[FlamingCobra]

Don't know if you guys are fans of the Earthbound/Mother series, but a fan-made "Mother 4" has been in the works for quite some time now. I think it's being made with gamemaker, and it's one of the fan games I'm eagerly looking forward to.

http://mother4.andonuts.net/

If you guys are fans of Mother/Earthbound, comment below, tell me your thoughts about the series, its pop culture references, how it makes fun of Americans, and in general just talk about Mother/Earthbound, and tell me what you think of this fan project.

Screenies:


I think they've done a really good job of capturing Earthbound/Mother's style... the uh... the overall... feel that Itoi has made. I don't know of any other way to put it.
Also, a little excerpt from an interview with Itoi. I think he has hit upon one of the fatal flaws of gamers. (I know I'm subject to it)

NAGATA: I’d like to ask you this, Mr. Iwata. Why do you suppose it’s generally so difficult for unique game ideas to come about in the workplace?

IWATA: Well, someone who’s made games for a very long time will have naturally devised a standard set of solutions to problems that pop up during the game creation process. The more experience they’ve had, the larger their set of solutions is. So, when there’s a problem that needs to be resolved, the first thing they’ll go to is their standard response; “This problem calls for this solution.” They can see their own solution clearly, but have difficulty coming up with any others.

NAGATA: Yes, I see.

IWATA: For example, there are “double pictures” that are optical illusions drawn in such a way that you can see two different things depending on how you look at them. This is like those; once you see one image, you lose sight of the other one. In that sense, your results will never be out of the ordinary if all you can see is the one half-hearted solution.

NAGATA: So it’s not because of laziness or holding back or anything like that.

IWATA: Right. Once you find an answer, that pathway inside your mind activates, meaning you lose sight of any other solutions that might be interesting or unusual.

The more you’ve grown up with games, know about games, and work with games, the easier it is to fall into that trap, I think. The more standard your solutions are, the less punch they have with the audience. In other words, your solution may fix things, but it also makes them bland and ordinary.

[Scourge of Ages]

Looks interesting.

I never completed Earthbound myself, but did watch my brother go through much of it. Always seemed weird to me, but I know it was fun, and looking back I can see how deep it was.

The question I have is, why make a Mother 4 when Mother 3 desperately needs a (non-ROM) fan-port? Or regular DS port, that would be good too.

[FlamingCobra]

What do you mean? There's a fan-translation of Mother 3. Yes it is a ROM, but you can put it on a GBA flashcart, or play it on a TV with a Wii through homebrew, or play it on a PSP with homebrew.

I don't know what other kind of port there would be. A ROM is preferable to a gamemaker .exe because you can do so much more with it. Nintendo's not ever going to do anything else with the Mother series, so I don't see a DS port happening.

[BritishShivans]

I played Mother 2/Earthbound when I was little, and I ****ing LOVED it. I still do. Haven't played Mother 3, though.

But seriously guys Giygas