Welcome to part 2 of this year's Vanilla Contest duology! The Vanill-ISH contest. In other words, the main event!
This contest doubles as a "mystery contest", having tons of changes to the contest format that I'm trying for the first time, so please read the rules and rubric carefully, and make sure to ask in this thread if anything is unclear.
There is no "theme". Make the best you can and show off your ability in making awesome levels!
THE DEADLINE IS ONCE APRIL 9 2024 HAS ENDED AROUND THE WORLD
RULES
Spoiler: show
ABOUT LEVELS
- Submission is restricted to levels made for the newest version of SMBX2 (Beta 5, newest patch at the time of submissions closing).
- Your level must follow the vanilla format, with some exceptions.
- "Vanilla" is defined as "you may only use tools available to you through the level editor." That means no external files, like custom graphics, parallaxing backgrounds, shaders or scripts.
- MUSIC CLAUSE: You are allowed to use custom music. Please, to the best of your ability, keep the filesize of any individual music file below 5MB.
- CONFIG CLAUSE: You are allowed to use up to 10 Block, BGO or NPC config files (not 10 each, 10 total).
- PARTICLES CLAUSE: You are allowed to use up to 2 particle descriptor files.
- ACE CLAUSE: Arbitrary code execution is NOT allowed. This mainly concerns Grafs and Crates.
- Graf logic is restricted to the v, x, y and t variables and may not define nested tables or functions.
- Crates should use the list extra settings fields instead of the legacy text input field.
- Your level may have a maximum of 2 exits. SMW stars count as 1 exit.
- Your level may have a maximum of 5 unique Star Coin indices.
- Your level must be beatable.
- You may use the "level settings" window to set your preferred playable character, choosing from Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad and Link. Please specify secondary options in your readme.
- You may work alone or in a team of 2 people.
- Up to 2 submissions per person/team are allowed.
- Levels must be your own and may not be recycled from some other event.
- Levels must abide by the forum rules. No NSFW, no AI, no harassment, no collaboration with banned members, etc. Simple stuff.
- Submissions deemed to be in bad faith will be disqualified.
- Please name your level something that can be displayed in a vanilla SMBX message box.
- We encourage you to post your level in this subforum for pre-submission testing, and/or ask friends to test the level
- Please only showcase your entries on the dedicated platforms. (such as the contest's own channel on the SMBX Discord server, or the Contest Hub, rather than regular showcase channels) The primary purpose of this is to avoid spoilers for the judges.
- Wrong start points, music paths and other oversights will not be corrected before sending levels to the judges. Test thoroughly!
Spoiler: show
Judges:
THE SPECIFICATION BELOW
Levels in this contest are judged by a dynamic set of scoring categories. Now, what does that mean?
When you submit your level, you can specify in your readme file a selection of 3 of the below categories that you would like to be judged on. The judges are encouraged to abide by your preference, but if they prefer other categories they may deviate from your wishes. Each judge chooses their own 3 categories for each level, meaning that if while I may judge a level on Aesthetics, Narrative and Creativity, Saltlord may think that the level puts a stronger focus on identity than narrative, and judge the level based on Aesthetic, Identity and Creativity instead.
Furthermore, one of the 3 categories picked counts double. This decision is purely at the judge's discretion.
Crucially, this isn't a selection of what categories your level would score best in, but rather a selection of categories that suit the content of the level best.
In addition to the 3 dynamic categories, Fun and Stability issues are always judged.
Below are all the categories, with plus and minus points to describe what they're about.
Dynamic Category 1: Player Communication
+ Necessary info is provided to the player in a concise and thematically appropriate way
+ Players can figure out how to overcome obstacles without too much guesswork (it may still take them a while to execute)
- The level is actively hostile to the player in a way disrespectful to their time
- The level is unfairly confusing
Dynamic Category 2: Identity
+ The author's style of storytelling/humour/decoration/design structure/pacing enhance the play experience
+ The level is memorable in a positive way
- The level exists in the shadow of another level
- The level’s identity is diminished by other aspects of the level
- The player associates bad memories with the level (tedium, abrupt ending, unfun boss) (ex. a hour-long difficult metroidvania level that took them over a week to beat)
Dynamic Category 3: Aesthetics
+ The level’s visuals and sound design are well-executed
- There are negative aspects to the visuals/sound that negatively impact gameplay, story or other aspects of the level
Dynamic Category 4: Creativity
+ The level amazes with well-executed, unconventional elements and ideas
- The level’s creative endeavours fall flat or don’t mesh with its other aspects
Dynamic Category 5: Narrative
+ The level’s narrative is compelling and well-done
- While the level is story-heavy, the execution contributes negatively to the level
Dynamic Category 6: Bonus Content
+ The level has a lot of options, optional paths or bonuses that encourage player expression and replayability
- The bonus content that is there lessens the quality of the overall package
Penalty Category: Stability Issues (up to -10 points before division)
- Softlocks or lag
- The level can throw an error dialog or crash
Wildcard Category: Fun (up to +5 points before division)
+ The judge's personal enjoyment of the level.
