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Hello Patrons!

I got into a bit of a Mario kick over the Xmas break - I finished Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, and some of the New Super Mario Bros. games. And I realised that they were all doing slightly different takes on the same idea - giving players the tools to decide just how hard or easy they want the game to be.

So I kept going and played every mainline Mario game since 1985 - 30-odd games, in total! All to see how Nintendo has explored this concept in its 2D and 3D platformers. 

And that felt like a perfect topic for my 200th video! 

Yep, that's right. 200. I vividly remember writing a list of potential video ideas, way way back at the channel's start 2014, and came up with a whopping... 10 possible topics. I hoped that I'd maybe come up with a few more as I went along...

Well, I guess I did! Because between GMTK, Boss Keys, Developing, the GMTK Game Jam, and many other series, I've finally hit 200 episodes!

To celebrate, I've released some spiffy new GMTK merchandise. T-shirts and hoodies, that you can get at Teespring. Make sure you use your exclusive offer code GMTKPATRON to get 10% off. There will be more celebrations throughout the year because this is also the 10th year of doing the channel.

But for now - it's back to magnets! 

(Well, I'm taking some time to play the excellent new Prince of Persia Metroidvania - but after that! Magnets!)

A special thank you for continuing your Patreon support in the new year. Your financial backing is never taken for granted and I'm always working to pay back your generosity.

The video will go live on Nebula and Substack tomorrow, plus it will go public on YouTube - but right now you can watch it ad free, above! 

Mark

Files

Super Mario's Invisible Difficulty Settings

🔴 Get bonus content by supporting Game Maker’s Toolkit - https://gamemakerstoolkit.com/support/ 🔴 From Super Mario Bros. to Mario Wonder, Nintendo has explored and experimented with a genius way to let players dictate their own level of difficulty. === Sources and Resources === - Sources [1] New Super Mario Bros: Volume 1 | Iwata Asks https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wii/nsmb/0/4/ [2] Super Mario World – 1990 Developer Interview | Shmuplations https://shmuplations.com/supermarioworld/ [3] New Super Mario Bros: Volume 3 | Iwata Asks https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wii/nsmb/2/0/ [4] Interview with Shigeru Miyamoto | Nintendo Channel https://themushroomkingdom.net/interview_miyamoto_nc_smb_25th.shtml [5] New Super Mario Bros: Volume 2 | Iwata Asks https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wii/nsmb/1/6/ [6] 9 Things Shigeru Miyamoto Told Us About the New Star Fox | TIME https://time.com/4245215/starfox-wii-u/ [7] Super Mario Bros. Any% Speedrun in 4:54.631 *WR* | Niftski https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khu9BB2g4Ks [8] Is it Possible to Beat New Super Mario Bros. U Without Touching a Single Coin? | Ceave Gaming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDZjJ0OREaA [9] Super Mario Odyssey Nipple% Speedrun in 7:23.650 | Tyron18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYlJ8EtXR9c [10] SM64 - Watch for Rolling Rocks - 0.5x A Presses | pannenkoek2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpk2tdsPh0A [11] Ask the Developer Vol. 11, Super Mario Bros. Wonder | Nintendo https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2023/October/Ask-the-Developer-Vol-11-Super-Mario-Bros-Wonder-Chapter-3-2461479.html - Additional resources Miyamoto and Tezuka on the struggle of balancing games for advanced players and beginners | Nintendo Everything https://nintendoeverything.com/miyamoto-and-tezuka-on-the-struggle-of-balancing-games-for-advanced-players-and-beginners/ Shigeru Miyamoto talks Game Design (1998) | Shmuplations https://shmuplations.com/miyamotodesign/ === Chapters === 00:00 - Intro 02:34 - The Three Pipes 04:11 - Making the Game More Difficult 11:29 - Making the Game Easier 17:19 - Seamless Shifting 19:06 - Encouraging Players to Try 23:02 - Case Study: Super Mario Bros. Wonder 27:06 - Outro === Games Shown === Super Mario 3D All-Stars | 2020 Super Mario Bros. | 1985 Super Mario World | 1990 Super Mario 64 | 1996 Super Mario Odyssey | 2017 Super Mario Bros. Wonder | 2023 Doom Eternal | 2020 Final Fantasy XV | 2016 Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown | 2024 New Super Mario Bros. | 2012 Super Mario Land 2: The Six Golden Coins | 1992 Super Mario Galaxy | 2007 Super Mario 3D World | 2013 New Super Mario Bros. Wii | 2009 Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS | 2016 New Super Mario Bros. 2 | 2012 New Super Mario Bros | 2006 Super Mario Galaxy 2 | 2010 Super Mario 3D Land | 2011 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island | 1995 Donkey Kong | 1981 Super Mario Bros. Deluxe | 1999 Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels | 1986 New Super Luigi U | 2013 Super Mario Maker 2 | 2019 Super Mario Sunshine | 2002 Super Mario Bros. 3 | 1988 New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe | 2019 Super Mario Bros. 2 | 1988 Dead Space | 2023 Fire Emblem: Three Houses | 2019 Star Fox Zero | 2016 Super Mario Run | 2016 === Credits === Music provided by Epidemic Sound - https://www.epidemicsound.com/referral/vtdu5y (Referral Link) Music from Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Super Mario Odyssey, New Super Mario Bros. U === Subtitles === Contribute translated subtitles - TBA

Comments

Zachary Decent

Hi Mark, congrats on 200 videos, amazing achievement and love your content. Just so you know.i think you've misspelled it "Nntendo" at many of the quote screens such as the one at 21:00, but it's at a few points in the video

Mr Jamie Le Fevre

Gosh I enjoy watching your vids Mark. They are really cathartic and so satisfying. Congrats on the 200.