Carnegie Mellon student shows that 64 pixels is enough for Mario (video)
By Tim Stevens 
posted March 12th 2010 9:46AM
posted March 12th 2010 9:46AM
posted March 12th 2010 9:46AM
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trying playing that game on a HD tv, you will need a microscope to see mario :P
@BubblegumBalloon Why? He'd be like a 6 inch square in bright orange. Seems like it might stand out a bit to me.
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget it's an 8 x 8 pixel square... and Mario is one pixel. unless you have a GIGANTIC screen, he's not going to be anywhere near 6 inches.
@Daliminator
Presumably the display would upscale the image.
Was Pong already taken, then?
@thoughtmonster
Man, it sucks that engadget videos won't play on iPhone (damn flash..) but I attempted to hum the theme unaided, before realising what actually came out was The Engadget Show theme tune..
Duhv-duhv---
Duhv-duhv---
Duhv-duhv-du-du-duuuurrr
Dam it's catchy :p
@FORDY I love the engadget show theme!
(Anyone know whodunnit?)
bananaphone a la mario...
This...is...FOUR-BIT!
if someone could make it small enough, it might make a good keychain or something...
Next Gen gaming running on the future PS5.
So who is more a a geek, she gets major geek points for wiring this up, but we all know exactly what is going on, even if we haven't played the game in 20 years.
@rcappo i agree, but i think she inches out in front of the rest due to the wiring + 8-bit tun she threw in.
@rcappo
You mean YOU haven't played the game in 20 years...
@rcappo How bout the geek that coded it up first? http://hackaday.com/2009/12/08/ledboy-super-pixel-brothers/
@Sogeking i played it yesterday lol (softmodded wii)
@TjK
whaat. That's the game I use as an example for my everyday life.
I take the mushroom in the morning, then I drink a cup of star. I go to my work to jump some obstacles and jump over my Boss to read Engadget on my PC. Easy stuff
I'm going to play on my PC right now! (Znes emulator)
@redamaleki
hat was on a pic processor not on a arduino
Aww man, she should have waited till the music finished :P
@Hobsie - based on the way she was speaking, she sounds like she is probably deaf. So she might have had no idea the music wasn't finished.
@Hobsie
Cant... stop... humming... theme song.... x_x
I kinda want to marry her now...
is she trying to get a geek as bf?
am I the only one who doesn't see the merit of this? anybody who knows anything knows that the game was indeed programed just like this, an 8x8 matrix where every unit is a 32x32 pixel square. All you had to do was bring down every 32x32 square down to it's significant 1x1 px measurement, the rest is just porting the game, and that's the part that might be slightly commendable, except hackers have been doing it forever.
Nostalgia value is still +1 though.
@Jubeh The merit is the logic used here is significantly simpler than a Nintendo was. Doing more with less - and in a geeky/gaming fashion - is always interesting.
Go back to your 1080p/7.1 games and have fun. Many of us are enjoying seeing this.
@Jubeh I actually don't think it is running a real mario version at all. I think it is a programmable chip simply programmed to look like mario. She even says in the video "based on mario".
It's a good project, but it isn't as complex as it seems.
@clearThumbtack
.....It isn't.
If you think this is the actual SMB scaled down then you're wrong.
As she said, it's BASED off of mario. It isn't mario.
@diamondsw You're omitting the fact that the Arduino's processor is significantly more powerful than the original NES's was.
Nes: 1.66 mhz, 2kb ram
Arduino (ATMega 328): 16mhz, 32kb ram
Not to mention that the Arduino contains a boot-loader. So IMHO, less is more doesn't apply here. Sure, the DIY part is cool, but to say that this was a difficult feat isn't very accurate...
Great project, but ugly breadboard. When I was in digital logic (also known as bits and breadboards), you did get a small part of your score based on how "clean" your layout was. A clean layout tended to push people to create minimal logic, as it was much harder to make something convoluted look anything but.
However, I can't say I created anything even remotely this cool. I think multilevel adders were about it. :)
I was already humming the song the minute I read the post's title. Cool idea Chloe!
Where are the Goombas?
Why not just play tetris?
New meaning of Nintendo 64.
Awesome, this kid is going places.
@Prince David cool toy and all, but its not like she is showing of extreme technical skill.
Music isn't synchronous with game=( I so liked jump sound in mario)
maybe i'll run into her at school after spring break and borrow the game for a week?
That rockz
Übernerd in action I guess..
They need to get their hands on a Meggy Jr.
This isn't Super Mario Bro's, this is only Mario Bro's
I want to see this implemented at every bus station in town!
And guys... A little more respect!
well at least the kid is smart.....i wouldnt mind playing it not with that controller thoe
Yeah but can it run Crisis..
It's interesting to see the positive reactions from (presumably) younger readers here. I immediately had flashbacks to playing the Mattel Football game in Jr. High. which is essentially doing the same thing: run into another LED and you "die."
http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Mattel/FB.htm
Reminds me of the adage, "those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it." And don't even get me started on Merlin.
I guess I'm at that awkward age between "you kids don't know how good you got it!" and "you kids get off my lawn!" =-)
(Note: this is a cool project and my comment should not be construed as being critical of it.)
Pixel homeopathy.
This exact project has actually already been done, and a lot better, even.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avvba3prLlc
This is how Super Mario Bros. would be on the Magnavox Odyssey.