Tag Archives: Mario Maker

Mario Maker Hands Players the Keys to the Mushroom Kingdom

Ever since my early days of squawking at my cousin Axl to let me play Super Mario Bros 3 during his summer visits, I’ve wanted to make my own Mario levels. I even drew out a few during those humid months, using crayons, markers, anything I could get my hands on. The toys in my room were usually arranged in some sort of level as well. Needless to say, Nintendo hit me in the childhood with Mario Maker.

Mario Maker has that weird Japanese feel to it. It’s off-beat with its menus and sound effects, but its goals of being a tool to make Mario levels are met with unprecedented success. Never before has the act of game design been so simple. A concept can rapidly become a product in a matter of minutes. Will the level make players cry for mercy or make them smile?

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Enemies can be stacked to create towers of mayhem.

Being able to build levels in four different Mario styles is a blast. What’s interesting is that many assets mix into styles they were never in before. For example, Bowser Jr. is available by giving dear old dad a shake, which can make for an interesting boss fight or just an obstacle to clear. Even new ways to play emerge with items like the Clown Car or Latiku’s Cloud. These items open up free flight, giving a whole range of options to builders.

Making levels isn’t everything though. Players who seek insane challenges will also find enjoyment with Mario Maker. The game supports many of the Wii U’s controllers, so players can grab their favorite and have a go at some levels in Course World with comfort. Filters can be used to find the hardest or most appreciated levels. You can also follow Makers like any modern social media site. Personally, I enjoy finding my favorite YouTube personalities through Twitter; their levels are usually pretty cool!

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Pipes are now the homes of all sorts of things. . .

Of course, the major complaint behind Mario Maker is how the assets are unlocked. The more time you spend making levels, the more you unlock. Supposedly, a patch was added to speed up this process, but no matter how many levels I made, it seemed like I still had to wait until the next day for the shipment of assets to arrive. This does, however, force the player to build upon schema by using what’s available. Sometimes, the best concepts would come to me by being limited. I don’t think I would’ve messed with the New Super Mario Bros U mode if it wasn’t for that initial limitation; however, by doing so, I made some interesting levels involving the wall-jump mechanics in that mode.

Of course! Now let’s compare that with another statistical data that says that 82% of married women prefer cunnilingus over any other sexual act! 82%!!!! A man dealing with erectile dysfunction viagra sale can bring so much pleasure to a female. You can easily get rid of this trouble such as teasing her while she is cooking, sending her/him erotic messages, snuggling levitra without prescription while watching television together etc. Watching Too Much Pornography A survey in 2013 disclosed that men who watch porn per hour, suffer from low self esteem, poor viagra prices performance in bed and low sexual satisfaction. Functions like muscle contractions, hormonal secretion, blood flow, emotions and vardenafil india above all, the brain. The absolutely seamless transitions between modes, backgrounds, and level types gives the game a fluid feel. It opens the door for experimentation, especially when makers can tap an icon to try a segment as a player or switch game modes altogether. There’s also a Mario Path that can be toggled when unlocked, allowing makers to build sinister, precise jumps. Just about any feature a maker could want is possible in Mario Maker.

There are tons of unlockable sprites for use in the original Super Mario Bros style. A mystery mushroom grants makers the ability to put one of a hundred Nintendo characters into play, each with their own sound effects and animations. Unlocking these quirky characters can take a lot of time by playing the 100 Mario Challenge in Course World, but every Amiibo currently available unlocks a sprite, which is great for those of us addicted to the hunt of plastic figures.

Well, some are more quirky than others. . .
Well, some are more quirky than others. . .

All in all, Mario Maker is a charming game that gives players the chance to build levels for Mario to traverse. The excellent interface and flawless execution shows off Nintendo’s quality seal. There are tons of unlockables to find, and being that this is a community-driven game, it can hold unlimited hours of play. The joy of this game comes from its potential as millions of makers set out to create unique levels.

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Already, millions of levels have been made. Click this to play more!

Lastly, I challenge all of our Giga Makers to send us some levels. They could show up in a YouTube video or Twitch stream. I’ll be devising my own to share as well.

The future of Mario Maker is bright, but first, it has to be built.

Alex’s Take: Nintendo E3 2014

 With so many safe games being released by Nintendo recently and their company teetering on the Wii U with the 3DS barely keeping them afloat, there must have been a lot of pressure for Nintendo. This was the event I looked forward to the most. I’ve always enjoyed their characters and most of their games, even though I’ll admit that they’ve made some mistakes recently. Nintendo has a chance to make a comeback, but they’ve got to be careful with their games. Super Smash Bros. 4 looks like it will be Nintendo’s saving grace.

Nothing says childhood like putting toys together in a battle arena; that’s exactly what Smash Bros. is all about. Recently, Nintendo leaked that they are releasing toys with chips in their bases to be used in the game, much like Skylanders and Disney Infinity. These toys were shown in a hilarious video as Miyamoto pulls out a sweet-looking Mario figure to help him in his fight. It was also said that four other games would also be compatible with the figures: Mario Kart 8, Mario Party 10, Captain Toad, and Yoshi’s Wooly World. These toys could be the edge Nintendo needs to come out on top, especially during this holiday season.

While I could say just how excited I am to play the new Zelda or Pokemon, I’m choosing to highlight one of the more interesting games coming soon. Because every game company needs a multiplayer shooter, Nintendo stepped up to the plate to reveal Splatoon. Splatoon, at a glance, looks like a child’s Team Fortress 2; however, the more it was discussed, the more unique it revealed itself to be. In the game, players play as squid people who use ink guns to cover a map with their color. The team with the highest percentage of the map covered wins. Things get even more complex as players can transform into squids to move quicker on their color or hide from enemies beneath their ink. The ink can also be used to defend, as members of the opposite team can cut off a route, slowing down enemies tremendously. The sheer strategy and whimsy of Splatoon is staggering. I’ve never been more excited about something brand new from Nintendo. Now if only Nintendo would release a PC client so I can continue yelling obscenities at cartoons on my monitor.

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Overall, Nintendo’s press event was fun and showed off the innovation they’re famous for. Choosing to take a more direct route, they showed off their games in a digital broadcast without an audience. Their videos were expertly designed and showed the attention to detail that Nintendo has. Each game was shown in its best light and was discussed by the people behind them with super relevant backgrounds. Unfortunately, this expert delivery was lost as soon as the Nintendo Treehouse began after the broadcast.

There’s nothing more painful than watching television hosts struggle on a live show. The two people chosen for the event were awkward and seemed really uncomfortable. It was a terrible contrast to the previous video mastery. There were a few funny moments though, especially when they started discussing Mario Party 10. Apparently, the player with the Wii U Gamepad will be able to play as Bowser and be a big jerk to the other players. The male host responded with, “I’m sure I’ll be at the receiving end of your jerkiness.” Honestly, I tuned out when they said that the Treehouse was going to last over 20 hours. I couldn’t take it anymore, but even with that blunder, Nintendo’s event was still exciting and a blast to watch.

Nintendo brought a level of wonder and humor to E3 that other developers didn’t have. Robot Chicken actually helped open the digital event, in which Nintendo made fun of themselves. I thought I was going to die of laughter when the man yelled, “Come on Nintendo! Where’s Mother 3?” Almost every gamer has grown up alongside Mario and his crew, making him special and relatable. The developers of these games have fun and enjoy their jobs. They want to bring that fun and joy to their audience, even if that means making Yoshi out of  yarn or Kirby out of clay. No other video games capture this magic, which is why gamers of all ages love Nintendo.