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(Rules + Submissions) (CLOSED) 5th Annual SMWCentral Level Design Competition

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2/6/12 11:30 PM EST Edit: Altered "Functionality" judging category.
2/5/12 8:45 PM EST Edit: Altered "Appearance" judging category.
2/2/12 4:30 PM EST Edit: Clarified Rule 9 about sublevels
2/1/12 2:20 PM EST Edit: Added Rule 9


Welcome to the 5th Annual SMWCentral Level Design Competition! It's hard to believe that this contest has been going on for half a decade, but here we are. I promised myself I wouldn't get emotional!

This year we're planning to return the competition to its original roots. Somewhere along the way, the contest lost track of its original purpose: to showcase that level design is the most important aspect of a level. We're remedying this by making some big changes as compared to previous years. Read on to see the new rules.

Rules

1. Lunar Magic 1.91 or older is the only tool/resource you may use for this competition. Use of external, 3rd-party tools will result in immediate disqualification from the contest.

2. No ExGFX will be allowed. Use of the Super GFX Bypass is only allowed with the original graphics files (GFX00-GFX33). Use of a third-party graphics editor such as YY-CHR, TLP, etc. OR the drawing function of the 8x8 editor in Lunar Magic is strictly prohibited. Use of ExGFX files or third party editors will result in disqualification.

3. You may not submit a Kaizo level to this contest. The reasoning for this is that Kaizo level design follows a much different set of theories than traditional Mario level design and as such, cannot be accurately judged using the judging format for this contest. Not to mention, there is a dedicated Kaizo Level Contest that occurs every once in a while that is much more suiting for Kaizo levels.

4. Do not include more than two (2) exits in your level.

5. Do not go over a total of 75 (4B) screens for the whole length of your level.

6. You must include a midpoint in your level if it is more than 16 (10) screens long.

7. You may work together with a partner.

8. Entries must be submitted by 11:59:59 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT-5) on February 29th. Any entries submitted after this time will not be accepted. You may not submit any more revisions to your level after this time.

9. You may only submit ONE (1) level. A level shall be defined as a level you enter from the overworld and all of its included sublevels.

These rules may sound harsh but they're actually mostly unchanged from the rules of last year's contest. You're not as restricted as you may think. You can still use custom palettes, map16 manipulation, the BG2 and BG3 options in Super GFX Bypass, Layer 1/2 overlapping/pseudo-layering, and the Exanimation dialog. There's plenty of creativity you can do using just those alone, just don't forget to make sure your level design is good, as that will be scored highest.

The following list is a list of things that you can change that will not affect your overall score:

-Editing the Overworld
-Editing the Title Screen
-Editing the Intro and its message
-Adding and editing a Credits sequence if applicable

Judging

Speaking of scores, the judging for this year's contest will be much different from last year. There will only be 3 categories totaling 30 points. The points will be broken down as follows.

Level Design: 20 points
Level Design is the focus of this contest. We all have differing opinions of what makes good level design, but there are certain traits that are just good practice. To go into detail would take up too much space so instead I will just link to the following thread: APPALLED: AxemJinx's Profoundly Pragmatic Advice for Lovely LEvel Design. This thread contains a series of tips about designing levels in SMW that I feel anyone hacking SMW should be aware of. Don't just try to spoon feed the judges a level trying to show off all these tips, just keep them in mind as you design your level and naturally work them in.

Appearance: 5 points (Altered 2/5/12)
Appearance is how the level looks. Is it well assembled? Is it nice to look at? Unique? Does the appearance add to the level's atmosphere? Is the theme of your level cohesive?
(As of 2/5, a thematic element to the scoring has been added.)

Technical Functionality: 5 points
Technical Functionality is simply, "Does the level work?" If your level has technical issues like sprite glitching/memory, massive slowdown, bad FG/BG starts, bad map16 "acts like" settings, etc., your score in this category will be lowered. If you make sure your level is tested properly, this should be an easy 5 points.
(As of 2/6, this category is no longer a black and white 0 or 5 point category.)


There will not be any judge applications this year. I will be hand-picking judges instead. Judging will begin on March 1 and continue until April 1. Extensions may be decided upon as necessary. In addition, the judges will remain anonymous at least until the judging period begins.


