Why Super Mario Galaxy is a wake-up call for developers

Design flair over technical flair

The Wii is not a comparatively powerful machine, but Super Mario Galaxy looks good enough to compete with anything either of the big boyshas got to offer. Is that because Nintendo knows the machine well enough to squeeze the best out of it? Probably in part, but that’s not the full story. Even with every drop of horsepower wrung out, the Wii shouldn’t be able to stand up to the competition visually, but Super Mario Galaxy happily stands toe to toe, and it does it for one very good reason. Brilliant art design.

Linking into the point from a couple of pages ago, you can throw as many polygons at a screen as you like, but if what’s being built isn’t stimulating to look at in and of itself then it matters not one jot. An ugly building is still an ugly building, no matter how skilled the bricklayer was, and you may remember that both Picasso and Matisse did rather well out of a blatent disregard for photorealism.

No, creating an attractive game is about instilling it with style and personality just as much as it is about the technicalities. With just a few simple but impacting lighting and shadow effects, some classy reflections, endearingly realised character designs, and a musical score lusher than the Amazon, Nintendo has made the most of its hardware to produce a game as beautiful as anything out there. Take note people.

Design your games to make they eyeballs sing, and to Hell with how well it shows off your rendering power.

Play the video to seeexactly what we're talking about.

The Wii is not a comparatively powerful machine, but Super Mario Galaxy looks good enough to compete with anything either of the big boyshas got to offer. Is that because Nintendo knows the machine well enough to squeeze the best out of it? Probably in part, but that’s not the full story. Even with every drop of horsepower wrung out, the Wii shouldn’t be able to stand up to the competition visually, but Super Mario Galaxy happily stands toe to toe, and it does it for one very good reason. Brilliant art design.

Linking into the point from a couple of pages ago, you can throw as many polygons at a screen as you like, but if what’s being built isn’t stimulating to look at in and of itself then it matters not one jot. An ugly building is still an ugly building, no matter how skilled the bricklayer was, and you may remember that both Picasso and Matisse did rather well out of a blatent disregard for photorealism.

No, creating an attractive game is about instilling it with style and personality just as much as it is about the technicalities. With just a few simple but impacting lighting and shadow effects, some classy reflections, endearingly realised character designs, and a musical score lusher than the Amazon, Nintendo has made the most of its hardware to produce a game as beautiful as anything out there. Take note people.

Design your games to make they eyeballs sing, and to Hell with how well it shows off your rendering power.

Play the video to seeexactly what we're talking about.