Class Session Notes
Index > Super Mario Maker for the Wii U
Introduction
How often were you sitting in class during a session on Mario Builder, wishing you could play your very own game on the Wii? Without a doubt, we were all thinking that. The fact of the matter is that you can †, with the help of a recent game for Wii U called Super Mario Maker.
† It shouldn't go without saying, however, that Super Mario Maker does in fact have its limitations, which we'll establish later.
Section 1.1: Getting Started
We began this lecture as we brought in a large flat-screen TV and a Wii console with a Wiimote and a Wii U gamepad controller.
Mario Builder vs. Super Mario Maker
The following is a chart explaining the similarities and differences between the two games.
| Mario Builder | Super Mario Maker | |
|---|---|---|
| Software platform(s) |
Windows Linux (Wine) Mac (Wine) |
Nintendo Wii |
| Controller(s) |
Keyboard Plug-and-play gamepad |
Wii remote Wii U gamepad |
| Game protagonist(s) | Mario or Luigi (player's choice) | Mario |
| Classic platform game format? | Yes | Yes |
| 3D graphics-capable? | No | Yes |
| Can create complete worlds? | Yes | No |
| Themeable interface? | No* | Yes |
| Can import custom audio? | Yes | Yes** |
| Can import custom images? | Yes | No |
| Easily shareable with friends? | Yes*** | Somewhat*** |
Take note of each of the following:
*
Mario Builder is not themeable; you cannot
change the physical appearance of any characters,
walking grounds, pipes, or other features of the
game; however, you can import your own tilesets
and images that you want to use as a background.
This contrasts from Super Mario Maker in that the
latter allows you to set your appearance to
resemble the 8-bit arcade-style Super Mario Bros
appearance from 1983, as well as Mario games
released since that time.
**
Super Mario Maker will allow you to record
sound effects and use them in your game; however,
this is very limited. You are allowed only a
handful of sounds and each one is limited to 4
seconds in duration.
***
Once you are finished working on your Mario
Builder game, you can finalize your work by
allowing you to run it in the Mario Builder Player
application. This way, you can easily distribute
your game without worrying about other people
editing your work, and it can be stored easily on
a USB flash drive or other storage media. As long
as the second party is running Windows, Linux, or
Mac (with a Windows runtime engine such as Wine
installed), the game can be distributed and played
very easily. On the other hand, Super Mario
Maker is only compatible with the Nintendo Wii
and is designed for the Wii U game platform. To
distribute your work on Super Mario Maker, the
other party must have that console.
Contact Us
Questions? Concerns? Just want to say hello? Feel free to share them with Heidi Thomson at compcademy@outlook.com.