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11-02-05 12:59 PM
1 user currently in Super Mario World hacking: labmaster | 3 guests
Acmlm's Board - I2 Archive - Super Mario World hacking - Level Design on paper anyone? | |
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Dingo
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Posted on 08-27-05 05:17 AM Link | Quote
Level Design on paper anyone?

Hi I am a noobie here (so hi to you if you did not see my post in newbies forum )and new to hacking but something I used to do a lot when I was younger was to design my own levels for Mario games on paper. I used to like designing my own levels for SMB1 to 3 and SMW – I found that squared paper useful. Anyway, fast forward a few years to now… I was really quite excited when I discovered Luna Magic (part of me wishes it was around years ago lol) I just had to give it a go. After messing around with it, working out how it all worked I thought it would be a good idea to design a few levels on paper again and then transfer it and improve on them in LM. Dose anyone else take this approach, drawing their ideas for levels?

I find it very useful if you are creating maze type levels. I normally draw the ledges, pipes, blocks and possible some enemies etc with just a pen or pencil and a ruler and then use that as a guide when creating my level in LM.

I feel its best not to design a whole level like this most of the time (unless it’s a large maze type level in which case its handy) as it can be a waste of time if when you have made your level you find its not very playable!

So anybody else find drawing on paper useful or do you think it’s a watse of time or a bit of both? Just thought I would ask and hoping that posting this will help me feel less of a shy newbie too
VGMaster64

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Posted on 08-27-05 05:27 AM Link | Quote
Well, I did that once, and I found out the results were not exactly what I wanted. The two most everused objects in LM, muchers and grey cement blocks made up more than three fourths of the level. Man, I suck at level design
Glyph Phoenix

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Posted on 08-27-05 05:32 AM Link | Quote
Funny this should come up. Just the other day I had this sub-par level that I needed to redo. I didn't want to sit at the computer so I mapped it out on paper and translated some of the elements to the game. Fun stuff.
Dingo
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Posted on 08-27-05 06:01 AM Link | Quote
Thanks for the reply chaps

Glad to know i am not the only ne who dose this. I have got some spare time over the weekend and was going fill some of it if the weather bad designing levels (got a few good ideas) but being the lazy person i am at times will probably work out some of the obstables on paper while laying in bed chilling out to some loud music

I also undrestand what you mean about the grey cement blocks VGMatser64 - it dont look as stupid on paper dose it!

Cool thanks.
AtmaDragonXT

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Posted on 08-27-05 06:57 AM Link | Quote
I never do full levels, but I do tend to think about level design ideas while in class sometimes (especially my anthropology class last semester...easy class once a week for two and a half hours meant my mind tended to wander during lectures ;D). In that case, I'll write down the idea of the level ("frozen autoscroll ghost house" to name an example I'd never use), or sometimes map out a puzzle-type area that Mario can't get through without a little thought.
Golden Yoshi

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Posted on 08-27-05 07:35 AM Link | Quote
Heh heh, I always used to draw levels on paper when I was young for fun. I remember like 11 years ago, after I played the first few levels of SMW, I started to draw my own levels on paper. I did that for a little while. None of my levels from paper acutally made it to my hacks though (obviously, it was 11 years ago ).

I did used to think up levels in my head from start to finish whenever I was bored, mostly in school . This was even before I knew about any kinds of editors. I thought up levels for SMW, SMW2, SMAS, etc. Some of my SMW2 levels from my head did make it to my hack, not exactly because that was years ago, but most from what I remembered.

I say mapping out levels on paper is a cool idea. Especially when you are struck with a cool level design suddenly, and you want to map it out before you forget it. That surely comes in handy .
blackhole89

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Posted on 08-27-05 03:40 PM Link | Quote
Yep... I remember how I was drawing levels for Yoshi's Island back when I was 7, and intended to send them in to Nintendo to be used in a sequel

What actually turns out good often is drawing your own graphics on paper (presuming you have a scanner). I am making use of that for my current hack a lot.

Note the background in here:

Yoshi Master

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Posted on 08-28-05 03:45 AM Link | Quote
I doodle in school sometimes and eventually I end up drawing levels that look good at school but, horrible at home. It's weird.
TapTap

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Posted on 08-28-05 03:52 AM Link | Quote
I used to do that, I made some awesome levels. except, I made custom enemies that made no sense and things like that. I made hole monkeys in some.


