Nintendo Coming to Universal Parks

[epcyclopedia]

A thought: interesting to see how crude early conceptual art is.

I knew this was the case, in a sense, and one of my favorite pieces has always been an early drawing by Mary Blair of small world facades that's covered in blemishes and mistakes and pencil marks.

But now with 3D I feel a good bit better about my design skills - I legit could have made several of those Nintendo test bits.

Problem being, I suck as finishing details in concept work - seems like a waste of time when I know how to do the final paint treatments.

 

[quinnmac000]

What? This is being designed in Orlando at the main UC campus. The model is in a UOR soundstage. Nintendo reps fly to Orlando all the time.

All the attractions are designed in UOR but the team responsible for the attractions are very different. Just like people who design for USH work out of Orlando but still fly out to Hollywood.

 

[JungleSkip]

Too bad that leaked plan doesn't reflect the current status of the project. I was getting excited!

Is there a reason to not be excited?

Anyway, now y'all have seen what was hinted at since day 1. Changes were made, but I don't think all that many. Gonna be something special

 

[Mad Dog]

Is there a reason to not be excited?

Anyway, now y'all have seen what was hinted at since day 1. Changes were made, but I don't think all that many. Gonna be something special

Ditto. Gonna be great. Most everything important is still there. And Mario Kart will make a lot of people happy that are disappointed in the direction F&F went. MK will be the Great Appeaser (if it works ).

 

[Imperius]

So if that's the "plan" for Mario Kart, how long do we think the ride will last? 6+ minutes?

 

[Mad Dog]

So if that's the "plan" for Mario Kart, how long do we think the ride will last? 6+ minutes?

About 4 minutes. It moves fairly quick.

 

[Imperius]

Dang and how interactive is it? Will your ride change every time?

 

[belloq87]

Is there a reason to not be excited?

As long as the land adheres to the general confines of the area as depicted in those plans, then I'll continue to be very excited.

 

[Teebin]

Dang and how interactive is it? Will your ride change every time?

Original intentions were that one or more of the riders per vehicle would be able to maneuver in a limited fashion. So, yeah, that is the intention. Too, while I don't know anything about the IP, perhaps you will be able to shoot at things? What can one do in the MK video games?

 

[Imperius]

Original intentions were that one or more of the riders per vehicle would be able to maneuver in a limited fashion. So, yeah, that is the intention. Too, while I don't know anything about the IP, perhaps you will be able to shoot at things? What can one do in the MK video games?

You shoot things at people to stop them on the course.

 

[Imperius]

My hopes for the ride is a kind of "race" between the vehicles. A driver and a shooter and a mild speed control. The shooter is able to "shoot items" at the other cart of ahead and if hits it will slow them down and there is a winner at the end.

 

[Mr. EPCOT]

What can one do in the MK video games?

Throw Koopa shells and banana peels at other racers to make them spin out, use lightning to shrink all the other racers, use a star for invincibility, those are all the most common, classic abilities from all the games.

 

[Alicia]

Throw Koopa shells and banana peels at other racers to make them spin out, use lightning to shrink all the other racers, use a star for invincibility, those are all the most common, classic abilities from all the games.

Yea, initial reports coupled with the patents lead many to believe riders in the front seats of the car have control to release special items you pick up (shells, bananas, etc) and riders on the back seat control drifting of the vehicle.

You guys remember the drifting patents? I'm not sure the back seat riders will end up having control over that, BUT that effect of wagging the back end of the car matches the banana peel wipe out perfectly. I'm hoping that's the interactive element. We drive through/under special blocks and get random items (displayed on a small screen on our dashboard) and when used they actually affect other riders experience.

 

[bob albert]

I'm trying to picture what this ride system would look like. I remember the drifting thing and could see the riders having some interaction, but I can't imagine how a ride system would work with multiple cars racing each other. It would seem more likely that people are going against computer controlled racers. Although assuming each car is 4 people I imagine they are trying to make this thing potter level capacity which dispatches four people less than 10 seconds apart so maybe it somehow is multiple cars at once or multiple tracks.

 

[Alicia]

It's an entirely possible AAs will be "racing" at the same time as our car. That way it could be us against Mario and others. They could be in karts on tracks next to ours so looks like they're winning then we pull ahead and Mario says "Oh Nooo" like in the game.

The early concept art rendering shows a shot from our point of view in the car and Mario was seen in the car in front of us. Could be cool.

... Or they were just using characters as stand ins for guests in the concept art.

To me, making it seem like we're racing the real Mario characters would make it really feel like we're IN THE GAME and not just on a ride.

 

[BrenRays]

The only part of this project that makes me nervous is how they'll handle the facade. Mario is so colorful and blocky, so it'll be tricky to blend in with the "cities" of Universal. This team did Diagon Alley though, which is the greatest facade EVER so I'm hoping they'll get it right

 

[uiwansonic88]

Uh huh...

I think you're missing the point. The facades can't look weathered, they don't have natural foliage, and from a storytelling standpoint the mythology generally lacks any depth at all.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by 'depth'. If you mean you important ideas you might find in books frequently featured in lists of the greatest works of literature, then you are probably correct for most Nintendo games. If you mean 'lore', then I think maybe you are correct to some degree for Mario, but it seems like Zelda has a decent size number of people who are interested or amused by the 'lore' in the games.

FanTheories: search results - zelda
FanTheories: search results - link
FanTheories: search results - mario

It's not impossible for Universal to come up with stories for characters from Mario, Zelda, or Donkey Kong etc if Nintendo allows them or even helps them do so. It has been done before so there is even stuff that aren't games to use as inspiration:

List of television series and films - Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia
Category:Comics - Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia
Category:Books - Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia

They could always make up a new villain/other character that particularly fits something they want to do at the park or an attraction if Nintendo will let them. It could be like a new game series where you are in a new world, although it could still be reminiscent of things that appeared in past games. Additionally, they could instead take one of the one-off villains that only appears in one game in the past and have them come back in some setting and Mario and/or others have to stop them from harming something with a story made specifically for a park or attraction.

It might seem weird if they have Moe's Tavern near a castle.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

It might seem weird if they have Moe's Tavern near a castle.

Strangely, I could see Uni have fun with the fact that Springfield's close to Peaches castle.

I could see a comedic joke actually come into place.

 

[Alicia]

It might seem weird if they have Moe's Tavern near a castle.

Strangely, I could see Uni have fun with the fact that Springfield's close to Peaches castle.

I could see a comedic joke actually come into place.

When in front of Moes your view of Nintendo will be non existent. From London or behind Richters you may see tops of Nintendo buildings behind Springfield. Much like you can see the Diagon dragon from across the Lagoon, but not while standing in a London.

 

[Mike S]

Strangely, I could see Uni have fun with the fact that Springfield's close to Peaches castle.

I could see a comedic joke actually come into place.

"Best, neighbors, ever!!!"