Yamamura's Dojo/On Inspiration

## Chronology

### Next

"Fixing Mistakes"

**On Inspiration** is a **Yamamura's Dojo** tutorial that can be found in the Maker Lessons section.

## Transcript

* **Nina:** Sometimes making a level can feel overwhelming because there are just so many options!

* **Yamamura:** Coo, coo coo. (In times like that, it helps to have some kind of inspiration for the course you're making.)

* **Yamamura:** Coo, coo. (So let's talk about different sources of inspiration.)

* **Yamamura:** Coo, coo coo. (The area you see here is a simple series of platforms for Mario to jump on.)

* **Yamamura:** Cooo coo? (So what can we do to make this area more exciting?)

* **Nina:** Ooh! Place an enemy on the highest platform! Then maybe the enemy will drop down to challenge Mario.

* **Yamamura:** Coo. (Very well. Let's try putting an enemy there.)

* *A goomba is placed on the highest ground platform. Mario manages to defeat it and reach the top.*

* **Yamamura:** Coo coo, coo. (The single Goomba made this area slightly more challenging.)

* **Nina:** Pshh. One Goomba? Wake me up when there's a real challenge.

* **Yamamura:** Coo, coo? (You want more enemies, do you?)

* *One more Goomba and two big Spinies stacked on top of each other are placed, much to Nina's shock.*

* **Yamamura:** Coo, coo. (There you go, Nina.)

* *Mario manages to defeat the two Goombas but dies to the Spinies.*

* **Nina:** You're one sick bird...

* **Yamamura:** Coo, coo cooo. (There's a lesson to be learned here. You must strive for balance in all things.)

* **Yamamura:** Cooo, coo coo. (As you may have guessed, I used stairs as my inspiration for this area.)

* **Yamamura:** Coo coo. (Now we'll change areas and look at another source of inspiration.)

* *The lesson transitions to another course.*

* **Nina:** Woah! It looks like a house!

* **Yamamura:** Coo cooo, coo. (Yes. Mimicking the shapes of objects can be a great course of inspiration.)

* **Yamamura:** Coo coo coo. (Recognizable objects allow you to establish a theme and give your course a story.)

* **Nina:** Yeah, like what if this house was turned into an enemy hideout?

* **Yamamura:** Coo. (A fine idea.)

* *The house is adjusted to look more like an enemy hideout.*

* **Yamamura:** Coo, coo coo. (To make this feel like an enemy hideout, I added a variety of enemies and obstacles.)

* **Yamamura:** Coo, coo coo. (As you can see, thinking about the story you want your course to tell makes it feel much more inspired.)

* *The lesson transitions to an area littered with pipes.*

* **Yamamura:** Coo, coo? (This area looks much more unique than an area that's nothing but Ground, don't you think?)

* **Nina:** Yeah, all of the Pipes here make this area look awesome!

* **Yamamura:** Coo, coo. (Up until now, we've been talking about using inspiration to shape the terrain.)

* **Yamamura:** Coo. (But you can also develop a theme for your course by using primarily one type of object or enemy.)

* **Nina:** In other words, instead of throwing a disconnected jumble of parts into your level, try using a few parts you like in creative ways!

* **Yamamura:** Coo. Coo. (Exactly. There are no rules to making a course, but try to put thought into which parts you're using.)