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Super Mario Maker was planned as a Mario Paint game for Wii U

The Super Mario Maker game for Wii U, which allows gamers to create levels and play others shared by the community, was almost a Mario Paint game.

Speaking to TIME, Nintendo’s Takashi Tezuka said the iconic gaming firm wanted to make a Paint game for Wii U that made use of the touchscreen.

“Originally we wanted to make a Mario Paint game, using the Wii U GamePad,” says Tezuka.

“And that was where the idea originally started, but at the same time, we wanted to take the Super Mario Bros. toolset that we use to create the levels, and we wanted to move that toolset over to the Wii U GamePad to make it easier to create the levels with the touchscreen.”

However, Tezuka added the Super Mario Makers gamers aren’t using the same tools as developers.

“The tools that we use internally on the developer team for creating levels are much more complicated than what you see from an interface standpoint–our tools use a keyboard and mouse,” says Tezuka.

By moving the toolset over to the Wii U GamePad and giving it the touchscreen interface, it’s really lowered the hurdle for everyone being able to design with this piece of software. And then it was just a matter of finding the right number of icons onscreen to have people tapping to do the things that they wanted to do.”

See also: Super Mario Maker Tips and Tricks

Elsewhere, Nintendo has issued a patch for Super Mario Maker (via IGN), which means players don’t have to wait 9 days to unlock all of the features.

However, Nintendo hasn’t specified the criteria for players to unlock these tools, but it’s likely to be based around time played or the number of blocks used.

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