How To Add Secrets Into Your Super Mario Maker 2 Levels | Tips & Tricks

One of my favorite things in not only just super mario maker 2 but video games in general are secrets. These can be small easter eggs or actual rewards to the player and I feel that these greatly expand a games value. This same mentality for me also applies to levels in super mario maker 2. So today I wanted to discuss with you all a few tips, tricks, and Ideas on including secrets in your mario maker 2 levels. These will make your levels much better and fun to explore!

Odyssey Central Maker ID: VPB-NM9-KLF

0:00 Intro
0:50 What Can Be Secrets
2:28 Where Group 2 Items Can Go
4:32 Invisible Blocks
6:23 Pipes
7:38 Power-Up Secrets
9:51 Item Secrets
10:32 Pink Coins As Secrets
11:05 Outro

Video:

[Brick_Eater_]

7:31 What a clean and sneaky transition.

[petery]

5:53 Taht look liek a col secrt! Im goig to ptu it in my leevl!

-Every little Timmy ever

[awesomness]

I can't believe this came out just now because just earlier today I was building a level based around exploration and secrets.

[edsoncastillo]

The big coins challenge should depend on the value of the big coin.

10-Coin: Easy to find, but hard to get

30-Coin: Hard to find, but easy to get

50-Coin: Hard to find and hard to get

[davyf]

I kinda wish there was star coins. The 10 coins are cool but Star coins would be much better.

[IKnowWhereYouAre]

8:41 “Same with this garbage as well”

*SAD FROG NOISES

[AmyTheMeower]

The auto-generated captions haven't generated yet, but I'll came back later to watch the video, I usually use them when I can't use loud audio, so don't worry if there's some bad statistics of leaving the video, I'll watch the whole thing,

[slug]

0:37
**enters door**
**comes out of pipe**

[breadbxsket]

10:23, using Pink Coins is definitely my preferred method of recreating star coins rather than using the 10, 30, and 50 coins that a lot of creators use. I feel like they are the best method for rewarding the players, both visually and literally. Pink coins also won't reward the player fully until they find all 3, just as finding star coins don't reward a player with a bonus level until they find all 3 in NSMBW and NSMBU. However, instead of rewarding the player with a bonus level, you can reward them with a bonus room that gives the player a few 1ups (3 is my preference), and some coins.

Making sure players don't think they're necessary is a bit more difficult though, and needs some intuition to hide them well enough that by the time they reach the flagpole, they'll notice they're optional since the key door would be right next to the flag. I think most players in levels with key coins tend to play through the level first to see if they need them anyways, and will only typically go for them if they can see them. So by hiding them well enough, you won't put the player into tricky sections that they think is necessary but isn't.

They definitely work best in traditional levels, as while you're doing a complicated level, having key coins will usually be seen as something you need that is a part of the challenge of the level, rather than something you can challenge yourself to get for a small reward.

At least, that's my take on it. I might be a bit bias though.

edit: I should note that if you do use pink coins in your levels of a super world, if you do have a level that requires the coins, make it as obvious as possible from the start that they're required to not cause confusion. You should also use the big coins in any of those levels just so there is still some reward.

edit 2: While Pink Coins in my opinion do provide the best method of rewarding the player, the 10, 30, and 50 coins are the best way to represent the order of "star coins", as pink coins just show you how many you've collected, and not in any specific order. Alternatively, you could always just use both in a level.

[grotesquenathan]

Timmy: Owl of my bestest seecwets are the shiny star in the blokcs that I use to win

[jmschlosar]

For a circumstancial secret, decorate the place it’s in or the route to make it look more like it’s ment for the player

[superdude]

Your transitions between the levels with the pipes and doors are great!

[TheTomatoWatcher]

The BONK at 9:39 was amazing. Thank you.

[theladiescallmesona]

Another idea:Use on off switches to change the difficulty:If easy mode is on, some rewards are blocked

[luigidogxd]

Me and the boys at 3am vibing to Odyssey Central

[ecernosoft]

Hello OC!

At one time, I played mario maker 2 and other mario maker esque games (Including SMM1), but am now a game designer.

Your videos have helped me alot! Thanks! (Also, because I love platformers.)

[studioarentain]

I actually recently got back into mm2, so this was really helpful!

[elesfinter]

I think the reward should be higher in less cryptic secrets. People could get confused if they randomly get into a pipe and discover a cape or star for example.
But when you know there's a visible secret (like an unreachable block), you might get tempted to get it, so the player is forced to think about how he can reach it and get rewarded by a good power up.
And vice versa; jumping randomly into an invisible block should reward you with something less valuable like a 1-up.
The secret itself could be cryptic but the solution should be engaging.
It's hard for me to explain this... but I hope some can understand xd

[rebornwoshua]

I want someone to make an "Odyssey Central SMM2 Level Making Playlist" for the process of making levels (mostly traditional).

Oh, and also Dry Bones for Smash will never die, huh.

[literallylegendary]

7:29 Is nobody going to talk about that perfect cut that makes it look like it's one level in 2 different game styles?