Tag Guidelines for the Hacks Section
This page contains the tags you can use on your submission form. Please make sure to use only the proper tags, any other tags will be removed during moderation. Don't put tags such as your or other people's names, game titles, jokes/memes, or anything else irrelevant.
If you find a submission is missing a tag that isn't shown here, please send a message to one of the Hack moderators, so that they can add the missing tag.
Graphics Related
Music Related
Special Code Considerations
Level Design Styles and Quirks
Hack Themes
Mature content and other potential sensitive areas
Other Tags
Other Considerations
This page contains the tags you can use on your submission form. Please make sure to use only the proper tags, any other tags will be removed during moderation. Don't put tags such as your or other people's names, game titles, jokes/memes, or anything else irrelevant.
If you find a submission is missing a tag that isn't shown here, please send a message to one of the Hack moderators, so that they can add the missing tag.
Graphics Related
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| custom character | The hack has a character made up by the author |
| enemy | You play as a Mario series enemy. The specific character will be listed in the tag as well. |
| exgfx | Substantial amount of graphics changes |
| less exgfx | Often combining mostly original SMW graphics with rips or custom graphics |
| non-mario | The hack does not carry a Mario appearance |
| original graphics | All self-drawn items. requires "exgfx" tag to be paired with it. |
| vanilla | Predominantly original SMW graphics. No, this will not be changed to mean no ASM/music either. Stop asking. |
Music Related
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| music | Uses ports or compositions |
| no audio | Hack has no music and usually no sound effects either |
| original soundtrack | All self-made music. requires the regular "music" tag to be paired with it. |
Special Code Considerations
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| asm | Uses programming to create new sprites, blocks, status bars, etc. All other tags in this category should be paired with this except the "hdma" tag. |
| bosses | Includes bosses not from SMW |
| hdma | Uses hdma writes to create special effects. |
| health | Uses a health meter instead of the standard Mario system |
| powers | Adds completely new powerups to the game. |
Level Design Styles and Quirks
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| exploration | Level design that involves a lot of searching |
| gimmick | The hack revolves around weird or unusual ideas |
| glitch | Level design involves use of gameplay techniques that were not intended by the programmer for the player to use |
| huge level | Extremely long level(s) |
| no boss | Hack does not have any bosses |
| non-platformer | Hack is not a platformer |
| puzzle | Level design that focuses more on using your mind |
| traditional | Level design that is more action-oriented |
| variety | Uses different types of design styles. does not require other tags from this category except "glitch" if applicable, unless one style is predominant. |
Hack Themes
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| creepypasta | Hack's story is based on a creepypasta |
| crossover | Combines two or more games in an intentionally intersecting way apart from just being used for tilesets |
| downport | A remake of a hack from a post-SNES system. This tag must be paired with the "remake" tag. |
| holiday | Related to a special day of the year (e.g. Christmas) |
| horror | Hack intends to spook the player |
| joke | The hack is made for humor value |
| remake | The hack is a remake of another game |
| story | Hack has heavy focus on a storyline |
Mature content and other potential sensitive areas
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| suggestive dialogue | The hack contains a notable amount of dialogues that hints at suggestive/sexual/mature content. This tag will trigger a warning in the details page of the hack |
| epilepsy warning | The hack contains content that may be harmful to people with photosensitive epilepsy or similar conditions (such as flashing imagery). This tag will trigger a warning in the details page of the hack. |
| crude language | The hack contains a notable amount of profanity and bad language. This tag will display a warning in the details page of the hack |
| crude content | The hack contains a notable amount of crude visual content which is not explicitly violent or sexual in nature (for which other tags exist). This tag will display a warning in the details page of the hack. |
| sexual content | The hack contains a notable amount of nudity and sexual content. This tag will trigger an age gate upon trying to enter the hacks submission page. |
| violence | The hack contains a notable amount of gore and/or violence. This tag will trigger an age gate upon trying to enter the hacks submission page. |
Other Tags
| Tag | Description |
|---|---|
| collab | The hack is made by a group of authors. The minimum for a collaboration hack is 2 authors. |
| sa-1 | The hack uses the SA-1 enhancement pack. |
Other Considerations
- Specific characters like Yoshi or Wario, if playable, will be included in tags. Characters outside the Mario universe will be tagged by the game series they are from or the entertainment/career source (e.g. anime, sports, politics.)
- If the hack's environment all takes place in a specific realm, such as desert or space, the hack will have that as a tag.
- Specific series will have their own tags to be easier to find (e.g. Eevee's "Assassins" series includes "Sicari" and "K-16 - Story of Steel")
- If the hack is not in English, then the language will be tagged in its English nomenclature (e.g. for español search "spanish")