18 ms·

Mario Maker: Create Your Own Super Mario Levels

163 points by stevekinney 12y ago

taurath 12y ago
So much potential in this - a few years ago myself and a bunch of friends were obsessed with ROM hacks for Super Mario World for the SNES; some of them were just really well-designed levels, and some of them were absolute hell, basically requiring the use of an emulator to save states and rewind. It created a completely different feel of game, and the simple and consistent physics of a Mario game was the perfect limitation for weird and strange things to happen. Here's a video of one of one of the difficult levels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teAqRZX4hbY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teAqRZX4hbY
- luckyno13 12y ago
  Wow, its like Dark Souls meets Mario. Very cool though.
- Lowgain 12y ago
  aha I spent so much time in college playing those levels, so hard without saving state every few seconds
- scott_s 12y ago
  I've never see Kaizo Mario World before. That's amazingly clever. It's easy to just, say, spam a screenful of koopas at you to make something hard. These levels, though are hard because they involve a complex interaction of Mario skills, with zero tolerance for getting it wrong. If you've played enough Mario, some of the sections are actually funny in the same way that comics are: I immediately see how difficult the task is, why, and the combination of both almost makes me laugh. I actually threw up my hands when I saw not only that the player had to throw a baby Yoshi up in the air to eat an enemy, but that the designer of the level expected this! Same when I realized that the the length of an area was tuned so that it was juuuuuust smaller than the amount of time Yoshi held a shell in his mouth before swallowing.
  - minimaxir 12y ago
    Most SMW ROM hacks are built with the assumption that the user will use save states, which dramatically offsets the execution difficulty.
    - scott_s 12y ago
      I figured this, and I'm less impressed with the particular run than I am with the design of the level. Everything fits together in just oh-so-perfect ways that make it deviously hard.
    - wcfields 12y ago
      Are there any that are different take on SMW that aren't crazy difficult? Like, what are the best SMW ROM hacks that are the most well thought-out. Ditto for Zelda, those two are my favorite games but I can only play the same game so much.
      - scott_s 12y ago
        The recent Link Between Worlds for the 3DS is a direct sequel to the SNES Link to the Past, and in many ways, it's like a remix. I was skeptical, as I also adore LttP, but I really enjoyed the new one for the 3DS.
jtreminio 12y ago
I bought a Wii U because I have a then-6 year old son and I wanted him to enjoy playing games with me that didn't involve shooting other people full of holes. My fondest memories of my childhood aren't playing Contra or Street Fighter, but games like Chip N' Dale and Duck Tales. The Wii U's game category has been much slower than others, but I feel like every single game Nintendo proper releases is pure gold, and there's plenty of 3rd-party games that have seen hundreds of hours of family gameplay (Rayman Legends). Anyways, I hope this release brings about a new generation of Really Hard Mario levels!
- MBCook 12y ago
  That's what a lot of the commentary I've heard about Splatoon has focused on. Nintendo took a really popular (and good) genre, the team based shooter, and made it perfectly family friendly. Easy to understand, lots of fun, no exploding heads, no dismemberments, nothing objectionable.
  - Pxtl 12y ago
    It's been tried before, but not with the talent of Nintendo behind it. I remember playing the Nerf-branded UT game with my nephew many years ago, for example.
  - jtsnow 12y ago
    I thought Fur Fighters did this quite well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_Fighters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_Fighters
- malkia 12y ago
  I'm thinking of getting Wii-U too - my son really loves Minecraft (in creative mode), and once in a while he gets the thrills in survival, but he loves creating more. I've never enjoyed fps, although I happen to work in the tools team for one of the most popular fps's out there. I grew up on turn based fantasy gaming and still do that (highly recommend Dragon Fantasy Book I & II, also Palm Kingdoms).
  - 12y ago
Fuzzwah 12y ago
