Tech demo

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Template:Distinguish2 A tech demo is a computer and video game industry term referring to short applications designed to gauge interest in an upcoming product or to demonstrate hardware-specific features. Tech demos have various levels of interactivity, ranging from real-time videos to short but fully playable demonstrations. Tech demos are rarely intended to be turned into fully fledged commercial products, though their ideas and concepts are sometimes reused.

Due to its status as Nintendo's flagship franchise, the Mario franchise has been the subject of or has been featured in many tech demos. The following is a list of them.

List of Mario-related tech demos

Game System Image Description
Mario Demo Virtual Boy Mariodemo.png An animation sequence to show off the console's stereoscopic 3D effect, featured at the Japanese Shoshinkai event on November 15 and 16, 1994. The sequence shows a rendered Mario under the Virtual Boy logo, which flies into the viewer letter by letter.[1]
Luigi's Mansion Nintendo GameCube File:Beta Mansion.png Luigi's Mansion was originally shown off at Space World 2000 as a tech demo designed to show off the graphical capabilities of the Nintendo GameCube.[2][3]
Yoshi Demo Game Boy Advance Yoshi Demo Loosely based on Yoshi's Story, it is unknown if this demo was ever meant to be a full game.[4]
Mario Kart XXL Mario Kart XXL (tech demo) being played on an emulator A playable Mario Kart demo developed by Denaris Entertainment Software made to showcase the Game Boy Advance's ability to render two separate background layers.[5]
Purple Yoshi tech demo Alleged screenshot or mockup of a Game Boy Advance tech demo featuring a Purple Yoshi targeting its tongue towards an enemy on the right. Along with a meter gauge on the lower left, a star icon to the lower right, and a timer on the upper left. A tech demo starring a Purple Yoshi. IGN Pocket posted a screenshot of a presumed tech demo featuring a Purple Yoshi in a forest in a behind-the-back perspective as blue and red spider-like robots resembling severed segments of Mechawiggler attacked him. No other information about this alleged tech demo arose, however.[6]
Super Mario 128 Nintendo GameCube Title screen of the unreleased game Super Mario 128. A series of experiments originally intended to be a sequel to Super Mario 64. Concepts from this demo were used in other projects, such as Pikmin and Super Mario Galaxy.[7]
Peach's Castle PC Entrance.png A tech demo included in a revision of the GameCube Software Development Kit, created to show developers the graphical capabilities of the console.[8]
Mario Kart for Nintendo GameCube Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Early A seven-second clip featuring Mario and Luigi driving karts using Super Smash Bros. Melee models. It was most likely reworked into Mario Kart: Double Dash!!.
Balloon Trip Nintendo DS Balloon Trip A Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island-themed minigame making use of the Nintendo DS's touchscreen and dual screen setup. It ended up forming the basis of Yoshi Touch and Go.[9]
Mario's Face Screenshot from the unreleased tech demo, Mario's Face A tech demo featuring Mario and Wario's heads that could be squeezed or stretched in various ways, similar to the title screen for Super Mario 64.[10]
New Super Mario Bros. Mii Wii U File:NSMBM-demo.jpg An experience tech demo loosely based on New Super Mario Bros. Wii appearing at E3 2011. The demo's primary purpose was to show off the "Off-TV Play" function of the Wii U. It served as the basis for New Super Mario Bros. U.
Chase Mii Chase Mii, a tech demo that would become Mario Chase. It features Miis in Mario-themed costumes playing a game similar to tag. A refined version of this demo appears in Nintendo Land under the name Mario Chase.
Shield Pose Chase Mii, a tech demo that would become the Game & Wario game Pirates. A rhythm-based minigame in which the player moves the GamePad around to block attacks. Initially developed as pre-installed software for the console,[11] the demo's scope was expanded and it was reworked as the Game & Wario minigame Pirates.
Measure Up Measure Up, a tech demo that would become the Game & Wario game Shutter. A minigame in which the player is instructed to draw geometrical shapes. It was released as the Game & Wario minigame Design.
Zapper demo N/A A minigame in which the player moves the GamePad to shoot Mii-like characters. It ended up being the basis of the Game & Wario minigame Shutter.[citation needed]
Mario vs. Donkey Kong Wii U demo A tech demo for a Mario vs. Donkey Kong game that would become Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars Developed with Nintendo Web Framework (a development environment based on WebKit), the Mario vs. Donkey Kong Wii U demo was shown at GDC 2014, used as a sample to show the potential of Nintendo Web Framework. Like previous installments in the series, the goal of each level is to guide the Mini Marios to the exit, creating paths through the positioning of platforms and other interactions with the setting made through the touch screen of the GamePad. The first stage shows some of the basic features of Nintendo Web Framework, and then after this stage is a bigger stage, which brings more complex lighting effects and animations.[12][13] This title was reworked into Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars.

References

  1. ^ PlanetVirtualBoy (June 28, 2010). Mario Demo at Shoshinkai 1994 (Virtual Boy). YouTube. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  2. ^ Nintendo Gamecube, SpaceWorld 2000. YouTube.
  3. ^ Space World 2000 GameCube Movie Reel. YouTube.
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ Steven Seventyeight (August 15, 2015). Mario Kart XXL Nintendo Gameboy Advance Prototype / Demo. YouTube. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  6. ^ LSuperSonicQ (February 17, 2018). The Mystery of the Purple Yoshi Tech Demo (Game Boy Advance, 2000). YouTube. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  7. ^ [2]
  8. ^ [3]
  9. ^ [4]
  10. ^ [5]
  11. ^ Iwata Asks: Game & Wario
  12. ^ Mario Vs. Donkey Kong Wii U Demo Playable at GDC - Mario Party Legacy
  13. ^ [6]

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