The 'Shroom:Issue 169/Palette Swap

Director's Notes

Written by: FunkyK38 (talk)

Hello, all! Welcome to the April issue of The 'Shroom!

Right now, while I'm waiting for New Pokemon Snap, I've been watching some movies from across the ocean- one I can definitely recommend is New Gods: Nezha Reborn, from Light Chaser, a Chinese animation studio. You might have heard of their other film, White Snake. This new one is really good, and I really enjoyed it. I'll have to track down White Snake and watch that one, too, because they're making a sequel to it coming out later this year. I've been watching a few different bits of Chinese animation on Netflix, and I'm interested to see where Light Chaser and the rest of the Chinese animation industry goes. It's always refreshing to see animation out of parts of the world that I'm not too familiar with- France has made some great contributions (I love Miraculous Ladybug and A Monster in Paris) and another Chinese studio teamed up with legendary animator Glenn Keane to bring us the wonderful journey of Over the Moon last year. I'm glad that Netflix is bringing us a lot of different animations from very talented studios all over the world.

This month we are overflowing with amazing sections! We have a new one for you all this month, Goombuigi (talk) has come to join us with Super Mario Maker Showcase, bringing some truly awesome and creative levels from Mario Maker. It's an awesome section looking at some really creative levels, and you can submit your own levels to be reviewed, too! Check it out for more info. Everyone else is also on their A-game as well, so I won't keep you any longer from reading on!

~FunkyK38

Section of the Month

Last month we had a lot of good sections, and you all voted for your favorites! In first, we have the lastest update of World of Plight by Magolor04726 (talk), where Wario turned on our heroes. In second, we have winstein (talk)'s Drawn and Pressed featuring not-the-Superman-villain comic Bizarro. In third is Yoshi876 (talk) with a new edition of What's on the Box? analyzing the box art of Mario Golf 64. In fourth, we have Doomhiker (talk)'s Mod of the Month. Last month, it was Neo Palm Tree Zone. Thank you to everyone who voted, and please keep it up for this month as well!

Palette Swap SECTION OF THE MONTH
Place	Section	Votes	%	Writer
1st	World of Plight	7	46.67%	Magolor04726
2nd	Drawn and Pressed	4	26.67%	winstein
3rd	What's on the Box?	3	20.00%	Yoshi876
4th	Mod of the Month	1	6.67%	Doomhiker

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Art Sections

What's on the Box?
Yoshi876 (Talk)

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So it's Picross, but Mario, the sequel.
[read more]

Super Mario Maker Showcase
Goombuigi (Talk)

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Check out some clever Mario Maker builds!
[read more]

World of Plight
Magolor04726 (Talk)

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Our super sleuth joins in the fight!
[read more]

Drawn and Pressed
winstein (Talk)

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Just a girl, in an ordinary world...
[read more]

Site Seeing
Lakituthequick (Talk)

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It's the site of a super party!
[read more]

Music Sections

What's on the Box?

Written by: Yoshi876 (talk)

Hello readers, and welcome back to What's on the Box.

And welcome back to what is very likely to be a short edition of this section, as you might've guessed by looking over at the boxart on the right-hand side. So, to slightly beef this out, I will admit that picross is a type of puzzle game I actually wouldn't mind getting into. I've done wordsearches, crosswords (badly), and hidden object games, and perhaps picross is something that is up my street.

The boxart itself isn't really that interesting, as it's just part of Mario and Wario's faces in a split-screen vs. battle, even though as far as I can see there's no actual vs. modes in the general gameplay. But fans of close-ups and facial hair should at least get their money worth.

The main image is superimposed over multiples instances of the word picross, and it is also at the bottom of the boxart, alongside some vague image of the number two that at least shows this is a sequel to the original Mario's Picross. At least it looks to almost be fitting in with some of the game's images.

But I really wish the boxart on the whole would actually fit in with those images. They at least gave a small archaeological twist to the characters, and it might've been nice to have had Mario and Wario in some archaeological get-up, like they do in Mystery Land in Mario Party 2, but alas opportunities always seem to be missed when it comes to Mario boxarts.

