So now that I’ve knocked most of the ideas that are currently thrown around, I guess it’s about time I backed up my critique with some useful suggestions. Most of my complaints center around the fact that the ideas I’ve listed all fail to utilize the full potential of both consoles (i.e. the GameCube version is the main game while the Gameboy Advance is a lesser part). I hope to see games that make use of the strengths of both systems. Rather than just play a mini-game on the GBA that works with the GCN, I hope to play a fully developed game; one that is as deep, compelling, and most importantly fun as its console companion. This does not mean, however, that I’m looking to replicate the gameplay of a next-generation console title on a next-generation handheld. I know that next Mario game on the GameCube will not be able to be reproduced (even in 2d) on the Gameboy Advance.

The GameCube is designed to be a 3d gaming powerhouse, though it’s also capable of playing 2d games. And, although Tony Hawk has shown that basic 3d polygon models can be used and other games can use Mode-7 effects to simulate 3d, the Gameboy Advance is designed to be a 2d gaming work horse. These strengths should be emphasized in creating 2d and 3d games that interact with each other. So instead of trying to replicate Mario GameCube on the GBA, a 2d Mario game could be created that works with it.

Right, so what does Mr. Know-It-All mean by “working” together? Well, I’ll stick with the Mario example and try to hammer something out an idea on the spot (not that there’s anyway to prove that I hadn’t thought about this for hours before, but you’ll just have to trust Mr. Know-It-All that he’s brainstorming on the fly while typing). The traditional views of Mario games is as a platformer, both in 2d and 3d (though those are two distinctly different beasts) but we’ll stick with that tradition. So we have a gorgeous looking 3d adventure exploration game for the GameCube and a smooth looking 2d action side-scrolling game on the Gameboy Advance. What can we possibly do with them?

The basic idea for in creating games that reach their full connective potential is to make sure that useful information is exchanged between both games. By useful, I mean information that can affect the gameplay world. Special items, abilities, and characters are part of this, but so is altering the number of enemies, adding (or eliminating) obstacles, and changing the paths available in a world. So applying this to the Mario example, we could have the performance of Mario in his 2d GBA game open up a shortcut, give a special item to help solve a puzzle easily, or weaken a boss in the 3d GCN game.

Okay, but you may still be thinking to yourself that this still doesn’t quite make sense. How does a 2d side-scrolling world work within a massive 3d world? Is the GBA version simply going to have a 2d view of the worlds in the GCN game? Maybe, but I don’t think that’d work to well. How if we look at the worlds on a different scale? It’s actually quite natural for a Mario game. Mario has changed size in previous games, so now, these size changes could lead to exploring new, smaller areas in a larger game world. The 2d GBA game could essentially take place in an underworld that is part of the larger 3d GCN game’s world while somewhat paradoxically being separate at the same time.

A more concrete example then would to imagine Mario in a haunted house on the GameCube (not all that difficult thanks to Space World 2000). Now, he needs to get past a door with a special lock. With just the GameCube, the player might have to spend time searching for a key that some Giant Boo is guarding. Well, if there was a GBA companion game, there would be a level that takes place underneath the floorboards of the mansion that would, when completed, let Mario go under the door. So when connected to the Game Boy Advance, the GameCube Mario would reach the door, walk to a hole in the floorboards that leads the GBA underworld, and (if the GBA level is completed) bring Mario back up into the GCN mansion on the other side of the door with no key needed.

Admittedly, this is only a rough example (which took about 30 minutes to brainstorm and write), but with the proper design, there should be very few technical hurdles preventing this from being implemented. GBA-GCN connectivity could open up another level of interactivity, though it would not (or should not) be required to complete either game. The two games together should add up to more than the sum of their parts, but standing alone, should be worthwhile and complete games in and of themselves.

So that’s a quick rundown of what really excites me about GBA-GCN connectivity. That’s what has captured my imagination. And as cool as I may think this type of GBA-GCN connectivity is, I’m sure there are even more things that can be done or that there’re others who’ve already figured this out. Hopefully, Nintendo and other developers are well on track to create games like this and Mr. Know-It-All will look like Mr. Duh-The-Rest-Of-The-World-Already-Knows-This. Perhaps, with a little luck, we’ll know in a few days at E3.

This is but one brief example. Look for more possibilities in the near future, but for now, Max needs something to post. Also, let me know what you think...especially if you can see major problems with this. I think I’m already aware of a good deal of design issues that’d be involved and will address those in the near future, too. The bottom line, for me, is to see something like this realized so that gamers can experience something cool, fun and new; which is, after all, why we play games in the first place.