Super Mario Bros. X Forums

This is a vanilla level I put together as my first level that I posted here. I know it doesn't have that many secrets and all that stuff. It was supposed to be 1-1 for a project I never finished called TEMPLETS 2 Newer CG Islands Adventure which I MAY revive. Thought this was too easy? Try to beat it without collecting any coins at all! (I will have challenges like this on all of my levels)

Download: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4JyI ... lJ6c216aHM

Screenshot Feel free to leave ratings or videos!

Can this be moved to the levels section so someone can review it? Thanks!

From what I've seen from playing the level, the level layout itself is fine, although the side steppers can be a bit annoying if you're just starting out, knowing you can't touch them at all without getting hurt without weapons and such.
However, there's a lot (and I do mean a lot) of cutoff in the level, mostly due to the bricks as they don't have a boarder on them, and there's some very slight clash with the SMB1 clouds. Besides that, I think it's an okay level.

My Review:

Atmosphere [0/5]
I am sorry dude but one of the most important things a level must have is atmosphere. This level is all over the place with its design and graphical choices.
-Music indicated the level is a beach level, despite having almost no water in the level.
-Main BG is SMB3 Cave, yet we are outside.
-There are tons of bricks inside the sand, yet this level doesn't indicate any feeling of this being a ruins or palace.
-This level is heavily sand based, yet there's grass hills everywhere.

Like honestly, I tell people to pick a them and stick with it but you didn't actually pick a theme. This level strikes me as one that just "came" to you and you felt like designing. While I dont mind people operating with this mentality, it doesn't excuse being lazy in terms of making the level consistent with any portion of its content.

I highly recommend picking a theme, such as Beach or Ruins, rather than trying to make a level comprised of a conglomerate of ideas.

Level Design [1/5]
-Level was horrendously linear. You placed no side paths or anything out of the ordinary to prevent the player from holding Right and Jump. A level that can be beaten this easily is generally considered bad. I highly recommend investing some of those floating coins into some side paths and genuinely just make a less direct level.
-There are completely random and unnecessary line riders that do nothing impressive to the level other than make the player wait. This is evident by the three platforms right after the midway point. If you are going to have the player bother with lien riders, make it immersive. Having a straight shot line isn't fun...its tedious.
-Why are there only two power-ups in this level? I had to open debugger just to ensure that the previous statement was correct, because I legit thought there was only one. A level some have a number of powerups directly proportional to how long a level is and how many warps the level consists of. Having such a small amount, such as what you did, means the player only works with one at a time. This causes unnecessary stress in both easy and hard levels because there is a constant fear of failure at the slightest mistake.

Graphical Continuity [1/5]
-SMB1 Clouds in a strictly SMB3 based level only creates clash. I highly suggest using a retextured SMB3 version.
-These sandstone blocks do not mix well with the sand you used. It creates a disconnection with the tileset, but not entirely cutoff exactly. What your blocks do is fill in space in the sand but it is a rigid block compared to the sand's "Wavy" nature which only feels incredibly out of place. I suggest just removing the sandstone blocks entirely, since they do create small cutoff at the edges anyway.
-Is this level sand based or grass based. You can't just use both grass hills and then continue to use sand hills. This makes absolutely no sense logically, and I highly recommend picking one or the other: preferably the sand since you level is sand-based.

BGO Placement [5/5]
I really can not complain too much in this field for one big reason: this level is completely vanilla. For what you had available by default, I must say you did quite well despite create clash and a visual disconnection in the tileset.
But do not take this lightly, using the BGOs correctly doesnt mean you did the right thing. You still used logically inconsistent BGOs as well as some that clashed with the rest of the tileset, which is a no-no in most designer's eyes.
I highly recommend reviewing your usage of the BGOs as it was spot on, but do be sure to make your level logically coherent and reduce clash as much as possible.

NPC Placement [2/5]
I give you credit for effort and neato use for the koopa shells, however there are a lot of flaws.
-Using only koopas and goombas means your level is so dull that the only way a player will die is if they fall asleep. There is being too easy on the player, and then there is simply holding their hand like Toriel. I recommend reviewing levels in "The Best" to currently grasp how to use an NPC.
-Those conveyors are ugly, nothing more to say. Dont use these things if you don't have a logical reason to use them, such as within a factory. Let alone, don't use them if you dont intend on connecting their end pieces to something else. I say this because the black line you used was so ugly that I had to take a double-take just to make sure I wasn't crazy.
-Again, dont use SMB3 platforms and line riders to force the player to wait things out. Make it immersive and fun, not tedious and boring.

Replayability [3/5]
I would say I would play this level again if it got a major overall. There isn't too much wrong with the level's replayability aside holding you hand way too much.
Like I said, review the things I said above and go play some levels in "The Best" before making another level. There are a lot more elements you need to grasp before making levels of this caliber: such as making a level challenging but fun.

Overall Score: 12/30
Final Score: 4/10
Judgement: Average
Video: [Held for video]

This level is kinda old I guess. Thanks for the feedback.