It Wasn’t Easy But I Made A Level — Super Mario Maker 2
By: Ryan Velasco
Tags: Game Design, Nintendo, Super Mario Maker 2, Level Design, Game Link

Why in the world did Nintendo, the powerhouse gaming company from Japan who took over and ingrained their very name into the pure souls of children throughout the 80s and 90s give those now grown up children, the keys to the Mushroom Kingdom? Sure, for the last 30 plus years they’ve been spoon feeding us showing us what makes games fun and exciting but did they really have to make a game that let us do all that ourselves? Of course not! But then again, is anyone really going to complain about that? Again, of course not. So I want to invite you all to come for a ride while I explain what I went through while making my own Mario level.

Explore my level: “‘Made for Beginners Version 2’, ID: YK6-HRB-X2G”

Where To Start

Before I begin, I want to lay out the foundation of Super Mario Maker and how it wasn’t the first ‘Mario Maker’ game. Unofficially it has been around for decades through ‘fishy’ looking sites still up today with regular ROM hacks of mario games.

So the basics of any Mario level has been examined by literally thousands upon thousands of people. Notably everyone is obsessed with making detailed analysis’ of World 1–1 which is insane, because it’s such a simple level. I mean all you have to do is dodge Goombahs while running to the right towards a pole in front of a fort. That’s really all there is to it, but still, people dissected it, to the point where no pixel was left unturned. So add that the list of obsessive love with Mario.

So we come to this, in June, 2014 Nintendo showed off their trailer for Super Mario Maker at E3 and the world exploded with crazed hype. Once they regained their senses they began to wonder, “wait, what could I do now that I’ve been given ‘everything’ to make my own Mario level!?”. From then on the ideas went wild from traditional platformers, puzzles, auto levels and dreaded kaizo levels. That’s actually what I believe people thought the best part of Super Mario Maker is, unrestrained creations (within reason). You become a deity wielding your unlimited powers forging any and all levels (within a certain block limit) you desire.

Being Stumped is Natural

Today, I’ll be looking at why Super Mario Maker 2 has been an exciting journey for me as I built levels, cleared player courses, took world records and the overall enjoyment I get from learning and trying new things. Of course because I haven’t played the first Super Mario Maker and instead have only watched videos of it on YouTube, I’m going in knowing how the game looks and functions, but not how to actually play or built in it.

As I took my first steps, I found that it’s incredible, in the overwhelming sense, especially because I prioritized taking my first steps in level creation rather than playing courses. I watched videos on what to expect from Nintendo’s channel prior to it’s release, but even so, I still ended up staring at the blank canvas wondering to myself ‘what do I make?’. I decided because I was completely stumped to try out some creations from other players and in all honesty I should’ve started there because it was so much fun!

I first stepped into a traditional level where you’re running right, dodging enemies as you go, a little platforming, some gimmick and bam, course complete. This time I entered a speedrun level which in all honesty was easy, but it showed me the basic structure towards designing the land layout for optimal speed. I eventually reached a ghost house that took me from room to room, dodging Boos while running past conveyor belts, spin jumping on Thwomps and jumping into hooks. I thought at this point, ‘I think I’ve had enough exposure, I’m going to try to make a level now’.

Design Time

So I intended to use the same sprites I saw while playing courses but as it so happens I went and used different ones instead. Then it dawned on me that because I had trouble making a level, ‘why don’t I make one that helps other people learn the game’. So as you can see I don’t necessarily stick to my initial plans. I got to work using the New Super Mario Wii U style, Bowser’s Castle theme, Koopa shells, Boos, pipes and key doors. Note, I believe in coin indicators because I didn’t want players getting overly confused and I made it so that if you were a beginner you should be able to complete it within 3 attempts.

Part 1 had you jumping onto a platform above and performing a long jump over a walking red Koopa. You had to then jump on a green Koopa that fell down from a pipe just ahead, take its shell, jump onto the ledge beside you and toss it into a crevice full of springs causing it to bounce through and hit the key. You then took the key and opened the key door beside you.

The red Koopa was there specifically to teach you that long jumps are present. The green Koopa falling from the pipe was needed to reach the key that was behind the horde of Boos attached to the ceiling which you couldn’t reach because of the springs just below them. So you needed to take the Koopa shell, jump up to the ledge with the coin indicator and toss it towards the spring. This showed you that items can be used to get other items you can’t reach and that some items interact with others; shells can be used to get unreachable keys.

