Super Mario Maker Level

Level ID

Coming Soon

Results: [Write about experience]

Team Size: Solo

Development Period: July 2026 - Current (Intermittently)

Tools: Super Mario Maker 2

Project Goals

I began this mini-project/study as a way to reassess my attitude approaching my level design for a particular demographic. More specifically, I wanted to return to my roots and really take a magnifying glass at how Nintendo approaches their level design structure and use that for a level of my own.

By the end of the project, I wanted to feel more understanding of the goals behind a typical level made by the minds at Nintendo.

Project Goals

I had a few goals in mind for this mini-project. The most important being to create a level based on what I’ve learned analyzing more modern official NST and broader Nintendo design as well as…

Design around a central mechanic(s) throughout the level
Be challenging enough to take a few tries at least
Not be so challenging it takes a beginner/child a frustrating amount of tries to complete
Use mechanics in unorthodox/surprising ways

Brief Summary of Personal Studies

I took the time to look at some specific games to take notes on…

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Super Mario Wonder
Super Mario 3D Land
Super Mario World

I chose these games specifically for a reason. These games' philosophy of level design varies a bit from games like Super Mario Bros. (SMB) or Super Mario Bros. 3 (SMB3).

In games like SMB, levels do have mechanics introduced in a level that get ramped up over time, it is much more subtle and threaded beside miscellaneous platforming challenges.

However, more modern games like Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario Wonder takes this concept and cranks it to 100. A whole level could be playing with enemies that jump, or a level that revolves around avoiding/utilizing the properties of Monty Moles.

It was this philosophy I wanted to tap into for this project.

Brainstorming & Planning

I started where I always do for my designs: my sketchbook.

The idea in this stage of my process is to brainstorm set-pieces, interactions, and overall structure of the level I will be creating before I dive into it.

I used to go straight to drafting in engine/editor as a less experienced designer but have since learned how important this stage is for just getting ideas out and seeing how I feel instead of spending hours designing something in-engine that won’t work.

Jumping In: Drafting Area 1

With a pretty good idea of the outline of my level, I decided it was time to start drafting something playable.

This part of the level needed to introduce all of the mechanics the player will see throughout the level. This includes a crane that is positioned to grab a frog suit as it hops by. As the crane approaches you, it should drop it right on the player and grant them the frog suit.

This in conjunction with the zero-gravity, and abundant Thwomps and Skewers should give players an idea that they’ll be swimming and avoiding these crushing hazards.

Drafting Area 2

This area is meant to show the player a less straight-forward way to interact with these hazards; that being to use them to break blocks. This small area acts as a small “puzzle” and show off these interactions before throwing the player into a test of these mechanics.

Putting Mechanics to the Test: Area 3

After giving the players some time to familiarize themselves with these mechanics, it’s time to throw players a challenge.

Utilizing the zero gravity, this section is a vertical scroll to escape the rising lava. This area is subject to change the most. Even now, I believe I could go back and design this area to be more polished.

But using the hazards as well… hazards, they stand in the player’s way to slow them down as they swim away from the lava. Throughout, some interactions with blocks will reveal the way through or secrets.

At the end, the player may discover that they can blast through the ceiling blocks in desperation to escape.

A Little Rest: Area 4

This area’s simple. Take it down a notch and let the player interact with the mechanics in a lower stakes environment for a second.

After sneaking through a chamber with claws moving you through it, you enter Morton’s boss room.

A Floaty Boss Fight

This boss fight uses Morton’s clown car to deliver a fight where the both of you weave around each other to avoid touching the Thwomps that line the ceiling and floor. This really tests the player’s ability to maneuver in this zero gravity environment.

After 3 bonks, the player is rewarded a key leading to the end of the level.

Playtesting

After this iteration was finished, I did some playtests. Some who had fair experience with Mario games and one with almost no experience.

What it had shown me was that the level’s difficulty hit right where I wanted it to. The player with no experience took 9 resets to complete the level while the fairly experienced players required 2-4.

Additionally, heuristics naturally played a huge part in the digestibility of the level. The inexperienced player had a harder time parsing the behaviors of the hazards as opposed to the fairly experienced ones. While the level is meant to be on the difficult side, these readability quirks could be further polished.