DECONSTRUCTING #007: Making Mario levels for a little kid – notes and observations, PART 1

INTRO

When I first heard, that Nintendo is about to release the Super Mario Maker for 3DS [SMM for now on], I was instantly super hyped. The reason was, that I’ve been lately playing all kinds of platformers on 3DS/2DS with my 4 year old daughter, especially Mario games. This announcement sounded like a golden opportunity to swat two flies with one strike – quality gaming time with my kid and trying to learn the craft of level design at the same time. For this game I happen to have the perfect audience right at my home AND the timing of the release just couldn’t be better.

I instantly started to think about how I could make enjoyable levels for a 4 year old, or for younger kids in general. While playing with my kid, I’ve noticed, that many games, that aren’t so called “games for kids”, start with great levels suitable for little players, BUT the difficulty spike goes wildly up (for a little kid that is), usually after the first world, at the latest after the second. This creates often a situation, where a little player plays the same few levels over and over again, but they still would like to see the game further.

I wanted to start to study that part before the spike – what makes some levels so well suitable for little kids, that they want to play them all over again. And what better way to do that, than actually get one’s own hands dirty. Of course this quickly lead to an idea, that this could be a good opportunity to make an article, which is not “only” about analyzing (the work of others), but also actually DOING level design and present those results. Naturally it also came as an opportunity to study how a young player learns the tricks and all the things an adult level designer has added… or how those things are missed.

Without further ado, let me present the notes of the process. I hope you, the reader, will get something out of this: an inspiration, tips for what to do and not to do, a food for thought etc.

Note: Unfortunately there are few small formatting errors, thanks to Blogger's painful formatting editing. I'll fix them later and they should not make the reading more difficult, just looks a bit incoherent formatting-wise. :)

WORLD 1, LEVEL 1

While creating:

Mission: to be really the introduction.

I wanted this level to start super mellow and adding that classic possibility to get the Mushroom right away. I put three brick tiles and just one Question block, just to underline it, teasing the player to strike the only block with a possible interaction as a small Mario.

I also added a small blocked drop so the mushroom won’t slip away. If the player gets the mushroom, then it is impossible to drop down (unless one butt stomps of course) in the next part, where I added few coins to underline the “right path”, kind of introducing the coin luring right in the start of the first level.

-          Next is just a very easy and basic Goomba challenge, just to introduce the feeling of jump, aiming on top of the enemies, although, it is timed so, that the speedrunners can just run on top of it (I love speedrunning/speedrunners).

-          After that is a climb to a power-up and the first moving platform challenge, with a “safety net”, aka ground. I added two Goombas down there, just to give some intention to choose the platform ride rather than the “safety net” route. In the end of it are few bricks to interact, but also as a way to backtrack, if one wants to (I want to have a possibility to backtrack to the power-up, if missed).

Then something I personally think is a marvelous example from the first Super Mario Bros’ level design: the stair to stair gap, BUT without a possibility to drop into ones demise. I just HAD TO use it, but I wanted to put two Goombas down there, as a fun challenge: just drop there and they’re pretty much automatically dead (teaching a valuable skill in SMB games: one can chain stomps without even jumping).

-          Next up is a mellow, full reward section (I think sections like this are important in sake of the rhythm), while there is a green Koopa patrolling. If the player just wants to wait and check what happens, the Koopa eventually drops into its demise. If the player is a small Mario at this point, the upper coins needs some more advanced jumping, but if a big Mario, then it’s easier as one can smash the Brick blocks. I like to have some things like this: it’s not always totally same.

-          Next I wanted to have a very simple “coin arc lure”, just for the sake of it, but also as a small tip what kind of a jump might be needed in the challenge after this one.

-         The next challenge is a big Piranha Plant: with the Fire Mario it is dead simple, otherwise the player needs to jump over it, on top of the bricks. There’s also a similar “coin arc lure” with the previous section, continuing the same sign language (Note: I will be using arcs a lot, IMO it’s a very good communication tool for hinting/directing jumps for a little kid).

-          Then there’s again a simple Goomba challenge, this time 3 of them, being another teaching of the chain jump, but so, that one can also avoid them, if wanted so. And after that an easy jump challenge to the pole and a super easy and short jump as a reward.

1st playthru:

She pretty much ignored the moving platform altogether as it probably didn’t felt tempting enough risk-fun-reward-wise. Have to add some lures.

Everything else went pretty much like I planned. But the level is definitely too easy, even as a first level for a 4-year old. There’s a clear need for more challenges.

