3. Super Mario Maker “Pro”
Super Mario Maker was the hit the Wii U could have needed, but simply came too late to make much of a difference when it came to sales. Unlike other creation games, Mario Maker focused less on spectacle and more on cause and effect. In short, Mario Maker taught gamers about the actual nature of game design in a coherent and simplistic way—and this should not be lost in the transition to new hardware. If Nintendo knows what’s good for it, Mario Maker will remain a tentpole title, but a sequel with just items and enemies from games not already included would be lackluster. To really step up the game, Mario Maker needs more function. The first game taught the basics (and an updated version of this would definitely need to be the base of a follow up), but there is no reason to keep players stuck there. A “pro” or “expert” mode would open up a new avenue of design. Want to make Mario jump higher? A physics adjustment option could let you do that. Want to change the set path of enemies to change up the difficulty of levels? A tool to draw travel paths should be simple enough. These are a couple of ideas, but imagine what creativity could be unleashed if players were actually allowed to make their own changes to one of the foundations of video games itself? Limitless challenge potential would keep the game forever popular in the streaming scene alone. Also, this would be a good thing for everyone in gaming. The next generation of video game creators will be inspired by the games they are exposed to, but they could have the ability to tear one apart and gain fundamental understanding of programming at a young age. This may even inspire children to pursue other fields of study. Imagine all the good press Nintendo could receive by getting Nintendo Switches into schools to help educate students in programming—using the most iconic video game character of all time! This really needs to happen, Nintendo. Especially if you also include…
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