The first level of the original Super Mario Bros. is iconic. Since its release on NES, Level 1-1 has been recreated, duplicated, torn apart, and put back together again in countless level editors, ROM hacks, Minecraft worlds, and most other mediums you can think up. Now, Mario is meeting augmented reality.
Abhishek Singh, 28, posted the below YouTube video, which shows off his augmented reality creation of Level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. He developed the experience for Microsoft’s HoloLens, an AR headset, using Unity3D. Singh then took his creation to play in Central Park.
In the video, you see Singh dressed as Mario explaining the experience. Then you switch to first-person view and go through the augmented reality level as Singh/Mario, all with Central Park in view. He uses finger motions to start the menu, jumps to hit item blocks, and hops on top of enemies to take them out.
According to Singh, this video was all recorded through the hololens with no post-production. So no effects or animations were added to make the level look better.
Though he doesn’t mention it, the title menu shows the option for a “2 Player Game.” Could we soon, albeit unofficially, play life-size Super Mario Bros. with our friends in the park while wearing hololenses as onlookers think we’re stoned out of our minds?! Maybe, friends. Maybe.
Abhishek Singh is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch school, and you can check out his numerous other creative projects at shek.it.
Do you think Nintendo will ever give us AR or VR Mario games? Or will we be restricted to fan-made — but still awesome — hololens creations? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
