September 21, 2015

Lessons from Super Mario Maker


I've basically been wanting to make video games since as long as I've been playing video games. I think most gamers have. But I think we take video games for granted. On a few occasions I've actually tried to make my own games and it's a lot harder than it seems. Even games that seems simple, like a top-down Zelda style game, have incredibly intricate rules.

I've even tried software built to make game creation simple with stuff like drag-and-drop interfaces. Trust me, you'd probably have an easier time pushing your car uphill than making a simple, bug-free game in a month for a class assignment where you're with a group of three other people and they don't put in the same amount of work and you have to animate sprites by yourself while your friends are off actually playing video games but you can't because you're busy making one and it's not fun anymore.
And then came Super Mario Maker.

April 1, 2015

Nintendo to release Super Mario 64 HD in 2016

Not an picture of the actual thing.

Don't you think it's weird that Nintendo just shut down that harmless fan recreation of Super Mario 64 in HD the other day? Turns out there's a reason behind it. Although it's not expected to be revealed until E3, Nintendo is hard at work on an HD overhaul of Super Mario 64 set to release next year for the game's 20th birthday. It's no wonder they don't want their own game being confused with a fan creation. The game will have a retail release next year on Wii U and will use amiibo to unlock additional playable characters from the DS version. It will contain other "extras" as well, though there are no details on these. The leak, of course, comes by way of NeoGaf, the place where all leaks originate. You can read the post here if you're so inclined. Who's excited!?