Super Mario Galaxy

[Petey Piranah]

Nintendo Developer Roundtable (Relates to Wii Zelda (already mentioned in another topic), Wii Fit & Galaxy):

 

"designing both games to make them accessible to anybody." <-- In other Galaxy will probably be easier than previous outings...

 

Galaxy includes an assist mode that enables a second player to help out the first. (We wrote about this in our hands-on preview of the game.)

 

Going to be a lot of different types of gravity in Galaxy and many different types of spheres. Ideas span back to Mario 128, he says.

 

Miyamoto thinks the two advantages of Galaxy are the gravity mechanics and the spherical objects, which eliminate the need to manage the camera system.

 

As an aside from this conference, we were initially worried that Mario ran too slowly, but have since descovered a fantastic leaping move that is quite speedy. As a result, we're no longer worried.

 

Miyamoto begins demo. He's playing a level we have not yet seen. He's feeding star pieces to a Kirby-like star, which sucks them in and grows fatter. With his belly filled, he forms a new planet for Mario to explore. As with all other planets in the game, it's gorgeous.

 

Miyamoto is playing the game himself and he's pretty good.

 

He flies Mario toward a capsule-shaped planet. Mario lands atop this object and goes inside, at which point the camera shifts backward and the action is shot from a more traditional quasi-2D view. Mario can jump from the floor to the ceiling of this area to traverse past objects. When the plumber jumps, Miyamoto swings the Wii remote to make him spin in the air, which gives him an extra second or two of hang time.

 

There are about six specific different areas and about 40 different galaxies in all. All the different scenarios will combine together for 120 stars to collect. "There's definitely going to be quite a bit of volume to this game," says Miyamoto.

 

This game rules. Miyamoto just ran and leaped off the edge of a platform with Mario, and the gravity of the satellite enabled the plumber to spin around the object in a full 360. It was sweet. We can only imagine the possibilities for puzzles with this kind of stuff.

 

Mario walks out into space and platforms appear before his eyes. When he steps off them, they disappear again. Looks very impressive.

 

Now showing a "Cookeie Factory" level. The level reminds us of the bonus missions from Super Mario Sunshine. Music is from Super Mario Bros. 3. Mario must run across a moving platform with a series of holes in it. If you're running and you press Z+A, Mario will do a long jump -- the same one we mentioned earlier as being an integral addition to the control scheme.

 

Miyamoto is talking about Bee Mario. There's also a Boo Mario. "There maybe a few others, too."

 

Q&A Begins.

 

Q: How did you make the bumblebee so fluffy?

 

A: That's actually fur-shading. It's very pretty. We've been using it since the GCN days. On Wii, it looks fantastic. Though it's not in HD, I still think this is a very graphically appealing game.

 

Q: You said you had 120 stars in the game. Can you clear it without getting them all, and will you be re-using levels, assigning multiple stars to each location?

 

A: So yeah, the structure will be very similar. You wouldn't need to get all 120 stars.

 

Q: Do you agree with Reggie's comment that this is the true successor to Mario 64? If so, what does that say about Sunshine?

 

A: Says Mario Galaxy feels new in the same way Mario 64 did. The control for Galaxy is much simpler than they had on GCN.

 

Q: What other types of programs do you enision for the Wii Balance Board in the future?

 

A: I think there are a variety of different possibilities. Probably the simplest and most straightforward would be a snowboarding game. <-- 1080 snowboarding a real chance...

 

Q: Did you have any ideas for Galaxy that you later discarded?

 

A: There's always a lot of different ideas that don't make it in the final game. Once we get to the completion state, we'll be able to talk more about that.

 

Q: Are you less interested in making traditional games now that expanded audience titles are successful?

 

A: You don't have to worry about that. I'm having a tremendous amount of fun helping develop Super Mario Galaxy. I'm also having fun making Wii Fit.

 

Q: Are you worried about the game being too disorienting?

 

A: We've been doing a lot of focus testing with the game and we've found that it's less disorienting than the majority of 3D games that have been released so far.

 

Q: Will third parties use the Wii Balance Board?

 

A: Given that we announced the Wii Balance Board just yesterday, we've since had a number of inquiries from third parties. We've also had some interest from the physical fitness industries. Many individuals in the medical industry are interested in it for the purposes of treatment.

 

Q: Any land masses in the game that will be comparable to Mario 64 or Sunshine? And will Luigi be playable?

 

A: The interesting thing about this system is that because it's all sphere-based, you can make them bigger and bigger. So if you make them incredily massive, it feels like you're running on a flat surface. So I think you can expect some big masses. As for the question about Luigi, that's a secret. <-- LUIGI POSSIBLY PLAYABLE

 

Q: How long has Galaxy been in development and how large is the team?

 

A: It's been quite awhile. It's being developed by the team that developed Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, and they've been hard at work on it ever since they finished that game. That team was about 30 people initially, but as we're approaching completion, we've boosted that number to about 50.

