Pixelator
- “You ready, son? I'll zap you to the Gloomy Manor with my new and largely untested Pixelator! Let's hope all of the pixels make it this time. Heh heh...”
- —Professor E. Gadd, Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
The Pixelator (known as the Pixelshifter in British English versions) is one of Professor E. Gadd's many inventions. It is of great importance during Luigi's quest to piece together the Dark Moon in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. The Pixelator is used to teleport people from one place to another. Whoever it is used on is temporarily transformed into multiple pixels and pulled through a Pixelator Screen; the pixels are then sent out of a Pixelator camera in another location, where the person who traveled through it is reassembled. At the start of the game, E. Gadd uses the Pixelator to transport Luigi through his TV to the Bunker. Throughout the remainder of the game, E. Gadd uses it to teleport Luigi to and from the five different mansions in Evershade Valley: the Gloomy Manor, Haunted Towers, Old Clockworks, Secret Mine, and Treacherous Mansion.
There are several Pixelator cameras found in front of and within each of these mansions, and Luigi is usually sent out of a different one in each mission. At the end of each mission, a large Pixelator Screen appears and displays the records for the mission, after which Luigi is pulled through it and back to the Bunker. Prototype Pixelator Screens are also found in every mansion after the Gloomy Manor. As these screens cannot be controlled from the Bunker, Luigi must activate them manually. E. Gadd asks Luigi to find these prototype Pixelator Screens and use them to send each of his five Toad assistants back to the Bunker. In addition to the above use of Luigi's TV as a Pixelation entry point, E. Gadd is shown to be able to connect other cameras to the network as exit points, such as when he sends Luigi through the miniature camera within the display at the Treacherous Mansion's Train Exhibit. As indicated by Luigi coming out as miniature as the display, the Pixelator network can alter the size of whatever goes through it based on the size of the camera used.
King Boo is also shown to have power over the Pixelator. After Luigi defeats the Tough Possessor in Stop the Knightmare, Luigi and the Dark Moon piece are transported back to the Bunker, but partway through, King Boo pulls Luigi back and into his arena, leaving the Dark Moon piece to be transported to E. Gadd alone. At the end of the game, E. Gadd pixelates himself to the Treacherous Mansion's Terrace to show Luigi that he must use the Dark-Light Device to free Mario from the painting he is trapped in. E. Gadd's Toad assistants, carrying the Dark Moon pieces, are also pixelated here shortly after.
The Pixalator makes a less prominent appearance in Luigi's Mansion 3. In the pause screen, there is an option to go to E. Gadd's Bunker. A skippable cutscene plays, in which the Pixelator teleports Luigi to the Bunker. The Pixelator then stands stationary at the door until the player uses it again to return to the spot from which they came.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ゴーゴーカメラ[?] Gō Gō Kamera |
Go Go Camera; abbreviated as GC, a reference to the Nintendo GameCube. | |
| Chinese | GOGO照相机 (Simplified) ＧＯＧＯ照相機 (Traditional)[?] Go Go Zhàoxiàngjī |
Go Go Camera; abbreviated as GC, a reference to the Nintendo GameCube. | |
| Dutch | Telepixelaar[?] | Telepixelator, the prefix tele- comes from teleport | |
| French | Télépixelisateur[?] | Telepixelator, the prefix tele- comes from teleport | |
| German | Voxelporter[?] | Voxelporter | |
| Italian | Pixeltrasporto[?] | Pixeltransportator | |
| Korean | 고고 카메라[?] Gogo Kamera |
Go Go Camera; abbreviated as GC, a reference to the Nintendo GameCube. | |
| Spanish | Transpixelador[?] | Transpixelator |
Trivia
- In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Luigi is always positioned in midair by the Pixelator when arriving at a mansion. This causes him to fall to the ground in a comical fashion nearly every time he is teleported, though during a few missions in the Secret Mine and the Treacherous Mansion, he lands on his feet.
- Luigi also seems to be rather scared of the Pixelator, due to him always crouching when it pixelates him.
- Sometimes during the transportation period, the pixels can be different sizes from normal, such as several larger pixels, or one large pixel traveling through the warp space.
- In the Nintendo 3DS remake of Luigi's Mansion, what appears to be the Pixelator Screen can be seen in the Gallery by using the search function on the Game Boy Horror to look at the corner of the southwest wall. When it is scanned, Luigi says, "A huge monitor... I wonder what it's for..."
- In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Professor E. Gadd uses similar technology to deliver himself a drink from Starbeans Cafe, using the screen of a giant Game Boy Horror.
