Mario Worker

litchh · Postby **litchh** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:57 am

Welcome, welcome, welcome!
This level was created for bossedit's contest, and it's my first level, where I calculated speed of moving layers.
What is it? It's time to make Mario do his prime job! Or not Mario :3

Screenshots:

Spoiler: show

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/e7bju ... Worker.zip

xtremegamer51 · Postby **xtremegamer51** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 11:09 am

This looks interesting.I'll play it later and review it.Since Im already downloading a big project and I can only download one thing at a time.

Kingbowser112 · Postby **Kingbowser112** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:34 pm

Sorry for this quest but: why you called this "Mario Worker" ?

FanofSMBX · Postby **FanofSMBX** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:34 pm

Kingbowser112 wrote:Sorry for this quest but: why you called this "Mario Worker" ?

Because Mario is working

MarioWorker12 · Postby **MarioWorker12** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:42 pm

Oh I almost thought... well... okay...
You might consider working on the mask of the apple graphic on the 4th screen by the way, it seems to have no black outline which looks weird. I also don't like the colors of calm water surface tile and SMB2 blocks, and the plunger graphic makes no sense in my opinion.

Fuyu · Postby **Fuyu** » Fri Feb 28, 2014 1:06 pm

@MarioWorkey12: The mask has nothing to do with the outline, the graphic itself has a grayish red outline instead of a black one, and honestly, if that apple is a grabable NPC it should have a gray outline, not a black one, but I do agree with MarioWorker's point otherwise.

@litchh: Nice looking project, and really original. I like the screens, everything seems to fit very well. I'd suggest you though to modify the adorn on the second screen, on the shelf, as it has 1x1 pixels on it. Try to repixel it to 2x2 as SMBX works with 2x2 pixels. Also, I'd suggest you to rise the contrast on the SMB3 calm water, all colors blend way too much.

Otherwise, I'm liking the looks of this, looking forward to play it sometime.

HeroLinik · Postby **HeroLinik** » Mon Mar 03, 2014 12:34 pm

Level Review #8: Mario Worker by litchh

Reviewed by castlewars.

Level Design: 7.8/10
This is a rather silly level. Well, first of all, it started out like a typical SMB3 world 1 platformer, with all the genericities such as Goombas, Koopa Troopas and the wood tiles, before unfolding itself to show off the true design potential. Well, it is a weird (and actually funny) idea having the main focus being unblocking a toilet and showing that Mario is a "plumber" in those respects. Well, for the first section, you actually managed to capture very well its SMB3 atmosphere - it actually feels like it would belong in SMB3. The moving layers were executed very well too, in the first section they were deliberately slow to make it feel "easy" and world 1-like, and same in the second section, but to show the water level decreasing (and probably an effort to prove Mario is a "plumber"). In the second section, it actually felt like the player was inside a sewer, with all the pipes trailing everywhere, and the way that the player had to do a lot of backtracking in order to complete the section showed off its nonlinear potential. It was in this section that layers and events were used to their fullest to create some gimmicks such as floating platforms on water However, I felt that the level was a bit repetitive as the player is only accomplishing tasks for the sole purpose of lowering the water level and nothing else, despite the different (and possibly mundane, such as collecting an Ace Coin) ways of doing this. If the player had to do another task in order to unlock a switch which lowers the water level, then it will be more nonlinear. Also, at the end of the level, I felt that some of the pipes were too high, because after exiting the pipes, it took me a long time to try and get the right jump - you might want to fix that. Also, the level's a bit long despite a checkpoint, particularly if it's really repetitive. If you made the water drop more, then you'll effectively cut the length of the level.

Music: 10/10
Well, the level's called "Mario" Worker for a reason, right? Because it's supposed to show off Mario's true potential as a "plumber"! In the first section which felt like a typical SMB3 level, the music fitted surprisingly well despite the SMB3 overworld theme being a more tempting choice, because it has this feel that the player is going on an adventure. In the second section (sewer) the music seems to have this feel that doesn't really fit a cave, but more fitting for the task that Mario is about to undergo, because caves are mysterious places, and this place appears to be something familiar to Mario.

Graphics: 9.5/10
You did an exceedingly excellent job with the graphics. In the typical SMB3 overworld part, you tried to avoid custom graphics as much as possible to try and make a quite-close-to "barebones" section, with few custom graphics, to try and capture the SMB3 feel. It was also nicely decorated as well, so it feels more like Nintendo designed it and less of you designing it. The second section, by contrast, is excellent in terms of graphics. It felt really green and this colour is used to represent the dirtiness of the section, which is masterful here. However, despite the fact that you'd typically say the SMB2 turnips are clashing, they're not. In fact, they're almost getting on well with the overall SMB3 styling of the level. Even the insides of the tilesets are decorated in very imaginative ways as well, just like with another level that I reviewed a while back. However, the graphic for the Venus Fire Trap looks odd when it's selected: its stalk is sticking out over the top of the head, because the NPC codes were not set correctly - only the hit box height was modified, not the GFX height as well. Set the GFX height to 48 and you'll avoid this problem. Other than that, it's very decorated and naturalistic, avoiding the problem that the level looks artificial, in particular the dirty water-falls, which evokes a sense of atmosphere in the level as well as provide a fitting decoration.

NPC Placement: 8.5/10
Even the NPCs are doing well for this level. In fact, the Piranha Pipe is getting rare among levels I've played, and the way you brought it back had to come with something - a very imaginative use for it. I haven't seen a Piranha Pipe being used to destroy blowable blocks in the same way as the Billy Gun does, but mainly to destroy enemies. It makes up the last part of the level, that gimmick, and it's been executed very well. In that blowable block maze there had to be some hitches in there - not in the placement, but the player isn't expecting the Poison Mushrooms to be there and do damage...but the way they're placed makes them almost unavoidable. I'd say allow some space for the player to escape because they're holding a Piranha Pipe and they need to make a getaway. In the first section on the other hand, using only generic enemies such as Goombas and Koopa Troopas can add to the realism experience and again makes it feel that Nintendo designed that section and not some random user in SMBX. However, the excellent layer-event use, particularly in the second section, can be complemented with the skillful use of invisible NPCs, like the checkpoint, which has been used to a good function by making it appear Mario has completed the section, and the axe. It's that which has opened up gateways to secret events that unlock things on the other side of the level. Lastly, the bubble NPCs. A rarely-used NPC seems to be working very well in the water, when it's usually placed in the air. A good amount was used, not too many or too little.

Overall Result: 9/10 (Level Status: The Best!)
Oh - my - *bleep*ing - God. This is one excellent level of yours. There aren't really many flaws to fix in this level, but a lot of people seem to underestimate you, particularly when you saw my review and harsh score on your Revived contest level, Fire Flowers. Just keep going making good levels like this. I can't wait to see it if it's in SKL.

litchh · Postby **litchh** » Sat Mar 08, 2014 3:40 am

Thanks for your review, castlewars.

castlewars wrote:However, the graphic for the Venus Fire Trap looks odd when it's selected: its stalk is sticking out over the top of the head, because the NPC codes were not set correctly - only the hit box height was modified, not the GFX height as well. Set the GFX height to 48 and you'll avoid this problem.

Hm, my short Venus Fire Trap looks normally in game, but incorrectly in the editor icon and when Yoshi eats them. Usually I create levels without Yoshi's actions, so I didn't notice. I will fix this later.