I generally start with a concept, decide on some obstacles, then start sticking challenges together until I have a level. Here are some individual stories:
Wiggler's Inside StoryI had this idea before the game came out. One thing I spent some time thinking of in advance was the kind of levels I wanted to make with the limited toolsets before stuff unlocks. I don't remember the chain of thoughts that went into deciding to make a level that takes place inside a giant Wiggler but it is what it is!
Wet Dark PitMy tools were still really limited but one thing I did have access to was a large amiibo collection! I also wanted to make a water level since I just unlocked water levels right around when I finished making Wiggler's Inside Story. After looking through my amiibos, Dark Pit became the obvious choice. Then I just stuck a water adjective onto his name and pow, level. The actual level design itself was just me wanting to combine water with moving platforms because that seemed like a silly idea.
The Mushroom Zoo IncidentThis is another one I thought of in advance. The idea was just "Mario sneaks into the zoo and frees the animals". I liked the idea of going through the zoo once while it's peaceful before going back though it in a more chaotic state, so I did that. The only tool for the job was the P-switch, so the next task was to figure out how to make P-switches stay activated for the entire second half of the level. I ended up hiding a bunch of extra switches so that they fall down when the first one is activated, and placing some so that the giant enemies would press them as you run through. The direction I ended up going is good, I think, but there were some execution mistakes that I would fix if I remade the level (I probably won't because it has like 90+ stars lol).
Please don't move! Love, BowserWhat if there was an auto-level that still let you play Mario? I decided to make a shitty joke level. Just a really medicore auto-mario accompanied by a short, easy level for people who dare to disobey.
Christmas ColorsThis is the last of the levels I uploaded that I thought of in advance. I think I thought of the name first then picked elements to work with it. It originally wasn't going to be right-to-left but I found that if approached from the right, Spike Tops follow each other around platforms instead of starting off facing Mario and bumping into each other all the time like they do if you approach from the left. So I put the level in a subworld and just did a small "preview" area in the overworld. This level doesn't seem to tickle many people's fancy. I guess it's just boring or something? I kind of want to delete it so I can reupload it with coins.
Six in a RowKrem said to me one day something like "you should make a level called Six in a Row, I don't even care what you put in it" so I made a silly level and slapped the name on it. I wanted something that kind of sucks (to go with the name) but is still fun enough to be worth uploading and, well, at least I like the level. I ended up tweaking it some too, which had the added effect of making it my sixth level. Whoa!
Air Force GoomI was playing around in the editor and I made an airship that looks like a goomba is driving it. I decided the idea was funny enough to extend to a whole level. So I designed a few ships for variety and copypasted them to make most of the map, then made a big ship to finish. I also hit the enemy limit on this level so I had to resort to pipes near the end, which ended up working pretty well! I like how this one came out, but there are a few cheap hits from unseen falling enemies that I might remove if I were to update the map. Also coins. I'd add coins.
My Wigg'sI wanted to have a level called "My ___'s", with some random noun. At first I was going to make an airship level called "My Boat's" but I had just made an airship level so I changed course. I figured "My Wigg's" is a funny name so I worked from there. The level itself was my attempt at a level with a speedrun-oriented path hidden in it (this is also somewhat true of Wiggler's Inside Story). It's possible to run and jump on the first Wiggler, then hold right+run+jump and bounce off enough Wigg's to get a 1-up and land by the lower pipe near the end. Then after making the "speedrun" path, I built other paths to take. Then I just put a big bonus area on top because why not.
Bowser's Evil Test!Shitty joke level named after a wonderful video. I decided to try to reimagine Rainbow Ride from Super Mario 64, with a few nods to the video added in (the TELEPORTS, the ability to skip the first part, the jumping around during the middle (I used cannons to force this)). The result is... very mediocre. If I ever need to wipe stages for upload slots, this'll be the first to go.
Spectral ProcessionFor those who don't know,
Spectral Procession is a Magic card. I was thinking about Magic cards in the shower or something and thought of this one and how I might design a level to fit the name. I also wanted to play with some of the neat Mario 3 ghost house tiles. Most of the level is just the stuff I naturally built from the tools I had. The autoscrolling was just to go with the "procession" in the name and didn't have a big influence on the level design... I think. I plan on naming more levels after Magic cards in the future.
Topic: M.U.S.C.L.E. Mario User Submitted Creative Levels Enterprise (Read 43867 times)