Super Mario 3D World’s clear pipes made possible thanks to Wii U’s HD capabilities
One of Super Mario 3D World’s many new mechanics is the implementation of clear pipes. Mario and co. are able to travel to new worlds through the various pipes, and they’re actually an important part of the game’s introduction.
Super Mario 3D World co-director Kenta Motokura says “the clear pipe is something that’s just that much easier to see in this kind of presentation, and this allowed us to connect it to new ideas for gameplay.” The team eventually came up with ideas pertaining to the passage of fireballs, Goombas, and more.
Motokura said during a recent media event:
“Now that we’re able to have graphics in HD, this is allowing us to express some different ideas that we really haven’t done before. So for example, the clear pipe is something that’s just that much easier to see in this kind of presentation, and this allowed us to connect it to new ideas for gameplay.
“We had a lot of fun thinking about what happens exactly inside the pipe if you could see through it. What sort of things are able to go through? And so we worked on, ‘OK, maybe fireballs can go through. Maybe even Goombas could go through.’ We spent a lot of time coming up with different variations.”