You might've guessed that this isn't the best boxart I've spoken about for this section, particularly as the vs. theme given is entirely misplaced. Yes, Mario and Wario are definitely rivals in every sense of the word, and that still could've been played on with some elements of picross shown, but instead we just got this.

Super Mario Maker Showcase

Written by: Goombuigi (talk)

Super Mario Maker and its sequel are my favorite Mario games of all time. I love the amount of creativity and the variety of levels presented. Through the hundreds of levels that I've played, I've stumbled on many levels that I enjoyed and wanted to bring attention to, and that's what led me to start this section, Super Mario Maker Showcase. The premise is simple - each month, I highlight a few levels that I consider to be fun and unique, and discuss why each level stood out to me, whether due to their concepts, mechanics, or other elements, and along the way, I will show specific elements that I think makes each of them enjoyable. The aim of this section is not only to bring attention to levels which I think are especially worth playing, but also to draw inspiration for you and your own potential levels, by showing a variety of creative levels, and examining how each of them come together. Hopefully, you'll learn something from this section when making levels of your own!

It's worth noting that there was a section with the same premise back in Issue 103, written by GBAToad (talk). It was a guest section, but I thought that it would be fun to bring back, especially since Super Mario Maker 2 has much more opportunities for great courses. One difference between this section and GBAToad's is that my section will highlight mostly non-community courses, although I'm open to showcasing courses by community members as well.

I will give information about each level so that you can play them on your own, but please note that certain information (such as creator names and tags) might change afterwards, and courses might be deleted at any point by the creator's choice. Because of that, all information here is accurate as of April 2021. With that out of the way, let's jump into those levels that I've been alluding to!

★☆ Mario, the Photographer ☆★

	Name:	★☆ Mario, the Photographer ☆★
	ID:	VTD-9W0-7FG
	Creator:	Arnau_196
	Description:	Take photos of these uncommon animals found in their natural habitat
	Tags:	Standard, Speedrun
	Difficulty:

It looks like Mario has another occupation! In this level, Mario is tasked with taking photos of eight various animal species, by capturing them within the "camera lens". The mechanics used in the level are well-chosen, which makes the concept of taking pictures translate surprisingly well. The level focuses on timing, and as the enemies's movesets become more complex as the player progresses, capturing them also becomes more challenging, but the difficulty is kept decently low throughout the whole course. The amount of detail makes the visuals look great, which is important considering the premise. The detail is especially apparent when looking at the habitats, which change with each enemy (for example, the Goomba is going on a leisurely stroll in a flower-riddled grassland). My favorite part is the ending, when the player is presented with an "album" of all of the animals that they've captured. While the difficulty is easy, Mario, the Photographer is fun to play, fun to look at, and rewarding to finish.

Super Mario Pocket Returns!

	Name:	Super Mario Pocket Returns!
	ID:	MXS-SHS-6QG
	Creator:	SuperPuyo
	Description:	The return of my Super Mario Pocket from the first game. Enjoy!
	Tags:	Standard, Autoscroll
	Difficulty:

Have you ever wanted to play Mario on a Switch … in a Switch? Then this is the level for you! In all seriousness, the premise of this level is exactly that - Mario is trapped inside a Switch, and blocks and enemies scroll through. While the platforming can get challenging, there are a decent amount of power-ups throughout the level waiting to be grabbed. Although the level has a fair amount of "screen crunch", similar to games like Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, the player can see the objects a few seconds before they scroll to Mario's area, so the player will never feel like they died in an unfair way. This could possibly be a limitation of the making system, but it's an advantage when planning ahead while playing. I've seen other levels with this concept use literal autoscroll, but this level uses tracks to scroll the objects, which I think works very well. There is the limitation of blocks on tracks counting towards the low entity limit of 100 objects, which isn't an issue with actual autoscrolling, so keep that in mind if you want to make a level like this one. My only criticisms of the level are that the Dry Bowl can be hard to get into with the screen crunch, and that if the player isn't careful, they might get crushed between a block and the edge of the in-game Switch, leading to an instant game over. Overall, this level is an enjoyable platforming challenge with a fun twist that doesn't distract from the experience.

