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Description
Hey, Pisanos! In honor of RMN’s official Mario Month, We're bringing back the Mario-making spirit in the form of a level-design contest in the Super Mario Bros. X engine!
… Come again? You heard me right! We’re not really making a collaborative game this time around. This is a CONTEST to see who can make the best level in SMBX! The winner will receive lucrative prize of ANY GAME OF YOUR CHOICE ON STEAM UNDER $20.00, in addition to a nice achievement and makerscore!
Regardless of placement, each level submitted will be compiled into a custom-made SMBX game where everyone will be able to play and view feedback from our four judges: Isrieri, Deckiller, Halibabica, and your host, Ratty 524!
OKIE-DOKIE! WHAT ARE THE DETAILS?
As mentioned before, this is a CONTEST to see who can create the best mario-focused level, using any style of your choice. In light of this, we do have a few ground rules:
POINTS, EH!? WHAT-A-POINTS?
Glad you asked! We judges will use a 1-10 rating system for judging each level in this contest; a score of "1" in any category will be the lowest, representing an area your level functions poorly in, and "10" is the highest, showing an area the level does well in. Here is the criteria you should be considering for your submission, It’ll also be the criteria we judges will use to rate your levels:
The final score of a level will be averaged between judges, with your final score being a total of the ratings in each category. The level with the highest total, obviously, will win. Aim for 10/10 levels in all categories, folks!
PASTA PRIZES
1st Place – Golden Mario Achievement; 75 MS + 1 Steam game under $20 of your choice
2nd Place – Silver Luigi Achievement; 60 MS
3rd Place – Bronze Peach Achievement; 55 MS
Participated – Toad Achievement; 15 MS
HELPFUL LINKS
Not sure how to use SMBX or need help in making a quality level? Check out some of these plumber-approved tutorials and design articles to help you out!
RMN's Super Mario Bros. X Tutorial Portal - Contains many helpful articles that cover both working with the engine itself and performing some nifty tricks like making the Ball n' Chain obstacle from Super Mario World.
Anatomy of Super Mario Bros part 10, part 11, part 12, so on..., and so forth... - This is an comprehensive series of articles that dissects every level from Super Mario Bros, revealing a lot of deliberate and thoughtful design choices the game designers made at the time. I highly recommend you check these out if you want to create some really well-designed levels.
SMBX Graphics Portal - Check out these featured graphic packs on the SMBX forums for your custom asset needs!
All set? Then LET'S-A-GO!
… Come again? You heard me right! We’re not really making a collaborative game this time around. This is a CONTEST to see who can make the best level in SMBX! The winner will receive lucrative prize of ANY GAME OF YOUR CHOICE ON STEAM UNDER $20.00, in addition to a nice achievement and makerscore!
Regardless of placement, each level submitted will be compiled into a custom-made SMBX game where everyone will be able to play and view feedback from our four judges: Isrieri, Deckiller, Halibabica, and your host, Ratty 524!
As mentioned before, this is a CONTEST to see who can create the best mario-focused level, using any style of your choice. In light of this, we do have a few ground rules:
- Hopefully this is a given for most of you, but the level you submit must be made in Super Mario Bros. X, either version 1.3 or 1.3.0.1 (The only differences are in some graphic edits and sound). You can download the latest version of the engine HERE.
- Each participant is allowed to submit ONE level for the contest. No more, no less. You CAN submit a replacement to your submission, however, but you must indicate which level is the one to be judged somehow.
- Your level should be built around the vanilla version of SMBX. This means NO HACKS/LUA CODE to modify your level beyond what the engine is already capable of. We want to keep this a fair competition, after all, and trust me, we'll know a hacked level when we see it.
- Your levels must be built around Mario and Luigi ONLY. Yes, we’re aware that Peach, Toad, and even Link are playable characters in the engine, but it makes the judge’s job easier to compare levels that are built around characters with similar mechanics, so there we go! This also means that the character blocks (the ones that allow you to switch between characters in a single level) are banned.
- With that said, all the other NPCs, exits, tiles and whatnot are NOT BANNED! Go ham! Keep in mind, however, that your use of these elements will be judged, and that some NPCs are known to be buggy (such as the SMW Bowser Statue) or bring unwelcome challenges to them (SMW Dry Bones for its hitbox, and SMB3 Lakitu for its spamming of homing spikeballs). Depending on how severe their impact is, your level CAN be docked points for its abuse of poorly-functioning NPCs. You've been warned.
