GCG: New Game Design Challenge Changes Mario's Career

Gamasutra sister site GameCareerGuide.com has announced its latest Game Design Challenge, with the object to hypothesize what gaming would be like had Mario not been a plumber. The Gamasutra sister educational site's Game Design Challenge is an exercise in becoming a game developer, asking you to look at games in a new way -- from the perspective of a game creator, producer, marketer, businessperson, and so forth. Every few weeks, the GCG editors present you -- the aspiring or current game developer -- with a challenge about developing video games. You'll have two weeks to brainstorm a brilliant solution (see below for how to submit your answers). After the two week submission period elapses, the best answers and the names of those who submitted them will be posted, along with some commentary. This latest challenge is, simply enough: "Change Mario's career." The justification for Mario and his brother Luigi's foray down into the sewage pipes of the original Mario Bros., released to arcades in 1983, is that the pair were plumbers. It's said, even, that the Mushroom Kingdom, where Mario met Princess Peach and his nemesis Bowser, lay on the other side of a pipe, and the traveling-via-drainpipe motif figures heavily in the original Super Mario Bros. and its sequels. But what would the series be like now if Mario had been, say, a chef? A taxi driver? An accountant? That's what we want you to do: change Mario's career and change the course of gaming history. Envision the game that would result from this new profession. (Note: we obviously realize that quite a lot of Mario games don't rely on his plumber persona, but we'd like you to make a game that heavily relies on his new job!) You could reach back to the past and chart your alternate universe version of Mario Bros., or you could imagine what would have happened to Super Mario Galaxy with 20 years of differing evolution -- or anything else you like. Work on your ideas, figure out your strategy for coming up with a solution, and ask questions on the GCG.com forum thread. When your submission is complete, send it to email [email protected] with the subject line "Design Challenge: Change Mario's Career!" Please type your answer directly in the email body. Submissions should be no more than 500 words and may contain up to three images. Be sure to include your full name and school affiliation or job title. Entries must be submitted by Wednesday, May 13. Results will be posted Tuesday, May 19. [Disclaimer: GameCareerGuide.com is not responsible for similarities between the content submitted to the Game Design Challenge and any existing or future products or intellectual property.]