alt Hacker NewsI often think about how crazy it must have been to be a game developer around this period. Almost every bit of design, math, coding knowledge was flipped on its head. Overnight developers who were managing relatively simple XY coordinates suddenly had to discover the complexities of 3D rotations, perspective math, and probably more linear algebra than they ever really expected to know.
It’s even crazier we got masterpieces like Mario 64 so early into the first 3D console generation.
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I remember Mario 64 felt so mindblowing when it came out, like walking into a whole new world.
Imagine their dismay when they realized they actually need 4x4 matrices and weird math invented in the 19th century.
Just getting 3d triangles working is a mess (winding order, normal direction, etc). Clipping them correctly as they intersect the view frustum is a next level nightmare if you don't have a known-good implementation or reference text available.
Doom had been a few years before but what Mario 64 really bought to the table was a super intuitive analogue control stick rather than tank controls and tons and tons of polish
3D had been in arcades earlier (e.g. Virtua Racing in 1992, four years before) but having to figure out how platforming works in 3D was the true genius. They really knocked it out of the park.
> It’s even crazier we got masterpieces like Mario 64 so early into the first 3D console generation.
True. I think it was a unique combination of factors shaping Nintendo's understanding as the early game console market emerged:
1. Due to the timing of the NES launch during the massive video game crash, which was largely caused by a flood of low-effort game titles, Nintendo understood how much game quality mattered and with Super Mario they saw how a good title could drive outsized sales for much longer than expected.
2. The incredible early success of the Mario games showed that a game character could become an invaluable, long-term brand asset. While Sega certainly designed Sonic with the hope of creating their own Mario-like character, Nintendo had already seen how much Mario helped drive SNES sales in the face of the stronger marketing and 68000-based, higher-res hardware of the Sega Genesis, a visceral demonstration of multi-generation franchise value. By the launch of the N64, everyone at Nintendo from the CEO to interns, understood the "Power of Mario", ensuring a flagship Mario title had whatever time and resources necessary to ensure success.
3. Miyamoto's massive, serial successes showed that a sufficiently brilliant game designer can create enormous value at a time when the Japanese video game industry didn't generally value developers or designers very highly. As the creator of Mario and Zelda, Miyamoto had outsized influence and credibility at Nintendo, giving him sole, unquestioned authority to ensure the feel and overall quality of a Mario launch title. At the time, an unprecedented degree of power for a video game lead.
Nintendo didn't get into the video game business believing in the power of building a brand mascot or the philosophy of "Kareta Gijutsu no Suihei Shiko" (Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology). Instead, a series of mostly random prior events had shown Nintendo the power of those concepts sooner and better than their competitors. By the early 90s, all console companies understood the importance of launch titles and that mascots could matter, but Nintendo was unique in having first-hand experiences so undeniably powerful and that they believed it with near-religious conviction.