- Please make sure that all the files needed to make your level function are included with your submission, if applicable, before the deadline. If you plan on using custom graphics or audio, for instance, include that in your submission. In addition, we expect that all your sound/graphic paths to be correct. Getting a level that doesn’t play its music right won’t get you disqualified, but it may cost you a chance at winning.
- Failure to abide by these guidelines may result in your level being disqualified or docked in points.
Glad you asked! We judges will use a 1-10 rating system for judging each level in this contest; a score of "1" in any category will be the lowest, representing an area your level functions poorly in, and "10" is the highest, showing an area the level does well in. Here is the criteria you should be considering for your submission, It’ll also be the criteria we judges will use to rate your levels:
- DESIGN:
- How deliberate does the level feel with its choices, such as platform or pipe placements?
- What is the theme or overall concept of this level, and do the level’s elements work well with it? - AESTHETICS:
- How cohesive/nice are the graphics used in the level? What visual themes contribute to creating a distinctive atmosphere in the level, and do they work well?
- Is the audio used in the level appropriate, and how well does that contribute to creating an atmosphere/emotion in the level? - PLAYABILITY:
- Does the level contain bugs or poor design decisions that hinder the way a player can play the level?
- Is the level’s difficulty challenging in a way that is fair and not obtuse. Could the level, hypothetically, be beatable on the player’s first try, without the reliance on trial-and-error?
The final score of a level will be averaged between judges, with your final score being a total of the ratings in each category. The level with the highest total, obviously, will win. Aim for 10/10 levels in all categories, folks!
1st Place – Golden Mario Achievement; 75 MS + 1 Steam game under $20 of your choice
2nd Place – Silver Luigi Achievement; 60 MS
3rd Place – Bronze Peach Achievement; 55 MS
Participated – Toad Achievement; 15 MS
Not sure how to use SMBX or need help in making a quality level? Check out some of these plumber-approved tutorials and design articles to help you out!
RMN's Super Mario Bros. X Tutorial Portal - Contains many helpful articles that cover both working with the engine itself and performing some nifty tricks like making the Ball n' Chain obstacle from Super Mario World.
Anatomy of Super Mario Bros part 10, part 11, part 12, so on..., and so forth... - This is an comprehensive series of articles that dissects every level from Super Mario Bros, revealing a lot of deliberate and thoughtful design choices the game designers made at the time. I highly recommend you check these out if you want to create some really well-designed levels.
SMBX Graphics Portal - Check out these featured graphic packs on the SMBX forums for your custom asset needs!
All set? Then LET'S-A-GO!
Details
- 04/08/2016 12:00 AM
- 05/03/2016 11:59 PM
-
halibabica
Ratty524
Decky
Isrieri
Achievements
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15 |
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55 |
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60 |
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75 |
Registration
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| Participants | Entries |
|---|---|
| Dudesoft |
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| kentona | |
| Davenport | |
| Jparker1984 | |
| Solitayre | |
| Otabo | |
| TehGuy |
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| TheNecromancer |
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| InfectionFiles | |
| insaneraving | |
| Seiromem | |
| Blobofgoo | |
| lonestarluigi | |
| mordenglory |
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| Jalex |
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| CashmereCat |
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| pianotm | |
| NeverSilent | |
| Zeigfried_McBacon | |
| Fflo | |
| AubreyTheBard | |
| Frogge | |
| Mirak | |
| SweetMeltyLove | |
| Punkitt |
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| glitch1 |
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| higsi571 | |
| Entry Status Key | |
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Littlebig.zip
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Zeigfried_McBacon
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I updated mine and made it better. I added a section with a new gimmick which I'm quite proud of too.
Thanks a lot for your feedback, Blobofgoo! I'm glad you enjoyed my level.
Also, I'm really happy kentona made something for this event. See, the game mak is still strong in you!
Also, I'm really happy kentona made something for this event. See, the game mak is still strong in you!
author=Ratty524
woah woah kentona you actually finished a thing for once!?
Yeah my wife fell asleep early and the kids behaved themselves somewhat for once, so I had some cycles! Still, I stayed up to 1:30am to finish the damn thing. I hope you appreciate it.
Jparker1984
2008
author=Seiromemauthor=Jparker1984This is worthless to you. You can beat it because you made it; you already know everything about the level and the best way to go about beating it. The player has the disadvantage of knowing nothing about the level, you should take this disadvantage into account. The fact that you STILL get hit even when knowing everything about it actually is a sign that it's too difficult.
