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:

  • 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!

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Posts

Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
author=Mirak
Wow this is going to be difficult then since i'm making a haunted house level and it's very dark. I guess i could try changing the background to something bright while i work on the platforms. Thanks!

Yep, that's usually how I go about it; make the background bright for working and then set it to the correct one when I'm done.
Frogge
I wanna marry ALL the boys!! And Donna is a meanc
18995
I just played your levels, Soli and Otabo.
I want to start with Otabo. That level was absoultely adorable. The colors just looked so cute! I like how you stuck to a theme during the whole level. The venus firetraps were so annoying, but in a good way! It was pretty challenging over all, although it was a little too easy to get 1-ups. If this was a level in an episode people would just go back to it to 1-up spam imo :P
Soli-Your level was really decent. Some bgos looked cut-off and I did not like the idea of having floating platforms in the sky(it just doesn't make too much sense to me without something holding it up)but otherwise it was good!
Thanks. I do agree that maybe I went a bit overboard with 1-up opportunities. See, I sorta have this "habit" that everytime I make a slide section, that I need to place some enemies on the slide and collectibles/paratroopas in Mario's path in such a way that he ends up gaining a 1-up. I suppose I could lose the 3-up moon near the start, but I wouldn't have any idea what to replace it with. I might also have to do something with the bouncing platforms in case the player is small Mario and decides to use the sub power up right there. I may tweak the level a tad bit later on and see what happens.
halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16948
Maybe put a special suit in place of the moon at the start. Things like that can be a nice reward 'cuz you start the level with them, but have to beat it in order to keep them...or be a weasel and stash it in the drop box. Either way, if the player isn't skilled enough to keep the suit, they'll lose it sooner or later. It's self-regulating, really.
Seiromem
I would have more makerscore If I did things.
6375
I feel like my level is a bit too short, anybody have any thoughts on that for me?
NeverSilent
Got any Dexreth amulets?
6299
author=Seiromem
I feel like my level is a bit too short, anybody have any thoughts on that for me?

Not sure how helpful this is to you, but I personally did not get the impression that your level was too short. In my opinion, its length was just fine.
Mirak
Stand back. Artist at work. I paint with enthusiasm if not with talent.
9300
author=Seiromem
I feel like my level is a bit too short, anybody have any thoughts on that for me?
I haven't been able to clear it (i'm really out of touch with challenging mario levels) so i couldn't say, but the average smw level lasted less than 5 minutes.

Personally i'm struggling to get my level to last longer than 2. The problem with ghost houses being more puzzle than action is that you can breeeze through it once you know what to do and where are the things.
Frogge
I wanna marry ALL the boys!! And Donna is a meanc
18995
author=insaneraving
Did anyone try mine yet?

I just tried it, insaneraving. Your level.. uhh.... had some flaws.
Firstly, your level had just way too many themes. You went from an underground level to a sky level to an underwater level to a SMW sky level to a castle. You should probably just choose one theme and stick with it. Same with the graphics. You used a combination of SMB1+SMB3+SMW graphics. While making a level, stick to one game's graphics only, or use custom sprites. That bonus in the beginning with the coins was just too much. I went from nearly 3 lives to 19. That's 16 1-ups worth of coins. 16-ups, just from one section! And all I had to do to get 16 1-ups was to go down literally the first pipe I found! If you want to have bonus areas, I recommend you have a max of 50 coins or so as the amount you had was just way, way too much. In the castle section, I could skip the entire lava section with a leaf. There was a huge lack of enemies, especially in the underground. Having two fire flowers right next to each other was also kinda weird.

I actually liked the SMW sky section, you probably should have based your whole level on that.
I Know for a fact that I'm not going to win because there are SO MANY talented SMBX people on here, but what the hell... I'm in.
NeverSilent
Got any Dexreth amulets?
6299
All right. I played all the levels that I hadn't tried out yet, and also replayed the ones that were updated since my last batch of feedback. I hope this is somewhat useful. As always, please keep in mind that all of this is just my personal viewpoint.



1 level contest - by insaneraving:
Is there a particular reason your level came with a world map file as well? Anyway, I'm sorry to tell you this, but that level is just a mess. Graphical consistency is nowhere to be found, the placement of blocks and enemies often makes no sense or is counterintuitive, and there is a huge overabundance of powerups.
First of all, the start screen is kind of nice, but why would you make it so that the player can fall off on both sides? The coins galore pipe found almost right after that serves no purpose at all: It's no fun for the player to just be given so many extra lives without having to do anything to deserve them, and in fact, falling down for so long without being able to do anything is just a waste of the player's time. All it managed to accomplish in my case was making the engine's graphical drawing glitch out. The rest of the cave part also forces the player to wait a lot. And having to search for invisible blocks to jump off on a completely plain platform is no fun, especially when it looks like that jump could perhaps be made.
The mushroom section was not extremely exciting, but had some nice ideas that you could have explored further. However, if you place a powerup right after the checkpoint, please make sure that a player restarting from that point can realistically get the mushroom before it falls down into a hole just like that. With the exception of the (rather annoying) squid, the water section is practically devoid of dangers whatsoever, and I could just swim straight through it. The sky section was built around a neat concept, albeit very finicky to get right sometimes. Since the loops the platforms go through are often also rather long, there is a lot of waiting involved again. Also, a few of the Koopas in this section are placed so that they are absolutely no danger to the player. And for some reason I seemed to be unable to hit the block with the Tanooki suit before hitting the switch block of that trail. I sort of phased through the block instead, which almost caused me to fall off the platform. The castle section at the end was mostly okay.
All in all, it very much looks like you just tried to cram every idea and experiment you thought would be cool in theory into one level. Unfortunately, it doesn't really work well in practice. You might be better off taking a step back and only using those parts that are actually enjoyable to play, but trying to expand those to fill a whole level.
Again, sorry for being so harsh. I hope you manage to improve the playablity and fun factor of your level.



