E3 2014: Mario Maker (Hands-on)

Nintendo announced during E3 the development of a game in which players can now officially create their own Mario levels in upcoming Mario Maker for Wii U. Since the original games were released gamers have always been trying to recreate the world of Mario on other platforms and engines.

I was able spend some time with the game at Nintendo's booth and was surprised with just how simple the interface was to use in building levels. Yet, advanced options were also only a couple taps away to ensure both beginners and more advanced gamers can enjoy building and playing their creations.

The genius of Mario Maker is how players can instantly switch between create and play modes if they need to test a certain section. The game also displays the past path of Mario to show where problems and such occurred in the level, for example not being able to jump over a green pipe in my playthrough. The process of adding elements to the levels ranging from enemy characters to gold coins is a simple drag and drop function with the gamepad's built-in stylus.

The entire process from creation to playthrough can be as simple or as advanced depending on the type of levels that players are looking to create in-game. The graphics can even be switched between the original Nintendo and new Wii style which is sure  to please both old and new fans. While I asked about whether the game will support online sharing of levels and such, the staff were unable to officially comment but strongly-suggested it would be an included feature.

I don't own a Wii U yet, but Mario Maker and the other games showcased at the Nintendo booth are swaying me towards a future hardware purchase. Mario Maker will be available in 2015 for Wii U.