Mario, the book
2018Book Design
Copywriting
Research
Print & Fabrication
Short, pudgy and Italian, Mario might be the only wildly successful plumber to never have fixed a pipe. His overalls and extravagant moustache have carried through several dozen professions, over three decades, through countless sewers, right across the world.
This book is a non-gamer’s attempt to capture the magical world that Mario inhabits, a world that is a mastery in story-telling, character and fantasy-world design, music, engagement and most of all, fun.
Original Game Clip. Credit to Nintendo.
Mario challenged the video game world of battles and guns with a cheery blue sky and a chirpy enthusiasm to solve whatever Nintendo threw him into. Mario isn’t about Mario being a hero, it’s about YOU being the hero. From the mirror-like book cover to the games within, this book is about YOU, the pixelated plumber.
And because this book had to be about the same fun, it incorporates a series of games and challenges for the reader as they journey through the pages – from collecting all the coins to building their own 8-bit character.