4 ms·

Infinite Super Mario AI Source Code

117 points by fogus 17y ago

jcl 17y ago
Essentially, someone wrote a game that allows you to play randomly generated Super Mario levels of arbitrary difficulty, and the contest was to write an AI that gets as far as possible on those levels, in real time. This is the winning entry. (They actually ran two separate contests, but the videos of this agent were released around the time of the first contest, which I think would have discouraged new entrants for the second. Independently, the video went viral in Japan and picked up half a million views.)
- DarkShikari 17y ago
  Independently, the video went viral in Japan This doesn't surprise me; Japan has a long internet tradition of Mario-related hacks. One example is the "automatic Mario" videos, specially-crafted Mario levels that are set up such that they will complete automatically if Mario moves continually to the right, and the sounds created will match the background music. A particularly impressive example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM0ib4GxLPw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM0ib4GxLPw
  - harpastum 17y ago
    That video of "automatic mario" is absolutely amazing. It boggles my mind just thinking about how much time that must have taken. And to anyone who didn't check out that link, it's definitely worth watching. If you're not interested in the whole thing (eleven minutes) I recommend starting right at 8:00.
    - DarkShikari 17y ago
      And if you like that one, just check the related videos tab for more, like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt8upKaWzy0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt8upKaWzy0 and so forth.
  - req2 17y ago
    The N game has similar creations, but none approach this level of artistry. Mario seems like a good target for 'variant' games. http://kotaku.com/5161778/japanese-gamers-invent-new-way-to-play-super-mario-64 http://kotaku.com/5161778/japanese-gamers-invent-new-way-to-... has been a favorite of mine.
zandorg 17y ago
10 Jump 20 Goto 10
mynameishere 17y ago
There's something fishy about that. It seems unlikely that even a perfectly intelligent bot could, for instance, never have to wait for the flying turtles to line up (as when bouncing across a chasm). They're just always there in the perfect arrangement when mario gets to them.
- rictic 17y ago
  I'm not quite sure what you're saying, but it's worth mentioning that the levels generated by the engine are rather simple. For example, there are never any gaps so wide that they can't be jumped across easily, so no fancy bouncing needed.
- poppysan 17y ago
  The AI adapts to the current situation, making any position of the turtles perfect...
latortuga 17y ago
The highlight of this post was discovering the WTFPL, although the videos in slow motion of mario following the mouse were pretty incredible.
deleted 17y ago
[deleted]

117 points by fogus 17y ago

jcl 17y ago

Essentially, someone wrote a game that allows you to play randomly generated Super Mario levels of arbitrary difficulty, and the contest was to write an AI that gets as far as possible on those levels, in real time. This is the winning entry. (They actually ran two separate contests, but the videos of this agent were released around the time of the first contest, which I think would have discouraged new entrants for the second. Independently, the video went viral in Japan and picked up half a million views.)

DarkShikari 17y ago
Independently, the video went viral in Japan This doesn't surprise me; Japan has a long internet tradition of Mario-related hacks. One example is the "automatic Mario" videos, specially-crafted Mario levels that are set up such that they will complete automatically if Mario moves continually to the right, and the sounds created will match the background music. A particularly impressive example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM0ib4GxLPw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM0ib4GxLPw
- harpastum 17y ago
  That video of "automatic mario" is absolutely amazing. It boggles my mind just thinking about how much time that must have taken. And to anyone who didn't check out that link, it's definitely worth watching. If you're not interested in the whole thing (eleven minutes) I recommend starting right at 8:00.
  - DarkShikari 17y ago
    And if you like that one, just check the related videos tab for more, like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt8upKaWzy0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt8upKaWzy0 and so forth.
- req2 17y ago
  The N game has similar creations, but none approach this level of artistry. Mario seems like a good target for 'variant' games. http://kotaku.com/5161778/japanese-gamers-invent-new-way-to-play-super-mario-64 http://kotaku.com/5161778/japanese-gamers-invent-new-way-to-... has been a favorite of mine.

zandorg 17y ago

10 Jump 20 Goto 10

mynameishere 17y ago

There's something fishy about that. It seems unlikely that even a perfectly intelligent bot could, for instance, never have to wait for the flying turtles to line up (as when bouncing across a chasm). They're just always there in the perfect arrangement when mario gets to them.

rictic 17y ago
I'm not quite sure what you're saying, but it's worth mentioning that the levels generated by the engine are rather simple. For example, there are never any gaps so wide that they can't be jumped across easily, so no fancy bouncing needed.
poppysan 17y ago
The AI adapts to the current situation, making any position of the turtles perfect...

latortuga 17y ago

The highlight of this post was discovering the WTFPL, although the videos in slow motion of mario following the mouse were pretty incredible.

deleted 17y ago

[deleted]