 

Q: What is your personal role in the development of Galaxy, and how much of the game is your vision?

 

A: As far as my involvement, with Mario 64 I was the main director. In this case, I'm more directly involved with game design. In one sense, I'm even more involved than I was with Super Mario 64.

 

Q: Does Galaxy's difficulty level rival the second half of Sunshine's?

 

A: That's a question that I've struggled with for a very long time. There are a number of people on staff who think Sunshine was too difficult. But at the same time we have team members who liked the game because of the difficulty. In terms of Galaxy, my feeling is that it is a good thing to have a suitable level of difficulty. To be honest, the game was significantly easier until a few months ago, and then I started making it harder until the team in Tokyo became concerned that I was making it too difficult.

 

Q&A ends. Roundtable is over.

[Retro_Link]

and then I started making it harder until the team in Tokyo became concerned that I was making it too difficult.

Just tell them to shut up Shigsy! I want a real challenge with this game!

[Zechs Merquise]

Just as long as there's plenty of classic platform action and a ghost house, I'll be happy.

[mcj metroid]

Looks like a ghost house is a given seeing as he tranforms into boo.

[Jonnas]

 

Miyamoto thinks the two advantages of Galaxy are the gravity mechanics and the spherical objects, which eliminate the need to manage the camera system.

 

He flies Mario toward a capsule-shaped planet. Mario lands atop this object and goes inside, at which point the camera shifts backward and the action is shot from a more traditional quasi-2D view. Mario can jump from the floor to the ceiling of this area to traverse past objects. When the plumber jumps, Miyamoto swings the Wii remote to make him spin in the air, which gives him an extra second or two of hang time.

 

There are about six specific different areas and about 40 different galaxies in all. All the different scenarios will combine together for 120 stars to collect. "There's definitely going to be quite a bit of volume to this game," says Miyamoto.

 

This game rules. Miyamoto just ran and leaped off the edge of a platform with Mario, and the gravity of the satellite enabled the plumber to spin around the object in a full 360. It was sweet. We can only imagine the possibilities for puzzles with this kind of stuff.

 

Q: You said you had 120 stars in the game. Can you clear it without getting them all, and will you be re-using levels, assigning multiple stars to each location?

 

A: So yeah, the structure will be very similar. You wouldn't need to get all 120 stars.

 

Q: Are you worried about the game being too disorienting?

 

A: We've been doing a lot of focus testing with the game and we've found that it's less disorienting than the majority of 3D games that have been released so far.

 

Q: Does Galaxy's difficulty level rival the second half of Sunshine's?

 

A: That's a question that I've struggled with for a very long time. There are a number of people on staff who think Sunshine was too difficult. But at the same time we have team members who liked the game because of the difficulty. In terms of Galaxy, my feeling is that it is a good thing to have a suitable level of difficulty. To be honest, the game was significantly easier until a few months ago, and then I started making it harder until the team in Tokyo became concerned that I was making it too difficult.

 

I will definetely love this game.

 

-The gravity parts sound cool;

 

-40 worlds?! One of Sunshine's flaws has already been corrected!

 

-The game seems easy to play, but has challenging levels as well...I love those games.

 

There are only two other flaws from Sunshine that are left to correct:

 

-Remove the blue coins (or at least make them easier to find). I hated having to squirt a small part of the scenery to find one. There were some that I found by accident, but I would never find them if I was actually looking for them. The fact that certain blue coins could only be found in certain chapters didn't help matters either.

 

-Am I the only one that found Super Mario Sunshine to be extremely linear when compared to Super Mario 64? I mean, in one Mario 64 level, you could find 2 to 4 stars in one chapter (in no particular order). In sunshine, you could only find one per chapter. When I couldn't find the chapter-related star, I couldn't look for another one. That pissed me off to no end.

 

If those two flaws are corrected, THE Game of the Decade (after Smash Bros. Brawl ).

[Cube]

If you're running and you press Z+A, Mario will do a long jump

 

Hell yes! Long Jump is back - I hated that it was missing from Sunshine.

 

 

 

I wonder what the "hub" is this time?

[jammy2211]

Sucks ass if this is going to be dumbed down to be more accessible. Yeah we get it, your trynna make the Wii sell fuck loads, but why ruin a good game in the process?

 

If this is anything like Mario Sunshine in its difficulty, I will be pissed. Cos that game was way too easy

 

If you read the interview it says the only thing they've done it make the game more hard since developing it :/.

 

God I hope this fad of Nintendo being too casual or whatever dies down soon. All this game has had is praise from all the media outlets, but still people whinge. Jebus Christ.

[Guest Stefkov]

Hell yes! Long Jump is back - I hated that it was missing from Sunshine.

 

 

 

I wonder what the "hub" is this time?

I love the long jump. I always used it in mario 64 DS. Used it everywhere.

I don't think I got even half way in Mario sunshine so I don't know what difficulty to expect with this game.

