Nothing is more nostalgia-inducing than picking up a gaming controller for a li’l Super Mario Bros. revival. Unless you’re playing Mario himself IRL, that is.
Programmer and developer Abhishek Singh’s latest project has turned the beloved game into a livable jungle gym of entertainment. Using Microsoft HoloLens, Singh has recreated the first level of Super Mario Bros. into an augmented reality game that allows the user to venture into a 3D version of the favorite childhood game themselves.
In this demo video, recorded in Central Park, we watch Singh’s perspective directly from the HoloLens as he makes his way to the flagpole. An inset video in the top right corner shows him bumbling down the path, reaching upward toward blocks, flinging attacks at Goombas, and hopping forcibly onto power-ups.
Yes, he appears completely ridiculous doing it, dressed in a Mario costume with no context, but little do passersby know how amazing his prototype walkthrough really looks from his perspective.
Singh’s repertoire is filled with tens of other cool inventions, most notably Peeqo, a cute Disney-esque robot assistant who replies in GIFs, that he created for his college thesis. Maybe, like with Peeqo, Singh will release his finalized future augmented reality work as open source for all of us to enjoy this first-person wonderland.
Watch Singh’s take on IRL Super Mario Bros. below:
H/T TechCrunch