Pixel Mario Infographic
Growing up I there was nothing I loved more than Mario. I don’t know why. There must have been something about rushing through another world at high speed, bouncing off enemies and breaking apart the scenery looking for coins that distracted me from how boring reality actually was. Mario has certainly changed these days but there is definitely a growing appreciation for these old NES era graphics. Their simplicity and minimalism couldn’t be more effective. In the original Super Mario Bros., Mario is composed of only three colors! His walk cycle is just three frames!
In interviews Mario’s creator Miyamoto mentions that his design was dictated by the constraints at the time. How do you stuff so much personality into something 12 pixels high? A smile would have been massive so it became a mustache. His overalls created some definition between his arms and torso. I am still enamored by the old school graphics, and have been watching a lot of gaming history series on Youtube. For this infographic I busted apart the pixels that make up Mario through his early forms and staked them up to see how many of each color he is made out of. This is completely useless information but hopefully it will help people appreciate how much can be done with so little.