Not going to call this a "prediction" exactly, more like "daydreaming". But if a clone of me had made this movie and shown me this, I'd say this poster shows Act 2 of a four-act movie.
Act 1 is Mario in Brooklyn. Among other things we see Luigi help him get something off a high shelf, because he is in the real world with real physics and can jump approximately six inches. Then [somehow] he ends up in the Mushroom Kingdom/World/whatever.
Act 2 starts with him freaking out that this world has different physics. He discovers he can jump like a video game character. His entry point is watched by the Toads, because it's where Peach entered some years ago before being crowned by the awestruck Toads. This Toad is the Watchtoad when Mario lands. He leads Mario out of a cave and around a corner to this view and Toad is like "Up THERE is where we're going". What follows is a montage of Mario getting his sea legs. Respawning is part of the universe and Mario falls and respawns several times before making it to the top.
Act 3 begins with him meeting Peach at the top. He's smitten immediately. Soon Bowser's latest attack begins. Peach rolls her eyes in boredom because this happens so often. She will be taken and Mario will chase. Act 4 is rescuing her.
(Actually what I would do is have Bowser take Mario since he's delighted a new human has arrived and he wants to interrogate him. Then Luigi catches up and he and Peach rescue him. But whatever.)
One last thing on genre ambiguities. The Myst series is my thing. They're all adventure/puzzle games (even then I have to use a slash!), but only Riven qualifies as a Metroidbrainia. Which is why it's my favorite (and probably the reason most people think it's the best in the series). So these terms are all useful even if no single one does 100% of the job.
"Metroidvania" was originally used specifically for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. That game was itself called "Metroidvania" — not a Metroidvania, but just "Metroidvania" as a derogatory title — because it was the first in that franchise to incorporate Metroid-like elements. The first few Castlevanias struggled to find a consistently good genre and game design, and when SotN came out, "Metroidvania" was some people's way of saying "Oh so you're just going to steal a genre from some other series, then."
Unfortunately, it is a universal law that any clever put-down you invent for your enemies will immediately be turned against you. And so "Metroidvania" leaked into the common parlance as a name for all games with Metroid-like exploration characteristics.
The problem with this word isn't exactly that it's ambiguous; no genre name has ever fully described or contained its members. There's no solid line between Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Action RPG, RPG, etc. etc. And few genre names inherently distinguish between 2D and 3D. So there's no inherent problem with mixing and matching terminology for games that straddle genre lines
No, the problem with "Metroidvania" is that Castlevania post-SotN has a bunch of leveling up and farming in it that specifically makes it less Metroid-like. Maybe you could argue that "Metroidvania" means "Metroid-like with RPG elements", but then that means Metroid itself is not a Metroidvania. Which I guess would be fine if we could agree on it.
ANYWAY, the reason I say all this is that "Metroidbrainia", while aesthetically repulsive, does a really good job of pointing to this aspect of game design (which I'm also obsessed with), and is memorable. Throughout history, the most important task of genre names has been SEO, whether the search engine is Google or your local bookstore's shelf signs. So if, five years from now, I can Google "Metroidbrainia" and see what's new in this space, not only can I live with such a horrible word, but it will make the corruption of "Metroidvania" all worth it in the end.
Comments 3
Re: Everything We Know About The Super Mario Movie From The Teaser Poster
Not going to call this a "prediction" exactly, more like "daydreaming". But if a clone of me had made this movie and shown me this, I'd say this poster shows Act 2 of a four-act movie.
Act 1 is Mario in Brooklyn. Among other things we see Luigi help him get something off a high shelf, because he is in the real world with real physics and can jump approximately six inches. Then [somehow] he ends up in the Mushroom Kingdom/World/whatever.
Act 2 starts with him freaking out that this world has different physics. He discovers he can jump like a video game character. His entry point is watched by the Toads, because it's where Peach entered some years ago before being crowned by the awestruck Toads. This Toad is the Watchtoad when Mario lands. He leads Mario out of a cave and around a corner to this view and Toad is like "Up THERE is where we're going". What follows is a montage of Mario getting his sea legs. Respawning is part of the universe and Mario falls and respawns several times before making it to the top.
Act 3 begins with him meeting Peach at the top. He's smitten immediately. Soon Bowser's latest attack begins. Peach rolls her eyes in boredom because this happens so often. She will be taken and Mario will chase. Act 4 is rescuing her.
(Actually what I would do is have Bowser take Mario since he's delighted a new human has arrived and he wants to interrogate him. Then Luigi catches up and he and Peach rescue him. But whatever.)
Re: Feature: What The Heck Is A 'MetroidBrainia'? Introducing The Newest Genre On The Block
One last thing on genre ambiguities. The Myst series is my thing. They're all adventure/puzzle games (even then I have to use a slash!), but only Riven qualifies as a Metroidbrainia. Which is why it's my favorite (and probably the reason most people think it's the best in the series). So these terms are all useful even if no single one does 100% of the job.
Re: Feature: What The Heck Is A 'MetroidBrainia'? Introducing The Newest Genre On The Block
"Metroidvania" was originally used specifically for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. That game was itself called "Metroidvania" — not a Metroidvania, but just "Metroidvania" as a derogatory title — because it was the first in that franchise to incorporate Metroid-like elements. The first few Castlevanias struggled to find a consistently good genre and game design, and when SotN came out, "Metroidvania" was some people's way of saying "Oh so you're just going to steal a genre from some other series, then."
Unfortunately, it is a universal law that any clever put-down you invent for your enemies will immediately be turned against you. And so "Metroidvania" leaked into the common parlance as a name for all games with Metroid-like exploration characteristics.
The problem with this word isn't exactly that it's ambiguous; no genre name has ever fully described or contained its members. There's no solid line between Action, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Action RPG, RPG, etc. etc. And few genre names inherently distinguish between 2D and 3D. So there's no inherent problem with mixing and matching terminology for games that straddle genre lines
No, the problem with "Metroidvania" is that Castlevania post-SotN has a bunch of leveling up and farming in it that specifically makes it less Metroid-like. Maybe you could argue that "Metroidvania" means "Metroid-like with RPG elements", but then that means Metroid itself is not a Metroidvania. Which I guess would be fine if we could agree on it.
ANYWAY, the reason I say all this is that "Metroidbrainia", while aesthetically repulsive, does a really good job of pointing to this aspect of game design (which I'm also obsessed with), and is memorable. Throughout history, the most important task of genre names has been SEO, whether the search engine is Google or your local bookstore's shelf signs. So if, five years from now, I can Google "Metroidbrainia" and see what's new in this space, not only can I live with such a horrible word, but it will make the corruption of "Metroidvania" all worth it in the end.