I can go through it without dying. I still usually get hit, but yeah.
I was actually thinking bout taking the boss battle out, but how do you see it as messy just curious. Bowser is known for throwing traps and stuff out the wazoo to try and stop Mario. At least in my opinion, all the obstacles fit the theme.
Jparker1984
2008
author=Blobofgoo
This stage is hell.
+Sticks with one main theme (castle hazards)
+Custom Music :)
-Extremely hard. I moved the spawn point twice just so i could finish reviewing the level. Giving the player leaves instead of fire flowers would tone down the difficulty a lot.
-Lava pit after the first music note section is a cheap kill, as the player is dropping down blind the first time.
=Bowser can be killed by dropping the key on him. I actually sort of enjoy killing him this way and it was a nice refresher from the rest of the difficulty in the level. If you want to keep it, have the toad tell you about this tip. Killing bowser with bombs is awful.
=The spikes have really terrible hitboxes. I would put them inside the ground to deal with this problem.
The stage is really hard. I would highly reccomend toning it back with the tips above.
I was actually unaware of the key kill lol. Oh, and your goal is not to kill Bowser, you need to break the bricks to find a key hole to exit. The lava being a cheap kill, I don't know, but I'll find a way to adjust it. As for the difficulty, I don't see it AS hard as you all do. My real life friends have adjusted to it relatively fast.
Honestly, I thought Trench Warfare was as hard if not harder then mine. My goal was to make a passable, but really hard level targeted to pro players. I'll work on the difficulty, but I don't really want to take to much away from my vision.
Just about finished with my level after many days of blowing it off, at one point I honestly forgot I was even in this event lol.
author=Blobofgoo
If I sign up, will I get notifications from this thread? Would be useful to me.
Of course. You are auto-subbed to event pages when you sign up.
Updated level.
- There's now a little bonus room (coins and a pair of leaves) and the first section has been remade (try to take the springboard to the right and get your 1-up !)
- The elevator part is now slower, so that getting red coins become easier
- There's now a little bonus room (coins and a pair of leaves) and the first section has been remade (try to take the springboard to the right and get your 1-up !)
- The elevator part is now slower, so that getting red coins become easier
I played two more levels. Here's some feedback.
Littlebig - by kentona:
Ziggy's SMBX Level - by Zeigfried_McBacon:
Littlebig - by kentona:
A fun idea with a lot of potential, but unfortunately there is very little incentive to play around with the main gimmick, as both "worlds" are pretty much the same mechanically, and the level can easily be cleared without ever switching between them. In fact, unless the player decides to thoroughly explore, there isn't that much of a level to be found here anyway. If you just keep going forward, you can clear this level within less than a minute. It would be much more interesting and challenging if the two worlds were somehow interdependent, and if for example the player was required to do certain things in one world to open up a new area in the other. Also, there is a noticeable overabundance of powerups.
I'm not sure if you can do anything about this, but on this screen, the small piranha plant comes out of one side of the pipe instead of the middle. (If that is not changeable, you could maybe cover it up by placing two plants in the pipe, one for each side.)
All in all, this looks indeed more like an experiment than a fully finished level. It's a cool concept, but I'm sure you could have done much more with it.
I'm not sure if you can do anything about this, but on this screen, the small piranha plant comes out of one side of the pipe instead of the middle. (If that is not changeable, you could maybe cover it up by placing two plants in the pipe, one for each side.)
All in all, this looks indeed more like an experiment than a fully finished level. It's a cool concept, but I'm sure you could have done much more with it.
Ziggy's SMBX Level - by Zeigfried_McBacon:
Whoah, that background on the first screen is both beautiful and distracting. Anyway, I like where you were going with this concept of having multiple paths to choose. Still, I'm sorry to say none of them really work well. All three of the available paths have the same problem, namely that they are extremely repetitive. I don't even see how the player would be able to access the water section at all, unless they already start out as big Mario from the beginning. The puzzle path in the castle is rather easy and short, but still fine. That wrapping screen section the player can choose to take instead however is just plain terrible. A powerup after the checkpoint would be nice, in case the player loses the boss fight and has to start over, even though that battle doesn't feel difficult at all to me.
This level as a whole is built around a good idea, but the actual gameplay is extremely bare-bones and underdeveloped. I'm really curious what this level could offer with some more variety and interesting platforming, but right now it's barely a level at all. Again, sorry for being so harsh.