●Arcade Classics●

	Name:	●Arcade Classics●
	ID:	M84-Y3H-LQG
	Creator:	Emilio!!
	Description:	Play some classic arcade games in SMM2! Have fun!
	Tags:	Standard, Themed
	Difficulty:

As the name implies, the level features replicated versions of five classic games from the early 1980's. While you've probably witnessed these in one way or another, it's interesting to see how they've been replicated. I'll go through each of the games, so if you want to see what they are for yourself, and you mind spoilers, I'd recommend playing the level first. The first game is Pac-Man, which has the player collecting five key coins. The Super Stars replicate the invincibility pellets, and Boos on tracks are in place of the ghosts. This game is fine, but a gripe I have is that there are no vines, meaning that to get to the top, the player needs to jump, and the narrow pathways don't make for an ideal situation. The second game, Duck Hunt, is a timing minigame, and unlike "Mario, the Photographer" it's more challenging, as the Lava Bubbles, representing the ducks, move quite quickly. The next game, Donkey Kong, is perhaps the most accurate, since it's a platforming game, so few adjustments were needed. Pinball, the second-to-last game, is creative in how it's executed, but timing the shell with the Thwomps paddles can be challenging considering how fast the shell and the Thwomps move. The last game is Tennis, which uses a cannon-spring mechanism which seems to be the norm for tennis games in Super Mario Maker 2, but it doesn't make the game feel any less enjoyable. Overall, all five minigames are fun to play, but in my opinion the most interesting part is comparing them to their original counterparts and seeing how their mechanics were replicated.

Goomba Fight Club

	Name:	Goomba Fight Club
	ID:	PVM-GTM-TFG
	Creator:	Mortaas
	Description:	You join the Goomba fight club. But what is the rival Goombrat up to?
	Tags:	Themed, Boss battle
	Difficulty:

Being a Goomba myself, I was thrilled to join the Goomba Fight Club, and participate in destroying my opponents. At first, the level might seem like a run-of-the-mill enemy battle, similar to the Sammer Kingdom from Super Paper Mario. However, there is a major shakeup during the fifth round, and the difficulty significantly spikes up afterwards. The level ran a risk of being dull and repetitive, but this twist prevented it from being that, instead leading in a different direction. As a result, the player always has to stay on their toes. There isn't much to say about Goomba Fight Club other than it's a fun battle marathon with a twist.

Mount Monty-Drive

	Name:	Mount Monty-Drive
	ID:	BX6-LQJ-HMF
	Creator:	Maxed0ut
	Description:	Steering a Monty-vehicle through a spikey parkour ain't no easy task!
	Tags:	Themed, Technical
	Difficulty:

Mount Monty-Drive is a level focused on tight platforming, and the premise is that Mario needs to control a Monty Mole-driven cannon vehicle to navigate the way to his goal. Controlling the vehicle can be finicky at first, and the player might find themselves missing jumps due to the Monty driver not changing direction quickly enough, but once the learning curve is overcomes, it's smooth sailing from there. Precise platforming is key in this level, as no power-ups are offered (with the exception of the Super Mushroom from the checkpoint) and tons of spikes await Mario on the way. Speaking of which, there is a checkpoint mid-way through the level, making the level much less frustrating to play through in the second half, especially since it ramps up considerably in difficulty, including more spikes, demanding more challenging jumps, and even introducing swinging claws. While this level demands more advanced platforming than the others that I've showcased, it's still a great amount of fun. Expect to die a lot when playing it though.

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I hope you enjoyed this section! But before I end, I have one more thing to say. There are only so many levels that I have played, and there are definitely stellar levels that I've missed. So, if you happen to stumble across a course that you really liked, or one that you've made yourself and you're proud of, you can submit the name and ID in this thread, and I'll feature it in a future issue! The only conditions are that I have to be able to beat the level to get the full experience (so no kaizo levels), and it has to have at least a decent quality. It doesn't need to be mindblowing, but it needs to be fun or interesting at the very least. I also encourage you to submit levels of your own, because I'd like to incorporate more of a community aspect to this section. You can submit anything, from traditional-style platformer levels to shooter levels to puzzle levels, and much more! Lastly, if you have any questions, you can ask them in the same thread. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next month with more courses in tow!