Prizes

The usual trophies will be given out to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners, as well as Honorable Mentions for 4th and 5th places. Now, I don't have spare SNESes like Kieran seems to, but this year, I will be supplying actual prizes to the winners in the form of Steam gifts! The place you get will determine the maximum price of the game I will gift you:

1st Place: $15 or less
2nd Place: $10 or less
3rd Place: $7.50 or less
4th and 5th Place: $5 or less

Prices given in US dollars, we can work out acceptable exchange rates for those living outside the US. If you do use Steam or do not wish to receive a gift on Steam, we can attempt to work out a suitable prize on a case-by-case basis.

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When your entry is finished, submit it to your File Bin and link to it in this thread. It is your fault if you host the file offsite and the link is dead by the time the judging period begins. If you are submitting an update to your entry, you must make a new post with the update; do not simply edit your first post.

This thread is not for discussing the contest. Any posts that are not submissions or updates will be deleted.

I believe I have covered everything. I would have had this up an hour ago but I only realized at 11:30 that I still needed to write up this OP. If there is anything missing, I will edit it tomorrow.

I hope you have fun participating in this years contest! I look forward to seeing what levels are submitted!
Total number of submissions: 98


  1. Patgangster: Funkytown Survival (V3)
  2. Glitch.Mr: The Hack 3
  3. Mariosyoshishade: Luigi's Revenge
  4. Roberto zampari: Orange Forest
  5. sunwarrior25: PMP Micro Mini GO
  6. Sokobansolver: Punishing Pothole
  7. SilverSwallow: Awesome Vanilla
  8. Sockbat Replica: Weird on the SMW
  9. Luigi370: LAWL-ed
  10. Thehoundsquad: Muddy Mountain
  11. Doownayr89: Mario & Friends Volume 7: Oh God Not Again (V2)
  12. Ripperon-X: Split Island (V2)
  13. agie777: Foopy Forest (V2)
  14. Blind Devil: Slaughterhouse
  15. Dakress: Reznor's Temple
  16. Feenicks: Scarlet Wood
  17. miech10: Taking a Stroll
  18. serplux: Through the Fields
  19. SuperMarioRPG6400: Athleticus Maximus
  20. Riolu180: THE LEVEL THAT... (V3)
  21. Aquamentus: Twin Dungeons
  22. FelipeUzumaki: The Four Elements
  23. Neo carld923: Apocalyptic Plains
  24. Gamma V: Rex Ruins (V2)
  25. feretty111: Autumn Dragon
  26. Youmu Konpaku: Hill Island
  27. Uhrix: Her New Castle
  28. yoshicookiezeus: Trauma Towers
  29. TheOtherGuy25: Gloomy Grassland
  30. Zildjian: A Few Blurry Memories
  31. Jolpengammler: Vanilla
  32. KevKot: Super Mario World: Mission Dinosaur Land (V4)
  33. Dinomar: Entry (V3)
  34. lugi-mario2563: Takeover of Dinosaur World
  35. Argumentable: Kelp Forest
  36. Mannah: Click Clock Mario
  37. THY: Maroon Lagoon (V2)
  38. notgoodwithusernames: The Flipside (V2)
  39. Blue Leaf: Wooden Stronghold
  40. ShadowFire: Forsaken Fortress (V3)
  41. TomPhanto: Neon Pipeline (V2)
  42. Forty2: Metal Gear Solid 3
  43. XolifreX: Stardust Puzzle
  44. lomani57: Wiggler's Revenge
  45. benvvv: No Hope
  46. Snifit: Castle Street
  47. superwiidude: At Diamond Level
  48. xlk: Entry
  49. Lunatic Wolf: Weird Wreckage (V2)
  50. yogui: Mystery of the Giant Dark Switch
  51. Caracc: Mish Mash Mountain
  52. SyStemkraSh: Around the World
  53. mario56: Grass and Lies: Spaghettios
  54. ZMann: Nightfall
  55. Spy: Multi-level Wumping
  56. Darky: Forgotten Forest
  57. MarioFan22: Beach Cavern (V2)
  58. Pison: Ghost Pirates Ahoy!
  59. GeminiRage: Glyph Edifice
  60. mariocool1999: Mystery Island (V3)
  61. Shog: Caramel Castle
  62. aj6666: Bowser's Castle
  63. miguel21450: Castle Level
  64. Morsel: Wraithwreck
  65. Octopus: What Blue Hill (V2)
  66. Pribor: Forest Fortress
  67. ZetMyst: Maple Woods
  68. Turbo Man: Swamp Marsh (V2)
  69. SomeGuy712x: Switch Block City
  70. mathlete: Nine Inch Fireballs (V10)
  71. xjakku: Another Grassland
  72. AUS: Yoshi's Ghost House
  73. Yonowaaru: Kamek's Kastle
  74. Teyla: Volcanic Vegetation (V2)
  75. Underway: The Bubble Forest (V2)
  76. Vink: Mystic Moonlight Temple
  77. neosaver: The Tower Inferno
  78. TheGuyWhoIsSitting: Entry
  79. Lui37: End of Procrastination
  80. RedToonLink: Mario Scales The Sky Tower (V2)
  81. MarioStarLuigi: Twenty Tests
  82. bbk61: The Difficult Journey
  83. Sarge: Kaleidoscope Castle
  84. DiddyKaizo100: Koop-aroid Tower
  85. marioVSshadow: Chateau de Aeros
  86. Ludus: Placeless Color
  87. DDM295: Bowser's Crafty Creation
  88. pablopeach: Mario Goes Mental
  89. Syntax Errors: Entry
  90. dottedboy: Entry
  91. TRS: Shrums
  92. GN + LunarYoshi: Finality:
  93. Bloodstar: Genericastle
  94. Ascaska: Snow Goomba Cake
  95. BMF54123: SMW: Legend of the Golden Mushroom
  96. Agent Q: Toffee Terrain
  97. DragonLX: Forest Utilities
  98. DPhoenix29: Soaring Gardens

