Super Mario Galaxy

I've tried to avoid most of the stuff in magazines or on websites about Super Mario Galaxy. I find that although there is an eagerness in me to find out as much about the Wii's most anticipated game as I can, it would be very easy to spoil the experience. I've seen the ratings it's getting, I don't need to know if it's my kind of game so I'm happy to pay my money and enjoy every second without thinking 'oh this is the bit I saw in that review.

What I am interested in though is some of the decisions that go into creating a game like this. I found a great interview which is linked to at the bottom if you want to read more, and don't worry there are no spoilers. The bit I'm going to concentrate on here is the sound design as it's something I've always been interested in. As an example, the Exorcist may not be up every ones street as far as films go but there's a brilliant extra on the DVD about creating the sounds for the film. Sound choice can make or break the atmosphere and even choosing where to have silence is a skill. It's one of the main reasons the film still stands up today. As far as games go, music and sound effects were often the last things that got thought about, but as technology has improved so has the importance on getting this part right. Anyway, enough of me, here's a brief exert from the interview:

Yokota:
I mainly used Latin instruments, and expressed the space part by using a synthesiser to create that sound you hear in old Sci-Fi movies. The track isn't used in the final game so the players won't get to hear it, but it had actually been approved at one point by Koizumi-san, the director. My love for Nintendo games goes back a long time and I have spent a long time playing all the Mario games thoroughly. I was full of confidence when I presented that track to Kondo-san. But when I asked him "This is how Mario music should be, right?" he just replied "This is no good".

Iwata:
Were you shocked?

Yokota:
So much so that I thought about quitting my job! (laughs)

Kawamura:
I remember observing Yokota-san at the time. He looked so down about it that I felt really sorry for him. He really did say "If this doesn't work, I will quit my job!"

Yokota:
When the track was rejected, the words that Kondo-san had said really stuck with me. Those words were "Yokota-san, if somewhere in your mind you have an image that Mario is cute, please get rid of it."
When I heard that, I realised that I had always had this image that Mario was a character for kids, and without realising it, I had been composing “cute” music that I thought would appeal to children. I asked Kondo-san at the time, "Then what kind of music would work with Mario?” He replied that "Mario is cool".

Iwata:
You must have thought, "You could have told me that in the first place!" (laughs)

Yokota:
At first, all he told me was "If it matches the game, you can make anything you want." (laughs) In retrospect, the time I spent struggling trying to make music that sounded like Mario may have been a waste of time, but by struggling so much, the impact when I realised these things was all the stronger. Kondo-san then came to say the music I made from that point on had “become natural”.

So what kind of things did you come up with in making the most of the Wii Remote speaker?

Kawamura:
Well, for example, we made it so that when Mario gets Star Bits, you will first hear a sound effect coming from the TV, and then just after, you will hear another Star Bit sound coming from the Wii Remote.

Yokota:
By slowing the tempo of that second sound on purpose, it makes it feel like the Star Bits actually fly into your hands. There are a lot of features in this game that use the Wii Remote's shake control, like shooting Mario away to the next planet using the Star Sling, and knocking out Goombas, and we worked hard on sounds that make shaking the Wii Remote fun.

I think it's very easy to overlook the thought that goes into some of these things but I guess that's all part of when you get something absolutely right. One thing doesn't stand out in particular and it's the experience as a whole that is enjoyed.

If you're interested in reading the whole interview click here and to wrap things up I'll leave you with an insight into the Super Mario Galaxy orchestra during recording.



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