The total score is calculated as: (2x Category1 + 1x Category2 + 1x Category3 + Fun - StabilityIssues) / 40
For a total score between 0 and 10 points. Ties are broken first in favor of higher fun score, then in favor of fewer stability issues.
The judges may also hand out medals for each level's unique quirks, to reward participants outside of their placement. There are 3 medals which each judge is required to hand out: "Overall Favorite", "Biggest Surprise" and "Most Inspiring"
- 55jedat555
- Darkonius Mavakar
- Emral
- Saltlord
THE SPECIFICATION BELOW
Levels in this contest are judged by a dynamic set of scoring categories. Now, what does that mean?
When you submit your level, you can specify in your readme file a selection of 3 of the below categories that you would like to be judged on. The judges are encouraged to abide by your preference, but if they prefer other categories they may deviate from your wishes. Each judge chooses their own 3 categories for each level, meaning that if while I may judge a level on Aesthetics, Narrative and Creativity, Saltlord may think that the level puts a stronger focus on identity than narrative, and judge the level based on Aesthetic, Identity and Creativity instead.
Furthermore, one of the 3 categories picked counts double. This decision is purely at the judge's discretion.
Crucially, this isn't a selection of what categories your level would score best in, but rather a selection of categories that suit the content of the level best.
In addition to the 3 dynamic categories, Fun and Stability issues are always judged.
Below are all the categories, with plus and minus points to describe what they're about.
Dynamic Category 1: Player Communication
+ Necessary info is provided to the player in a concise and thematically appropriate way
+ Players can figure out how to overcome obstacles without too much guesswork (it may still take them a while to execute)
- The level is actively hostile to the player in a way disrespectful to their time
- The level is unfairly confusing
Dynamic Category 2: Identity
+ The author's style of storytelling/humour/decoration/design structure/pacing enhance the play experience
+ The level is memorable in a positive way
- The level exists in the shadow of another level
- The level’s identity is diminished by other aspects of the level
- The player associates bad memories with the level (tedium, abrupt ending, unfun boss) (ex. a hour-long difficult metroidvania level that took them over a week to beat)
Dynamic Category 3: Aesthetics
+ The level’s visuals and sound design are well-executed
- There are negative aspects to the visuals/sound that negatively impact gameplay, story or other aspects of the level
Dynamic Category 4: Creativity
+ The level amazes with well-executed, unconventional elements and ideas
- The level’s creative endeavours fall flat or don’t mesh with its other aspects
Dynamic Category 5: Narrative
+ The level’s narrative is compelling and well-done
- While the level is story-heavy, the execution contributes negatively to the level
Dynamic Category 6: Bonus Content
+ The level has a lot of options, optional paths or bonuses that encourage player expression and replayability
- The bonus content that is there lessens the quality of the overall package
Penalty Category: Stability Issues (up to -10 points before division)
- Softlocks or lag
- The level can throw an error dialog or crash
Wildcard Category: Fun (up to +5 points before division)
+ The judge's personal enjoyment of the level.
The total score is calculated as: (2x Category1 + 1x Category2 + 1x Category3 + Fun - StabilityIssues) / 40
For a total score between 0 and 10 points. Ties are broken first in favor of higher fun score, then in favor of fewer stability issues.
The judges may also hand out medals for each level's unique quirks, to reward participants outside of their placement. There are 3 medals which each judge is required to hand out: "Overall Favorite", "Biggest Surprise" and "Most Inspiring"
- SMBX2 Documentation
- Developer Resources
- Level name generator
- Level concept generator
- Invite Link to the SMBX Contest Discussion Hub
For details regarding the submission of your level, please head over to the submission thread. However, if you've got any questions, please ask them in this thread!
Reminder:
THE DEADLINE IS ONCE APRIL 9 2024 HAS ENDED AROUND THE WORLD
Pings Round 2:
Spoiler: show