This could be enough to push me over the edge and buy a Wii U. It is very cool that Nintendo have embraced user made content, after being so against it for what seems like forever. edit: a couple of replies made me realize that I was off the mark slightly with my comment. I should have focused on how their attempts to support user made content have seemed to run into their legal department's over the top desire to "defend" their character IP.
- Lambdanaut 12y ago
  I'm not disagreeing that they are against user made content per se, but there are plenty of examples where they've embraced user content, ever since http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Paint http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Paint and even to the more recent Wario-Ware games where you can make your own mini-games.
  - wahnfrieden 12y ago
    Excitebike for NES also had a level editor built in.
  - Scuds 12y ago
    even looking at the screnshots, they seem to have borrowed heavily from the Mario Paint interface, stream of icons on the top. No idea why they used a dog icon in the corner. IIRC that was the undo button in Mario Paint. http://e3.nintendo.com/_ui/images/games/wiiu/mario-maker/screenshot7.jpg http://e3.nintendo.com/_ui/images/games/wiiu/mario-maker/scr... Maybe it's a pun in Japanese?
    - Excavator 12y ago
      And the fly swatting and clapping hands that are also directly ripped out of Mario Paint. I'm a bit disappointed that they apparently didn't put in the music editor. > No idea why they used a dog icon in the corner. Perhaps him sneezing is related somehow? "Blowing away changes"… Edit: Or the similarity between Inu (Dog) and Undo?
    - 12y ago
emehrkay 12y ago
I wonder if you can put a spring thing that allows you to jump over the pole. This is kinda amazing, you can even update the graphics. I'm guessing 30 dollars and a download
- function_seven 12y ago
  I'm guessing no. I don't remember how,* but I managed to jump higher than the level pole once, but hit an invisible wall and slid down it anyway. *Game Genie? Emulated ROM?
  - pixelbath 12y ago
    There's actually a level with a springboard before the flagpole, and if you time it right sends you "over" the pole. It's like you said, once your X value is greater than the pole, you grab the top and slide down like normal.
  - nnnnni 12y ago
    I jumped over the flagpole once in 1-1 in the original Super Mario Bros thanks to a Game Genie code. Once you walk past the pipe that's the entrance to 1-2, you see about two more screens that then repeat forever. There are some places in The Lost Levels where you're meant to be able to jump over it. I believe that one had a warp pipe that took you BACK in the game.
  - mratzloff 12y ago
    On which one? As a kid I was able to jump over the flag in World 3-3 with just the right timing (http://ian-albert.com/games/super_mario_bros_maps/mario-3-3.gif http://ian-albert.com/games/super_mario_bros_maps/mario-3-3....). The castle wall simply continued on forever, and I ran until time ended, hoping there would be a secret of some kind at the end. The bounding box for the flag top is pretty tall, so I had to get a lot of air in order to clear it.
  - smtddr 12y ago
    You can get over the flagpole in world 1-1 and 3-3, but it involves at least 2 quirks in the game to do 1-1's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMCfqjRheY8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMCfqjRheY8
fnbaptiste 12y ago
I read about this awhile ago and I didn't think it sounded all that fun. But looking at the pictures, it actually looks like it could be really cool. I'm definitely going to get this.
batmansbelt 12y ago
I had a code for my game genie that enabled this functionality. It was fun hacking away at Mario 3.
thisisdallas 12y ago
For those who are thinking about picking up a Wii U, Nintendo is selling refurbished consoles for $200. For all the reports I have read, they are basically brand new systems (in appearance). https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/us/po/browse/productDetailColorSizePicker.jsp?categoryNav=true&navAction=jump&navCount=0&atg.multisite.remap=false&productId=prod150200&categoryId=cat140077 https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/us/po/browse/productDetailCol...
- timdorr 12y ago