World of Plight

Written by: Magolor04726 (talk)

Within a hidden passage of Smash Bros…

Gary slumped near one of the tunnel entrances leading out of the secret base. He yawned and glanced at the large machine in the center of the room. “I wonder if that thing can zap the boredom from this place.”

Next to him, Po gave him a sideways look, then looked back at the machine. “I know what you mean. All we ever do is check if people have clearance to come down here. But like, who’s ever going to find this place, you know?”

VRRRRMMMMM!!

Suddenly, a yellow blur flew past them from the tunnel they were standing by, spitting smoke in their faces.

“IT’S-A-WARIOOOOOO TIIIIIIME!!”

Gary and Po choked and watched through stinging eyes as four others ran from the tunnel.

Po spluttered, “They definitely don’t have clearance.”

Gary coughed violently in response.

Magolor04726

“IT’S-A-WARIOOOOOO TIIIIIIME!!”

I blinked. “Where did he-.”

“No time,” Link interjected. “GO!”

We rushed from the tunnel, trying to keep Wario from alerting everyone of our presence, which was going to be hard, considering everyone was now staring at the fat dude on a motorcycle speeding through their secret evil base.

The robot was the first to react. “GET THEM!” he barked.

I stopped. “Oh crud.”

A dozen Waddle Dee’s and at least twenty Goombas charged at us, flanked by Koopas and a couple of Bokoblins.

And I was standing there, defenseless.

Wario cut through their ranks with his bike, but they quickly swarmed him. “Oh my WAH!” he yelled.

I whirled around, looking for something - anything - that would help. Grabbing a large metal disk, I hurled it like a frisbee in their direction. It sailed through the air, ricocheted among the minions, shot out of the crowd, and nailed the robot right in the chest, causing him to short circuit.

At least, that’s what I thought would happen. In reality, as I bent to pick up the disk, two Waddle Dee’s picked me up and tossed me at a pile of boxes. I slammed into a couple that had a cardboard box marked “FF” balanced precariously on top. As I sat up dazed, I heard something shift and looked up. Then everything went black.

Meanwhile, Wario was still riding. He spun his bike around, slamming the back tire into half a dozen Goombas, sending them flying through the air.

Dr. Mario was hurling mega vitamins like there was no tomorrow, Link was slicing through the ranks with his sword, and Pit was fending off several Paratroopas, but it wasn’t enough. Waluigi, the robot, and the Magic Master had vanished and the four were now surrounded.

“Mamma mia!” Dr. Mario exclaimed.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Pit said.

The minions were closing in on the heroes, who were still fighting with vigor, but they weren’t going to last much longer.

Suddenly, in a flash of light, the stack of boxes blasted apart in a small explosion. And there, from the blast came-

“Magolor!” the heroes cried.

I ran out from amidst the boxes, my clothes now red instead of blue. I flexed my hand and snapped my fingers, trying to figure out how to use my new power-up. “What do I-.”

“Just wave your hand!” Doc shouted while punching a Goomba away.

I furrowed my brow and waved my hand. To my astonishment, a fireball flew forward and lit a Bokoblin’s small amount of clothing, causing it to run around in a panic. My face brightened at this and I made a large sweeping motion with my arm, expecting a torrent of flames to incinerate the minions. Instead, a single fireball flew out and took out one Goomba.

I’m gonna need more firepower, I thought as some minions charged at me. That’s when I felt something shake. The horde must have felt it too, because everyone stopped. We all turned to the entrance and watched for the source of the noise. The pounding was getting louder and louder when, suddenly, a massive foot stepped through the archway, followed by the rest of its body. Sporting white and red colors, huge metal feet surrounded by the Fighters we had left to deal with it, and its cockpit open, the Stompybot3000 stood in the archway, Colonel Pluck gripping the control sticks.

“We managed to de-hypnotize him,” Meta Knight explained.

I grinned at the sight and turned back to the minions, who were staring wide eyed at their former ally.

Then Brawler hollered, “LET ‘EM HAVE IT!” and the Fighters surged forward, followed by the Stompybot. Colonel Pluck squawked aggressively and swung the control sticks violently, causing jets underneath the mech’s feet to blast it up and over the Fighters, where it came crashing down among the minion ranks. The floor trembled and I joined the Fighters, shooting fireballs at anything that moved.

