How would SMB1 be affected by the portal gun?

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TurretBot
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Post » 28 Dec 2014, 20:51


After watching this video, I posed my own question: How would SMB1's level design be affected by the portal gun?
Obviously they would have to teach the player a fuckton of other mechanics ("how dose protal werk??")

Do you think it would be similar to current SMB1 or would the entire design shift to something more like the actual Portal?
They also have this video on the design of Portal's level design.
Do you think SMB1 would have shifted its focus to the portal mechanics or try to hybrid the two?
Or do you think Mari0 only works because of these games previously existing, and we already know the mechanics?

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renhoek
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Post » 29 Dec 2014, 08:24

A portal gun in mario is a pretty weird question to ask in something like this.
I think if it did though it would just be a 2D version of portal only there's no text.

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Automatik
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Post » 29 Dec 2014, 12:26

Well, a portal gun is a pretty weird tool, since it doesn't really fit the challenges that SMB give you. (Why would you portal a goomba into a pit when you can just stomp him?)

So the level design would at least be different to take advantage of the portal gun. Most of the portalable areas in mari0 are just the ground, and that's really boring. So I bet that hypothetical Super Portal Bros. game would use a bit more the second dimension. (Having more ceilings and walls, like in the castle levels, or test chambers)

To teach the player how portals work, the level design could copy Portal's first chambers.(IE auto-placing the portals at first, then give the portal gun to the player.)

The portal gun is not a tool you can use as quickly as the jump or fire buttons, since you also have to aim. It's intended for puzzles, not for action games. But unfortunately, if in Super Portal Bros. you just have the portal gun and nothing else from Portal, the range of puzzles you can make is quite limited. You can basically do this with just a portal gun:
  • Access platforms that are far enough that you can't simply jump on them but close enough that they are not offscreen.
  • Do a portal loop to get propulsed over a large pit.
  • Kill or portal enemies out of the way.

That's all I can think of. So to make a good game, you need to have "test chambers", to focus on puzzles, and for that you need to add other puzzle elements. And at this point you have pretty much a 2d Portal.

infinight888
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Post » 19 Feb 2015, 01:49

What I think probably would have been done, while keeping the game from turning into a 2d Portal:

1. Add more enemies that you can't beat just by jumping on.
2. Giant Goombas that can only be beaten by hitting them in the head during a portal loop.
3. Platforms that can't be jumped to that you instead have to portal onto.
4. Puzzles in the bonus areas, while the overworld remains fast-paced.
5. Enemies that can only be defeated by throwing their own attacks back at them (Bowser would likely be like this).
6. Among the puzzles, Koopa shells could be used to break through certain blocks.
7. Another type of block could have been added which could only be destroyed by being hit with redirected hammers or Bullet Bills.

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