Project Tips

[MrPunchia]

Do you think that is good or is it too much?

That's WAY too much...
9 worlds would do.

[Anphiba]

I just didn't want to make it short and simple like in every Mario game. I was hoping to make it longer so that the players would get more playtime. I've seen episodes with a lot of levels in them.
Plus, I wasn't comfortable with 9 worlds. Literally, every Mario game.
grass
desert
island
jungle
ice
mountain
sky
volcano
star world
It's so repetetive!! It's the same number, same everything. The only "innovative and different" game I can see is New Super Mario Bros. 2, with the 6 worlds it has. Yeah, I don't like it that much because it's too short.
I want it to be like a official Mario game, but if I do 9, People think it's too short and no one will play it.
If I do 15, everybody is going to hate on me and no one will play the episode.
I don't know what to do anymore...

[LM280]

Well it won't be repetitive and short and boring if you make each of the nine worlds an innovative theme. Then people would probably like it more than a game that will take 2 years just to beat.

[Anphiba]

It's not going to really be too much gameplay at all anyway. I guess I could take a couple worlds out, but then again, the levels are kinda short, so... I guess that has to do with all the worlds? I want 100+ levels and maybe 10+ hours of gameplay. Not to mention, I have star coins and stars in that will count towards completion.
Maybe 10-12 worlds will be better, NOT 9, because, again, my levels are a little short.

EDIT:

Actually, it's not how many that matters. It's the gameplay.
Think of it.
You could have 8 worlds. All of them are long.
10+ hours
You could have 10-15 worlds. They are shorter, take up less time... Like the original SMB3.
still, 10+ hours of gameplay.
Plus, I don't think people will also just enjoy it for the time it takes to beat it.
They would enjoy whether it's worth playing or not.

[ANueUtsuho]

1.Have a standard goal point for your episode. It seems weird whenever there's a SMW Goal in SMW themed levels, but a completely different SMB3 Goal for SMB3 levels. Unique boss goals can be justified.
2. Try to have an ending, instead of the game finishing right after the final boss' defeat, without any closure to the story.
3. Super Mario Star Expedition recolored everything to SMB3's colors. Try to follow this example and not have each level feel like it's from a completely different game.

[RudeGuy]

1.Have a standard goal point for your episode. It seems weird whenever there's a SMW Goal in SMW themed levels, but a completely different SMB3 Goal for SMB3 levels. Unique boss goals can be justified

What do you mean?

3. Super Mario Star Expedition recolored everything to SMB3's colors. Try to follow this example and not have each level feel like it's from a completely different game.

So...No mix styles in an episode?

[Darkonius Mavakar]

making different styled levels in a level is great, i mean, you can have a SMW level and then a smb3 one after, it kinda pleases the eye and doesn't get boring after a while of seeing the same palettes over and over

[MrPunchia]

I don't mind if the world themes and even the specific order of the worlds is the traditional Mario norm.

[ANueUtsuho]

1.Have a standard goal point for your episode. It seems weird whenever there's a SMW Goal in SMW themed levels, but a completely different SMB3 Goal for SMB3 levels. Unique boss goals can be justified

What do you mean?

3. Super Mario Star Expedition recolored everything to SMB3's colors. Try to follow this example and not have each level feel like it's from a completely different game.

So...No mix styles in an episode?

1. I meant that it feels weird whenever every other level has a completely different goal just because of the theme.
2. It can, just as long as it doesn't seem out of place in the game.

[zioy]

Joke episodes can be fun too. However, if you make a joke episode, try to keep the levels fun to play and enjoyable. You could even make a pseudo-joke episode with a joke episode feel but serious level design and somewhat jokey story with serious points.

[meowflash]

If you make a Hub and link it to a World Map, make sure the players don't return to the World Map after they beat a level. Instead, make the level ending similar to Super Mario Star Expedition and set the game settings so it can automatically restart the level after a player's death.

[aptuttle]

One of the nagging worries I am having when starting my new project is that I'm, well, worried about how long the average attention span will be on progressing through my x number of levels.

In any new (official) release, you have the benefit of knowing that you're progressing with the expectation that you'll come across something brand new and really cool. Mario 3 was great for that, you kept on encountering new items and hidden passageways on the map (a first for SMB), plus, you had the ITEM STORAGE to sock away all the treasures you found. I keep hoping someone will have written some amazing custom code that'll add a feature like it. We can't even design any powerups that behave differently in SMBX, although with effort one could create a custom suit sprite and have Mario able to throw, hmm, bullets for one level. (getting ideas...)

For anyone who hasn't seen it, I'm just getting started on a game where the overriding purpose is to make it feel as much as possible like an original release, with lots of new and unexpected things. i feel like the intial advice offered here is helpful, mostly in regards to monitoring those things like game length and remembering I'm not really sure how people will respond.

[SMBXxer]

We can't even design any powerups that behave differently in SMBX, although with effort one could create a custom suit sprite and have Mario able to throw, hmm, bullets for one level.

We can do that already.

[MarioMaster1608]

Can give me a water castle someone tips?

[H-pyttoSS]

Well, I have a project to post with a somewhat mysterious plot, and with 11 worlds.

Do it have too many worlds? I can reduce to 10.

[RudeGuy]

Can give me a water castle someone tips?

Go to play water castle levels.

Well, I have a project to post with a somewhat mysterious plot, and with 11 worlds.

Do it have too many worlds? I can reduce to 10.

You can do what you want. If you're good with making 11 worlds, then do it.

[bossedit8]

Well, I have a project to post with a somewhat mysterious plot, and with 11 worlds.

Do it have too many worlds? I can reduce to 10.

Well, tecnically it doesn't matter how many Worlds you have planned/implemented in your SMBX Episode. I have a SMBX Episode called "Luftschiffattacke/Airship Attack" and it contains 171 Levels and 12 Worlds which is a lot I must say because it was even a 2 Year developement of myself.

[Fish-Kun]

Joke episodes can be fun too. However, if you make a joke episode, try to keep the levels fun to play and enjoyable. You could even make a pseudo-joke episode with a joke episode feel but serious level design and somewhat jokey story with serious points.

I don't understand this. I mean... how can you make it funny?

[Chip Potato]

...how can you make it funny?

Add jokes to it. Funny dialogue and/or visuals, specifically.

[Black Mamba]

Make projects interesting. Have memorable level gimmicks and different styles. Don't stick to the status quo.