Iteration 1:

      I changed the moving platform to touch the static elements in both ends to make it more tempting route, a more logical alternative, as one can walk onto it. I also added few coins in the path of it and a Question block in the end.  

I added few Goombas here and there in different sections, to add some challenge and interaction, as well as removing the serious emptiness of the level, which I noticed when she was playing it (I had somehow missed that altogether as I was too concentrated in the “ease in” part of the first level. Never underestimate little kids’ need for some challenge AND the importance of playtesting your levels of course!). 

       

Later playthru:

The moving platform tweak was clearly a success: before the tweak she never used it, now she does use it all the time. The concept of using moving platforms in order to avoid dangers has really gone thru, which is of course an awesome thing, because now I can use them for tougher sections.

She also noticed by herself the backtracking possibility in this section: during one run she jumped back and rode the opposite direction with the platform in order to get the missed Fire Flower power-up. This was a great moment for me too, as it was exactly what I had in my mind while creating this section. J

For now I’m happy with the level, no need for major iterations, some little tweaks maybe.

Iteration 2:

-          I added a rail for the platform to have a bit more coherent sign language (more of this in the next level).

WORLD 1, LEVEL 2

Mission: to maintain the low learning curve, but avoid being dull (a lesson learned from the first level).

While creating:

NOTE: I think when doing levels for kids one should never ever do drops where the visibility of what lies below is limited. AND especially those cases where the player can die, when dropping from high places, should be avoided no matter what. Actually, I think the latter case should be also noted when doing levels for anyone, not only for kids. If you notice these in your levels, I HIGHLY recommend removing them. They’re really frustrating, even for an adult player (although adults get easier subtle and not so subtle hints and directing), as they can easily feel like unfair traps. And those confuse little kids a lot, as the rules tend to get really unclear.

First I wanted to introduce a light jump challenge, by adding a stairs and after that three 2-wide blocks. The last one has a Question block on top of it, which gives a mushroom, that drops below and is stuck there (safe to collect), as a lure. I also added a lower route, in case the player fails the jumping.

If the player indeed fails this challenge, it is again possible to jump back to the mushroom-block reward from the tall steps, although it’s not as easy this time around. But adding a possibility to revert a failure seems to be a powerful tool for not adding too much frustration and also for teaching movement mechanics.

In the next section I wanted to repeat an element from the first level, because of what I had planned for a later challenge. Again a light moving platform challenge with a route below, in case of falling. This time I knew, that the upper route needs some lures, so I put there coins and a Question block in the end, which this time around gives a Fire Flower power-up.  The lower route has three winged Goombas, which I soon changed into one winged Goomba and two normal ones, as the winged Goomba movement logic was a bit unsuited for this section: if there were three of them, they all packed to the left, as they try to get to Mario (I felt, that this wasn’t a problem in the first level, but in the second it diminished too much of the threat). But I also instantly saw how much more varied and interesting it was this way, making the choice of stomping them a bit more luring.

Once again, one can jump to the reward from other side, giving a possibility to “have it all”, no matter which route is chosen. Even though I want to have choices, I don’t like the idea of closing doors for a young player, at least not in the early levels. That just adds frustration, if something is missed. This way I can also underline a bit thru repetition, that sometimes there are other routes AND keep the rules coherent.

I also added coins on top of the Fire Flower block, so, that only one coin is visible, UNTIL the player jumps on it. Also a slight lure and teaching for exploration. (Edit: sorry, no picture or that, as I didn’t understand when I took the photos, that it didn’t show in the edit window. I will add the pic later.)

Next up is a small jump challenge with a threat, an on rails flying Koopa. Why on rails? I wanted to give a visual cue of its fly route. Below it are spike balls, BUT I added one block on the right side of the spike pit, so, if the player misses the timing of a jump or is running too fast (and small children sometimes do, because of the momentum building Mario has, when they don’t have much room to accelerate, or when they’ve accelerated TOO MUCH), there’s a safety net, BUT it still FEELS menacing and there is a possibility to fail.

In the next part I did a classic brick-question-brick formation with three Question blocks, one containing a Fire Flower, and spawned two Goombas on top of it. It’s a fairly easy challenge, with proper lure for smashing blocks. On top of the formation there’s a luring path upwards, like in an earlier section, teasing with just two coins, but if one proceeds to jump upwards, more rewards are revealed.