Have fun!

Warning: level MAY be hard. Just a little though...
11/2: updated
23/2: updated again

Words.
[22:25:05] <%andy_k_250> Turkey and Grease will one day be reunited - that day will be... Thanksgiving
The Hack 3 (demo)

This is 2-level vanilla demo of The Hack 3 I've tried to make it as vanilla as possible (ported to clean ROM).

To avoid confusion (I'm sorry for confusion), only one level is accessible. If you want to play second one which is not part of the content, I guess you could modify "Not Contest Entry" in LM to point to level 1.

No readme or anything this time, and hopefully this level will be fun, unlike my previous. This entry doesn't abuse Lunar Magic like some entries do, in fact it only uses 4 graphics files at once. I've tried to make it feel like SMW level, like other levels in The Hack 3.

As for rest, well, have fun :).
Here it is.
It got disqualified last year because I was stupid, let's see how it holds up for real.
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MY LEVEL
Second time when i participate in contest!!
EDIT!!:Sorry for the circumstances but my entry was buggy and shitty...
Don't give a score or sth. just delete it from the contest.

I have too much free time. I decided to recreate my favorite sections of the first world of my first hack. Please don't misunderstand, I mean to say that I worked based on my memory of those areas, with thoughts on what I could have done better.

Here it is. My submission to this contest.
Currently balancing work and hobbies. Also I've got a job now.
Practice Makes Purrfect
Here's my entry, Punishing Pothole. It is kinda long and difficult (I had plenty of ideas that I didn't want to pass up), but it should be enjoyable and I hope you have fun, tho it's not for the faint of heart. Layer 2 levels are so much fun to make. This is also my first time entering this annual LDC.
P.S. I love the color blue.
Legacy custom music
A site with a non-useless dislike button
SMW hacking channel

My quick entry:

Awesome Vanilla

A “classic” style level that plays a lot like a level from the original Super Mario World.

(Only default map 16 was used)
LAWL-ed
It's a one beta level demo of my new hack - Reassembled ~ Coming soon!
Muddy Mountain
This is my first time even touching Lunar Magic in a few months, so hopefully you like it, any hopefully I do better than I have in the past 2 contests xD
Also it is a fairly short level... yeah.
Living life takes forever
I fixed my annoyance. Now for the entry:
Split Island
I think this is something good.
Foopy Forest


Oh Boy rushed levels always work well. And I told myself 50 times I wasn't going to do that...
Violators will be prosecutedt to the full extent of the jam.
Blind Devil's Slaughterhouse

No. Muncherstack is NOT my entry.
MK2TDS
Here's my awesomeless entry.

If you need a name, just put "Reznor's Temple"
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