A 40-year-old Mario glitch is all Iāve been thinking about lately. Thatās because thereās a cartridge in my brain labelled āArtistic Practiceā and I want to blow the dust out of it.
I have a Google Doc of game ideas, but many of the ideas have languished on that list for years now. Theyāre trapped in an idea box, like a power-up in a Question Block, with no Mario coming around to set them free anytime soon.
Generally speaking, when I donāt put a game idea from the list into production, itās usually because I mentally rubber stamped the words āTOO WEIRDā onto it. The idea has no commercial potential, as I see it. I can imagine myself developing the game, releasing it into the world, andā¦ cricket noise, cricket noise, cricket noise.
Over the years, Iāve come to think of the vast majority of my ideas ā game projects Iām excited to make ā as TOO WEIRD. Deep down, I want to make new games for forgotten hardware. I want to make games controlled by voice or by a vintage toy. I want to make games that bridge the gap between tabletop and video games. I want to make games that explore the perverse depths of retro culture. I want to make games with full motion video instead of CG, because thatās what we thought the future of gaming was going to look like in 1995, damn it!
I want to make games that are immersive, story-driven, and utterly bizarre. In other words, games people wonāt buy. Or stream. Or review. And then, whatās the point? Iām a professional game designer. Iām supposed to build successful games. After all, if I spend time and money to make a game, Iād better be earning commiserate rewards, or else Iāve failed. Money. Shares. Accolades. What if my parents find out Iām wasting my time making failed projects? Maybe theyāll say Iām wasting my life. Unlike Mario, I donāt have a couple to spare.
This kind of thinking is exactly why Iām trying to get to Minus World.
I remember reading about the Minus World in Nintendo Power magazine. Itās a glitch level in the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES. In the underground World 1-2, if you break just the right bricks and jump just the right way into a wall, youāll get to a warp pipe that takes you to āWorld -1.ā In the American version of SMB, itās an endless water world, where you swim a bit, enter a pipe, and go back to the beginning of the level. In the Japanese version, itās a crazy level where you swim through the sky and princesses float in mid-air around you. Trippy shit!
In Mario games, you leap over pits and jump on giant angry bullets with faces to collect coins, earn points, and eventually save Princess Peach from Bowser. Thatās the point of Mario. But none of that matters in Minus World. You āwinā Minus World by figuring out how to get there and then explore it. Thatās all there is to do. There are no achievements to unlock. Thereās no Minus Princess to save1. Thatās the point. Itās fun just to find and experience Minus World. The reward is intrinsic.
How do I find the Minus World of game development? Where is the warp pipe to the level with no goal? No sales goal to reach or profile in Kotaku to achieve? Where Iām only making games for games sake? Where the creation of the work is creatively fulfilling in-and-of-itself, because Iām building exactly the thing I want to make and every other consideration is an afterthought? A nice-to-have, not a must-to-have?
Honestly, I donāt know how to get to Minus World. For as long as I can remember, Iāve been creating art with external expectations. In my 30s, I started Adventure Snack, hoping it would lead to more game industry jobs and a book deal. In my 20s, I wrote a Parks & Recreation spec script to try and get TV writing jobs. In my teens, I sung parody songs on a website called MP3.com to try and be the next Weird Al. In elementary school, I submitted my colored pencil comic strips to United Features Syndicate with hopes of being a cartoonist. I was, like, eight? In all those cases, I was creating art to advance my station in life. To reach a goal.
Iām in my 40s now. When do I get to make art for myself? If not now, when?
This newsletter is my attempt to learn how to find my inner Minus World, whatever that ultimately looks like. To hold myself accountable. To keep myself focused. To create a level map, like in Nintendo Power, to learn how to play this game in a whole new way, and show others how I did it.
Here I go. Down the warp pipe and to the other side. Thereās a free controller. Hint, hint.
Next Week: I’ll reveal details about my first Equip Story game project for 2024. Oooh, exciting!
š² Your Turn: What creative project would you make if money and time were no object? Reply to this email. Or tell the whole world by hitting the comment button below.
Image Credit: Singing Mountain, a great podcast for game music that’s sadly dormant.
- Okay, yeah, Minus Princess sounds pretty rad. ā©ļø
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