Sometimes even the virtual reality of video games can cause us to question what exactly reality is. In a video game world you are presented with a character or avatar to move around in a virtual space. Rules are defined and “winning” is determined by completing a certain predetermined set of actions. In the original Super Mario Brothers game for the Nintendo you accepted the rules that you only existed in two dimensional space and jumping on top of various creatures was the best way to stay alive.
Anyone who purchased the Game Genie soon found out that these rules in the virtual world were alterable. You could make yourself jump higher and become invincible. But that was just the beginning… all sorts of weird effects were possible just by playing around with the codes a bit.
Well, in this video (by way of boing boing), Japanese hackers have changed the rules for the game even more. In place of a controller, a ghostly hand moves Mario along. Then suddenly there is not one, but a sea of Marios struggling to make it to the end of the level. This drastic shift in reality is rare in the “real” world, but happens all the time in the virtual one.
Got another example of a re-imagined game being played in a totally different way? Post it in the comments!
[?]
