FAN MASTERS PART 5- SUPER MARIO (PART 1/2)

First of a two-part article on Mario fan games

  • sbester
  • 04/23/2013 05:43 PM
  • 5743 views

Interviewees:
GreatRedSpirit
kentona

Welcome to the fifth issue of Fan Master!

Yep, we have a two-parter this time, because those Mario fanatics are apparently a dime a dozen here, and the Mario X engine decided to take a giant crap on us all.
Today we’re interviewing GreatRedSpirit (too many games to name), with kentona and Deckiller (also too many to name).



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I’m not going to start with the usual first question, why a Mario fangame.
Instead, I’m going to ask, why so many? What keeps bringing you back to make more of these fangames?

GRS: One day in IRC I posted some youtube links to some SMBX demo videos because I thought this tool that could make Mario levels like RPG Maker could create RPGs was genuinely interesting. As a kid I had drawn up my own Mario levels (they were all awful) and that a tool now exists that I could remake them without the investment of making the engine was amazing. It created a lot of excitement in IRC and when talk started of a community event of a collaborative SMBX game I got 'volunteered' as the guy in charge.

After RMN Bros 1 wrapped up and there were calls for an RMN Bros 2 I retook my old position trying to evolve the project to try and create a better game while still holding onto the old spirit of RMN Bros 1 of throwing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck. Around the same time myself and fellow devs who I both respected and knew had talent for SMBX levels joined up and made Mario vs The Moon Base which took the opposite direction of the RMN Bros events of being far more focused with predesigned worlds and themes and graphical consistency. It was two very different approaches to making SMBX games and I was still feeling the creative surge of SMBX letting me make Mario levels and trying different ways to bend the engine to make unique levels. I eventually got hit with horrible burnout of too much SMBX, frustration with the tool, and needless drama and all but called it the day with SMBX.


kentona: The time investment to make a Mario level is so much less than that to make a new RPG that I can manage to fit it in. I still have that urge to create games, and unfortunately I am finding that I don't have the time to invest into making my preferred genre (RPGs) but I can usually find a slot here or there to churn out a decent Mario level. The biggest time-saver when making a Mario level is the fact that the mechanics are already largely defined for you. I don't have to worry about balancing or creating new experiences - I can just focus on creating something enjoyable. It satisfies the development itch (mostly). Plus, I do love Mario games.


Image from Super RMN Bros.

Of all the Mario fangames you’ve made, which is your favorite and why?

GRS: RMN Bros 1. There was a lot of excitement and electricity of people playing with a new tool made to convert those old children's fantasy Mario levels drawn on paper into something playable. The buzz of people trying different things, collaborating and trying to figure out how to use the tool, it was genuinely exciting and so far no other SMBX project has recreated that buzz during development. Sure it busted in no small part thanks to some of my decisions but that doesn't take away the development process.

kentona: It's still Mario vs. The Moon Base. I really pushed our team to try to make a fun, unique yet traditional Mario game. I think we succeeded.


Image from Super RMN Bros. 2.

What would your ultimate Mario fangame be like?

GRS: Different. I lack the vision of what it would be in detail but it would have to be something that could separate itself from being just another Mario 3 / World fangame. I've played a lot of Mario and I'd rather have a new Mario experience than a rehashed one. New Super Mario Brothers Wii U I'm looking at you.

There's also that flash fangame where you could bring in other NES heroes like the guy from Contra into Mario 1 which was pretty neat.


kentona: It would be like Mario vs. The Moon Base, except with more of the Mario mechanics that are missing from SMBX (like Starmans, and... well, mostly just Starmans. Temporary invincibility is such a core component in traditional Mario games that I really miss it from SMBX)

What are the major advantages and disadvantages, in your opinion, of working within the frameworks of a work that isn’t entirely your own?

GRS: Tradition. I feel that a lot of people are bound to the design of games made over two decades ago for better or for worse. If you want to make a quick and decent enough 2d platformers though (or recreating childhood fantasies) having an established framework is a great place to start.

kentona: Like I touched upon, it requires less input and creativity from me, thus less time. And right now my time is limited. Also, the familiarity of the Mario platformer means that my work is more accessible from the get-go to the players.