Mr. Game & Watch hitched a ride on Wario’s bike and held out a chair to the side, smashing through the heads of anyone unfortunate enough to be taller than a Goomba. Link and Meta Knight were fighting back-to-back in a group of Bokoblins, Lizalfoses, and Bronto Burts and faring well. Kirby inhaled Pit and spat him into the fray. He held his blades out and sliced through the Goombas with astounding speed. Brawler was riding a Lloid rocket through a group of Waddle Dee’s as Villager jabbed a massive Moblin with his boxing gloves. Dr. Mario joined me in hurling projectiles into the fray. Fire and pills rained down as I screamed, “THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!”

Then, Colonel Pluck brought the Stompybot into the air and behind the Fighters. He pressed a flashing button and the “C” on the front retracted to reveal a cannon. Brawler back-flipped inside and gave a thumbs up. Pluck aimed the cannon upwards and pressed the button again. Before the gun could fire, Mr. Game & Watch hurled a large black hammer to Link, who spun once before chucking it into the air. When the cannon fired, Brawler flew upwards amidst the rafters, grabbed the airborne hammer, and brought it down among the remaining minions, sending out a blasting shockwave and a surge of powder and cracked pavement.

When the dust settled, Brawler was holding the hammer over his head triumphantly in a large divot in the floor. Any remaining minions had fled the scene, leaving us in the room with the mysterious machine. The silence was deafening.

My clothes suddenly flashed and I was back in my blue jacket. “That was the best thing that has ever happened to me!”

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Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this month’s World of Plight entry. (I know I did!) And if you're tired of hearing stories from my perspective, don't worry! I'll be going back to interviews and journal entries next month!

While we have had some questions answered, a lot more have come up. Here’s what we know so far:

Who: We now know who Waluigi and the Magic Master were working for. Where: We also know where the hospital machines and garlic burritos went.

But we still don’t know:

Who: Who is the robot working for? He seemed pretty dangerous, but he didn’t seem to be the mastermind. What: What happened to Luigi? What did that machine do? And what were the burritos used for? How: One of our oldest questions has yet to be answered: Where did Ganondorf's powers go? He's begun to get better, but his powers are still weak. Why: We still don’t know why any of this is happening. What end will kidnapping the roster bring?

This investigation has taken a serious turn and I can’t help but fear that there’s something bigger at work here. The deeper we get into this story, the darker the threat seems to become. All I can say for now is stay tuned!

Till next time,
Magolor04726,
King of Writing.

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Far, far away, a robot walked down various hallways within a large tower. Two Koopa Paratroopas followed behind him, carrying a man dressed in green. The robot passed several holding cells, where from within, a large penguin in a robe was playing a harmonica and a small dog wearing a vest was sitting on the opposite wall. The robot held up his hand as his fingertip retracted in on itself and was replaced by a key. Fitting it into the locked door, he twisted and opened the door. The penguin stopped playing and the dog looked up. Their eyes widened as the man was thrown into the cell. Quickly, they helped him onto a small blanket and eased his head onto a pillow as the robot swung the door shut with a loud CLANG! The penguin scowled at the robot and approached the door. “The others will find us.” He said in a low voice.

The robot smirked. “Oh, I highly doubt that, your ‘majesty.’ The only reason any of your allies will find you is if they are being locked up in a cell with you. But I would love to see them try to find you. And it won’t be long now, before all the pieces fall into place. And soon,” he turned and began to walk away, “you and the others will be nothing but a distant memory. Then nothing will stand between us and the ultimate goal.”

Drawn and Pressed

Written by: winstein (talk)

The comic strip that will be covered today is On a Claire Day, which according to the comic strip's description, is about a lady named Claire who just moved out of her parents' home and is living on her own. This comic strip started out in 2006 and ended in 2014, which is about eight years of journey, and the thing that catches my attention is that the characters kept moving, unlike many comic strips that preferred to keep the status quo throughout their entire life.

The first On a Claire Day comic strip.

