Mario Artist Series

Last Updated: June 5th, 1999

System: Nintendo 64 (DD?)
Genre: Creativity
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Release date: God knows
ESRB rating: NR
Players: 1-4
Memory size: ?

So far, there are three Mario Artist games that are known... I'll discuss each in detail.

Polygon Maker

Developed by Nichmen Graphics, the makers of the same 3D graphics tools that are used to create professional polygon graphics for N64 games, this interesting application comes across as a simplified version of 3D Studio.

Using the upcoming Nintendo Mouse, N64 gamers who want to show off their creative side can create polygon models from scratch and do all kinds of cool things with them.

You start off with simple shapes such as squares or cylinders, then you extrude, spline and splice until you arrive at the form you want. Although it sounds complicated at first, Polygon Maker's controls couldn't be simpler. You simply select key nodes (dots on the corners of the models) on the three-dimensional shapes and physically stretch or twist them into the appropriate direction. During the creation process, you can turn and zoom the object to your liking.

The next step is texturing. Using a drop down menu at the side, you select the right colors and directly paint your 3D object on screen. You can also create flat pictures (textures) and map them directly onto your shape like wallpaper. The outcome could be a complex polygon model as complex as Nintendo's Link character. As a matter of fact, Nichimen also included tons of premade 3D shapes for your use, including Yoshi, Mario, bicycles, airplanes, and more.

The ultimate goal of Polygon Maker is not yet known. Nintendo stresses that it will be compatible with other 64DD apps and games, meaning it could be possible to export polygon figures for use in other games, specifically written to make use of Mario Artist's features. The early demo we saw could import pictures and photos made in Mario Artist: Picture Maker (discussed below) and texture them onto the objects. At first sight, the Mario Artist titles all seem a bit far removed from gaming -- but if Nintendo plays its cards right, they could open up a whole new world of customizable gaming and effectively give people with no background in programming the power to create the game they want.

Originally slated for release in Japan in 1997, Polygon Maker has been pushed back to a "later date", along with the 64DD drive itself and all of the software. Who knows when/if we'll ever see this thing.

Picture Maker

Mario Artist: Picture Maker is basically the SNES's Mario Paint upgraded to N64 power.

Using either the N64's analog stick or the upcoming Nintendo Mouse, up to four players can draw their own pictures at the same time, play mini-games (fly-swatting makes a triumphant return in 3D) and mess around with polygonal video scenes.

The added power of the N64 graphics chip enables a wide selection of colors and the large storage capacity of the 64DD (IF this is released on the 64DD... or even released at all...) gives you tons of pre-made images to use in your own paintings. You will find rendered scenes from Nintendo games such as Wave Race, Pokemon, Zelda, or Mario and lots of cool character art and backdrops. To help those less artistically-inclined to create cool images, Nintendo added some extra features, normally found only in better computer graphics programs, such as filters and different brushes with distinct textures. Select your image -- or part of it -- and apply effects such as "emboss" for a metal look, or turn the whole picture into a watercolor painting.

Mario Artist Picture Maker is almost like a simplified version of Adobe's Photoshop, which is used a lot in the creation of professional illustrations and advertising. Of course, Mario Artist isn't controlled with Mac-style drop-down menus. All actions and tools are accessible from menu bars on the left and right sides of the screen (you can also make them disappear, if they bug you). For example, you can quick-select colors (or adjust brightness, saturation and contrast), pick from eight types of brushes, pick functions (such as circle, square, line) and access all kinds of data management menus. Whenever you want to take a closer look at some of the tricky parts of your creation, simply select the zoom tool and blow everything up.

But it's not just all about still pictures. In the 2D animation mode, you can take your pictures and line them up in a sequence. By making each image slightly different, you can create the illusion of animation once you let Picture Maker play them in sequence. Adjust the speed until you like it, then save it.

There is still more... Remember the cool-looking pictures from that 3D animation application called Creator, announced for N64 ages ago and then gone missing? Well, apparently the whole Creator project turned into Picture Maker at one point, including the 3D polygon maker. Players can mess around with polygonal 3D video scenes, move around in them and even paint textures and wrap them around the 3D models. There are tons of premade polygonal movies, including dinosaurs roaming through prehistoric landscapes and fish swimming underwater.

Since the Mario Artist series was tailor-made for the 64DD, everything is saved directly to disk without any memory card hassle. But the drive's hot-swapping (ie take out the disk while you play and insert another) and saving features take matters even further. Here it goes: Plug in the optional N64 capture cartridge (to be released around the same time as the 64DD) and connect your VCR or video camera. Now you can import any video image into the Mario Artist programs and alter them or include them in your drawings.

If all this leaves you wondering what this still has to do with gaming, then you're not alone. But if Nintendo follows through with some of the ideas it has planned for the future, then Picture Maker could go way beyond the popular Mario Paint on the Super NES. Plans include being able to swap data between the different Mario Artist apps, use your drawings as advertising billboards in SimCity 64 and even import face textures into upcoming action games. Sounds all mighty complicated and ambitious, doesn't it? Let's hope Nintendo will start to promote the 64DD a bit more aggressively, otherwise all this remains just another wishful dream.

Sound Maker

Not much is known about this one at all. That's a pretty bad sign, seeing as how its been in production for over three years.

All we know is that this will make use of the upcoming Nintendo 64 Microphone. You'll be able to create your own Sound Effects and musical compositions.

As with the other three, if Nintendo doesn't get its butt moving with the 64DD, this application will never happen. Let's just hope that this is not the case...

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