This level as a whole is built around a good idea, but the actual gameplay is extremely bare-bones and underdeveloped. I'm really curious what this level could offer with some more variety and interesting platforming, but right now it's barely a level at all. Again, sorry for being so harsh.
author=NeverSilent
I played two more levels. Here's some feedback.
Littlebig - by kentona:A fun idea with a lot of potential, but unfortunately there is very little incentive to play around with the main gimmick, as both "worlds" are pretty much the same mechanically, and the level can easily be cleared without ever switching between them. In fact, unless the player decides to thoroughly explore, there isn't that much of a level to be found here anyway. If you just keep going forward, you can clear this level within less than a minute. It would be much more interesting and challenging if the two worlds were somehow interdependent, and if for example the player was required to do certain things in one world to open up a new area in the other. Also, there is a noticeable overabundance of powerups.
I'm not sure if you can do anything about this, but on this screen, the small piranha plant comes out of one side of the pipe instead of the middle. (If that is not changeable, you could maybe cover it up by placing two plants in the pipe, one for each side.)
All in all, this looks indeed more like an experiment than a fully finished level. It's a cool concept, but I'm sure you could have done much more with it.
Ziggy's SMBX Level - by Zeigfried_McBacon:Whoah, that background on the first screen is both beautiful and distracting. Anyway, I like where you were going with this concept of having multiple paths to choose. Still, I'm sorry to say none of them really work well. All three of the available paths have the same problem, namely that they are extremely repetitive. I don't even see how the player would be able to access the water section at all, unless they already start out as big Mario from the beginning. The puzzle path in the castle is rather easy and short, but still fine. That wrapping screen section the player can choose to take instead however is just plain terrible. A powerup after the checkpoint would be nice, in case the player loses the boss fight and has to start over, even though that battle doesn't feel difficult at all to me.
This level as a whole is built around a good idea, but the actual gameplay is extremely bare-bones and underdeveloped. I'm really curious what this level could offer with some more variety and interesting platforming, but right now it's barely a level at all. Again, sorry for being so harsh.
No worries. I basically put up the barebones of what I had now so that
A) I at least had something up before it the event ended
B)feedback so I can add some direction to it.
Ill start adjusting the power upss and the tower up then.
Two more levels
Littlebig
Ziggy's Level
Littlebig
+Stays well within theme
+Theme is interesting
-Theme can be completely skipped. There needs to be some reason to switch worlds. Maybe some blocks block the path in the giant world (by being giant) and those blocks can be jumped over in the small world. Something like that.
The theme and platforming is decent. It just suffers from being completely skippable.
+Theme is interesting
-Theme can be completely skipped. There needs to be some reason to switch worlds. Maybe some blocks block the path in the giant world (by being giant) and those blocks can be jumped over in the small world. Something like that.
The theme and platforming is decent. It just suffers from being completely skippable.
Ziggy's Level
This level seemed like a hub world. And the iced section won't get judged in it's current state most likely. Every play will begin with small Mario.
I highly advise not making a level with multiple paths. Instead of being able to put all of your time into one path and making it the best, you are splitting up your time into 3. The judges will only play 1 (Assuming here) and then you run the risk of them choosing the path that is not the best of your work.
Remove the hub aspect and limit yourself to a more linear design for less variance in playthroughs.
I realize this level isn't finished. Good luck on more designing :)
I highly advise not making a level with multiple paths. Instead of being able to put all of your time into one path and making it the best, you are splitting up your time into 3. The judges will only play 1 (Assuming here) and then you run the risk of them choosing the path that is not the best of your work.
Remove the hub aspect and limit yourself to a more linear design for less variance in playthroughs.
I realize this level isn't finished. Good luck on more designing :)
author=lonestarluigi
Finally got it posted. Feedback will be appreciated!
I live to serve.
City Blues - by lonestarluigi:
Interesting concept. You have quite a few nifty ideas going on here, but the playability isn't always great. In the first section, please make sure that when you provide blocks with powerups in them, they don't get lost by falling into lava so easily if the player is small and they therefore become mushrooms. It also seems a little weird to me that the crazy Toad enemies turn into Koopa shells once you jump on them.
The platforming in the outside area is difficult, but doable, while the section inside the building is very unfair at times. First of all, the rotating fireballs are hard to predict and dodge, because they don't rotate around the grey spheres that normally function as their center of gravity. There are also one or two sections in which their paths overlap with each other and at least one more dangerous obstacle, making it almost impossible not to take a hit there. The part where you have to jump from falling blocks over a spiked pillar onto another set of falling blocks is already hard enough and really doesn't need the rotating fireball as well. The high amount of powerups makes this section more manageable, but only mitigates the problems instead of solving them. I do appreciate the dancing king fooling around everywhere in the walls, though. That's pretty funny.
