Hi!
I'm AmperSam (though most people just call me Amper) and I'm Public Relations staff and a Graphics Moderator (helper) here at SMW Central. I also spearhead the Questionable Level Design Contest. My PMs are open and I'm around on the site Discord if you would like to to reach out, I'm happy to hear from people!
Below is a not-up-to-date list of things I've worked on or am working on, contributions to the site, or past contest/event stuff, etc.
Things you can Play!
HYPERION
This was my first venture into SMW hacking ever. It is a chocolate Kaizo hack with "vanilla+" aesthetics, and aims to be a fun experience for novice kaizo players and not be too difficult. Originally released in 2020, I made an update in 2022 to polish it up and fix my newbie hacker errors.
SMW Central Page
Shallow Pits
This is a single-screen challenge hack I made over the course of a few weeks which takes a lot of inspiration from Kaizo:Hard and Pit hacks, hence the name, and uses a glitch tech, really tight (and rude) setups and some item abuse.
SMW Central Page
Shallow Pits 2
I made a sequel for some reason. The sprinkling of glitch or kuso tech rooms was really the most interesting part of the first one so I leaned into it for the second. Lots of inspiration from MST and abc_ore, among others.
SMW Central Page — Full Playthrough →
Single Levels
HAZMAT
This was a race level I made for Romhack Races week 125, which features an improved implementation of the graphics and radiation ASM (made by dtothefourth) found in a level of HYPERION.
Download Patch — Clear Video →
Tempest Memories
A kaizo race level I made for for week 156 of Romhack Races. The title (and a concept in the level) is a nod to the standard hack Memorial Service Tempest from MST the Japanese community.
Download Patch — Clear Video →
A Paw in my Face
A harder kaizo level I made for week 190 of Romhack Races, that focused on trick execution over gimmicks or chocolate. Made as an homage to Casio Mario World and other levels by Wyatt.
Download Patch — Clear Video →
HORSE
A silly kaizo level I made for week 204 of Romhack Races, with some cheeky asm I had made for non-kaizo purposes (being vague here as to not spoil the gimmick).
Download Patch — Clear Video →
Racing Like It's 2013
An "old-school" style level I made for week 227 of Romhack Races, that tried to emulate the style of kaizo you'd find in the early 2010s.
Download Patch — Clear Video →
The Illusion of Choice
For week 233 of Romhack Races I made a level on the BLDC2 baserom built around the whole idea of having a surprise sprite in a Pot that will help you complete obstacles.
Download Patch — Clear Video →
Collab Contributions
Effortworld
A JUMP Team collaboration hack made over 6 days during C3 Summer 2023 in 1 hour design sessions. I contributed a couple levels and to the final castle.
SMW Central Page
Other Hack Projects
Shibui World
A Kaizo hack I am not actively working on this project so who knows if it'll ever be released. It was planned to be more difficult and ambitious than my other ventures with old-school and standard very-hard influences.
Forum Post →
Transmission Chain Experiment
This was a spontaneous collaborative hack made during Winter C3 2022. Each contributor made a single screen in each of the levels and the results were pretty wild.
SMW Central Page
Contributed Graphics
I have made a significant number of graphics contributions you can find them in the Graphics section:
Graphics I've Contributed →
Contributed Music
I'm not the best or most prolific porter but you can find the tracks I've ported in the Music section.
Ports I've Contributed →
Baseroms
I'm the principal maintainer of a couple hack baseroms that have been pretty extensively used, feel free to build your hacks with them also:
- Romhack Races Baserom - The baserom provided to makers for them to build the weekly race levels with.
- BLDC Baserom - Originally made for BLDC2, that is packed with a lot of resources out-of-the-box.
- VLDC Baserom - An ultra-minimal SA-1 baserom made for VLDC 13.
Contest Participation
Levels I submitted to contests, or times when I judged a contest.
- Ebb and Flow - Old-School Level Design Contest, 2021 (32nd place) — Clear Video →
- Judge - 14th 24hoSMW Contest — Judging Notes →
- Brutalism, or: How I learned to stop worrying and love Cement - Kaizo Level Design Contest, 2021 (22nd place) — Clear Video →
- Judge - Vanilla Level Design Contest #13, 2022 — Judging Notes →
- Save it for Later - Kaizo Level Design Contest, 2022 (11th place) — Clear Video →
- Starstruck - Chocolate Level Design Contest, 2023 (4th place) with Alex — Clear Video →
