Level Design Tips

[Mable]

Yeah i doubt someone is going to read all of the 18 pages this thread got by now. There are like over 100 tips and half of them contradict each other, or like aero said are mosty just personal opinions.

[Emral]

201: Ignore rule 200. Visuals only really affect gameplay if they are really bad to see. Otherwise they will just at worst affect the people's opinions. Remember: There are many levels that don't look that much but are good, and there are levels that look nice but are trash.

Decades of research in Game Design would like to disagree with you. Atmosphere and Design play in harmony with Mechanics, Story and Technology. They're not isolated. Of course visuals will drag a level down if they make stuff hard to see, but they can also carry a level much further. A little crack in the wall to indicate a bombable spot is a visual tell that will help guide players through a level.
Downwell is a fantastic example of visuals supporting gameplay:

White is safe, red on enemies is harmful, black is background. A simple rule, easy to understand, eradicates all confusion and makes the game more fun.

Point is, visuals will ALWAYS affect a player's experience. It's impossible to split the two. The thing is though - you only NOTICE it if visuals are bad. Same goes for mechanics and the other categories. If something is bad, it sticks out. If something's good, it's fluid, it feels natural, but the impact is not null.

[Thehelmetguy1]

Well, I guess you are right then.

[dynastylobster]

Compared to some of this stuff, attaching a layer is pretty basic. Not to mention the fact lunalua makes events basically obsolete.

true , but (unfortunately) 99.99999999999999 percent of all smbx users don't know how to program , let alone code in such an obscure language .

Lua isn't an obscure language. It's used in a lot in video game development, such as in World of Warcraft. Also, 99.999999% or so, as what you say, isn't true. Just because they don't know how to code in LunaLua it doesn't mean they don't know how to code in general. I can code in C# and Java for instance, but I still can't even do LunaLua, let alone Lua (the reason being that C# and Java are object-oriented, and Lua is a scripting language so you have to think differently when I'm too used to object-orientation). Also, we get new members that are well-versed in Lua coding that they can use this knowledge to code in the SMBX-centric features in LunaLua.

i'll have to agree with you on that one , without objects , you only have functions and variables , the only way to make levels and or sprites , or buttons , or ...anything is to program an object system . . . why don't certain programming languages have object systems , when you clearly need them?

[MrPunchia]

if you need to use text to explain a mechanic, you're doing something wrong

[arcade999]

Ok, to make a great level, just don't spam shooting ennemies, don't make your level long as fuck with a single checkpoit in the middle, use a music that match with the theme of your level, if you are going to make a kaizo, TEST IT MANY TIMES to don't make a bad kaizo and please, please, PLEASE, don't make an smb1 recreation, it has been already done like 3 billion time.

[TDK]

Ok, to make a great level, just don't spam shooting ennemies, don't make your level long as fuck with a single checkpoit in the middle, use a music that match with the theme of your level, if you are going to make a kaizo, TEST IT MANY TIMES to don't make a bad kaizo and please, please, PLEASE, don't make an smb1 recreation, it has been already done like 3 billion time.

I would say that would you need to test many times for any level you're making, and not just kaizo.

[arcade999]

Ok, to make a great level, just don't spam shooting ennemies, don't make your level long as fuck with a single checkpoit in the middle, use a music that match with the theme of your level, if you are going to make a kaizo, TEST IT MANY TIMES to don't make a bad kaizo and please, please, PLEASE, don't make an smb1 recreation, it has been already done like 3 billion time.

I would say that would you need to test many times for any level you're making, and not just kaizo.

I know, but it's dangerously vital for kaizos, since you must really check if traps are workig well and if they aren't impossible to dodge, and not making like the episode ``difficulted mario bros`` with their impossibles and bad traps.

[Alucard648]

White is safe, red on enemies is harmful, black is background. A simple rule, easy to understand, eradicates all confusion and makes the game more fun.

This is called "color-coding". I also use color-coding for pipe colors in my levels:
Grey - useless pipe.
Green - warp entrance or exit.
Orange - NPC generators.
Red - "boss" pipe. A boss battle awaits player beyond this warp.