The creators of the comic strip are wife-husband duo Carla Ventresca and Henry Beckett (who are both since surnamed Miller), who operate their own studio. The emphasis is put on Carla because she is not only the artist of the comic strip, but I felt that she is the main driving force behind it. Their studio does video and audio content for various clients such as advertising agencies and magazines (video games are mentioned, but I don't know what games they have a hand in), so to tackle a comic strip is within their realm of expertise. It would not surprise me if the artist was encouraged by her husband to do the comic strip because of her artistic skills. The art style is generally very simple and abstract, and it's very appealing to look at. It does not feel out of place for art used in greeting cards, I feel. She entertained the idea of doing it, and eventually came up with something.

In the landscape of comic strips, there is a tendency to follow the trend of what's popular. For example, when Peanuts took off and left an impact, there will inevitably be new comic strips about children and/or dogs following the huge success. As a result, certain categories of comic strips become more popular than others. According to the observation of the artist, the available comic strips generally features children (e.g. Family Circus), families (e.g. Drabble, For Better or Worse) or old people (e.g. Herman), which she felt didn't appeal to her besides the venerable Peanuts.

In this cartoon's case, the idea was born because of a general lack of comic strips focusing on a young female adult. That does not mean that there is a lack of it, since Cathy technically fits that description (maybe not the "young" part), but perhaps what was available does not appeal to the creator of the comic strip. The void that is meant to fill is something the artist would like to see: "a 20-something woman out on her own, stumbling through life". As a woman that fit the description herself, she had some experience, or rather, inexperience that would make for material for this comic strip. Things such as having a lack of cooking skills or money troubles. As such, the artist decide to convert those life experiences into the basis of this cartoon.

Although Claire was designed to be the main character of the comic strip, the creators had to figure out how to make Claire memorable in the same way some of the popular comic strips have strong characterization of the characters, such as Charlie Brown. The husband of the duo suggested looking at The Mary Tyler Moore Show for inspiration, given how the premise of that show is similar to the comic strip they are working on: a young woman who moved to the big city to live on her own. The artist then came to the workaround: to provide the secondary cast with strong comedic characteristics to which the main character would bounce off from. As an example, Claire's father is no-nonsense and rigid, Claire's mother was never able to fulfill her own life's dreams and lives through Claire's, Claire's friend Sammi has enough self-confidence and Claire's pet dog loves her dearly but can't understand her. It should be noted that the main characters introduced later in the cartoon's life seem to follow this philosophy, such as Lulu the cat (who is basically a cat) and Gianni (a foreign Italian chef that rented his space to Claire and Paul).

The first strip of the storyline featuring the eventually-adopted stray dog.

Unlike most comic strips which are content to stick to the status quo, this comic strip is content with the development of the characters and the world, which for a gag-a-day strip is not very common. It's not just that the changes happen every now and then like hairstyles, but many of the story arcs changes the status quo. As an example, one of the characters is Paul, who Claire met in the library. The reason she was there is that she worked there since she needed some sort of income and to do something that is more in line with her interests. Eventually Paul moved in with Claire and they are living together without getting marriage (cohabitation). In fact, if you thumb through the years of this comic strip, it would take some adjusting to the things that changed. Although change is generally a good thing, there are some disadvantages to it, such as a lack of familiarity from the audience. An example is how Claire moved out of her apartment to live in a different place, leaving behind her old neighbours in the process, including an Indian (as in, from India) couple. With that said, I felt that the changes are not the worst thing since the main character is still Claire and she still meets some of the familiar characters. In fact, it's actually nice to see how things progressed, which fits into the premise of this comic strip.

Despite Paul's main character status, he wasn't intended to be one at first.

Personally, I really liked this comic when I first stumbled upon it. Perhaps it was the timing in which I caught it, since by the time I started reading it I was already in the young adult age group myself. The art style is one thing that made it stood out, but when I looked through the archives I was fascinated by the progress of the characters. As an example, I assumed that Lulu the cat was from Paul but is actually adopted from an animal shelter. The comic strip is usually comedic but it does have some heartfelt moments too, such as the time when Claire's father went on a biopsy for cancer diagnosis (he turned out all right, of course) and when Sammi adopted a stray dog (which is the creators' favourite story). The ending for the comic can feel rushed, but at the very least most if not all of the characters have a happy end, which I really appreciate. At the very least it isn't in a rerun loop where there's no ending in sight, which is what happened in The Meaning of Lila, where there was a cliffhanger before it was rerun because the author couldn't afford to keep producing new cartoons.

