Super Mario Maker 2 Producer Takashi Tezuka Shares 5 Tips For Creating Courses

Learn from the best

by Ryan Craddock Tue 2nd Jul 2019

Coming up with ideas for your own courses in Super Mario Maker 2 can be quite the challenge, especially if you're not usually the imaginative, creative type. If you fall into this category, you might want to check out the video above.

The game's producer, Takashi Tezuka, has shared five tips for course creation. Whether you're lacking the inspiration to get started or simply hoping for advice on how to get the most out of your designs, hopefully some of these tips can help spark a new idea.

If you haven't seen it already, we'd also urge you to check out our brand new Super Mario Maker 2 community page. There, all Nintendo Life readers are encouraged to share their designs with one another using our nifty course sharing tool, and you can always ask others for feedback or advice, too.

How have you been getting on with the game? Any courses you're proud of yet, or have you been enjoying playing other people's courses instead? Let us know in the comments.

Ryan permanently joined the Nintendo Life team in 2017, specialising in keeping readers up to date with the latest news. He can list the first 151 Pokémon all in order off by heart – a feat he calls his ‘party trick’ despite being the biggest introvert we know.

1
Pod
Tue 2nd Jul 2019

Should be lovely for a news piece like this to poitn out that Tezuka's involvement with Mario goes a good bit deeper than being the producer on this title.

Think up a title first sounds like a good tip, that I will try out for other design tasks as well.

2
WCB
Tue 2nd Jul 2019

Just started playing today, only the Story Mode so far. I want to finish that before I start playing other courses. Don't know how I'll go creating my own though.

3
NintoRich
Tue 2nd Jul 2019

@NintendoFan4Lyf take it to the toilet with you then

4
Lone_Beagle
Tue 2nd Jul 2019

I want that wallpaper!

5
Antraxx777
Tue 2nd Jul 2019

I have a remake of SMB2 1-1 incoming. Just need to tweak it a bit and perform a few more play tests. It took all night to make due to the logistics of getting the level to actually fit. Luckily it’s easier to move large pieces of the level around now that you can zoom way out. But it’s annoying that when you go back again, it automatically zooms way too close. There is some baffling UX design in this game.

I will post it in the tracker tomorrow, along with what else I’ve got.

6
YorkHund
Tue 2nd Jul 2019

Good tips, although this feels more like a commercial than an actual tutorial but ok.

7
BAN
Tue 2nd Jul 2019

@NintendoFan4Lyf I’m kind of in the same boat, but I’ve been having a lot of fun with story mode. It takes significantly less time and mental energy to jump in and play a couple Nintendo-made levels when I can than it does to rev my brain up to make my own. They’re all really good and the sheer quantity of them made it worth the purchase, for me.

8
BAN
Tue 2nd Jul 2019

@Antraxx777 Wait, you can zoom out when you’re making levels? Howyoudoodat?

9
BeefSanta
Tue 2nd Jul 2019

@BAN
Two finger pinch the screen. In handheld mode, anyway. I found it infuriating trying to create levels when docked.

10
Iacobus
Tue 2nd Jul 2019

@BAN You can pinch to zoom in/out if I remember (if you're using touchscreen controls, that is). Press down on either control sticks on the controller as an alternative. (Two-finger press and slide to pan the level.)

Also, for anyone wanting to design their own levels, one big tip: Get some graph paper and sketch out your ideas. This will help when planning out your levels. This is no different from what artists do when they need to sketch out ideas before committing them to whatever media they've chosen whether it be canvas, paper or computer. It really does help.

And noodle around with the Course Maker's interface some before really getting serious as that'll help to know which tools and options are which and where they are.