  I just got mine from UPS earlier today. I can confirm that it's indistinguishable from a new console. It may even be brand new. They are likely getting returned inventory from retailers since it hasn't been selling as well as hoped. It also comes with a 3 year warranty and a free copy of Nintendo Land. If you get Mario Kart 8 before the end of July, you can get a free game with it. In total, it's about $250 for a console still early in its cycle and 3 good games. It's a great deal.
- moepstar 12y ago
  Meh, i'd order one in an instant... However, that seems to be US/CA only, not shipping to Germany... I've checked their german store and there doesn't seem to be a similar offering for refurbs here - or is there? Advice appreciated, coz at $200 it'd be a steal...
zenciadam 12y ago
Wanted something like this when I was 8.
codingbinary 12y ago
I give it 5 minutes after release until the first phallic levels are uploaded.
winslow 12y ago
Darn, it's only available for WiiU. I feel like most hardcore level makers would work from PC. Obviously, that's not really their target but would have been cool to have it on PC.
- Scuds 12y ago
  They'd have to support it on the PC as well. I suppose it's more of an attack surface.
AlexMax 12y ago
There has been an unofficial tool for editing Super Mario World levels available for many years now. http://www.smwiki.net/wiki/Lunar_Magic http://www.smwiki.net/wiki/Lunar_Magic I wonder how Mario Maker will compare in functionality and ease of use.
Scuds 12y ago
This is a hardly a new idea but nice to see it applied to a famous franchise like Mario. Little Big Planet is 2D platformer released in 2008 whose maps were designed built in house through their own level editor. They provided a (Stephen Fry narrated, dear lord) interactive tutorial and a complete system to share levels and play with your friends. There _were_ some performance issues with some of the more complicated levels and the PS3's limited RAM maintaining a big ole physics engine. But since this is just Mario, level complexity shouldn't be a problem. Still, I don't know if Mario provides enough variety to remain interesting for years. THEN AGAIN - there is a kid born every day who's never played a Mario game before, maybe things should stay simple.
Yen 12y ago
I'm kind of interested in the last screenshot (http://e3.nintendo.com/_ui/images/games/wiiu/mario-maker/screenshot7.jpg http://e3.nintendo.com/_ui/images/games/wiiu/mario-maker/scr...). Is that just post production, or do they actually allow the editor to define a set of moves and abstract over time, a la Brett Victor?
- flycaliguy 12y ago
  My guess is that when you pause the action and enter the edit screen, you are able to view a trail of your previous positions. I think that button in the bottom left toggles it.
flycaliguy 12y ago
I'd love for them to toss in a music maker like Gameboy Camera's Trippy H or Mario Paint Composer. To create original compositions using Nintendo's sound palette would really complete the experience. Lovers of the series and fans of the genre can agree that a side scroller's music makes the whole game's flow fit together. An avant garde remix of Mario's theme would be the perfect accompaniment to some of the experimental levels people will create.
orasis 12y ago
If you have an iPad, PixelPress Floors is a great option - http://projectpixelpress.com/floors/ http://projectpixelpress.com/floors/
Abraln 12y ago
Hopefully they add additional options (yoshi, invisible blocks, fire flowers, etc.) otherwise I will probably pass. It does seem like an early build though, so that's a good sign that they will.
wispor 12y ago
I'm not sure if I'm impressed.... Sonic 2 (from Sega Genesis) had a "debug" mode, where you enter a cheat code on the controller and could then edit the levels. I remember playing that about 20 years ago. What's the big deal about this...?
Yuioup 12y ago
Okay but how long will it take before you get bored with this? Somehow I can't imagine this to hold anybody's attention for longer than 5 minutes.
carlosinho 12y ago
That's really cool. I guess we'll see quite a few messed up levels created with this. (I mean messed up in a good way.)
mrcactu5 12y ago
wow - after all these years... however my guess this is not open source?
- mrcactu5 12y ago
  who the fuck downvoted? what the fuck is wrong with you guys!! prick fuckers get a life
bruceb 12y ago
Sonic had debug mode 20 years ago: http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Debug_Mode http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Debug_Mode
- Mahn 12y ago
  That wasn't quite like building your own levels though.

