Maker Spotlight - Evgarre

Hello and welcome back to Maker Spotlight! Today in the spotlight we have 4-time LotW Winner, Evgarre!

Tell us a bit about yourself

Hi, I’m Evgarre. I make Mario levels, and sometimes I make other things. I like doing anything creative and I tend to pursue things very intensely for as long as it holds my interest. The artforms that have stuck with me longest are creative writing and music composition. I have a blossoming friendship with the one and only Kouseband. A friendship so great it crosses oceans . . . oceans as deep as our love. Platonic love. I am married. She’s great too.

When designing a level, What is your #1 goal?

To develop and expand upon a concept in ways no one else has while ensuring that it doesn’t sacrifice fun for originality/cleverness. I want the player to complete the level feeling as though they grew as a player and/or maker.

How'd you come up with your username?

It’s a character from a novel I am currently writing. The character is very loosely inspired by Edgar from FF6.

If you had one tip for other makers what would it be?

A previous maker in the spotlight answered this with: “Make what you want to make.” This is great advice. If I could say it any better, I would simply change one word. If you want to make a great level, make what you want to play. There are tons of levels out there if you’ve wanted to make a level like one of those . . . why bother? Play the ones that already exist instead. When you find yourself wishing you could play a level that doesn’t seem to exist, you’ve found your next project. A level that manifests in this way will most likely turn out great, original, and most importantly, it’ll be fun. Lastly, don’t take rules as rules. Like with any creative endeavour, rules are merely guidelines.

What's your favourite level of yours?

Spinfire Castle. It’s the only level I’ve made that I am truly proud of. I hadn’t seen a level utilize the concept, and I desperately wanted to play a level that did. Designing it was challenging and rewarding, finding ways to create engaging gameplay while supplying endless fire flowers wasn’t easy. The boss section I am most proud of, using spinfire to fend off a swarm of moles feels almost too satisfying.

Who are your favourite makers?

My favorite would be Bilbo; he is one of the very few makers with levels that retain enjoyability upon repeated playthroughs. He knows how to explore a concept while keeping it fun. Something a lot of makers fail to do. The rest of my favorites, in no particular order, would be Fatys, Saku, Frank, Melonrind and, of course, The Unparalleled Maker of Marios, Kouseband.

Which game did you play the most before SMM?

All Portals, all Metroids, all Half-Lifes.

What's your favourite course element(s) and why?

Absolute favorite would be cannons. Incredibly versatile, they’re friend and foe. I also love Blasters; they can be used as walls, barricades, platforms and much more.

What was your first videogame console? Tell us some of the memories you have of that console.

The SNES. I remember playing Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest and falling in love; nostalgia manages to blind me to its awfulness no matter how many times I replay it. SMW was great with the family. DKC as well, even my mother loved DKC. I also loved playing a game called Troddlers, lots of fond memories playing that game.

What's your favourite platformer games and why?

I’m honestly not a big fan of 2D Mario games, but I do love every 3D installment. I love DKC, DKCR, Super Metroid, Metroid Prime 1 & 2, and Metroid: Zero Mission. Braid, Limbo, Super Meat Boy . . . And while its heavier on puzzle than platforming, Portal is my absolute favorite game ever created.

What are your favourite levels from those games and why?

Portal’s opening sequence. It has it all, atmosphere and impeccable design. You wake up in a cell and turn to look directly at a pseudo doorframe (portal conductor). You’re forced to listen to cheerful music that fails to achieve its purpose of putting you at ease, resulting in some lovely cognitive dissonance. Soon comes the opening of the portals, which are placed in the mind-blowing angle that allows you to see yourself from the side. In that moment, you are expertly taught the single mechanic that the entire game is based around. Doesn’t get much better than that.

What type of music do you like? Tell us about some of your favourite artists and songs.

Queen, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, CCR, The Beatles, Beach Boys . . . and many more. Favorite songs would be a three-way tie between Queen – Somebody to Love, The Beatles – In my Life, and The Beach Boys – God Only Knows.

What do you do when you make your Mario Maker levels? Do you listen to music, podcasts or just the game's music?

Anything and everything. Brainstorming seems to work out better for me when I'm stimulated by a broad range of various activities. Sometimes I’ll even grab my guitar and play a bit during level design.

What's your favorite TV show/Movie?

I could never narrow down a single show or movie as my favorite. Shows I love range from Rick and Morty, The Office (both) and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia . . . Can’t think of any movies I could comfortably call a favorite at the moment. Wait! Office Space, classic.

What are your favourite foods?

Hmm I don’t have any favorites, but I love Chinese food.

What is your favourite colour?

Green.

Anything else you'd like to say?

I’d like to thank Textnext for giving me a spotlight; this is truly an honor. Let’s all do our best to keep this community going! I have had a lot of fun with you guys and hope to have even more.

[Link to Evgarre's levels] ( https://supermariomakerbookmark.nintendo.net/profile/rkay234?type=posted)

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Thanks for your answers u/Evgarre! Now I have some upsetting news for y'all. Next week will be the final Maker Spotlight. I was approached by a website to do journalism work for them and I accepted. That's not the only reason though, school will be starting up soon and with my newfound interest in comic books and my newfangled Nintendo Switch, I just don't have the time to spend the hundreds of hours I used to pour into Super Mario Maker. I'm not necessarily quitting Super Mario Maker but I definitely won't be as devoted to the game as I once was. See you all next week I suppose.

Happy Making! ~Text