On World Maker

Watching the latest (and last, apparently) major update announcement from Nintendo for Maker 2, I got caught up in the existential meta-debate that seems to always pop up - "Will this be the thing that kills romhacks?"

I'm no neutral party in this argument, given that I am a staff member for SMWC and Romhack Races. Having slept on it, though, I feel like what we are seeing in this update, and people's reactions to it, is an interesting opportunity to look at how Mario Maker and Lunar Magic compare as tools and the mindset that people approach them with. When Poo says "this will end up bringing people to SMW" after viewing this update video, he's absolutely right. The context of why he's right, however, flies in the face of how many Twitch viewers think about Mario Maker, and the concept of making Mario levels in general.

--Before I go on, a very important note: I love watching people play Maker 2. I personally do not enjoy playing it, but that's me. I don't write anything here to slam Maker 2, or the people who play and create in it, and kindly ask that, no matter where you land on this topic, you view all players, creators and streamers of Mario content as colleagues worthy of your respect, both for them and for the game they play.--

My initial reaction after watching the update video - which announced World Maker and a bevy of new powerups, enemies and elements - was that Nintendo was finally adding an element to SMM that people have been craving: the ability to make complete, stand-alone games consisting of multiple levels arranged thematically. Granted, I was being rather cynical about the simplicity of the tool when I made that conclusion, but looking through the reaction videos and discussions following the announcement, that simplicity is a feature, not a bug. When people say they prefer creating in SMM than in Lunar Magic due to simplicity, it's easy (and I'm guilty) of trying to separate the two as totally different entities and sip fancy scotch in our smoking jackets whilst opining about the common folk.

Mario Maker and Lunar Magic aren't two tools accomplishing two different things. They're both tools trying to accomplish the same thing: creating custom Mario levels and games. If we approach the creation of Mario levels as a creative outlet, then we shouldn't be surprised when a whole spectrum of tools, simple and complex, becomes available to us. We also should stop building walls along that spectrum.

This is the case with countless other hobbies and creative expressions, but compare it to cooking. Home cooks can make absolutely fantastic meals with the tools available in their kitchen and in department store appliance sections. For many people, likely the vast majority, those tools and resources will allow them to practice their craft to their fullest. However, for some, these tools will just lead them to want to do and create more. The tools in a professional kitchen, while similar to those in a home kitchen, tend to be more complex, and the skills and techniques available to those interested in pushing their cooking to the limit go way, way beyond what most people need (or even want).

It's also like audio and video editing - you can do a LOT in iMovie and Movie Maker, and just because those tools are simple and accessible doesn't mean they don't allow users to make good stuff with them. At some point, though, people who want to get into more complex video and audio editing will want something with more complex features, like Premiere or Final Cut. That allows them to make some great stuff, too. Super Mario Maker 2, with this latest update including World Maker, is now as close to an "iMovie" for Mario levels as we can hope for, while Lunar Magic remains the "Premiere Pro"/[insert preferred fancy video editing software].

We, those who enjoy watching and playing custom Mario stuff, win in both cases! New people enter the hobby, and progress through the hobby's tools as their creativity and curiosity demand. If you want to learn how to make good levels, you shouldn't be forced to also learn a complex tool. iMovie isn't a threat to Final Cut, and World Maker isn't a threat to Lunar Magic. In fact, there are some elements of Maker 2 that lend themselves to better levels than LM's blank canvas approach.

Both can, and should, co-exist, and let me be the first to apologize for any walls I've helped build between the Maker community and the LM/Romhack community. I also encourage you to stop trying to see this as a political fight or a comparison between to competing entities. Instead, focus on ways in which people can become better level designers using all of the tools available to them, and how we can support and encourage those who make good levels to make more of them.