Nintendo is urging gamers to get ready for the Super Mario Maker challenge that is set to change the minds of all those who claim themselves experts at the game. Mario has been the videogame of several generations, with trademark music and colorful characters. For its 30th anniversary, Nintendo is celebrating with a new Super Mario game.
It all started with the Facebook organized hackathon, where many gamers arrived after being lured over by the temptation of creating their very own Super Mario level. Over 150 Facebook employees gathered up and created an environment for fans of the game to create their own level on Wii U, a dream for most designers and players alike.
This is the first time Super Mario has allowed gamers to dream up the protagonist’s surroundings and enemies, ranging from the types of bricks that will ultimately be used or destroyed to the classic green pipes and vicious turtles. The Facebook hackathon was the perfect setting in which to test it.
Using the touch screen on the Wii U controller, all participants were allowed to create a complex level, placing bricks, coins or enemies wherever their heart’s desired and their imagination led. And it was not by far a small crowd.
A number of 40 teams were assembled, from game designers to casual players to even Facebook employees eager to display their own creativity in the classic game. And, as any good competition, there was a winner and a prize, that being that those with the most entertaining and appropriate level will have the opportunity to create another, officially to be included in the Super Mario Maker game that will be released in September.
That, of course, meant that the custom made level also had to be beatable by the creators themselves. Otherwise, it’s worrying to think how far the imagination could stretch and boundaries might’ve been set that the greatest experts in the game could’ve not surpassed. It would be too easy to create a trap that ol’ Mario would never escape.
The participating teams had 10 hours to come up with something innovative, creative and fun, and yet, it was reported that people were viewed hours before it even began drawing outlines of their plan. The excitement bodes well for the game.
The criteria for level creation was easy: to envelop the essence of Facebook, “open, honest, move fast and break things”, and of Nintendo, “fun, surprise, creativity”. The partnership was highly beneficial for both and it’s clear proof that Nintendo is vastly underrated on the market, but it’s still fighting through and probably staging a comeback.
Image source: blog.extra-life.org
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