Image from Super RMN Bros. 3.

What is your best Super Mario moment? When did you first fall in love with the franchise?

GRS: As a kid I had access to an NES with all three Mario games and later on Super Mario World. I didn't have a ton of games but Mario was always a solid platformer game that I enjoyed in a sea of awful games. There was always direction and flow in Mario levels while other platformers of the era felt like navigating a giant linear maze in a box.

What I'd call my best moment wouldn't happen until far, far later with New Super Mario Brothers Wii. I managed to get four people together and absolute mayhem erupted. The constant deaths from other players screwing each other up and not all were accidental. There was a strange cohesion that emerged where we would help each other, simply asking for "a leg up" while jumping would get somebody to give said player a boost, then immediately turn and throw another player into a pit of lava. It was my first four player local co-op play and I had a blast. SMBX support for two players co-op is a great feature and I wish more people would get the chance to experience it.


kentona: I was about 6 or 7 years old, it was 1988 and we had gotten an NES for Christmas. I was with my older brother and his friend who were playing Super Mario Bros. and the friend asked me "Won't you get bored of this?" and I replied, "I will never get bored with this!" While I did grow bored of SMB1, SMB2 was a blast and SMB3 blew me away. It is still one of my all-time favourite games. SMW was also top-notch (and Yoshi's Island, and SM64 and SMG and NSMBWii etc...) (Incidentally, this is also the time I discovered Dragon Warrior - which lead directly to my love for making RPGs).


Image from Super RMN All-Stars.

What advice do you have for other creators who are trying to make their own Mario fan games?

GRS: Find something that will set your game apart. There are a lot of Mario fan games, not just made in SMBX but Lunar Magic and others as well, that could be summed up at a glance as "Mario Goes for a Walk". These games blend together, you need something to catch the eye of a Mario fan, something that sparks their interest.

One of the things we talked about early on was the world progression of Mario vs The Moon Base and... Hexatona I think suggested that the final world should be a moon base. That was one of the defining moments of its development. The idea of the end game being on the moon clicked with the entire team. It was a new, mysterious, but familiar location in Mario games that, I like to think at least, separated our game from the others. That the prospect of traveling to the moon in a Mario game exciting potential players like it inspired us.


kentona: Play more SMB1, SMB2, SMB3 and SMW. Learn from (and emulate) the pros until you get a handle on how it's done.


Image from Mario Vs. The Moon Base.

What are your future SMX fangame plans?

GRS: Minimal at best. I'm thoroughly tired of using SMBX for several reasons. I might submit a level to current/future SMBX events but that is entirely dependent on my schedule and if it coincides with a day that I feel like batting out a level in SMBX before fatigue sets in. I've still got some ideas for levels left but I can't say if anything will ever come from them.

kentona: I am considering making a Legend of RMN community game, wherein we use SMBX to make a Zelda II game. I am also considering making a game that is a collection of all of the levels I've made in SMBX, or at least variations of the gimmicks I've come up with (in my mind I've dubbed this project Supra Mairo Bors).

Any final thoughts?

GRS: I can't believe how long SMBX has been used. RMN Bros 1 will be having its third anniversary this year at the end of April. It makes me feel really old, god damn.

kentona: Nope.

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I'll be back soon with more Mario fan games in part 2!

Posts

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I am obviously less verbose and interesting than GRS. My answers are so dull.


also oh god that title screen
sbester
Today we’re interviewing GreatRedSpirit (too many games to name), with kentona and Deckiller (also too many to name).


Where's Deckiller's answers? :<
Woops, that's a mistake. His answers are in part 2, coming soon. They were too big to fit into this article, and that's when I decided to split it into 2.

halibabica
RMN's Official Reviewmonger
16873
*offended that he wasn't asked*

Nah, j/k. If you do want to, though, wait until RMN World blows everyone's minds first.
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