I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this design detail in Super Mario Bros – Creative Bloq
Am I seeing double?
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When the original Super Mario Bros was released in 1985, it’s safe to say game design was a little more basic – and that meant getting crafty with your visual assets. The eagle-eyed amongst you may notice that there’s some clever sprite recycling going on with those clouds and bushes but it’s not just lazy game design, there’s actually an important reason behind it.Sprite recycling isn’t an uncommon phenomenon and continues today so once you start noticing it, you can’t unsee it. Arguably today it’s a little more subtle than the original Mario Bros, but perhaps it was easier to ignore on retro game consoles. In a world of AAA releases it’s safe to say standards for game design have shifted for the better but there’s still something charming about that nostalgic 8-bit design.You’d be forgiven for missing this crafty design detail thanks to some clever recolouring and the odd sprite stitching that (at a glance) looks like a new asset. While on the surface it’s a clever technique to flesh out the game’s background, the sprite recycling was also a handy way for Nintendo devs to be more efficient when coding the game – with a minuscule 32 KB file size, there wasn’t room for fancy details in the OG Mario Bros.For some more recent Nintendo news take a look at Donkey Kong’s adorable new character design which was my personal highlight of the Switch 2 trailer. If you’re after more gaming insight, check out the Super Mario character design facts that blew our minds.Daily design news, reviews, how-tos and more, as picked by the editors.Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited accessEnjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscriptionJoin now for unlimited accessTry first month for just £1 / $1 / €1Natalie is Creative Bloq’s staff writer. With an eye for trending topics and a passion for internet culture, she brings you the latest in art and design news. A recent English Literature graduate, Natalie enjoys covering the lighter side of the news and brings a fresh and fun take to her articles. Outside of work (if she’s not glued to her phone), she loves all things music and enjoys singing sweet folky tunes.Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
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