For the Mario inspired wallpaper, I began by exploring interesting shapes and objects that could go on to become a repeat pattern. The easiest way to find mass animation objects from games is to find the sprite sheets. In game design a sprite is an two-dimensional bitmap that can be placed into a larger setup.
Originally sprites referred to independent objects that are composited together, by hardware, with other elements such as a background. Systems like the NES,Commodore 64, and Sega genesis used Sprites and therefore created sprite maps, to show all moving objects at once. By accessing these, I'm able to see all iconic parts that make up a game on one screen.
From these sheets I favoured the cape feather. Many others took up too much space, as well as being complete blocks, which would not allow for any negative space.
The Cape Feather first appeared in Super Mario World. When Mario or Luigi grabs one, it turns them into Cape Mario/Luigi. As Cape Mario or Cape Luigi, the character can hover in the air. The flight of the Cape Feather, however, lasts as long as the player keeps hovering.
The original cape feather was of course, in an 8-bit style and has grown with technology. I began by re-creating the 8-bit style cape feather, and looked to create a flattering pattern.
I began simple, aligning the feathers alongside each other, I then went on the play with reversing the shapes. When the pattern is too large the sharp edges of the 8-bit style is unflattering and distracting. I tried to combat this by making the object smaller and the pattern more frequent. This only made the pattern even more distracting.
In an attempt to salvage, I rearranged the pattern and really liked how it looked, however the 8-bit style is still unattractive and distracting, therefore at this stage, I'm deciding to translate the shape to its modern self. My nostalgia lies in the colour palettes, and I feel keeping the shapes and edges modern, will allow me to fulfill the brief element of modernisation and make a niche 'nerd culture' commercial.
