For 35 years, the Super Mario Bros. continues to bring fun to the 80s youth and the younger generations. And for one Twitter user, he managed to combine the classic computer game with the newly released LEGO Super Mario.
Twitter user r1ckp shared in the social media platform how he managed to create a controller for Super Mario Bros. using a LEGO Mario toy that leads Mario to run, jump, and shoot fireballs.
It was spotted by The Verge, which reported how the self-proclaimed "hardware hacker" spent "about 4 hours" to finish the setup. He coded the figurine to work with the emulator, which runs on a Linux virtual machine on his Mac. @r1ckp tweeted: "The complicated stuff was figuring out the bluetooth protocol. Then it's just simulating keypresses at certain events."
Wrote some code to use the #legosupermario to play #SuperMario pic.twitter.com/LOuECESPgT — Rick (@r1ckp) September 2, 2020
As requested by Twitter users, @r1ckp shared a video of how the toy is played. He tilts LEGO Super Mario to run forward and backward while he hops the toy to make the in-game Mario jump. He then posted another video showing Mario enter pipes simply by putting him over the green pipe LEGO as well as shooting fireballs by holding the LEGO Super Mario afloat a red LEGO platform.
Some people asked for it, so here's how shooting and pipes work pic.twitter.com/OACZYurh5u — Rick (@r1ckp) September 3, 2020
However, this is not magic at work as the LEGO Super Mario figure actually bears some technologies. The small toy has Bluetooth, a camera sensor that reads various colors, an accelerometer that measures speed and movement, and a gyroscope that monitors the orientation of the device.
While the controller may not offer the best way to play the original Super Mario Bros., seeing an actual Mario figure in action while yelling "Wahoo!" adds a certain level of excitement to the game. Good thing, @r1ckp said e share the code soon, so others can also enjoy the game with this little hack.
I will, just need some time to clean up and comment the code. — Rick (@r1ckp) September 2, 2020
LEGO Super Mario: How it works
Nintendo and LEGO released this new toy on August 1, which has since excited both LEGO Super Mario Bros. fans worldwide. But this is not an ordinary LEGO building block toy as the toys have great features that both young and young-at-heart would love. Here are some details about this new fun toy.
All sets come with unique challenges. Each starter kit is sold for $89.99, which includes an interactive LEGO Mario, a LEGO Bowser Jr, and 231 pieces including the warp pipe, Goomba, and blocks for the custom course that LEGO Mario needs to conquer.
LEGO Super Mario has similar goals as console game. A timer starts when LEGO Mario enters the warp pipe and he should collect coins throughout the game, crush enemies, and smash special boxes and bricks with question mark that give LEGO Mario additional time, extra life, or power-ups.
The Bluetooth function in LEGO Mario can be connected to an app on the smartphone, so players can share their custom courses or check out others to try them out. LEGO Mario also has special sensors and accelerometer, so he would know what he is doing throughout the game. These sensors can scan barcodes on each LEGO pieces to track whether he safely steps on platform bricks, land, or water, or whether he stepped into a lava zone that puts him into a "no-coin state" for a certain time.
Meanwhile, there are numerous expansion kits to add more challenges and excitement. Check out Nintendo website for more details and prices of the kits.
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Written by CJ Robles