163 points by stevekinney 12y ago

So much potential in this - a few years ago myself and a bunch of friends were obsessed with ROM hacks for Super Mario World for the SNES; some of them were just really well-designed levels, and some of them were absolute hell, basically requiring the use of an emulator to save states and rewind. It created a completely different feel of game, and the simple and consistent physics of a Mario game was the perfect limitation for weird and strange things to happen. Here's a video of one of one of the difficult levels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teAqRZX4hbY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teAqRZX4hbY

luckyno13 12y ago
Wow, its like Dark Souls meets Mario. Very cool though.
Lowgain 12y ago
aha I spent so much time in college playing those levels, so hard without saving state every few seconds
scott_s 12y ago
I've never see Kaizo Mario World before. That's amazingly clever. It's easy to just, say, spam a screenful of koopas at you to make something hard. These levels, though are hard because they involve a complex interaction of Mario skills, with zero tolerance for getting it wrong. If you've played enough Mario, some of the sections are actually funny in the same way that comics are: I immediately see how difficult the task is, why, and the combination of both almost makes me laugh. I actually threw up my hands when I saw not only that the player had to throw a baby Yoshi up in the air to eat an enemy, but that the designer of the level expected this! Same when I realized that the the length of an area was tuned so that it was juuuuuust smaller than the amount of time Yoshi held a shell in his mouth before swallowing.
- minimaxir 12y ago
  Most SMW ROM hacks are built with the assumption that the user will use save states, which dramatically offsets the execution difficulty.
  - scott_s 12y ago
    I figured this, and I'm less impressed with the particular run than I am with the design of the level. Everything fits together in just oh-so-perfect ways that make it deviously hard.
  - wcfields 12y ago
    Are there any that are different take on SMW that aren't crazy difficult? Like, what are the best SMW ROM hacks that are the most well thought-out. Ditto for Zelda, those two are my favorite games but I can only play the same game so much.
    - scott_s 12y ago
      The recent Link Between Worlds for the 3DS is a direct sequel to the SNES Link to the Past, and in many ways, it's like a remix. I was skeptical, as I also adore LttP, but I really enjoyed the new one for the 3DS.

jtreminio 12y ago

I bought a Wii U because I have a then-6 year old son and I wanted him to enjoy playing games with me that didn't involve shooting other people full of holes. My fondest memories of my childhood aren't playing Contra or Street Fighter, but games like Chip N' Dale and Duck Tales. The Wii U's game category has been much slower than others, but I feel like every single game Nintendo proper releases is pure gold, and there's plenty of 3rd-party games that have seen hundreds of hours of family gameplay (Rayman Legends). Anyways, I hope this release brings about a new generation of Really Hard Mario levels!

MBCook 12y ago
That's what a lot of the commentary I've heard about Splatoon has focused on. Nintendo took a really popular (and good) genre, the team based shooter, and made it perfectly family friendly. Easy to understand, lots of fun, no exploding heads, no dismemberments, nothing objectionable.
- Pxtl 12y ago
  It's been tried before, but not with the talent of Nintendo behind it. I remember playing the Nerf-branded UT game with my nephew many years ago, for example.
- jtsnow 12y ago
  I thought Fur Fighters did this quite well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_Fighters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_Fighters
malkia 12y ago
I'm thinking of getting Wii-U too - my son really loves Minecraft (in creative mode), and once in a while he gets the thrills in survival, but he loves creating more. I've never enjoyed fps, although I happen to work in the tools team for one of the most popular fps's out there. I grew up on turn based fantasy gaming and still do that (highly recommend Dragon Fantasy Book I & II, also Palm Kingdoms).
- 12y ago

Fuzzwah 12y ago

This could be enough to push me over the edge and buy a Wii U. It is very cool that Nintendo have embraced user made content, after being so against it for what seems like forever. edit: a couple of replies made me realize that I was off the mark slightly with my comment. I should have focused on how their attempts to support user made content have seemed to run into their legal department's over the top desire to "defend" their character IP.

