Macro/micro level design and pacing

I originally posted this on the Super Mario Maker subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/MarioMaker/comments/3rcme0/macromicro_design_and_pacing/

I´ve seen many guides on how to design a level following the basic Nintendo layout regarding challenges and mechanic development, but I´ve found nothing about the considerations you should make to create a full Nintendo-like level, how to fill the gaps between those challenges or how they relate to each other in terms of difficulty and complexity. So I´ll try to give some tips I think can help and would also like to get feedback from others, because this topic is being overlooked and I find a lot of levels are not considering it.

For clarity, I´ll divide this writeup into 3 sections: micro design, macro design and pacing.

Micro design

Micro design reffers to the details of every challenge you put into your level. As has been stated countless times, you should choose 1 or 2 main mechanics and 2 or 3 secondary mechanics and evolve those main mechanics through the level progressively. The first challenge should provide a safe environment where the main mechanic is presented in a clear way, while further challenges will manipulate it by modifying basic parameters (distance or height between platforms, platform width, number or placement of enemies, penalty for failing...). Also, if you use a secondary mechanic it is often a good idea to make a small challenge where it´s presented on it´s own before attaching it to the main mechanic. If you´re using 2 main mechanics, it may be advisable to make a simple challenge for mechanic #1, then another one for mechanic #2 and then a third one mixing both on what will be the standard mechanic of the level.

Try to develop your mechanics in interesting ways: instead of just adding new or more of a certain element, play with positioning, speed, trajectories and those kind of parameters that can make a challenge feel very different from the one before it, while maintaining a common core. If your only way of evolving a mechanic is adding one more Paratroopa in each iteration, the player will start loosing interest after the 2nd or 3rd repetition.

Macro design

Macro design reffers to the way the challenges are positioned in the level and how they join up to create the level layout. It makes no sense to put your hardest challenge at the start of the level and the simplest one, where the main mechanic is introduced, at the end for example. You should try to mimic physical progression on the level with mechanical progression, so as the player advances through the level he´s presented with more complex challenges as he gets closer to the goal. Note that a complex challenge is not the same as a difficult one, in fact they are independent characteristics of a challenge. A complex challenge will test the knowledge of the player on the mechanics it´s built upon and if the player has understood and learnt how to use them correctly he should have no problem beating it. A difficult challenge however, will relate to the set of skills of the player and can make it so that even if the player has mastered the knowledged of the mechanics, he will still fail the challenge if his skills aren´t up to the task. This is a very important distinction as is what ultimately defines a fair challenge. If the player understands what he has to do, but fails at doing so he will blame himself and his lack of skill and most likely will try again. But if he takes on a challenge where it´s not clear what´s he supposed to do and fails, he will blame the game. Even if he beats the challenge he won´t probably have fun as he doesn´t understand what happenned, there has been no true gain or sense of accomplishment from the experience.

For macro design, Nintendo itself uses a 4-step approach in both 2D and 3D recent Mario games:

1. The main mechanic is first introduced
2. Then it´s developed and the player´s knowledge of it is tested
3. Then an unexpected twist is introduced
4. Finally a challenge is used as a conclusion

Usually the most difficult challenges are at the end of steps 2 and 3, while the easiest are at steps 1 and 4. Steps 1 and 4 are comprised of a small number of challenges, usually just 1, while in 3 and 4 more than one challenge is used. There is an awesome video by Game maker´s Toolkit that explains how this is used in SM3DWorld, I encourage everyone to check it out:
!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBmIkEvEBtA

Using this template to design your level is a very good idea!

Pacing

Pacing is a characteristic of a level that relates directly to both macro design (how the challenges are positioned in relation to each other) and micro design (what the challenges themselves are). If you follow the 4-step design you´ll end up with a nice level, but it´ll feel like it´s missing something and is too straightforward or simple, to the point that the whole experience might end up as bland. This is why pacing is important.

Pacing sets the rythm of the level and can alter the state of mind of the player greatly impacting his impression of the level, so it´s no small thing. Instead of just laying out challenge after challenge in a progressive way, add something in between to make the player focus in other things, like a minipuzzle in a secondary room if your level is too intense, or a frantic game of killing as many Dry Bones as possible if your level is slowly paced. Disrupt the flow of the level and create memorable situations for the player, or let him take a breath after a demanding challenge and just have fun picking up coins in a bonus room.

You should consider where to place your hardest challenges as this impacts pacing heavily: if the player fails, he will have to replay through your level (or part of it if you use checkpoints) to attempt it again. Sometimes it´s good to put the hardest challenge at the end, but other times it´s better to put an easier challenge after it, as this provides a good feeling of mastery and closure. Also, putting an easy challenge before a hard one has an effect on making the hard challenge look or feel even harder than it is and creates a nice spike in the level´s pace. The main point here is that you should avoid your pace being a flat line or a constant ramp, as the player will get accustomed to it or know what to expect: always try to surprise him to keep him interested. Use this with care, as too many ruptures in the pace will make your level feel directionless and chaotic, so it´s better to start with a flat/ramped paced level and then add disruptions in some points. The 4-step design provides a good layout for places where you can put these disrupting events: you can separate each step with a disrupting moment, but remember you aren´t limited only to that.

If your level features a final boss fight you can add a section afterwards where the player just has to walk while coins fall on him and nice SFX play. If your level is slow because you´ve had to carefully evade Twomps all the way, you can add a final rush with a star through a corridor killing lots of Thwomps until you reach the goal. Both of these situations provide a great feeling of closure and will help leaving a lasting impression on the player, even though they are totally opposite of each other. The key is what´s been building towards them, so before deciding on the last challenge of your level take a look at it as a whole and decide what better suits it.

Hope you find this useful and I´d love to hear any opinions on the matter!