When Super Mario Maker was initially announced for the Nintendo Wii U, I could not have been more hyped for its release. I had dozens of ideas for levels that I was looking forward to creating. I also was fortunate to receive a review copy of the game and had given it very positive remarks. I feel these comments were well earned and still apply. Almost a year later, here I am posting about this game I was so passionate about, but now I’m feeling more indifferent about it. What could have changed?
You have probably read about that Nintendo has been taking down levels that are not popular. At the beginning of this year, I had my first experience with a level being taken down. The main problem with Super Mario Maker is that Nintendo is forcing players to advertise their own levels. Levels that are not promoted have a higher risk of being taken down. This is a bigger issue if you are a newer player to the game.
Players with higher star counts have fewer worries since they are highlighted by Nintendo with star rankings. This issue is that we need to put in all the legwork to get other players to play our levels. Within the Facebook groups, I joined I have done a few star-for-star exchanges. The problem continues to grow as time goes on, the number of courses increases. There are now over six million courses. Currently, there is no mechanism in place for people to easily play your level.
The game’s slogan is “Anyone can make it. Everyone can play it”. In reality, not anyone can make it. This would not be a big issue if there was a better method to advertise recently made courses. There are recommended courses and some recently made, but this is a very small selection. Perhaps the larger issue is the star system in place.
What it comes down to is a game of chance. Since if one of the first ten players does not star the level, then this puts the level at risk to be deleted. This is a major concern for a lot of fans since not anyone can make it. The work to get your levels promoted is joining active Facebook groups. The other option involves following twitch or YouTube streamers and submitting your level.
I do not know about you, but that is a lot of extra work just to make sure your new level sticks around. The issue may be with the players. Many players are stingy with their stars. It would be ideal if the levels were not removed at all. The main thing Nintendo needs to do is to find a way to advertise all newer levels. I’m not sure of the solution, but one thing is certain, my interest to keep designing courses has dropped as I do not have the time to promote each new level.