Lambdanaut 12y ago
I'm not disagreeing that they are against user made content per se, but there are plenty of examples where they've embraced user content, ever since http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Paint http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Paint and even to the more recent Wario-Ware games where you can make your own mini-games.
- wahnfrieden 12y ago
  Excitebike for NES also had a level editor built in.
- Scuds 12y ago
  even looking at the screnshots, they seem to have borrowed heavily from the Mario Paint interface, stream of icons on the top. No idea why they used a dog icon in the corner. IIRC that was the undo button in Mario Paint. http://e3.nintendo.com/_ui/images/games/wiiu/mario-maker/screenshot7.jpg http://e3.nintendo.com/_ui/images/games/wiiu/mario-maker/scr... Maybe it's a pun in Japanese?
  - Excavator 12y ago
    And the fly swatting and clapping hands that are also directly ripped out of Mario Paint. I'm a bit disappointed that they apparently didn't put in the music editor. > No idea why they used a dog icon in the corner. Perhaps him sneezing is related somehow? "Blowing away changes"… Edit: Or the similarity between Inu (Dog) and Undo?
  - 12y ago

emehrkay 12y ago

I wonder if you can put a spring thing that allows you to jump over the pole. This is kinda amazing, you can even update the graphics. I'm guessing 30 dollars and a download

function_seven 12y ago
I'm guessing no. I don't remember how,* but I managed to jump higher than the level pole once, but hit an invisible wall and slid down it anyway. *Game Genie? Emulated ROM?
- pixelbath 12y ago
  There's actually a level with a springboard before the flagpole, and if you time it right sends you "over" the pole. It's like you said, once your X value is greater than the pole, you grab the top and slide down like normal.
- nnnnni 12y ago
  I jumped over the flagpole once in 1-1 in the original Super Mario Bros thanks to a Game Genie code. Once you walk past the pipe that's the entrance to 1-2, you see about two more screens that then repeat forever. There are some places in The Lost Levels where you're meant to be able to jump over it. I believe that one had a warp pipe that took you BACK in the game.
- mratzloff 12y ago
  On which one? As a kid I was able to jump over the flag in World 3-3 with just the right timing (http://ian-albert.com/games/super_mario_bros_maps/mario-3-3.gif http://ian-albert.com/games/super_mario_bros_maps/mario-3-3....). The castle wall simply continued on forever, and I ran until time ended, hoping there would be a secret of some kind at the end. The bounding box for the flag top is pretty tall, so I had to get a lot of air in order to clear it.
- smtddr 12y ago
  You can get over the flagpole in world 1-1 and 3-3, but it involves at least 2 quirks in the game to do 1-1's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMCfqjRheY8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMCfqjRheY8

fnbaptiste 12y ago

I read about this awhile ago and I didn't think it sounded all that fun. But looking at the pictures, it actually looks like it could be really cool. I'm definitely going to get this.

batmansbelt 12y ago

I had a code for my game genie that enabled this functionality. It was fun hacking away at Mario 3.

thisisdallas 12y ago

For those who are thinking about picking up a Wii U, Nintendo is selling refurbished consoles for $200. For all the reports I have read, they are basically brand new systems (in appearance). https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/us/po/browse/productDetailColorSizePicker.jsp?categoryNav=true&navAction=jump&navCount=0&atg.multisite.remap=false&productId=prod150200&categoryId=cat140077 https://store.nintendo.com/ng3/us/po/browse/productDetailCol...

