First, I want to start this thread by saying there may be some vulnerabilities in this system, but I put some effort into thinking of a way to make a level creation process that is rewarding for all parties, so don't nitpick until you get to the end.

Second, I don't really care to talk particularly about the level creator itself. The way levels are created doesn't really interest me as much as what is done with the end product, as long as the levels that can be created can have as many diverse experiences as anywhere else in the game outside of boss battles or story scripted moments.

With that out of the way, I want to talk about the meat of my idea: A "Custom" Arcade Gate or CAG, filled with levels created by players. How are these levels filled in that makes this idea different from any other idea?

The process is multi-step: first, the levels must be created (obviously). Secondly, a special CAG vendor will start accepting bids to place your created levels onto the gate. These bids will use a new currency found anywhere in the game, but found more often within the CAG. After a set amount of time, a number of maps with the highest bids are placed onto the CAG, but for the first week, the CAG is in a "test" mode, accessible only by paid players, to verify that the levels are functional, contain content, and other minimum parameters.

After that, the CAG is unlocked to the entire playerbase, and will begin rewarding special CAG currency along with tickets that can be used to purchase unique costume items, but will NOT reward heat, crowns, or other materials. First time clear + filling out a questionnaire for a level will reward bonus CAG currency and tickets.

When more time has passed, perhaps two weeks, the results of the questionnaires are tabulated, and 000 can make final judgments on whether or not popular maps will make the cut. If they do, those maps will be immortalized in the Arcade as real stages that can be drawn during the gate creation process of traditional arcade gates. Additionally, the creators of chosen maps will be granted unique costume items (different from the tester costume items) and gift boxes.

Then, the process starts over again, with people bidding to get their maps into the coveted slots of the CAG, loading the maps into the test gate, verifying the maps, unlocking and playing the maps, and final evaluations made on the maps. The process should be fairly autonomous, with only the verification stage, if maps are broken, and the judgment stage requiring any 000 intervention.

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The end result is that you avoid situations with players farming exploitable content, but still provide incentives to players to create and test content (look how crazy people go for costumes and accessories, and you will understand that costumes can be incentive enough), and you provide an avenue for created content to get mass exposure and eventually enter into the rest of the body of content.

Alright, now you can nitpick :P This was largely as a thought exercise, so I'd love to hear feedback for how this process could be legitimately broken.