The 'Shroom:Issue 160/Staff Notes

Staff Notes

Written by: Hooded Pitohui (talk), Roserade (talk), and Ninja Squid (talk)

Hello, all of you readers of The 'Shroom! Welcome to our summer special issue! You might notice a few things look different around here this month. You see, we have a bit of an... infestation, I admit, in The 'Shroom HQ. These nasty multicolored Viruses have invaded and have been causing havoc. We initially tried to phone Dr. Mario, but it turns out that he charges exorbitant fees. He mentioned something about a fighting tournament paying him more than he makes as a doctor, or something like that...

We seemed to have no other recourse, but we remembered something important. As Dr. Mario World has taught us, anyone in the Mushroom Kingdom who dons a medical outfit and throws around some Megavitamins is a qualified and licensed doctor. Needless to say, myself and the rest of The 'Shroom's staff found the nearest costume shop, put on some doctor outfits, and now we're all fully-licensed medical doctors! Don't worry, writers and readers of The 'Shroom, we're clearing out this infestation as I write this! Be sure to enjoy everyone's new outfits as you browse through this issue.

In what is certainly nothing other than a happy coincidence, we've all become doctors almost exactly thirty years after the original Dr. Mario came out in Japan. It's hard to believe, but players have been stacking Megavitamins and killing Viruses for three decades now, and the franchise has experimented in a number of ways in that time period. Some of those experiments have worked better than others, but the core gameplay has always remained the same. This month's issue is a tribute to this often-overlooked subseries of puzzle games, so please look for and enjoy the various Dr. Mario themed sections our writers have submitted this month.

As we look towards the second half of the year (2020 is already halfway over!), I want to remind all of you that we have some big plans for a large special issue in December. We'll be working hard over the next few months to prepare something unique for all of you, so please look forward to it. Next month's issue may be a little smaller, coming right after the Awards ceremony, but we'll more than make up for it with the rest of the year (and, please, sign up for and prioritize Awards presentations!).

I'd like to also take a moment to thank all of you who participated in our first ever 'Shroomfest this past month. We had some great turnout and enthuasism, and Ninja Squid has a reward for all of your effort and participation. He has a very entertaining story to tell in the 'Shroomfest Highlights, so please be sure to give it a look. We'll be working to further refine the 'Shroomfest concept in the coming weeks, so please pass along thoughts and suggestions if you have them.

There's much more I'd like to say, but I've filled this space enough as it is. Thankfully, I have a great Sub-Director who can take over for me here, so I'll allow Roserade to provide more details about our Awards season and to deliver some thoughts about a real-world virus situation and the doctors and medical professionals who have put themselves at risk working through the COVID-19 crisis. Please, readers of The 'Shroom, put on your labcoats, enjoy the issue, and get to work on some Awards presentations!

—Hooded Pitohui, Director

Greetings, beautiful 'Shroom readers! Welcome to our wonderful Dr. themed issue of The 'Shroom! I've currently got my best lab cape on, isn't it gorgeous? Really complements the hair, I feel. Next step: fake online license!

Pitohui's already covered a number of things regarding this edition, so I've got some other community happenings to advertise! Next month, the MarioWiki will be hosting the fourteenth annual Mario Awards ceremony! You can read more about it here. While the voting has closed for the different polls, you can still participate in Awards by checking out the presentation sign-up page! You can learn all the details you need to know there. I highly encourage you to sign up; your presentation does not need to be the next Picasso painting for it to be fun, you just need to have an idea and run with it! At the time of writing this, there's still a number of unclaimed awards, so make sure to sign up while you can!

Also, we're looking for a Spotlight Co-Manager to assist Yoshi876 with running the Spotlight, so please be sure to apply if you feel up to the task.

While this edition is certainly taking a more light-hearted tone with its theming, we cannot emphasize our gratitude enough for the healthcare professionals on the front lines of the world right now. I write this from the United States, where we're seeing record cases of COVID-19 by the day, so our appreciation of those keeping us safe is more important now than ever. The 'Shroom thanks all of those fighting for us, and we encourage you to thank those who you personally know in your life.

That's all from me in my new maniacal throne. Have a wonderful rest of your July, and happy reading!

—Roserade, Sub-Director

Staff Section of the Month for June 2020

STAFF-VOTED SECTION OF THE MONTH
Place	Section	Writer	Reasoning
1st	Mach Speed Mayhem	Superchao (talk)	There's not as much information on QQQ as there is on other racers, which seems to hold true for the AX racers in general. Despite that, the section is far from feeling as though it's lacking in information. It's packed with all of the detail you'd expect from this section's historical coverage of F-Zero racers, and Perch goes further and takes the time to delve into the interesting story behind QQQ's name and theme.
2nd	Anniversary Announcements	Lakituthequick (talk)	This section always does an excellent job of condensing the great amount of information on the happenings of Awards season into an easy-to-read and easy-to-parse table, and this month proved no different. In addition to his table and excellent summaries, Lakituthequick added a nice graphical touch to his section with a large neon button to ensure no readers missed their chance to vote in the Awards polls.
2nd	Drawn and Pressed	winstein (talk)	This section continues to incorporate a compelling writing style, a good mix of an overview of the comic, biographical information about its creators, and winstein's personal experiences with the comic. On top of all of this, it has a tight, focused organization.
3rd	It's aMAZEing	Lakituthequick (talk)	LTQ offers a maze in his usual artistic style, but puts a twist on it that we can appreciate by opting for glowing neon colors on a black background rather than the colored line art that usually characterizes the section. It was a neat change from the usual that made the section stand out visually. That it is also neat reference to a big, ongoing community activity is a bonus on top of everything else.

Congratulations to all of our writers for their amazing work!

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