Part 2 had you looking below as Boos popped out of the ground going back and forth inside a pit. You had to jump down a bit and either wait for the Boo to sink back into the ground or jump onto a platform 3 blocks over. Most people would wait, especially beginners, but for the more risk-taking they would always jump while the Boo was on screen. After you make it across you would likely hit the wall, typically during mid-jump and if you accidentally pressed jump while clinging to it you would wall jump onto the platform above. You then had another Boo to jump past.

This one was meant to get you to jump over the Boo’s in tight spaces and show you the wall jump mechanic.

Part 3 had you running while jumping onto platforms using coin indicators to make you follow a clear path over some non-lethal pits. If you did happen to miss a jump then you would fall into the pit, but because I wanted to focus on helping players I instead put a cannon down there that shot out a star. With the star you now run at full force, quickly getting you back onto the above platform. Following the coin trail down a 1 block space landed you onto a mushroom and a checkpoint.

In this part I wanted to make running and jumping the priority so I used coins to show the optimal path and if you failed you would fall into a pit, still giving you that ‘don’t worry you tried, here’s a goodie to help you continue’ feeling. That one I learned from Nintendo, who would, even if you failed to do what was asked would still reward you for trying. In the case of New Super Mario Bros. Wii where in world 2–2, if you failed to get out of a sand pit, instead of killing, you would sink and end up in a sub world full of blue coins and a Star coin. It’s a nice touch and especially motivating to players who don’t want to feel developers are out to get them.

Part 4 had large Buzzy Beetles dropping out off pipes above. You had to hop on platforms to the left after the Buzzy Beetles dropped to reach the other side. From there you jump on a lift that takes you up to a path leading to a Boo, a key door and a question block. You hit the question block after jumping over the Boo to get the key and open the key door.

I made this part as an amalgamation of the previous parts, though I did forget about adding in a Koopa. Jumping from the platforms while avoiding the large Buzzy Beetles tested your timing. An improved challenge from jumping over the Boos in part 2 and the Buzzy Beetles dropping was meant to add more of a challenge since you just hit a checkpoint making sure you wouldn’t go back to the beginning of the level if you messed up. The Boo was put there to again make you learn how to time jumps in small areas.

Part 5 was there to show a quick way of falling between platforms holding Boos with a 1 block space in between. You had 2 choices, jump to each platform below timing your jumps so you don’t hit the Boo or falling between the platforms which you would do if you had some experience with spacing in mario. To finish, I had Yoshi and a mushroom waiting at the bottom with a clear path to the axe. Simple finish, but leaves you with a reward for completing the level.

Keep Mechanics to a Minimum

As you can see I implemented a lot of different ideas into my level. I don’t believe I put an overwhelming amount of different ideas into a single level because each section either introduced or enhanced it. Ideas I found were also on the mind of Mark Brown who runs Game Maker’s Toolkit over on YouTube. Great channel that focuses on video game essays by the way, please check it out if you enjoy those. He first made a video about designing levels using Super Mario Maker explaining how you should introduce mechanics early on in the level, progressively expanding upon them as you make your way to the end. With the final challenge being a collection of all the mechanics you’ve been training the player to do throughout the level. In his next video using Super Mario Maker 2, created a list of 10 ways to properly design a level. I noticed also that I intuitively used some of these ideas before having watched his videos, so I feel proud of myself.

So we come to this, having a level that is designed to teach the basic mechanics is the most important thing to do upon the player first entering the level. From there it’s about expanding upon them and also adding a couple more in for some extra fun, all leading to a final challenge featuring everything you’ve just taught the player.

Understand Your Limits

Contrary to what I thought about level designing, which a portion of my cockiness and eagerness to create a ‘perfect’ level deluded me into thinking I could easily pull it off, showed me making levels isn’t easy and requires some careful planning especially if you want it to be a level people would enjoy. If you just want to make levels for your own enjoyment then not worrying about making sure the mechanics are taught from the start isn’t as important since you as the creator would already know what you have planned for yourself. That said, I personally find that boring because sharing levels you’ve created should be the ultimate purpose in any creators mind. People need to play what you’ve made and thoroughly enjoy it. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t do it for self-satisfaction but rather, keep in mind that your ‘perfect’ level, that literally took you hours to construct should be shown to the world for others to gawk at your marvel.