timdorr 12y ago
I just got mine from UPS earlier today. I can confirm that it's indistinguishable from a new console. It may even be brand new. They are likely getting returned inventory from retailers since it hasn't been selling as well as hoped. It also comes with a 3 year warranty and a free copy of Nintendo Land. If you get Mario Kart 8 before the end of July, you can get a free game with it. In total, it's about $250 for a console still early in its cycle and 3 good games. It's a great deal.
moepstar 12y ago
Meh, i'd order one in an instant... However, that seems to be US/CA only, not shipping to Germany... I've checked their german store and there doesn't seem to be a similar offering for refurbs here - or is there? Advice appreciated, coz at $200 it'd be a steal...

zenciadam 12y ago

Wanted something like this when I was 8.

codingbinary 12y ago

I give it 5 minutes after release until the first phallic levels are uploaded.

winslow 12y ago

Darn, it's only available for WiiU. I feel like most hardcore level makers would work from PC. Obviously, that's not really their target but would have been cool to have it on PC.

Scuds 12y ago
They'd have to support it on the PC as well. I suppose it's more of an attack surface.

AlexMax 12y ago

There has been an unofficial tool for editing Super Mario World levels available for many years now. http://www.smwiki.net/wiki/Lunar_Magic http://www.smwiki.net/wiki/Lunar_Magic I wonder how Mario Maker will compare in functionality and ease of use.

Scuds 12y ago

This is a hardly a new idea but nice to see it applied to a famous franchise like Mario. Little Big Planet is 2D platformer released in 2008 whose maps were designed built in house through their own level editor. They provided a (Stephen Fry narrated, dear lord) interactive tutorial and a complete system to share levels and play with your friends. There _were_ some performance issues with some of the more complicated levels and the PS3's limited RAM maintaining a big ole physics engine. But since this is just Mario, level complexity shouldn't be a problem. Still, I don't know if Mario provides enough variety to remain interesting for years. THEN AGAIN - there is a kid born every day who's never played a Mario game before, maybe things should stay simple.

Yen 12y ago

I'm kind of interested in the last screenshot (http://e3.nintendo.com/_ui/images/games/wiiu/mario-maker/screenshot7.jpg http://e3.nintendo.com/_ui/images/games/wiiu/mario-maker/scr...). Is that just post production, or do they actually allow the editor to define a set of moves and abstract over time, a la Brett Victor?

flycaliguy 12y ago
My guess is that when you pause the action and enter the edit screen, you are able to view a trail of your previous positions. I think that button in the bottom left toggles it.

flycaliguy 12y ago

I'd love for them to toss in a music maker like Gameboy Camera's Trippy H or Mario Paint Composer. To create original compositions using Nintendo's sound palette would really complete the experience. Lovers of the series and fans of the genre can agree that a side scroller's music makes the whole game's flow fit together. An avant garde remix of Mario's theme would be the perfect accompaniment to some of the experimental levels people will create.

orasis 12y ago

If you have an iPad, PixelPress Floors is a great option - http://projectpixelpress.com/floors/ http://projectpixelpress.com/floors/

Abraln 12y ago

Hopefully they add additional options (yoshi, invisible blocks, fire flowers, etc.) otherwise I will probably pass. It does seem like an early build though, so that's a good sign that they will.

wispor 12y ago

I'm not sure if I'm impressed.... Sonic 2 (from Sega Genesis) had a "debug" mode, where you enter a cheat code on the controller and could then edit the levels. I remember playing that about 20 years ago. What's the big deal about this...?

Yuioup 12y ago

Okay but how long will it take before you get bored with this? Somehow I can't imagine this to hold anybody's attention for longer than 5 minutes.

carlosinho 12y ago

That's really cool. I guess we'll see quite a few messed up levels created with this. (I mean messed up in a good way.)

mrcactu5 12y ago

wow - after all these years... however my guess this is not open source?

mrcactu5 12y ago
who the fuck downvoted? what the fuck is wrong with you guys!! prick fuckers get a life

bruceb 12y ago

Sonic had debug mode 20 years ago: http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Debug_Mode http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Debug_Mode

Mahn 12y ago
That wasn't quite like building your own levels though.