The final comic strip, dated 14th June 2014.

The reason this comic strip ended is basically due to the overall decline of the amount of crucial newspaper clients, and eventually in 2014 the comic strip ended, even if it is still doing decently. Even though it did end, I think it did well. Overall, this is a comic strip that I liked for how well it was made, even if it is not perfect.

On a Claire Day can be read at https://www.gocomics.com/onaclaireday/2006/06/18 (the first cartoon)

Thank you for reading.

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  One of the strips where the characters went on a tour to Europe.

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References

Site Seeing

Written by: Lakituthequick (talk)

Hello dear readers and welcome to Site Seeing, in which I'll go over some of the websites Nintendo releases to inform the public about their games and series!
Today we have a site which no longer exists. Yes, you read that right. Nintendo has a tendency to delete sites every so often, and today's site is one of them. Fortunately, the Wayback Machine is to the rescue.
This game was released in 2018 and the site was closed in 2019, which is incredibly quick, but we are going to talk about the Super Mario Party website!

Overview

The layout of this site is fairly straightforward. In general, the homepage gives an overview of all the subpages, and the subpages say a few things about specific topics.

Upon entering the site we find a colourful hero with several moving parts. The Super Mario Party logo is prominent, seeing the parts of the animated background center around it. Around it are artworks of several playable characters, Joy-Con, boxart, and a call-to-action (buying the game).
Scrolling down we find three big sections telling us about the various features of the game. Minigames are announced with three photos of hands holding Joy-Con, on a background showing little videos of all minigames. Characters are introduced in a panel where four characters at a time pop in and out, highlighting that both Mario and Bowser and their friends are present. Lastly is Toad's Rec Room, showing a photo with multiple Switches lying on the table.
The last two sections are separated from the last three by an interactive button, which makes funny things happen on top of the page.
The first section introduces the online capabilities of the game with Mario and Bowser communicating over the web, as illustrated by techy swirls moving around. The second section encourages us to buy the game again, with Luigi cheering us on. Below this, two more smaller blocks tell about party equipment on Play Nintendo and a side mission on this site involving finding Toadette.

Lots of games.

The minigames page opens with a hero that is nearly the same as the homepage section about it, with an added slogan. Underneath that, three minigames are highlighted with their name and thumbnail.
What follows is a tiled overview of all minigames in Super Mario Party. They are categorised by game mode, but can also be categorised by play style (free for all, 2-vs-2, etc.).
After another interactive button, the site highlights the different ways the Joy-Con are held across minigames: horizontally (two-handed), or vertically (one-handed), as well as a link to buy more Joy-Con to play with.

Yes, let's talk about his breath. Good idea.

The character page prominently features Bowser to highlight his and his minions' presence in the game. Below that, all characters are shown in a grid, and clicking on someone opens a slider on top of the page which tells us a little about them.
Under the button, amiibo functionality is introduced, telling us about the characters's amiibo being available for points and stickers.

Unfortunately for us, the page about Toad's Rec Room was not archived properly, so I can't tell you a lot about it. The only thing that successfully loads is Toadette floating there (as part of the side mission).

The online page tells about the Online Mariothon mode with a video, although the video itself failed to archive. Below the video, we're told a bit about rotating minigames and rankings. Following that is the button again and then Nintendo Switch Online is quickly touched on, fittingly with Wario and Waluigi standing there as well (as it costs money, harhar).

Finally, the Buy Now page is a sparkly page that advertises the game itself, a game + Joy-Con bundle, and the digital download version. It also advertises the possibility to purchase Joy-Con separately. Below the button, it reminds us of amiibo once more.

Design

Representing a party game, this site is pretty colourful, using a palette of (dark) pastel colours that match ones from the game. The main colours are divided over the subpages, the homepage using them for their respective section. Each page has its own theming and corresponding colour scheme, which is hinted at on the homepage. Unless there is a specific pattern for the background, it is diagonally striped. To avoid saying the same things twice, I will thus go over the pages and talk about the homepage counterparts as needed.