Ebonflow Cave - by Seiromem:
After replaying this level, I can assure you that it is most definitely not too short. I see quite a number of improvements from the first version. I only have two complaints any more: Firstly, I like how you addressed the problem of having to jump over fish in water on this screen by adding a vine for the player to use. Still, I would recommend not placing one of the fish directly under the vine, as that makes grabbing and climbing it without taking a hit almost impossible - especially since a ghost is pursuing the player at the same moment, leaving not much time and room to bait the fish with a fake jump. And secondly, it seems to me like the spawn rate on the underwater crab generator right here is still very fast.
Other than that, it's still a challenging but enjoyable level. And let me compliment the beautiful aesthetics again.



Journey to the Sky Fortress - by pianotm:
This level has definitely improved since the first version, I think. It is much less likely for the player to get totally lost now, and not having to deal with Lakitu is very pleasant.
I still think that the second part of the level (after the checkpoint) goes on for too long, and that some parts of the level are unnecessarily hard to navigate. I am also not a fan of having to search for invisible blocks in order to progress, but at least they are usually not the only way as the player receives items that allow them to fly/float fairly often. This also makes it possible to skip parts of the level by flying past them, though.
One thing that I assume to be a bug: The platforms that fall down upon touch (the ones right above the coins saying "kentona") also begin to drop when the player walks under them on the platforms of solid blocks below. They respawn only if the player moves quite a distance away from them. Is this intentional?
All in all, the level is much more accessible now, but I personally still can't say I found it extremely enjoyable to play.



Reading Rainbow - by Otabo:
Definitely a very beautiful level, and most of it very well-designed, too. I will admit that there was a bit too much sliding involved for my tastes, but since there is enough substance to the other parts of the level as well, I can definitely say it's not just an attempt to cover up a lack of content. Some parts of the level were more challenging than others, but generally always fair. I was going to complain about the placement of piranha plant pipes both above and below the trail of the platform you ride in one of the sections, but then I realised you gave the player an unmissable fire flower exactly for this situation. So, well done.
My only critical remarks are that the graphical passability of the rainbow floor threw me off, as it seems like characters are standing in it to a certain extent, rather than on top of it. Also, due to their movement patterns, it can become almost impossible to climb from one platform to the next one in the optional section. Unless, of course, you specifically intended for the player to only be able to get up there by bouncing off Bullet Bills - if that's the case, then never mind.
A good level in pretty much every regard, overall. Nicely done!



The Lost City - by Solitayre:
A very pretty level with a lot of interesting bits and clever little puzzles to it. The many design concepts that went into this definitely deserve some attention. Unfortunately, there is not that much incentive for the player to try and find all the secrets, and just trying to get to the end of the level isn't that challenging or representative of what this level has to offer overall. This is the kind of stage that others would probably have set up as a red coin level or something similar - with all the risks and problems that come with such a level. As it is now, this level definitely works, but it probably doesn't work entirely as intended. Still, designing something like this is quite the achievement!



Verticality - by Davenport:
There's a lot of vast and open space here - which definitely looks pretty, but also makes the lack of substance even more obvious. It takes a very long time for this level to actually become somewhat interesting, and large parts are devoid of anything remotely challenging. In fact, most of this level hardly requires any real action on the part of the player at all. The cloud jumping section has quite some good bits to offer, but the focus is still very obviously on aesthetics rather than enjoyable gameplay. Also, if possible, I recommend trying to change the mechanics of those trampoline clouds in order to prevent the player from accidentally picking them up.
As a whole, I can see this level's potential, but there isn't much to it at this point yet.


Solitayre
Circumstance penalty for being the bard.
18257
author=NeverSilent
The Lost City - by Solitayre:
A very pretty level with a lot of interesting bits and clever little puzzles to it. The many design concepts that went into this definitely deserve some attention. Unfortunately, there is not that much incentive for the player to try and find all the secrets, and just trying to get to the end of the level isn't that challenging or representative of what this level has to offer overall. This is the kind of stage that others would probably have set up as a red coin level or something similar - with all the risks and problems that come with such a level. As it is now, this level definitely works, but it probably doesn't work entirely as intended. Still, designing something like this is quite the achievement!




