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:

• 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.
  
  

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:

• 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!

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!