[AlphaFenix]

White is safe, red on enemies is harmful, black is background. A simple rule, easy to understand, eradicates all confusion and makes the game more fun.

This is called "color-coding". I also use color-coding for pipe colors in my levels:
Grey - useless pipe.
Green - warp entrance or exit.
Orange - NPC generators.
Red - "boss" pipe. A boss battle awaits player beyond this warp.

Woah, this is a creative ideia! The player doesn't need to try enter every pipe. Also, a level full of grey pipes isn't so cool. My coding can be this:

Green - Useless pipe
Orange - Pipe with a Piranha
Brown - Pipe to a Underground
Light green or dark green - Generator
Black / Grey - Boss (airship/fortress) or something special
Red - Pipe that warp to other section (like a continuation of the level, sky/ Not a underground, because they have a specific pipe)

[Snessy the duck]

TBH I feel like pipe colors limit your astethic choices quite a bit, and it kinda spoils the surprise of finding a hidden area.

[ElectriKong]

White is safe, red on enemies is harmful, black is background. A simple rule, easy to understand, eradicates all confusion and makes the game more fun.

This is called "color-coding". I also use color-coding for pipe colors in my levels:
Grey - useless pipe.
Green - warp entrance or exit.
Orange - NPC generators.
Red - "boss" pipe. A boss battle awaits player beyond this warp.

Woah, this is a creative ideia! The player doesn't need to try enter every pipe. Also, a level full of grey pipes isn't so cool. My coding can be this:

Green - Useless pipe
Orange - Pipe with a Piranha
Brown - Pipe to a Underground
Light green or dark green - Generator
Black / Grey - Boss (airship/fortress) or something special
Red - Pipe that warp to other section (like a continuation of the level, sky/ Not a underground, because they have a specific pipe)

This is a bad idea.

[AlphaFenix]

This is a bad idea.

It's not very bad. This can spoil the player the warp pipes, but make the level dinamic. However, there's more problems than good things.

[krakin]

This is a bad idea.

How do you know it's a bad idea, have you ever even tried doing it?

[ElectriKong]

This is a bad idea.

How do you know it's a bad idea, have you ever even tried doing it?

It defeats the purpose of hiding secrets in pipes. It does not actually improve gameplay in this department.

[Mivixion]

tbh that's a really good idea, you can easily hide warps in the other colored pipes if needed, but it would help see what's coming so you don't get an unfair death because you didn't know what was coming or something

[Emral]

TBH I feel like pipe colors limit your astethic choices quite a bit, and it kinda spoils the surprise of finding a hidden area.

If you think unmarked pipes as secret exit spots are fun, please get therapy.

This is a bad idea.

How do you know it's a bad idea, have you ever even tried doing it?

It defeats the purpose of hiding secrets in pipes. It does not actually improve gameplay in this department.

Kirby games have been doing it forever, using yellow-star doors for paths to advance, a variation of them for one-way doors and orange-star doors for side-areas.
It improves gameplay in the sense that your secret areas aren't absolute bullshit.
The secret itself should be the reward, not finding it. If you hide your shit in unmarked pipes you will get players going "oh damn FINALLY I PRESSED DOWN ON THE RIGHT PIPE" and will give no damns about what lies behind it. If you drop them a hint where stuff might be, they won't feel cheated and are more prepared for the small challenge beyond.

E: ALSO!!!
The fan-favourite episode Super Mario Star Expedition didn't hide its secrets either. They were in pipes that extended to the edge of the section, rather than disappearing into the ground. Basically the same system and just as obvious after the player has been taught.

[aero]

Nintendo did it right. Do what Nintendo does with pipes.

[Emral]

Nintendo did it right. Do what Nintendo does with pipes.

Thanks to your lack of elaboration now everyone will misunderstand it as nobody has any clue what Nintendo does with pipes.
Besides that, Nintendo isn't the be-all-end-all to platformer game design.

[aero]

Nintendo just puts an obstacle to get to a secret pipe as they do for star coins, 1ups, and other stuff. Not anymore elaboration needed.

Nintendo might as well be the prime example to follow because this is a game based off their product.