Thank you for your thoughts. Originally, I intended on indeed making the level a 'hunt for the items' level as you likely guessed from the design, but I'd have used Stars, not red coins, since these are saved if you die. pretty much anywhere in the level there was a star coin, I'd have put a star. I was going to have the exit locked unless you found three of the five stars but thought that might have seemed kind of obnoxious. What do ya'll think?
author=NeverSilent
Reading Rainbow - by Otabo:
My only critical remarks are that the graphical passability of the rainbow floor threw me off, as it seems like characters are standing in it to a certain extent, rather than on top of it. Also, due to their movement patterns, it can become almost impossible to climb from one platform to the next one in the optional section. Unless, of course, you specifically intended for the player to only be able to get up there by bouncing off Bullet Bills - if that's the case, then never mind.
A good level in pretty much every regard, overall. Nicely done!


- The rainbow tiles are half background (the top part) and half blocks (the bottom part), so that's why the graphic passability is like it is. Probably how whoever made those tiles (I forget) intended them to be, so I left it as it was - otherwise, I'd have to change like 30 background tiles to block tiles, and it would be too much of a pain to change them all to block tiles, besides, a good number of block tiles are already being used by the other part of the rainbow, so I wouldn't have much to choose from if I were to change them.

- As for those platforms in the optional section, no, the bulletbills there are meant to pose a threat for when the player climbs the long vine. I didn't intend to have the player bounce of the bulletbills there, but rather it was just bad start positioning of the platform placement, which is my bad. Gonna go ahead and play around with them and see if I can make that area a bit more tolerable, by either moving the start positions of those things, or making another word to replace the one that's there. Or killing the platforms entirely. Thanks.
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32388
NeverSilent
Journey to the Sky Fortress- by pianotm:

This level has definitely improved since the first version, I think. It is much less likely for the player to get totally lost now, and not having to deal with Lakitu is very pleasant.
I still think that the second part of the level (after the checkpoint) goes on for too long, and that some parts of the level are unnecessarily hard to navigate. I am also not a fan of having to search for invisible blocks in order to progress, but at least they are usually not the only way as the player receives items that allow them to fly/float fairly often. This also makes it possible to skip parts of the level by flying past them, though.
One thing that I assume to be a bug: The platforms that fall down upon touch (the ones right above the coins saying "kentona") also begin to drop when the player walks under them on the platforms of solid blocks below. They respawn only if the player moves quite a distance away from them. Is this intentional?
All in all, the level is much more accessible now, but I personally still can't say I found it extremely enjoyable to play.


Thank you! I thought I got rid of all the spots where you can't advance without hitting an invisible block. As for the platforms, no that wasn't my intent. I just placed them and set them so that they'd fall. I have no idea how to set their respawn distance. Also, I don't understand how walking underneath can trigger them or how that might be prevented.
Ok, I didn't see anything in the rules or what not. Is custom music ok to use?
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
author=Jparker1984
Ok, I didn't see anything in the rules or what not. Is custom music ok to use?

Yep, just make sure it's included with your level submission and that it plays properly in your level.
Seiromem
I would have more makerscore If I did things.
6375
Thanks NeverSilent, it's these small details that'll make the winning level I believe, I appreciate your feedback.
NeverSilent
Got any Dexreth amulets?
6299
Glad I was able to help, guys.


author=Solitayre
Originally, I intended on indeed making the level a 'hunt for the items' level as you likely guessed from the design, but I'd have used Stars, not red coins, since these are saved if you die. pretty much anywhere in the level there was a star coin, I'd have put a star. I was going to have the exit locked unless you found three of the five stars but thought that might have seemed kind of obnoxious. What do ya'll think?

Well, the answer to that very much depends on your intended audience's preferences. Personally, I don't have any problems with "item hunting" levels in principle, and I'm sure that setting The Lost City up in such a way would do the focus on exploration more justice and give all the bonus stuff much more of a reason to exist. If the required collectibles stay even after death, and not all of them must necessarily be found in order to complete the level, you are making it extremely user-friendly as well. (I found two or three of those star coins before even realising I didn't need them.) So as long as you inform the player about the workings of the level early on, I don't see anything wrong with such a design.
Solitayre
Circumstance penalty for being the bard.
18257
So I guess at this point my question is for the judges; would making the level require item hunting make it better or make you want to throw your computer out the window?
Ratty524
The 524 is for 524 Stone Crabs
12986
author=Solitayre
So I guess at this point my question is for the judges; would making the level require item hunting make it better or make you want to throw your computer out the window?

I think a level that centers around item hunting can work so long as it's done in short, condensed increments.

Generally, though, this is a hard thing to pull off. The challenge with these types of levels is that it's hard to make them engaging, because scouring and backtracking is a bit hard to distinguish from doing chores. I think if you were to attempt one, give something the player can do that supplements the hunting, and don't make your hunts too long like in the infamous level, Bob-Omb Battlefield from RMNB1, or too punishing like the watermelon missions from Super Mario Sunshine.

It's kind of hard for me to say because I haven't really played an SMBX level where item hunts were particularly enjoyable.