Research has it that these contraptions are called "pennants". Anyone seen Toadette by the way?

Dividers between sections use one of several patterns. The simplest one is a simple, slightly slanted edge. The next pattern is a zig-zag pattern, also only used on the homepage. On the subpages, a yellow dotted border is used between multiple sections. On some divisions, pennants are also used hanging on top of the lower section, to spice it up a little.

The homepage opens with a very animated hero banner. It uses artwork of Joy-Con, the River Survival mode, Peach throwing a Bob-omb at Luigi, and Mario and his Dice Block, all floating around a bit. The background of this is an animation of all sorts of patterns and colours centering on the game's logo.

The minigames page, as well as its section on the homepage, start with a hero in which a video of all minigames plays on a blue background. On top, three hands holding differently coloured Joy-Con in different ways are shown to illustrate the different types of minigames.
Below that, three minigames are highlighted, with their name and in smaller print a short description. Bowser Jr. and Pom-Pom then show the slogan "And so much more!"
After a page-wide photo of four kids enjoying the game, an overview of all minigames is shown. These are categorised by game mode or play style. The headers of each category are banners with a stripe pattern, the minigames are arranged in a grid with thumbnail and name.

The section of the characters uses a yellow background, with 16 of the 20 characters popping in and out in the corners. The page itself uses a blue background. On this page, the 20 characters are shown in a grid, in boxes with a red-pink border that turns yellow when one hovers over it. Clicking on it opens a page-wide modal with the same red-pink background, which shows the character to the right and their name and a description on the left. The part about amiibo uses a yellow background.

As mentioned, Toad's Rec Room wasn't properly archived, but it's homepage counterpart hints at a pink theme. It has a background photo there showing off two Switches lying together. The page itself seems to list four modes and would have shown slideshows and images of each mode.

The online page uses a blue background with fancy network swirls moving around to represent the connectivity. The section on leaderboards uses a light blue background with a diagonal checkerboard pattern. To represent the minigames rotating, five panels with minigame thumbnails are arranged, which flip all over every few seconds. The NSO part with Wario and Waluigi doesn't have a pattern to its background.

Lastly, the "buy now" page, uses a lot of sparkles and effects, which gives it a holiday feeling to it. The part which advertises the extra Joy-Con uses a more confetti-like pattern for a background.

This website is a party board of its own! Explains why the game only had four boards.

Simulated view of first finding Toadette.

A few loose ends last: the menu shapes itself after the board and its spaces, as it is a thick white line with coloured circles on it, which just like in-game, are diagonally striped and have highlights on its top edge. Representing the current page is a waving flag, which moves with the cursor as it moves over it.
Across the site, Toadette can be found, and clicking on her opens a teal modal with your progress. Or at least it would, if it weren't the Wayback Machine.

Tech

This part may not be of interest to everyone, or may you even understand any of it. But it can be interesting to some people who are curious about some of the technology used to create this site.

This site doesn't use many special libraries. It appears to have used jQuery, which is a library that provides many functions to add interactivity to web pages, without having to worry about cross-browser compatibility. It is mostly superfluous these days as many of the reasons it was created are no longer applicable to modern browsers because of standardisation and great developer support.

Press this button, I dare you.

Furthermore, it used CreateJS, which I have touched upon two issues ago. This suite contains libraries to abstract graphics and sound in JavaScript, to be able to quickly build immersive animations. For this site, it was used for the swirls for the online page, as well as the interactive button and the animations it triggers. It also appears to have done something with bananas on Toad's Rec Room.

Due to it being archived, there is no way of knowing how it was originally hosted.

Conclusion

I picked this site because I recently purchased the game itself, and remembered visiting it before it went down, and it being a beautiful site. Seeing it having been taken down was a setback, but luckily the internet archive got a nearly undamaged copy. Even though some of the experience is lost due to said archival, the site still manages to be stunning, not due to specific tech, but by utilising plenty of imagery on the right places.

That concludes this month's Site Seeing! Until next time, buh-bye!

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