(edited by Zachio on 08-27-05 06:52 PM)
Yoshi Master

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Posted on 08-28-05 03:56 AM Link | Quote
Originally posted by Zachio
I used to do that, I made some awesome levels. except, I made custom enemies that made no sense and things like that. I made hole monkeys in some.

What the f**k is a hole monkey? I'm just curious.
Wirtzzz

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Posted on 08-28-05 03:59 AM Link | Quote
Hey Zachio why dont you do ExGFX to make moles or pipe
dwelling lakitus look like monkeys! Itll be funny!
Forte.EXE

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Posted on 08-28-05 04:35 AM Link | Quote
I make my own GFX and level designs on paper. Though the levels may end up looking a bit different from my paper version, it's just as good for me. I don't have a scanner, but I do the next best thing when adding hand-made GFX and stuff: doing it pixel by pixel with very trained eyes on Lunar Magic... though I don't do that anymore (strains the eyes sometimes).

It'll be hard for some people, but it takes patience (ALOT of patience...), though I'll be getting a scanner myself once I have enough money to buy one.
HyperLamer
<||bass> and this was the soloution i thought of that was guarinteed to piss off the greatest amount of people

Sesshomaru
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Posted on 08-28-05 08:42 AM Link | Quote
I sometimes doodle simple level ideas, and never end up using them, when I get bored and aren't near a computer. Usually I just write the idea though.
redeyedol

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Posted on 08-29-05 07:04 AM Link | Quote
I used to draw my own levels for SMW back when I was about 6 - 8 or so, but I have no memory of what any of those levels were like, and the concepts most likely were rather poor or too farfetch'd. But, I've had dreams where I was playin SMW, and I'd stumble upon a new world or level, or play levels that I've never seen before, and if I'm lucky, I might remember the concept/style of that whole level and actually decide to make it in Lunar Magic. I've had a few of my dreams come to reality, although not 100% of what they were in the dreams (the dream ones were amazin, I wish I could actually make ones like thoses, but things like vertical scroll + layer 2 smash don't work together right =/).
HyperLamer
<||bass> and this was the soloution i thought of that was guarinteed to piss off the greatest amount of people

Sesshomaru
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Posted on 08-29-05 11:21 AM Link | Quote
Well keep those ideas written down. Maybe someday some ASM hacker (who knows, might be you ) will make them possible. Or you'll be able to put them in a different game.
Originally posted by redeyedol
farfetch'd

I smell a Pokémon player. (Nothing wrong with that, just saying.)
Glyph Phoenix

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Posted on 08-30-05 01:55 AM Link | Quote
Ugh. I hate that. When I was younger I sometimes forgot to pronounce the beginning of "Pterodactyl". It's a curse, I tell you, a curse...
HyperLamer
<||bass> and this was the soloution i thought of that was guarinteed to piss off the greatest amount of people

Sesshomaru
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Posted on 08-30-05 02:53 AM Link | Quote
Yeah, I remember my teacher looking at me funny for "pidgeon".
Glyph Phoenix

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Posted on 08-30-05 04:19 AM Link | Quote
I don't get it.
Sendy

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Posted on 08-30-05 04:55 AM Link | Quote
I used to design Mario levels and also other game designs all the time on paper. I just used to churn the stuff out like a machine. These days if I were to sit at a piece of paper I probably would harldy get any ideas at all. It's much nicer to just design straight into LM because you can see what you're doing and interact with it (playtesting regularly).

I used to be obsessed with paper designing though. The first thing I would do for a Mario sheet was divide the page into several horizontal strips (until I played SMB3). Each level typically took two lines. I even had my own shorthand for describing sprite properties on the back of the paper - for example, a platform which fell when you stood on it, would be marked with a symbol which was a P with a downwards arrow on the bottom of it.

The whole practice was fruitless stuff on a practical level but I'm sure it taught me to know and trust my creative side. Just wish I could see some of the old designs and verify if they were as amazing as I felt they were at the time
AtmaDragonXT

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Posted on 08-30-05 06:22 AM Link | Quote
Originally posted by HyperHacker
Yeah, I remember my teacher looking at me funny for "pidgeon".

Why, was it Pidgey, Pidgeotto, or Pidgeot? ;D


Yeah, playing those games a lot can get to you if you're not careful. They've got a knack for Jynxing you like tha-

*hit by flying tomato*
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