There’s also a Koopa spawned, coming up tiny bit later. The player can either ignore it or choose to stomp on it, or kill it with fireball, if one has the Fire Mario. There’s a little “cave” in the end of this section, having an opening for kicked Koopa shell and a coin block for it as a reward. It works also as a trap for all of the enemies in this section, if the player chooses so. This is an element I wanted to have as a kind of a puzzle for a little kid. It is a bit easy to be missed because of the Fire Mario’s ability to kill the Koopa, but that’s ok – like many optional puzzles, it’s not necessary to instantly get it. I also added one metal block so, that a big Mario can’t fall into the coin cave.

Next section mixes a jump challenge with some Goombas and coin luring, again using arcs for directing and teaching for using a bit more optimal routes. This section has also a reward for the lower route: coin block, which also plays a role of “not closing the door for the upper reward, if one is hasty to break bricks”.

After this I added the earlier mentioned another moving platform challenge. I wanted to end this level with another moving platform challenge, this time spikes underneath, with no safety net. After this challenge the level ends.

1st playthru:

Surprisingly she was “speedrunning” a lot, which lead to missed power-ups. Not much can be done here, as I’m not too keen to artificially limit her speed (as mentioned earlier, I personally love speedrunning possibilities in platforming games).

After few plays she again got it, that she can use the tall stairs in order to jump right to the mushroom-reward in the start of the jump challenge.

Took probably 6 tries to beat the level, and she did it without any power-ups.

Not surprisingly the turtle after the two dropping Goombas was the most challenging enemy, most probably because its timing. BUT she got the grasp of it very quickly. The Fire Flower reward in this section might be a bit too generous and confusing in the sense of getting the Koopa to the coin block reward (I have to think about this).

Spikes in the next section got comments like “I want to edit them away” (:D), until she got an idea, that they’re, mixed with pitfalls, actually “Goomba prisons”. :D

Moving platforms were a success as the repetition had clearly done its job. Visible rails seem to be a VERY good thing to put there, when designing levels for a little kid. Same with flying Koopa-turtles and such. I think I’ll have to add a visible rail into the first level’s moving platform section too.

Also the practice 2-wides were pretty successful: first a drop, second try a success.

A lot of special places got ignored, but it’s totally fine for now. I want/need to see more of her playing that level before I decide whether these need iterations.

All in all very happy for the first iteration.

Iteration 1:

Even though I want to do levels for her, that have very mellow start, i.e. no enemies until some basic movement has happened first, I think one Goomba, placed so, that no matter what, she can always jump over it, would be worth trying in the beginning. I’m placing it so, that it is coming down the “stairs”.

I added coins on top of all of the 2-wides as adding more luring into the start jump challenge.

I chose to keep the Fire Flower in the two Goombas and one Koopa sequence, as it’s the only Fire Flower, that is not that easy to miss. But I’ll keep my eyes on it, it might still go.

More playing:

-          Goomba in the start seems to be a good little spice up.

-          The added coins on top of the 2-wides work well as a lure. Now she goes picking almost every time the mushroom, as she knows two ways to get there.

-          She gets the Koopa shell coin reward, which is totally awesome. I was truly surprised she got it this fast.

-          This is where it got interesting: I let her play by herself and she starts to edit this level, replacing some of the spikes with blocks underneath the platform in the end sequence. I instantly thought it was a great idea! It does not have to be as unforgiving AND it opens up some other iteration possibilities.

Iteration 2:

-          I chose to use the idea she did with her edit: I added blocks below the end sequence moving platform and left some spikes there as a challenge. My own addition was to put coins on top of every safe block, as an advanced optional challenge.

Even more playing:

-          She boldly goes collecting the coins in the end sequence, with the first try. I guess it’s a sign of success.

-          The same generous Fire Flower still lingers under my doubt radar, but it stays for now.

-          Can’t get any more proper iteration ideas for this one, I think it’s done.

WORLD 1, LEVEL 3

While Creating:

I wanted to up the ante with the platforming challenge, so I (again) ripped the legendary section from SMB1, W1L2’s teaching of 1-wide towers (it’s super brilliant), as I thought, that it could work with a little kid too. Just added some coins to reward the jumping.

I wanted to add a Fire Flower as a power-up, because it won’t move, so it kinda forces the player to think “how to get there?”, as the player can’t straight up jump on it from below, because of the height. But even bigger reason for giving a Fire Flower at this point is that the next sequence is easier AND more fun when having it. Will it make it too easy? Remains to be seen.

• Two Goombas patrolling below, for some enemy challenge, which kind of has to be dealt first, if one wants to get to the power-up (choices again).

