analysed level in any video game ever. Instead,
I want to show you something I love, and something
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I don't, in Stage 8-2.
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This level reintroduces us to Lakitu, and
immediately puts us in danger as we must dodge
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him, his Spinies, and a Koopa Paratroopa on a broken staircase. This level just isn't messing around.
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But, this puts us in a position where we can
quite safely and easily dispatch Lakitu - an
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enemy that has terrorised us earlier in the
game. It reminds me of when you finally get
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to take down the helicopter that chases you
in Half Life 2.
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This is the bit that stuck out to me. You
jump on this spring - because, why wouldn't you? - and
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it dislodges a 1UP mushroom. But you can't
grab it so you have to run through this next
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bit, keeping one eye on the shroom up high
and another on the pits and enemies down low.
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It's another example of pushing the player
to become a speed runner, if only for a few
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seconds, to give an exhilarating moment of
momentum and speed.
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For this next section, we are beset by bullet
bills. But if you're an adept platformer you
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can avoid them, and all the enemies, completely
by staying on these upper platforms. Until
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this guy comes along and scuppers your plans, of course.
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Now this bit kind of sucks. It's just a huge
jump. It will sap your lives, and it's not
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an interesting challenge. There's only so
far you can keep expanding the distance of
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your jumps before they become unfair and un-fun.
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After that, we get some tricky sections but
with very simple obstacles. Just enemies we've
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seen before, but in layouts that force
you to make precision jumps. We get a final
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echo of that first staircase, but now with
even more pitfalls, before we finish the stage.
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So, while I start work on my first Mario Maker
stage, let's recap what we found out. A typical
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Mario level will only have one or two ideas,
and then iterate upon them to make it increasingly
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challenging.
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That might involve bumping up the gap between
jumps or making the timing harder to follow.
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That might mean increasing the distance between
safe zones, or placing enemies - either as
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interceptors between jumps or as obstacles
on the path. It could involve changing the
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mechanic completely to make it more complex
or take away safety nets.
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We can use coins to lure the player through
the level, and optional rewards to encourage
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risky play. We can use time sensitive events
to make a player want to go fast, if only
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for a moment. And we can offer moments of
fun and catharsis, either as a reward or as
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a palette cleanser between moments of challenge.
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And here's what I've got. Now, perhaps the
biggest limitation of Mario Maker is that
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you can't exactly make your own level gimmick
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toolbox. So, platforms on tracks aren't exactly
new, but I'm going to try and find some fresh ways
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of iterating on that basic premise.
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At the start of the level, we get to see how
these things work and play with it in a safe
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area. If we fall, a safety net lets us get
up and try again. We then get a mushroom,
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and a hint at what's to come.
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Our first iteration is having to jump between
two platforms, while dealing with an intercepting
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Koopa Paratroopa. Then there's this bit where
a Goomba bounces off a music block which,
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to be honest, is a bit rubbish. But it happened
by accident and I liked it enough to keep it in.
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Next there are three moving platforms. And
here, you get a choice. Are you going to take
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the easy route and keep moving, or are you
going to take the risky option, up through
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these spikes?
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If you do, you'll have a small gauntlet to
face. Bullet bills, dropping donut platforms,
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and spikes. Then, a 1UP mushroom chase that
I stole wholesale from Super Mario Bros., but
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with spikes to keep it in tune with the rest
of the stage. If you're quick, you'll get
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the 1UP. If you're not, then it will fall
into these spikes.
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Either way, this door takes you
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back to the level. I put it in the sky, as
a little homage to Super Mario Bros. 2, because
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I felt sorry for it being left out of Mario
Maker.
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Anyway! Back down here, we have a Koopa on
a small platform to deal with. By the way,
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I chose to use these mushroom platforms because
while they act exactly like standard ground,
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I think they feel less safe. I might be reaching
with that one.
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Next, we have to deal with these flame throwers.
I deliberately put a piece of track going
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down, here, so you'd have more time to see
how the flame throwers work. Then, you have
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to deal with them. You can escape up here,
which puts you out of harm's way, but you'll
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never know what was in that question mark
box!
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It was a feather.
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We get a safe zone, and - oh my god - I didn't
foresee this happening. But I like it, and
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I love how it has a random, low chance of
happening. So that definitely stays.
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The next bit sets the scene and is a warning,
but it can't actually hurt you unless you
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jump. But the next version of this, which
you can see from this platform, can. You'll
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get a chance to figure out what to do while
you ride up here. Then you get a moment
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of catharsis before the challenge.
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Now, the solution here, of course, is to use
the musical note to jump over the blade. But
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timing this with the platform is a little
tricky.
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I kind of troll you with these unattainable
coins, but the real reward is getting to kick
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this shell down these steps to kill a bunch
of Spinies and earn a handful of 1UPs.
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The saw blade in the wall is an echo to the
start of the level, kind of like a bookend.
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And then we get our final choice. Ride the
easy platform over to the exit goal. Or take
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this terrifying saw blade ride up here so
you can get an extra life.
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Phew! So there we have it. My first ever Mario
Maker level and, I'm pleased with it. It's
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not perfect, it's a little easy, perhaps - the musical
note jump could be harder, and the 1UP chase
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is actually pretty hard to mess up. Bullet
bills are slow, it turns out.
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But in general, I think it's a pretty good first
attempt. And it mostly adheres to the principles
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I discovered in my analysis.
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So, let me know what you think. And, when
Mario Maker comes out, let me know what you
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come up with by leaving your level code in
the comments below. Plus, please like the
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episode, subscribe on YouTube, and consider
supporting Game Maker's Toolkit on Patreon.