Mario Bros. Remix

[ripper]

This sounds like a wonderful project and one I have heard about a while back so I cannot wait to see the finished project!  I have some ideas I will type down below.  Some may be great ideas and some may not but we can all chime in on them to see what sticks and what does not. 


C:  Add option to select one of two new characters (4 total now)?  Same looking characters but different Color cloths.  New characters are named Stephen and Steven.   

I like this idea - might be fun for the two other characters to have different *powers* kinda like how each char behaves differently in mario 2


F:  Keep the same 4 difficulties (Easy, Medium, Hard & Hardest) but maybe add a 5th difficulty called "Extreme" "Ultimate" or whatever everybody decides?

Deranged XD 

I though of something that might be fun - a different fire ball type, one that kinda behaves like a Boo Ghost

The walking physics drives me bloody batty o.0

As for two new characters and having different abilities or powers, I'm not sure if that is possible or not.  What would the powers be as the game probably needs to stay close to the same element as before.  Maybe one runs faster or has snow shoes and runs normally on ice?  Maybe one new character has a hard hat and is safe for the first hit from falling ice?

[Sock Master]

Wow thanks everybody for putting thought and consideration into and posting your ideas and suggestions!  It's giving me

I'm going to put as many ideas as possible into a big list and I'll keep updating it as I go.  It'll be good to have a ton of them even the over-ambitious ones.  It doesn't matter whether they're all awesome or whether they'd even work out.  Sometimes one idea can inspire or improve another idea so it's good to remember the ones that might not work out.
I like having too many because I can weigh their pros/cons/difficulties/progression as I go and work on things in an order that makes sense (eg: idea 3 is impossible to do right now, but if I add idea 1 it should make it easier to add idea 3 later...)

I'll post updates about how things are going as I go.  Right now I'm at a stage where I could begin to start adding changes to the game but they'd have to be really basic things because I've only got the code figured out at a vague, basic level.   I have to keep studying the puzzle pieces of code to improve my understanding of how all the pieces fit and interact with each other as a whole.

[WCopeland]

How about multiple playable characters beyond Mario and Luigi? Similar to SMB2 where you could also play as Toad and Peach, but they have different strengths and weaknesses.

Someone who hates the original movement of the game could pick one of these alternate characters, but they would have some kind of downside to using them to keep the game balanced.

[WCopeland]

A kill screen would be cool, but if it were added I think it'd be equally important to add point-pressing mechanisms to the game. Otherwise, you'd have an artificial cap on what the max score could be.

Maybe these point-pressing mechanisms would only be enabled while the KS is enabled, but it'd definitely make the game MUCH more interesting to watch and play.

[ripper]

Not sure if I like this or not but maybe adding things to pick up in the game or even power ups like Bubble Bobble has?  Bubble Bobble has some shoes you can pick up to make your guy run much faster in the game.  This is a whole new ballgame though if we start adding too many.  Could you imaging if there were a way to add a hammer on certain levels?  It is Mario but changes the game I know. 

[Sock Master]

If anyone's curious to see what sort of stuff may or may not be possible to make some of the graphics look different,
you can load up Mario Bros in MAME.  Once the game is up, press F4, then press ENTER, then press ]

You now see the sprite characters that are available to use.  You can use the UP and DOWN arrows to scroll through the sprites.   You can use the LEFT and RIGHT arrows to switch between the color sets that are available for the sprites to use.  Only color sets 0 through F can be used during gameplay.  Sets 10 and up are only used in attract mode.

It's a bit disappointing, but the available color sets don't really give many good choices if we wanted sprites to use a new/different color scheme.   There doesn't seem to be a good option for an alternate Mario color, nor many good choices for most of the other sprite characters.

[TheSunshineFund]

It's a bit disappointing, but the available color sets don't really give many good choices if we wanted sprites to use a new/different color scheme.   There doesn't seem to be a good option for an alternate Mario color, nor many good choices for most of the other sprite characters.

How many are available in Zoo Keeper?   

[f_symbols]

You could make a "Mario Bros Jr." variant where you get to play as some of the bad guys and then just swapped Mario and Luigi into the slots for the bad guys, maybe add some different physics (like letting the turtle dip inside his shell for invulnerability), and "attacks" for the Mario baddies.  One could potentially "use the fly on the Pow level" or something like that.

[serphintizer]

Give the option of jumping on the turtles like in NES Super Mario Bros. And then you could kick them to kill other enemies, like the crabs, flys, etc. But if you decide to jump on it and kick it, the shell never leaves the stage; it just keeps recycling down through the screen and through the pipes. It will add another obstacle to try and avoid until you complete the screen.

[ripper]

If anyone's curious to see what sort of stuff may or may not be possible to make some of the graphics look different,
you can load up Mario Bros in MAME.  Once the game is up, press F4, then press ENTER, then press ]

You now see the sprite characters that are available to use.  You can use the UP and DOWN arrows to scroll through the sprites.   You can use the LEFT and RIGHT arrows to switch between the color sets that are available for the sprites to use.  Only color sets 0 through F can be used during gameplay.  Sets 10 and up are only used in attract mode.

It's a bit disappointing, but the available color sets don't really give many good choices if we wanted sprites to use a new/different color scheme.   There doesn't seem to be a good option for an alternate Mario color, nor many good choices for most of the other sprite characters.

I'm sure there are other colors like you mentioned but just from looking at these I do see two cool ice head colors that could be used for the unbreakable ice.  The dark blue and even the red one might be cool.  Dark blue may work better as it just looks totally frozen and unbreakable. We could use the brown ice as a piece of critter poop.   

[WCopeland]

One could potentially "use the fly on the Pow level" or something like that.

[f_symbols]

You could replace the fly sprite with the pow sprite, and when you hit it, it pows, rather than behaving like a fly, after 3 hits it would disappear, and on these screens there would be no traditional pow block in the bottom.

[blackraven15]

You could make a "Mario Bros Jr." variant where you get to play as some of the bad guys and then just swapped Mario and Luigi into the slots for the bad guys, maybe add some different physics (like letting the turtle dip inside his shell for invulnerability), and "attacks" for the Mario baddies.  One could potentially "use the fly on the Pow level" or something like that.

Oooo this is an interesting concept!

Give the option of jumping on the turtles like in NES Super Mario Bros. And then you could kick them to kill other enemies, like the crabs, flys, etc. But if you decide to jump on it and kick it, the shell never leaves the stage; it just keeps recycling down through the screen and through the pipes. It will add another obstacle to try and avoid until you complete the screen.

This is a fun idea too

[ripper]

I have a idea that just sprung into my head this morning.  One of two things here... On the higher levels when it gets to repeating phases (1,2,3-1,2,3) add a 4th and different phase?  So it would now be 1,2,3,4 & repeating 1,2,3,4 then Bonus?  This gives the option to create a totally new phase that is different. 

Another thought would be for the new 4th level only or maybe for ANY phases in the game.  If a crab or turtle makes it all the way down to the bottom pipe and comes back up from the top again then it comes out with a smaller baby behind it.  Maybe just one smaller baby or maybe 3 babies?

Another variation is when you flip over a turtle or crab but can't get to it in time then it flips back over but it also leaves a egg behind.  The egg needs to be hit 3 times to get it to fully crack open with a baby turtle or crab.  Also, anything that hits the egg during this time, such as other critters or ice will also help crack it open.  That sounds interesting.

[syscrusher]

Someone just pulled the trigger on this...

I'm ready!