I finally got around to playing a few levels in this thread. I have yet to share any of my own levels online, but I hope I can get something up by the end of October.
@Lozjam
Your Lakitu level was pretty good, though if it was played the way you intended, it relied a bit too much on gaining temporary invincibility from getting hit to dodge around some of the very tough spots. It was a fun level, but it didn't have a very Mario vibe to it.
The Bowser's Castle level, on the other hand, is fantastic from what I've played thus far. I haven't quite had the chance to complete it yet, but I liked what I saw from both the top and bottom doors. The top path felt slightly better to me, because it rewarded tight jumps, but also allowed a safer approach to leaping across lava by slowly eliminating enemies in the way. The Bowser battle at the end was very interesting. I was going to be lazy and simply kill him with fireballs, but apparently that doesn't work in Super Mario Maker. I can see how I possibly need to jump on the homing bullet bill mounted on top of him to jump over, but I haven't been able to execute it quite yet. The bottom path felt pretty good as well; avoiding the cannon and bullet bill barrage while jumping from vine to vine gave a Super Mario Bros. 3 World 8 army theme to it with a twist of its own.
@the8thark
Thus far, I've only had the opportunity to play and beat your wall jumping level. It was slightly challenging, but it never felt unfair. I liked how you used coins to guide the players. It was a very smart way to introduce players to the basic concept required in the level before presenting the danger and ramping up the difficulty. The ending part got me a few times; right at the final jump, I slid off when crouching, and I was so mad at myself. What a clever mind game. I can see you've done a good job adhering to the Playtonic Games formula presented in your posts.
In addition to what you said in that post, I think this video does a good job explaining why there are so many poor levels in Super Mario Maker and what can be done to rectify this problem. Too many people focus on stuffing as many enemies and challenges into one level as possible. That is not good level design. As the quote from the level designer of Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns says, "Let the player know what's coming their way, so they can react on time." Also, "Make it easier to get the item than it is to keep the item, but always make it fair." A lot more levels need exploration, too. One of the reasons I enjoyed playing Lozjam's Boswer level was because it offered branching paths. Good levels are those that encourage players to revisit them and learn something new each time.
@Lozjam
Your Lakitu level was pretty good, though if it was played the way you intended, it relied a bit too much on gaining temporary invincibility from getting hit to dodge around some of the very tough spots. It was a fun level, but it didn't have a very Mario vibe to it.
The Bowser's Castle level, on the other hand, is fantastic from what I've played thus far. I haven't quite had the chance to complete it yet, but I liked what I saw from both the top and bottom doors. The top path felt slightly better to me, because it rewarded tight jumps, but also allowed a safer approach to leaping across lava by slowly eliminating enemies in the way. The Bowser battle at the end was very interesting. I was going to be lazy and simply kill him with fireballs, but apparently that doesn't work in Super Mario Maker. I can see how I possibly need to jump on the homing bullet bill mounted on top of him to jump over, but I haven't been able to execute it quite yet. The bottom path felt pretty good as well; avoiding the cannon and bullet bill barrage while jumping from vine to vine gave a Super Mario Bros. 3 World 8 army theme to it with a twist of its own.
@the8thark
Thus far, I've only had the opportunity to play and beat your wall jumping level. It was slightly challenging, but it never felt unfair. I liked how you used coins to guide the players. It was a very smart way to introduce players to the basic concept required in the level before presenting the danger and ramping up the difficulty. The ending part got me a few times; right at the final jump, I slid off when crouching, and I was so mad at myself. What a clever mind game. I can see you've done a good job adhering to the Playtonic Games formula presented in your posts.
In addition to what you said in that post, I think this video does a good job explaining why there are so many poor levels in Super Mario Maker and what can be done to rectify this problem. Too many people focus on stuffing as many enemies and challenges into one level as possible. That is not good level design. As the quote from the level designer of Metroid Prime and Donkey Kong Country Returns says, "Let the player know what's coming their way, so they can react on time." Also, "Make it easier to get the item than it is to keep the item, but always make it fair." A lot more levels need exploration, too. One of the reasons I enjoyed playing Lozjam's Boswer level was because it offered branching paths. Good levels are those that encourage players to revisit them and learn something new each time.