The boss battle at the end is a bit too long, I think, especially since part of it is just repetition. Also, I got hit by the dancing king's final form the moment he appeared, because he spawned right on the place where I was standing. I'm pretty sure the same thing can happen with any other enemy during that fight, which isn't very fair. Please also consider moving the checkpoint a bit closer to the end, as the indoor section is longer and much harder than the outside part, and there's the boss battle on top of that.
All in all, I think there's a lot of creativity and potential to be found in this level, but it's very rough around the edges. If you balance it a bit more and make it more accessible, I think you can turn this into a great level without sacrificing the high difficulty, but make it fairer to the player instead.
P.S.: The dialogue bits of the Toads contain errors.
The platforming in the outside area is difficult, but doable, while the section inside the building is very unfair at times. First of all, the rotating fireballs are hard to predict and dodge, because they don't rotate around the grey spheres that normally function as their center of gravity. There are also one or two sections in which their paths overlap with each other and at least one more dangerous obstacle, making it almost impossible not to take a hit there. The part where you have to jump from falling blocks over a spiked pillar onto another set of falling blocks is already hard enough and really doesn't need the rotating fireball as well. The high amount of powerups makes this section more manageable, but only mitigates the problems instead of solving them. I do appreciate the dancing king fooling around everywhere in the walls, though. That's pretty funny.
The boss battle at the end is a bit too long, I think, especially since part of it is just repetition. Also, I got hit by the dancing king's final form the moment he appeared, because he spawned right on the place where I was standing. I'm pretty sure the same thing can happen with any other enemy during that fight, which isn't very fair. Please also consider moving the checkpoint a bit closer to the end, as the indoor section is longer and much harder than the outside part, and there's the boss battle on top of that.
All in all, I think there's a lot of creativity and potential to be found in this level, but it's very rough around the edges. If you balance it a bit more and make it more accessible, I think you can turn this into a great level without sacrificing the high difficulty, but make it fairer to the player instead.
P.S.: The dialogue bits of the Toads contain errors.
author=NeverSilentauthor=lonestarluigiI live to serve.
Finally got it posted. Feedback will be appreciated!
City Blues - by lonestarluigi:Interesting concept. You have quite a few nifty ideas going on here, but the playability isn't always great. In the first section, please make sure that when you provide blocks with powerups in them, they don't get lost by falling into lava so easily if the player is small and they therefore become mushrooms. It also seems a little weird to me that the crazy Toad enemies turn into Koopa shells once you jump on them.
The platforming in the outside area is difficult, but doable, while the section inside the building is very unfair at times. First of all, the rotating fireballs are hard to predict and dodge, because they don't rotate around the grey spheres that normally function as their center of gravity. There are also one or two sections in which their paths overlap with each other and at least one more dangerous obstacle, making it almost impossible not to take a hit there. The part where you have to jump from falling blocks over a spiked pillar onto another set of falling blocks is already hard enough and really doesn't need the rotating fireball as well. The high amount of powerups makes this section more manageable, but only mitigates the problems instead of solving them. I do appreciate the dancing king fooling around everywhere in the walls, though. That's pretty funny.
The boss battle at the end is a bit too long, I think, especially since part of it is just repetition. Also, I got hit by the dancing king's final form the moment he appeared, because he spawned right on the place where I was standing. I'm pretty sure the same thing can happen with any other enemy during that fight, which isn't very fair. Please also consider moving the checkpoint a bit closer to the end, as the indoor section is longer and much harder than the outside part, and there's the boss battle on top of that.
All in all, I think there's a lot of creativity and potential to be found in this level, but it's very rough around the edges. If you balance it a bit more and make it more accessible, I think you can turn this into a great level without sacrificing the high difficulty, but make it fairer to the player instead.
P.S.: The dialogue bits of the Toads contain errors.
Thank you for the feedback I was a bit afraid that it would be a little too difficult. I'll fix these problems as soon as I can. I'm glad you found the king in the walls funny though!
The skippability aspect was a direct lift from the similar level from SMB3, and if it is good enough for Shigeru Miyamoto, it's good enough for me! unless you are questioning the game design wisdom of Shigeru Miyamoto? ARE YOU? HUH??
(I might do some quick rework, but don't hold your breath)
(I might do some quick rework, but don't hold your breath)