A tiny bit more hazardous platforming section made from mushroom platforms. I made them relatively wide all over, but didn’t add safety net, so there is a possibility to fail by falling.

• Although in the most difficult part I added a one small mushroom platform a bit under the one, where the player is supposed to land, just for the Mario’s inertia saver, as mentioned earlier, it is sometimes a bit of a hard one to grasp for a young player.

Teaching the walk thru platforms, luring the player to go on the upper route by leaving a coin trail and a Question block (that rewards with a 1-up) on the top, with some coins.

One Goomba stuck in a hole, as a sign for the player, that the other ones dropping from the platform can also be lured there. This also puts the mushroom power-up stuck, so the player can’t miss it, IF it is needed. The Goombas are also delightfully fun to stomp, if they’re all stuck in the same hole. The Mushroom might feel a bit weird after a Fire Flower possibility, but I wanted to add it as it’s crucial to be a big Mario in the upcoming puzzle.

Made a hole right before the next sequence, to grab the 1-up, if it slips away: reward collected for sure, no frustration of missing a reward.

2-wide platforming challenge with a possibility to fail, with coin lures, which again also hint for jump arc that’s needed.

A puzzle, that is made to figure out the butt stomp, while the one is a big Mario – reward: a Star, which is of course a lot of fun.

Menacing looking enemy challenge, which is actually super easy, if the Star Puzzle has been solved, or one is having the Fire Mario.

• Alternative upper route, for a little Mario or other way evasive player types.
• A bit of a tease, if the Star power-up is collected, both of the two Question blocks are coin-blocks here, causing a situation where the player has to choose whether to use the Star or get the coins. Let’s see, if this choice puzzles her.
• The lower route has a lucrative offer of coins, making it a worthy challenge.

A mix of 1-wide and 2-wides as a route for a flag, short jump again.

1st play thru:

Even though it’s the shortest level  and thus I was worried it would be too easy, as it looks so simple, it still packed fairly good amount of challenge. It took around 10 tries for her to beat it.

At first the 1-wide towers in the very beginning started to feel like a bit of a bad idea: she constantly dropped between the blocks, UNTIL probably after 6-8th time she finally grasped it (all she needed was patience).

At first it also felt like I might’ve paced the Goombas all wrong, as she was failing this sequence many times in a row (hasty playing style again), but she quickly got it. But it left a little doubt in my mind: should I change it so, that it would work better while “speedrunning”? I have to think about it.

The ability to go grab the fire flower by jumping back to the 1-wides was very successful “puzzle” – she pretty much instantly got it, which was expected after previous similar challenges.

The mushroom platform after the small platform did its function JUST like I imagined: saved her Mario the very first time as the inertia again did its trick.

The 1-up was missed (as was the fire flower, until I said “you should ALWAYS try to break question blocks”. I’m not sure how I could direct her more towards these rewards without completely steering her playing (which I do NOT want to do). Is the lure’s power fading? She’s really keen to speedrun levels, which leads to skipping power-ups and rewards and such. I guess it’s ok, we are talking about a 4 year old here after all.

She cracked the star “puzzle” by herself pretty quick, a proud moment!

The stacked Goombas plus the Koopa Troopa combo’s difficulty really changes depending how the challenge is faced: very easy if one has Fire Flower or the Star, but as a little Mario or normal big Mario, it’s more difficult - but this was the idea, so I won’t change it, at least not yet. As she was able to get there as Fire Mario or Star Mario, the possibility to ignore them via the upper route never played any role - no idea if it’s clear enough route possibility. Maybe some luring needed or maybe it just should be an “unobvious” route?

Pipe platforming challenge felt good from the get go.

The fire flower in the start is maybe a bit too crucial (for a little kid player), if coming to a level as a small Mario. Not sure, if I should put a mushroom power-up right into the start, so it would not play as huge role, IF missed (small vs. big Mario makes a huge difference to the difficulty in this level).

Iteration 1:

·         Even though this level raised a bunch of questions during the few first plays, she eventually got pretty much everything I had in mind while creating this level, thus making me feel like there wasn’t that much to edit after all.

·         I chose to add two coins on top of the upper route in the stacked Goombas and a Koopa section, just to hint a little, that “hey this is a valid route also!”

Later playthru:

·         She finally gets some patience and finds the 1-up and all. Also the upper route in the next section starts to be a more valid choice.

