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The Making of Super Mario Bros. 3

Posted by Zonk on from the it'sa-me! dept.

Via Press the Buttons, a Nintendo Power feature on Super Mario Bros. 3, and the making of the game. From the post: "It's an interesting little article that has largely been forgotten over the years, as I've never seen any of the little tidbits and factoids in the piece resurface in other places (such as the existence of a centaur power-up instead of the raccoon leaf)."

17 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. Mario as a centaur? by game+kid · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I couldn't imagine him galloping on Goombas either. I'd reject it too.

    I speak for every Slashdotter when I say the Tanookie Suit kicks ass, and huge portions thereof.

    --
    You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
    1. Re:Mario as a centaur? by IthnkImParanoid · · Score: 5, Funny

      Don't forget THE SHOE. You will bow before the awesome power of THE SHOE. THE SHOE is unstoppable, THE SHOE is untoppable, THE SHOE makes you irresistible to FAT PEOPLE. Okay, okay, that last thing could certainly be better, but THE SHOE excels in all other areas.

      Man, no government would overstep its bounds if we all had THE SHOE. We'd stomp em good.

      --
      It's nothing but crumpled porno and Ayn Rand.
    2. Re:Mario as a centaur? by game+kid · · Score: 2, Funny

      Why yes, THE SHOE, how could I forget the Spiny-stomping tool that--hey, I was once morbidly obese you insensitive clod!

      --
      You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
  2. impossible! by MasterDirk · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is it just me, or has the guy in the middle picture down on the third page got some impossibly long arms? Are Japanese programmers extremely well-armed?

    Linkage:

    http://nintendope.iodized.net/smb3/smb3article3.ph p
    --

    "Programming is like sex: one mistake and you have to support it for the rest of your life."

  3. 404 by cyberkreiger · · Score: 4, Funny

    Their 404 page is more interesting. :)

    --
    Stumbling in the dark
    I hear slavering of jaws
    Eaten by a grue.
  4. Random Question for Game Designers by Prien715 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So I'm a programmer on PC. As such, I don't like changing dozens of lines of code before testing.

    So my here's my silly/ignorant question: how do traditional console programmers test/debug code? Did the SMB3 crew do it the same way it's done today, and if not, how did they do it differently?

    I see lots of pens and paper and a couple computers in the photos and a bit about how the graphics are explained but a lot of "how it's done" isn't really explained.

    --
    -- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
    1. Re:Random Question for Game Designers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      In general, console programming on all the cart machines was done on a workstation with custom software(I remember reading somewhere that Nintendo used Apple IIs into the early SNES era). They all used assembly, of course. The compiled program was then transferred by data link hardware into some form of memory identical to ROM for test purposes. Debug monitors were also put together by the more sophisticated outfits.

      Part of the problem for homebrew developers is that nearly all of this stuff was proprietary, custom-built, and usually became lost to history as soon as the developer folded. None of the systems were particularly HARD to make this stuff for with the right electronics knowledge and some reference material, but there wasn't any getting around it either, which is why 80s game development has such a mystique to it. Nowadays everyone develops with "off-the-shelf" kits and software, so it's substantially less interesting.

    2. Re:Random Question for Game Designers by MyDixieWrecked · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Programming for the NES actually seems quite fun compared to traditional programming. I've been toying with the idea of actually sitting down and learning it.

      I've got a pretty intricate knowledge of the NES cartridge format, since I wrote a tool (based on openly available information) for modifying the graphics. (http://nesromtool.sf.net/)

      Also of interest is http://grandtheftendo.com/ since the guy wrote tons of custom software to program that and has some pretty interesting things to say.

      --



      ...spike
      Ewwwwww, coconut...
  5. Re:Best game ever by snuf23 · · Score: 3, Funny

    All I can say is:

    I love the power glove, it's so BAD.

    Uh that and "He touched my breast!"

    --
    Sometimes my arms bend back.
  6. Amazing Staff by TheoB · · Score: 5, Funny

    From the Article: "The team that produced Super Mario 3 consisted of over TEN PEOPLE..." My God. I mean, can you imagine ordering take out for TEN PEOPLE? Must have been a management nightmare.

  7. from the article by Flunitrazepam · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "The team that produced Super Mario 3 consisted of over 10 people and they worked over a 2 year span".

    Maybe if design teams these days consisted of "over 10 people", there would be better games!

    --
    1) Your analysis is based on bad assumptions so your result is way off. 2) You're a sick bastard for fucking a horse.
  8. SMB 3 by lbmouse · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm holding my breath waiting for it to pass the number of "Rocky" sequels.

    1. Re:SMB 3 by Masami+Eiri · · Score: 2, Informative

      I believe it has.
      Mario Bros
      Super Mario Bros
      SMB2
      SMB3
      Super Mario World
      Mario 64
      Mario Sunshine

      That's 7. I think there was a total of 5 Rocky movies.

      And I KNOW I forgot alot, and didn't count the partial sequels like the Yoshi line, or the Wario line.

  9. Screw this... by Jason+Scott · · Score: 2, Funny

    .... I would pay good money to see an article about the making of Donkey Kong 3. I would love to know, conclusively, what set of decisions and approaches could take the Donkey Kong property and totally drive it into the ground like an oil drilling expedition.

  10. New game in the works... by rlbond86 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm still waiting for this "Super Mario Brothers 4" they talked about.

  11. audience by orcateers · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Its interesting that the article is written for such a young audience compared to Video Game articles today.

    1. Re:audience by StocDred · · Score: 2, Interesting
      You haven't ever seen Nintendo Power before, have you?

      It is interesting to note that their journalistic style has remaining almost totally stagnant from that SMB3 article to today. Every article is still along the lines of "OMG this is teh AMAZING GAME" and ends with something like "We are really looking forward to playing this game! Wow!"

      Although lately they have been trying to hip it up by using the word "ass" here and there. That always catches me off guard, coming a page after the fan art of some six year old who drew Kirby in a Link hat.