the child is the father to the man
Posts tagged Mario
Gamer’s Advisory: Minecraft and other “do what you want” video games
210 months ago
I have to admit that I haven’t actually played a minute of Minecraft yet. However, that’s not to say that I haven’t been pretty interested in the game. I watch a lot of Minecraft YouTube videos in my spare time and I’m amazed by the stuff that people are creating in this game.
Games where you start out with nothing and you build something have always interested me. I’ve reviewed one of my favorite “do what you want” games here on 8BitLibrary and I continue to play these types of games at home. One of my recent rediscoveries was the game Wrecking Crew. Wrecking Crew was part of the small Nintendo Programmable Series. Chances are that you’ve played one of these three games. With Wrecking Crew, you are Mario and your job is to break things. You have a giant hammer that makes it so that you can’t jump. On each of the 100 levels, you’re charged with finding an optimal order in which you will have to destroy the various elements of the board without making contact with one of the enemies. That part of the game was good fun and all, but where I spent most of my time was in the level editor.
The level editor let you design up to four of your own Wrecking Crew levels. This is where you could get creative and let your wildest Wrecking Crew dreams come to life. Creating impossible and intricate puzzles was what I liked to do the most. I’d make them into mind bending little adventures that you’d have to study before actually attempting the level. This feature also got me rather interested in game development. It gave me a chance to look into how games are constructed and why developers made the choices they did. The biggest bummer was that the LOAD/SAVE feature that game claimed to have didn’t work (it only worked with the Japanese version of the game). My mini Wrecking Crew masterpieces could only be enjoyed for as long as the NES stayed on.
It feels like Minecraft is inspiring a new generation of video gamers that love to build, explore, and understand video games. With that in mind, here’s a quick list of five games that any Minecraft fan that you run into at the library may enjoy.
Justin’s TOP FIVE games for people that dig Minecraft:
- Wrecking Crew was released originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System, but you can get it on the Virtual Console for the Nintendo Wii (and you can save your levels now!)
- Excitebike was released originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System, but you can get it on the Virtual Console for the Nintendo Wii. It has a really wonderful track editor feature.
- Tail of the Sun was originally released on the Playstation. You can read my review of the game here.
- Endless Ocean and its sequel Endless Ocean: Blue World were released on the Nintendo Wii and you can still buy the games here. In these titles, you do little more than explore a vast ocean full of life and other interesting locales. Quite a unique adventure.
- SimCity and any of the countless sequels (my personal fave was Sim City 3000) are great examples of games where you have to manage resources and build your own city. I started off with the Super Nintendo version of Sim City.
EDIT: Via Alex Hylton over at the Darien Library. Watch the awesome programs they’re running at their library using Minecraft.
Minecraft from Darien Library on Vimeo.
REVIEW: Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition
01 year ago
WHAT? To celebrate Mario’s 25th birthday, Nintendo has cobbled together this collection of Mario history. The package includes a direct port of the Super Nintendo game Super Mario All Stars (which includes Super Mario Brothers 1-2-3 and the Lost Levels), a music CD of musical selections and sound FX from the Mario catalog, and a small book with Mario artwork and insight from the creators.
WHY? Libraries should be purchasing this game for the simple fact that it gives patrons who own the Nintendo Wii a chance to enjoy 4 wonderful games. The only other way to get these games is to download them through the Wii shop channel. The addition of a music CD and history booklet also adds to the appeal of this package and will give patrons a good example of the rich (and still greatly underappreciated IMHO) history of video games.
My biggest beef with this set is that IT COULD’VE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER. Add Super Mario World into the mix as well as more cuts from Mario’s musical history and right there is a better package. Oh well. That’s just coming from a hardcore Mario fan like me. Your patrons won’t notice the difference.
WHO? Anyone with a Wii and an interesting in discovering their video gaming roots should check this out. It also might be a good purchase for educators looking to use Super Mario in the classroom (HINT HINT PLUG PLUG CLICK ME)
Super Mario Brothers in the Classroom (Part 1 of 7)
71 year ago
Since bursting onto the scene in 1981 in Donkey Kong, the Mario character has been a mainstay in our popular culture. Over the years, Mario has gone on so many quests, adopted so many different personas, and in turn, become interwoven in our lives.
Having been around for such a long time can have its benefits. Coming up on 30 years, Mario has seen the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Cold War, the launch of the internet, 9-11, and the first African American President of the United States to name a few. In our never ending quest here at 8BitLibrary to help the public see video games as a true source of media which inspires users to create content and information, I’ve come up with some ideas for teachers and educators on how to use the Super Mario Bros. series in the classroom to help show just how much we’ve changed as a culture over the last three decades.
In 1985, the original Super Mario Bros. was released for the Famicom System in Japan. Featuring Mario on a quest to save the Princess, you controlled Mario through eight levels of pipes, goombas, coins, and the ultimate evil enemy, Bowser. Suffice to say, Super Mario Bros. changed the way we play video gaming.
One of the biggest game changers Super Mario Bros. featured was the element of a quest. Before this game, a lot of video gaming had been about getting the high score. Super Mario Bros. was one of the first games that focused on the user experience rather than the high score. While a score system still did exist, the main goal of the game was to save the Princess at the end of level eight.
Super Mario Bros. also established the idea of a mascot for a video gaming system. Nintendo was the company that developed Mario, so he quickly became the star of their system and the focus of their marketing campaign. Before Mario, Pac-Man was the most regarded video game star but had no specific platform which the character was attached to. In the end, the world of video gaming was never the same. Future systems such as the Sega Genesis had Sonic The Hedgehog which was their answer to the idea of a mascot.
Finally, one key feature of the game has to be the music and sound effects. The game’s theme as well as the numerous sounds effects created just for this title established Super Mario Bros. as a unique playing experience. It can be argued that the game helped create the genre of Nintendocore, a style of music that focuses on video game inspired melodies and themes.
In a discussion of Super Mario Bros., one could focus on the following:
- How has Mario changed (physically, graphically, and philosophically) since his debut in 1985? (Compared to his most recent adventure, Super Mario Galaxy),
- How did the arrival of Super Mario Bros. change the face of video gaming? (Possible topics could include how this game shifted gaming from a points based system to a more quest based adventure or something which compares the rise in popularity of video gaming to the advent of the “brand” character.
- The strong game play and controls featured in the game were a huge reason why the title was successful. Have your students play the game with these elements in mind. Are these two areas still a key element of the game? Does the game play stand the test of time? Provide reasons you think it does/doesn’t.
- Think about the music in Super Mario Bros. What types of themes and styles do you see in the composition? Why do you think the music and sound effects were so effective in creating a unique gaming experience?
I’ll be back soon with my take on Super Mario Brothers 2. Until then, here’s some helpful links for those interested in more Mario history.
Some additional resources to help you in your studies:
IGN Presents The History of Super Mario Bros from November 2007