-          The star puzzle and the upper route makes the level way easier though, but I want to keep them so, as I feel, that the Star power-up is just so much fun and a great price for solving a puzzle like that. But it makes me wonder, if I should add just some baddie in the end, after this section.

·         It seems, that the green Koopa in the mushroom platform section does encourage to stop, as it will walk down the platforms into its own demise. I think I’ll have to change it to red, so it would patrol rather than fall by its own.

Iteration 2:

·         I chose to add a red Koopa in the end. I’m fairly confident, that the player will usually be at least a Big Mario at this phase, so it isn’t too punishing. I also added a coin brick so, that the Koopa shell, if stomped and kicked, will always collect some coins, as a reward.

·         I decided to also change the green mushroom platform Koopa to a red one.

More playing:

I’m happy with the iterations, definitely made the level better. I think this one is done too.

WORLD 1, LEVEL 4

While creating:

I wanted to introduce few new elements, which are pretty classic stuff in castle levels: Fire Ball, rotating Fire Pillar, Bowser and the Buzzy Beetle.

Started with a peaceful section, with a possibility get a Mushroom, which could also slip away into the lava, if the player is not robust enough.

As this is a level that has bunch of new elements in it, I wanted to ease in about every danger in this level with semi pseudo to almost full pseudo representation for danger and offering even more alternative solutions for dealing with them.

• In the start, dropping two Goombas into the lava as a notion that lava is dangerous.

The first fire ball can’t touch the player as it can’t fly that high.

The first fire pillar can be avoided via upper route, giving a possibility to have a Mushroom power-up, but there’s a luring another Question block down, which rewards with a 1-up.

The Beetle can be shot from above (if the Fire Flower was picked from the Question block), thus being able to safely notice, that fire balls don’t hurt it, but having the Koopa there to be as a counter weight, as a reminder, that a Koopa can be killed with fireballs, even though it has a shell too. Both can be dropped into the lava, if patient. And of course stomped on.

Little by little upping the difficulty by making the Fire balls flying higher, demanding a bit more careful jumping, with longer gaps and so on.

Ending with the Bowser, with the classic upper route solution.

1st playthru:

Again, she’s doing a bit of a speedrunning and thus missing power-ups and thus making the level harder, than it really is.

The Goombas dropping right into the lava in the start of the level didn’t make that much sense, as there is a Koopa dropping into the lava right in the section after them. It was also a bit too easy solution for a castle level. I think I have to think something else.

The Mushroom in the start fairly often slips away causing frustration and accidental drops into the lava.

The lower route in the fire pillar sequence seems to not be that tempting. Might need more luring.

I think the progressive challenge with the Fireballs is pretty good, from pseudo to real threat.

The Bowser in the end was surprisingly difficult for her, even though the upper route is easier to access than the traditional solution is (and it’s not the first time she faces a Bowser challenge). She just failed over and over again with it. Not surprisingly the Bowser in the end was actually the FIRST thing she edited away, when I let her to edit the level freely. I’ll probably put some other enemy/enemies in the end when iterating.

Iteration 1:

The Bowser needed to go. I put a giant Beetle there instead, as it was already introduced earlier in smaller form, so it makes sense. I also added two smaller Goombas just in front of it, as a lure for throwing fireballs, if the player has a Fire Mario, just to underline, that the Beetle won’t die from those.

As the beginning Mushroom seemed to always slip away, I added two blocks there to prevent the falling down. Why two? It is easier to jump on top of those into the next challenge…

…Which is: as said, I felt, that the two Goombas just dropping into lava was not that good element, especially, if I removed the possibility for the Mushroom to slip away. I still left the Koopa after this sequence to walk into its demise, but these two got also a two in a row blocks each side to prevent their falling down, adding a light enemy challenge.

I dropped one block the Fireball before the end sequence and raised the ones in the end. It made it a bit more coherent in terms of a challenge progression.

Later playthru:

The Bowser removing was a success: suddenly, when there was no fireball throwing threat grabbing all the attention, she instantly realized how to use the upper route.

She liked the Goombas not falling into the lava in the start of the level, always waiting them to be close and then walked over them. I was very delighted to see this, as it clearly raised the fun factor of this sequence – to be honest, that wait-n-stomp was a happy accident from my side. ;)

She sometimes go and fetch the lower route 1-up, but not always. I still wonder, if I should make it more tempting (for some reason I didn’t yet do it, might’ve forgot to).

This level is quite generous with the power-ups – when she started to play this level with a bit more careful style and it might be, that the level becomes a bit of an easy one. But then again, it’s the first castle level of the first world, so I think I’m relatively fine with it.

