Idea [Closed] - Making Mario great again

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Mr. Butterbean

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Disclaimer: I am new to getting serious with game design, and this even then is actually a passion test, so at best, they're perfectly possible, but I cannot guarantee these ideas will get off the ground. Also, this post is entirely based on my opinion on the Super Mario franchise, so if you want to shout at me for making it look bad (or - even reveal what makes Nintendo's official Super Mario sooooo good), go ahead.

Let's be honest: We all love saving the princess in Super Mario games.
But don't you sometimes feel like that concept has been far overdone?
That's because (in my opinion) - it is; to an extent.
You see: 5 of the Super Mario games didn't involve you having to save Peach from Bowser's clutches (at all); 4 of those were released in the last century, making for a good break every now and then. This century? Only 1 was released - Super Mario 3D World; Nintendo has been having Mario save the princess (Super Mario Odyssey included) like there was no tomorrow - or rather, no next century.

Isn't it sad that this century, Mario got only one chance to do something else other than save Princess Peach?

Well, I have good news for you: I've decided to pursue my dream of making innovative Mario games, and so I've decided to start my career with GameMaker.

These games will have new and fresh, but still simple, concepts, such as Mario (and Luigi) facing off against Wario's gang of then-WarioWare wing-nuts, saving Princess Daisy a second time, and Princess Peach turning bricks back into Toads to complete the salvation of her kingdom.

And unlike other Super Mario fangames, they won't (usually, at least,) use resources from the official games, such as Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, and they certainly won't clash them together; instead, they will use their own unique resources, and, of course, they will use now-innovative aesthetics, such as those of 8-bit and GameBoy Advance.

(I'll also be applying two unofficial routes to make three that come after the original Super Mario Bros., but for now, it's a secret to everybody - except me, of course.)

I hope to "Make Mario great again" with this dream I have, and I'll start posting my ideas shortly after this post, so get ready for some brand-spankin' new Mario content soon. Here we go - with this adventure!
 
Mario never stopped being great, and the new one looks amazing.

Instead of trying to "fix" one of the best gaming franchises on the planet (and taking a hot steaming C&D to the face if you somehow get anywhere with it), why not make your own game you can actually sell? You'd be rich and famous if you made a game better than Mario! :p
 
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Blakkid489

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I like it. Mario fans games have been a bit dull and/or do the same thing in the original mario. If you think you can bring mario into a new adventure that he's never done, I'm all for it
 
I have worked on my Tile-Based Platform Engine for many months and my actual goal with this is to actually make a Super Mario game with a tile based technique and a completely new approch. An RPG styled platformer with a twist. I know I won't make money out of this game, but that's not my main job. I'll developpe my engine that's currently on sale on the marketplace and continue supporting it while doing my dream Mario game on the side because yes, I'm a more than big Mario fan that finds the boss battles are just not worth the time spent to rech them.
 
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Mr. Butterbean

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@ RichHopelessComposer:


Look: I've never said I intended these games to "fix" or compete with the original franchise; I've just intended them to be fun and fresh Mario games that fans tired of the repetition of the original series could enjoy. And - in fact - they will be completely separate from it - meaning all conflict will be avoided. Why would I fight a franchise I loved since I was four?
Considering the latter of this issue, what would be the best option for how to distribute them? I'm assuming HTML5 and (of course) free will be the best option, but it's up to you what you think would be okay, albeit with maybe a caveat or two.

By the way - in fact - if I even attempted to fight original Mario myself, if the failure - which would be most likely - to get anywhere with these fangames didn't "Toad-ally" destroy me, the C&D you mentioned earlier probably would. In other words, don't expect me to get even an eighth of the way to victory - at all.
 
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HayManMarc

Member
Instead of trying to "fix" one of the best gaming franchises on the planet (and taking a hot steaming C&D to the face if you somehow get anywhere with it), why not make your own game you can actually sell?
^^This. Make your own, original game and then say it's "inspired by Mario." That way you have your own thing, plus you can still pay homage to the franchise you love. Win-win.
 
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Mr. Butterbean

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Make your own, original game and then say it's "inspired by Mario." That way you have your own thing, plus you can still pay homage to the franchise you love. Win-win.
Thanks for the idea; I can't believe I've never thought of that.

This revives a brief-lived idea of mine called Jumpernauts, where two of those set off to save a princess from a twisted demon - at least in the first game. But then the story spreads out into many more epic tales, journeys, and to put it simply, a storybook-like experience.
Shortly after I made the original post on Facebook, to a few Likes and maybe a Reaction or two, it died off completely, but considering you said I could "make my own, original game", it's just made a comeback, and will be Plan B should I fail with Plan A or decide that's too risky.
 

Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
You could always just have alternate designs for all enemies planned (and alternate soundtrack / SFX and stuff) so you could just, in the event of a cease-and-desist notice, just rip out everything Nintendo in the game and replace it with custom stuff. The less traditional Mario stuff you include, the less stuff you need to replace, too.

My game Daemon Detective Gaiden didn't actually start off as a Mario fangame, but it's definitely based off that gameplay, just different enough to be legally distinct. To just name a bunch of differences I think are significant:
  • Item blocks all are different and have symbols representing what's inside (gold blocks contain gold coins, silver blocks contain silver coins, purple blocks with a flower symbol contains a purple flower powerup, etc)
  • A very high focus on melee powerups with very few projectiles or movement abilities.
  • Sonic-style checkpoints.
  • Infinite lives, coins and points are only used to compute your ranking on a level (from 0 to 3 stars); your values are reset if you die so you're encouraged to play through a level without dying once for the best ranking.
  • Darker themes, you explore ruined cities and fight demons from various cultures.
  • A lot of enemies can't be jumped on safely so retaining powerups is extra important.
  • Bosses are fought in bullet hell segments.
  • Accumulated coins can be used to buy powerups from a shop.
upload_2017-4-23_17-12-22.png

Marketing is paramount if you release a new IP, though (learned that the hard way) and intentionally going for a C&D might get you enough media attention that people would be interested in playing the "original" version of the game... at least if it's good enough that people get upset it gets taken down.
 
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Mr. Butterbean

Guest
Hello, folks.

Since I've decided to let this thread die (at least for now), it wouldn't really hurt for me to just reveal all the ideas I was planning on showing to y'all in more detail - one at a time - all at once instead, briefly and promptly; but I've put them in spoilers just in case you don't want them - well - spoiled now. For the relatively last time, Here We Go:

Super Mario Originale (Series): A series depicting the Super Mario franchise if its "Sherwood"-style aesthetics and plot of the original Super Mario Brothers (I hope you could get that) remained the same throughout the franchise's entire life. One of the ideas for it was SMB2: The Golden Castle, where Mario and Luigi save their kingdom from economic despair by looting treasure from, you guessed it: a golden castle.

Super Mario Puzzle [Working Title]: A puzzle platformer where Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad can be interchangeably selected and independently guided through Super Mario-like stages at Mario VS Donkey Kong 2-stage sizes.

Super Princess Toadstool: What if you could play as her in the '80s? This game would have had players guiding her through all 8 of the original SMB worlds - backwards, transforming brick blocks back into Toads along the way.

Epic Mario (Series): Would have combined the basis of Super Mario with elements from Zelda, aesthetics of Castlevania, and the former from various RPG's.

Super Mario VS WarioWare: Would have pitted Mario against Wario and his has-been gang of wing-nuts, in a bet for all of Wario's profit from the company - and his only Super Star ever earned in his life.


Edit: Whoa; coincidence: I've posted this at the same time as yesterday. Just my crazy luck.
 

Khao

Member
Honestly? Trying to "fix" Mario by changing the story is completely lacking an understanding of the Mario franchise in the first place. Super Mario Bros. is not a game about saving a princess, or about its aesthetics. It's a game about the platforming, about the progression, about the mechanics, about the character's abilities, about the level design. "Saving the princess" is literally an afterthought, something that the designers are not even thinking about when creating the game and designing all the different challenges. When it comes to Mario games, when you change the story, you are in fact changing nothing at all. If you truly want to do something innovative, you need to do something to change the actual design of the game, which is something Nintendo themselves do with most Mario games they release (even if they do sometimes completely rehash a previous game's structure, like they do with the New Super Mario Bros sub-series).

That's not to say that if you change the story or aesthetics you're doing it all. But making that change the main priority of the project is going about things a bit wrong. One of the reasons that Mario games are so successful (and some of Nintendo's other series are that), are because they're designed as game first. Everything related to story and aesthetics comes after. As in, literally after, stories are always something to allow those mechanics to happen, or even to enhance them. By choosing a story before the design of the game even starts, you're already placing limits on what you can and cannot do with the actual game.
 
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RangerX

Member
Anyhow, try to start by making a game. You might not like your plans much anymore down the road.

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MOD EDIT: This topic has been closed at the author's request.
 
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