How to Create Your Own Super Mario Games

Create the assets for your Mario game. Use Photoshop or another drawing program to create the lead characters, enemies and power-ups. Since you are creating a Mario game, use existing reference pictures to inspire your creation. Save all these files separately into a folder on your computer.

Map out each stage of your Mario game using graph paper. Mario games traditionally fall into the platformer genre of games so you'll need to design each level around this notion. Create airborne steps to climb and hidden areas to access. Don't allow players a straight run to the finish, place obstacles in their way.

Mark each location of enemies and power-ups onto your level designs. Don't bunch up enemies too closely together as players may not be able to make it past a certain point in your stage. Finish each stage with a boss character of your choosing.

Color in your stage with the same color and design choices you wish to translate into your complete game. Don't stick to generic backgrounds, instead use ideas from existing Mario games like Cocoa Mountain and Rainbow Road.

Download and install Platform Studio onto your computer. Launch the program to begin importing your ideas into the game.

Create your stages using the Platform Studio game tools. The program will allow you to create platforms that rotate, spikes for instant kills, as well as aesthetic choices such as the textures on each piece of the stage.

Import the digital drawings you completed into the Tileset Editor. Once uploaded, you can set behaviors for your enemies such as their movement or ability to cause damage. Power-ups such as power stars can be set to grant invincibility for a portion of time.

Test your game with a run through of each level. Make notes of any areas that are too hard or too easy to get through. Alter your level designs as you learn more about how Platform Studio works and your limitations and abilities.

Save your game and share it with friends. Your saved Mario game does not need to run on Platform Studio, so anyone with a PC can run it.