Iteration 2:

Decided to add some coins in order to make the lower route more tempting, but so, that they kind of point to the 1-up. I think that should be a lure enough, as I’m not trying to over do it.

I think this one is ready too.

GENERAL IDEAS AND NOTES

-          Gaps that are 4 block wide: as I’ve already mentioned few times, the sense of inertia in Mario games isn’t always so simple to comprehend for young player. They tend to stop every now and then, thus not having the inertia on their side all the time. In this sense gaps, which can be jumped over without building speed, are way clearer concepts and might be more suitable in the early levels.

-          Pseudo challenges are a great way to do menacing, but safe challenge introductions for kids. Also a good practice for “easy, but menacing” challenges.

-          I generally don’t recommend verbally directing the playing of a little kid too much, and if possible, not at all, when talking about levels, which are aimed for little kids. Let them figure out things themselves, in their own pace. This teaches them to bravely tackle the challenges and they don’t feel pressured while playing. Too much of that “no, don’t go there, do this, let me show you” might even dry up their willingness to play. They do ask your help, when they really need it. And usually they more likely tend to surprise you with a joyful “look dad, I beat it!”

  

CONCLUSION AND CLOSING THOUGHTS

SMM is an awesome tool for honing the level design craft, but also an awesome tool for seeing what THE PLAYER would like to see changed. As it is so easy and INTUITIVE to use, my kid is already able to modify my levels to be more enjoyable (or more “enjoyable” ;) ) for her. For example, like mentioned earlier, she actually put some blocks (with gaps) under the 2nd level’s ending moving on rail platform sequence. I think it was a great iteration and I thus decided to leave it there, with some modifications. There have also been situations where she has done something I would’ve probably not figured out until a lot more usage of the editor, like the cannons being able to shoot power-ups and enemies. Such a good find, will definitely use that in future levels!

In other words: if you make your levels in an editor even a kid can use, let them eventually edit them freely, but use that as a possibility to watch, get inspired and LEARN from all they’ll modify. Sometimes it’s just pure madness of course, but always remember, that kids are VERY CURIOUS by nature and very good at thinking outside the box, so sometimes they can give you great ideas.

Also, I’d say, when thinking about making levels or games for little kids, you should try play games similar to the game you’re going to make, WITH a kid (your own, your relatives’, your neighbor, your friends’), BEFORE you even lay the first block into a real level. This will help you a LOT in trying to map out what kids can do in games and what kind of challenges they might enjoy, what kind of solutions they use for challenges and so on. This way you get closer into the state of mind of a kid. For example in these efforts of mine, I truly believe it helped me a LOT in the “guessing game”, that I had played a bunch of platformers beforehand with my daughter. And that’s what it is in the end of the day, when doing levels for kids as an adult - the first version is always more or less a guessing game. You’re trying to think (read: guess) what a kid could perhaps like.

I’m quite satisfied with the first batch of levels I made – all of them seemed to work quite well as “first world” levels. Nor were they too difficult, but not a complete run through neither, at least after iterations. I’m sure there would be a lot of little things to tweak and made better, but pretty much all of my ideas worked in the end of the day, so I’m really happy. She seemed to overall enjoy them and actually wanted to play them for many times again, which was of course also a great thing from observation’s point of view, and editing them seemed to also be a fun pastime (of course one could read this other way too ;) ). But the best compliment has been the questions about “when are you making me more levels!?” She has requested a bit more challenge, which suits me just fine, after all it would be the “second world”, so it should be a bit more difficult (BUT: not too much, as that was the whole idea to begin with).

Now the next challenge for me will be the real test: how to keep the little kid friendly difficulty curve, without taking all the challenge away. This will require some serious thinking and research, and most likely a lot more trial and error than what I had in this first batch. It probably wasn’t that hard to notice, that I had very few real iteration loops (*NOTE) for these levels, but I don’t expect that to continue, when I start to try to introduce more complicated challenges. Let’s see what happens!

*NOTE: I generally do quite a lot of thinking before starting to do anything. I especially tend to utilize the “idle brains” periods in my life, when I’m, for example, sitting in a bus or running. In that sense, it’s good to keep in mind while reading, that this is the reason, if some of my explanations for goals and solutions in this article might sound like they’ve came up quick and easy. Especially as this was also by far the most time demanding article I’ve ever written, there was naturally a hefty amount time used to think of the solutions and challenges.