Gamers about to eat

In a world plagued with anti-intellectualism and made stagnant with a shallow apathy towards creative endeavor, any instance of recognition with regards to bolstering creativity, inspiring imagination, or promoting artistic effort should be seen as a de facto moment in the modern day world, in helping to keep at bay the evils of aggressive inanity and the malevolent machinations that seek to cull the spirit of ingenuity and artistry in our every day.


Bob Ross would be surprisingly good at DOOM.

With that context front and center, you know I mean it when I say that Nintendo releasing Mario Paint on the Nintendo Switch Online service is likely to be one of the most important pieces of software they release on their new console, in helping to inspire a whole new generation of artists, creatives, and musicians within the modest space of the video game realm.


The old mustachioed menace enjoying some leisurely downtime in-between his bouts of psychotic slaughter sprees in the Mushroom Kingdom

Originally released for the SNES in 1992, this was an extraordinarily unique title for Nintendo, as it deviated from a standard fare video game, in being one focused on creativity and imagination, rather than your bog-standard platformer or action title, where getting through a successive number of stages to beat the final boss and obtain a high score was the focus of the game. Where players could color, draw, make mini-animations, and even create musical compositions, which could be saved to be listened to later, and even super cut with the players other creative works as a little backdrop to add a personal touch.


Hardcore furry porn artists have to get their inspirational start somewhere

Mario Paint was also unique in being the first (and pretty much only) game that utilized the use of the Mouse peripheral on the SNES, giving players an immense amount of control over their creations, and generally helped to connect the user with their artistic endeavors that just wouldn’t be possible with a standard controller. While the march of time may have only saved the memory of Mario Paint in more hardcore circles of the gaming realm, the title reviewed excellently when it debuted back in the day, and most gamers I talk to who owned a SNES and loved the machine, have fond memories of toying around with Mario Paint, even though truth be told, it was really more a super early example of an “app” to be engaged with than a game to be beaten, showing Nintendo does occasionally “get it” super right in terms of being early adopters of ahead of their time tech, and putting forth the idea of novelty and innovation when no one else was doing it.


Ironically, high quality, unique app availability, software that promotes creativity, and mouse support are still a rarity on game consoles, thirty years later

All of this comes to a front, as Nintendo just released Mario Paint as downloadable for the Switch 2, and Switch 1. Switch 2 obviously can utilize the mouse functionality of the Joycons (the controllers that come bundled with the Switch 2), which acts as a seminal moment for next gen console. A USB mouse can be plugged in the original Switch 1, so the “behind the times” users aren’t completely left in the dark, but its a super cool bonus of the Switch 2 controller functionality to be able to utilize the mouse in very much the same way Nintendo gamers did back in the early 90’s. Truth be told, the re-release of a three decade old game for the Switch 2 got me more viscerally excited in picking up Nintendo’s brand new $450 system than their launch software in the form of Mario Kart World.

The music creator gives me life…if you’re lucky enough to know, you know

I hope I don’t eat crow in saying this, but the re-release for Mairo Paint has the chance to be a big moment for Nitnendo, in helping to reinforce two important notions: firstly, that the mouse features on the Swtich 2 Joycons could represent a conceptual turning point for the game console industry, in showcasing what kind of new levels of innovation and choice both designers and players can have in approach to engaging with game design on a platform usually regulated and restricted in terms of control options, and secondly, especially in-conjunction with the sharing aspects of social media and the viral nature of both fandoms and creatives in the online space, how much both non-traditional games and the promotion of creativity matters to both young people, and the gaming industry as a whole. If anyone is like me, anything along the lines of Mario Paint helps to alleviate the existential dread that comes with pondering the notion of the meaning of life by filling it with the thrill of creation.


It’s Yoshis all the way down..

Mario Paint is now freely available to download for subscribers to Nintendo Switch Online, for both Switch 1 and 2 owners.

Get thinking: get creative!

~Pashford