[Petey Piranah]

When they talk about difficulty with Sunshine, they were probably mainly referring to those extra bonus areas where you'd go there to obtain certain shines, blue coins etc. Some were a bit tricky, but I wouldn't want these few select areas make Galaxy a push over...

[mcj metroid]

I want super mario 64 difficulty back.

 

Also i would enjoy more puzzle solving elements that super mario 64 had.

[flameboy]

well been watching loads of stuff on this, latest 1up Show Special has got a ton of great footage and for the most part they seem to love it... This is my most wanted Wii game right, wish we got a firm date for here in EU.

[Cube]

From the sounds of it, half the stars won't be too difficult to get, but the other half will be difficult.

 

Edit: There can't be many stars to a stage, can there? If there are only stars in the stages, that makes 3 per stage...

 

Still, it does mean that there's much more variety.

[James McGeachie]

I assume by the difficulty they mean the difficulty in getting 120 shines, which is of course a pain in the ass because of all the blue coins whatever they were (they are blue right?). It was definitely harder than getting 120 stars in Mario 64, which was really pretty easy.

[McMad]

6 different areas... and 40 Galaxies in all...

 

I'm not sure what this means...

 

Are there going to be 6 different themed areas and a few galaxies (levels) in each of those?

 

If that's the case then that sucks.

[pedrocasilva]

6 different areas... and 40 Galaxies in all...

 

I'm not sure what this means...

 

Are there going to be 6 different themed areas and a few galaxies (levels) in each of those?

 

If that's the case then that sucks.

Everything has an ending.

 

6 zones... maybe theres 6 mario suits too... sweet

[jammy2211]

6 different areas... and 40 Galaxies in all...

 

I'm not sure what this means...

 

Are there going to be 6 different themed areas and a few galaxies (levels) in each of those?

 

If that's the case then that sucks.

 

I would imagine it's more like there are 6 different area's you gain access too. Like you start in Area 1, then after 15 stars you can go to area 2, then after 35 stars area 3 etc.

 

Then each Galaxy is themed. and looking at the incredible size of the galaxies we've seen so far, this game looks pretty dam awesome 0_o.

[flameboy]

I wonder what other suits there are other than Bee and Boo, god the excitment, I cannot wait for this game, E3 has got me pumped up for this as everyone seems to be impressed as to how good it is...

[McMad]

Everything has an ending.

 

6 zones... maybe theres 6 mario suits too... sweet

 

Nah It's not the length of the game I'm worried about, I just wanted more themed worlds (e.g. Snow, Fire, Boo, Desert etc.) in the game like Mario 64, that's why it was so awesome, the worlds in the game were varied...

 

(well except for the two Snow levels in the game...)

 

One of the main problems with Sunshine was all the levels had the same theme.

 

Yeah Jammy, that's the way I'd like the game, each Galaxy had it's own theme, that would be pure awesomeness.

[mcj metroid]

exactly Mcmad sunshine stuck to a theme... This does too it's worrying but At the same time We have seen screens of a fire world. I hope we see snow land etc.

[McMad]

exactly Mcmad sunshine stuck to a theme... This does too it's worrying but At the same time We have seen screens of a fire world. I hope we see snow land etc.

 

Okay there's the overlaying theme of Mario being in space but we've seen many varied worlds too:

 

Lava world, Bee world, Underwater world, Boo world and I'm sure they'll be a snow one too, couldn't be a good Mario game without one.

[mcj metroid]

True we can only hope but I'm sure they have learned from the mistakes of super mario sunshine. 8 missions per level was stupid.

 

Is the triple jump in this ya?

 

What do ye think of ign's complaint that mario runs too slow?

[McMad]

True we can only hope but I'm sure they have learned from the mistakes of super mario sunshine. 8 missions per level was stupid.

 

Is the triple jump in this ya?

 

What do ye think of ign's complaint that mario runs too slow?

 

The triple jump has to be in it, and I think one of the old Ign vids from E3 2006 may show Mario doing it.

 

I don't mind that much about Mario running to slow, he's never been about speed and apparently the long jump is back in the game so that should help.

[flameboy]

Okay there's the overlaying theme of Mario being in space but we've seen many varied worlds too:

 

Lava world, Bee world, Underwater world, Boo world and I'm sure they'll be a snow one too, couldn't be a good Mario game without one.

 

Not only will you get the variety you describe, but also from planet to planet, with lots of unique floaters.

[...]

The fact that certain blue coins could only be found in certain chapters didn't help matters either.

 

That was the worst. One of the main flaws I have against Sunshine. It's great to explore a world to find things. But exploring the SAME world EIGHT times?? Please, give me a break... Mario 64 did this a lot better.

[Guest Stefkov]

I wonder what other suits there are other than Bee and Boo, god the excitment, I cannot wait for this game, E3 has got me pumped up for this as everyone seems to be impressed as to how good it is...

Whaa....when was this seen?

I havn't seen a Boo suit.