THERE ARE no quests, storylines or villains to be defeated. When it was first released 30 years ago, in July 1992, “Mario Paint” challenged gamers to design rather than destroy. Nintendo, which created the game for its Super Nintendo Entertainment System, succeeded in turning the making of digital art, animation and music into a joyous experience.
“Mario Paint” will feel familiar to anyone with experience of the Windows 95 version of Microsoft Paint. Much like that program, the main “Drawing Board” mode offers players a palette of colours and various tools with which to create whatever they please. Compared with the 16m hues modern software provides for users, the choice of 15 shades is piffling. But many of the instruments still used in digital-art software featured in the game: players can copy or rotate an image, or use textured brushes, to create pixel-perfect art.
The Super nes Mouse, which came with the console, allowed for greater control than the directional pads typically used in video games. Nintendo, which marketed “Mario Paint” to children as an educational tool, was aware that many players would never have used a mouse before. Their clever solution was to develop “Gnat Attack”—a fly-swatting mini-game within the main product which helped users hone their point-and-click co-ordination.
And what it lacked in sophistication, “Mario Paint” made up for in charm. Each stroke of a brush is accompanied by a bouncy sound effect. The cursor rotates through the colours of the rainbow. “Undodog”, a yelping cartoon pup, is on hand to help correct mistakes. A talented player could create detailed artworks: some produced impressive recreations of masterworks such as Salvador Dalí’s “The Persistence of Memory” or famous album art such as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The USA”.
Yet what set apart “Mario Paint” from other games of its time was the capacity to create animations and compose music. Gamers could combine multiple frames of pixel drawings to create smooth moving characters known as “sprites”. To accompany these animations, they had the option of producing songs by combining 15 quirky sounds: a baby’s cry, for example, or a cat’s mewing.
By the early 2000s, digital animation was pervasive on the internet. Web-series pioneers such as Mike and Matt Chapman, creators of “Homestar Runner”, have cited “Mario Paint” as an inspiration. A dedicated community of composers still exists, using unofficial emulations of the game to produce cover versions of songs by artists as diverse as bts, Daft Punk and Queen.
“Mario Paint” sold well and led to a sequel, “Mario Artist”. That game involved the creation of 3d computer graphics, a much fiddlier task than 2d imagery, and proved too unwieldy for many users. Perhaps the true successor of “Mario Paint” is “Super Mario Maker”, released in 2015, which lets users create and play their own Mario levels. The game includes its own version of an “Undodog” and an updated version of the fly-swatting exercise.
Some websites offer recreations of the composer mode, so you can tinker with songs using a browser; there are several imitation programs, too. But for the full experience, you will need to track down an original cartridge, mouse, console and a compatible television. For enthusiasts it is worth the effort. Modern digital-art software is designed to be professional, clean and utilitarian. “Mario Paint” prioritises fun instead.
By The Economist
