#cleverdan

[this-is-clever-dan-blog]

What It’s Like to Watch GAME OF THRONES | Animated Parody Song

Subscribe to Clever Dan – https://smarturl.it/CleverDan Where do Game of Thrones characters go to die when the GRRM Reaper gets them? The Grave of Thrones, o...

If you don’t relate to this, you’re NOT a Game of Thrones fan. 

[cafemakers]

Reclaim the Halberd! (3333-0000-00E3-9DC5) by CleverDan

This level is a visual treat all the way through. The use of the amiibo costume is strong, the level's challenges are inventive, and there are not one but two checkpoints, making this one of the longest levels featured. (A good thing in this instance).

There was very clearly a lot of work put into the level, so hit the read more if you want to hear about the design considerations from CleverDan himself.

Bowser’s minions have taken over Meta Knight’s airship, The Halberd! Meta Knight will scale the front of the bow, clear out enemies on the inside, carefully travel underneath the ship, avoid rocket exhaust flames, travel in the vents, avoid cannon fire, and take the bridge! There’s a stand-in for Captain Vul and Sailor Waddle Dee on the bridge at the end of the level. Maybe Bowser’s and Meta Knight's minion’s aren’t too different.

I’ve been working on this level for a few weeks. I spent a lot of time researching the Halberd from Kirby Super Star and Super Smash Bros. and I tried combining elements of Kirby and Super Mario level layout and gameplay. There are a lot of enemies since Kirby games are all about the enemies you encounter, but Mario doesn’t fight enemies directly aside from the stomp. There are hidden 1ups in blocks in the level however all other power ups are exposed on tracks, to simulate obtaining an exposed power up from Kirby.

I ended up fighting the block limit very frequently and tried to work in Bowser. When his fire breath is really unwanted, it really makes parts of a level unusable, and I eventually cut him from the level with a better puzzle battle at the end.

With the frequent Mystery Mushrooms and checkpoints, this level is probably on medium difficulty. It’s one of the longest level’s I’ve made and I wouldn’t have made it if we didn’t have checkpoints.

(Bonus Hard Mode: Kirby can reclaim the Halberd too! There’s a Kirby costume hidden at the beginning before boarding. Use it to make it to the end without getting hit or starting from a checkpoint, and avoiding the other Mushrooms! Post a screenshot if you do it!) -CleverDan

[cafemakers]

Puzzle Cavern (F080-0000-00C3-76F2) by CleverDan

Another single-screen puzzle, this time from our own CleverDan! This one requires some knowledge of Super Mario World systems, and an insight for doing things that shouldn’t be done!

[cafemakers]

Mushroom Bridge Invasion (5E34-0000-0092-B2BB) by CleverDan

You know what Super Mario Maker is missing? Tank levels!

Thankfully CleverDan has us covered though. By using conveyor belts and the bridge he’s able to convincingly create a battalion of tanks, complete with a boss fight at the end.

This level was a lot of fun to make, and I haven’t seen a tank army-style level yet. I got the idea when I thought of using conveyor belts as tank treads.

There are a few challenges I had to work around. The first was that the ground-block in the airship style are actually what makes up the tanks, so after trying other blocks, I decided on using bridge platforms. Airship-style levels also have built in camera float, as they are intended to be high in the sky. I raised the whole level by three-blocks so the player always has a a view of what each tank is armed with. Sadly there isn’t a way to give the tanks their signature slanted appearance, nor create long cannon barrels, so I was a little creative in their design, which I think still works out well. I felt the original SMB3 tank level was fun, but pretty easy. I used more cannons here and used a few more traps that weren’t in the original level, such as jets and a grinder. Being able to change the timing of the jets is great because I didn’t want them firing as soon as they enter the screen -attacking the player before he/she can see them. Bullet bills weren’t actually found in the original army/navy levels, and all of the ones here are loaded with Bob-bombs, which cannot be placed in cannons. The tanks are also spaced a little farther apart so it’s more difficult to skip all the danger between each tank. There is a boss battle at the end that isn’t too difficult, I had to get creative with it because using Bowser Jr. for everything gets tiresome. I also learned Sumo/Hammer Bros. don’t jump when there are other objects on their head.

After I finished building the level, I still felt something was missing to make it actually memorable, despite being a tank level. When I added the mushroom platforms to the space under the bridge, the location of the level became a -place- in the Mushroom Kingdom and using the mechanical stems of the mushrooms I was able to make it feel like a large suspension bridge. That’s when the level really came together for me and was ready to share. Aesthetics are important! This is level is just a little bit harder than that of the original tank level. The opening tanks could be the hardest part as Mario has to get close to a lot cannons and there isn’t an easy way to avoid them. There is also a Buzzy Beetle Helmet which is really fun to use. - CleverDan

[waywardgoosefarm]

Mr skunk meets a tragic end, after having tunneled into our meat chicken pen. Dan spied him enjoying a chicken breakfast and "justice" he came upon the scene Mr skunk started choking on a chicken bone. Dan performed a double ought buck Heimlich maneuver which wrenched Dan's shoulder but failed to revive old skunky. Alas, his memory lingers. #deadskunk #cleverdan #waywardgoosefarm

[elfgrove]

When College Football Season is over, you spend your Saturdays waxing the Giant Robot you keep in your garage. You spend more on Turtle Wax than groceries.

SHHHH!!! It was built by elves working with the government and uses a magic-fueled energy core in order to maintain the energy output safely and calculate the gyroscopic adjustments at the necessary speed to allow swift motion.

Very top secret.

And the hilarious part is that this is a preexisting idea of mine.

[elfgrove]

cleverdan replied to your post: Leftover Yellow Curry for lunch (breaking my fast...

Where are your fave curry places in town?

Probably Spices Thai in Rancho Bernardo, Amarin Thai (dinner last night) in Hillcrest, and Tao on Adams Ave.

[dazzledfirestar]

Re: Steel MagnoliasI have a very good friend who is type 1, so I have the faintest inkling of how bad this can be. Hugs all around.

Thanks. It is tough... always has been (I was diagnosed at 2 and a half... Merry Christmas, mom and dad) but I really don't know what it's like NOT to live with that thought that "Oh, one day this is going to go to hell in a hand basket and I'm doing everything I can to prevent it but... someday..."

I mean, I can't really complain. A lot of people who have had diabetes for as long as I have are in much worse shape than I am. I can see, my organs are working (well, the ones that were working to begin with), I've still got all my fingers and toes... but yeah. Life with that little black cloud... :\

Sorry to rant at you here... but thank you for the hugs! :)