How scrolling textures gave Super Mario Galaxy 2 its charm

Let's dive into Super Mario Galaxy 2, and explore how a small team at Nintendo pushed simple developer techniques to their limits to make something that still looks good today.
◆ Twitter: / jasperrlz
◆ noclip.website: noclip.website/
◆ Visit Slimy Spring Galaxy in your web browser! noclip.website/#smg2/UnderGro...
Extra footage used:
◆ Breaking Conventions with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, from GDC 2017. • Breaking Conventions w...
Music:
◆ The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - The Great Sea
◆ Super Mario Galaxy - Cosmos Illusion
◆ Super Mario Galaxy - Teardrop
Special thanks: Shesez, Jewel, Instant Grat, Andre, Will, Jonas, Dotsarecool, Creative Corner

[@blazerlazer55]

amazing looking water in this game

[@toki4139]

The best was in Starfox Awww

[@Pirateyware]

@@toki4139 Starfox What?

[@toki4139]

@@Pirateyware The water in Starfox Adventure on GC.

[@themidiflipchannel4992]

7/10; Too much water

[@Raoul1808.]

I’m drowning in these details

[@wonderguardstalker]

“Nearly 20 years old” Oh god

[@chrispo7610]

*Oh God*

[@pikminman13]

Pikmin turns 20 in 2 years, I can't handle these hard facts...

[@TheAbsol7448]

The GameCube will be closer to the release of the NES than to "now" in a few years. 5 years after that, the same will be true for the Wii. Honestly, when the Wii U was out, the GCN was considered retro. Now that the Switch is out, why isn't the Wii also considered retro?

[@pikminman13]

@@TheAbsol7448 dont even suggest that

[@TheAbsol7448]

@@pikminman13 Which one?

[@kl7360]

Nintendo keeping the marketing focus away from graphics is a big part of the key to their longevity. When it comes to visuals, they aim to appear timeless instead of constantly on the cutting edge and it definitely pays off.

[@redstonewarrior0152]

It also helps that Nintendo aims to stylize while the competition prefers to aim for realism. Stylized art styles are longer lived than realistic art styles.

[@vuilviezetroepstoep6269]

@@redstonewarrior0152you just said what he said, again

[@Furska.]

​@@vuilviezetroepstoep6269rolled a nat 1 in reading comprehension lol

[@jellycore1316]

​@@redstonewarrior0152Yeah, I agree! ^^ True!

[@jellycore1316]

​@@Furska.That feels a bit rude

[@AnthonyPadilla]

this is incredible. i watched this yesterday and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. more of this please!

[@hasanelrabih283]

WHY IS ANTHONY HERE? WHY DOES THIS HAVE SO FEW LIKES?

[@rainworldfan7757]

bruh what ahahahah

[@chaysehamilton5734]

Anthony you should do a video on I spent a day with game devs indie or large, I think that would make for a really interesting video.

[@user-pe2yx9kt4e]

Omg Anthony! Smosh Nintendo-related videos were the best! So glad to find you here!

[@ain.nevarez]

Hello Anthony Padilla from AnthonyPadilla.

[@BryceDixonDev]

I just reimplemented most of this video in like an hour. I'm not a graphics guy so these tricks have been eluding me for over a year. You're a rockstar.

[@defaultkid99]

BtheDestroyer yes

[@TheLuigidan]

If only life was as simple as overlapping textures and displacement maps

[@piggi5xtheawesome973]

tbh

[@EatPieYes]

I'd be picking boogers and wearing shoes with velcro until I was in my death bed then

[@f10pped36]

I would have been using all the no clip glitches then

[@chrisc7265]

hmmm, let me try this... overlap picture of dad.... scale up... add displacement map... and... "Hi son! Sorry I took so long to get those cigs, there was a big line at the corner store!"

[@PabloAriznabarreta]

Actually, it kind of is.

[@Mekose]

THIS VIDEO IS INCREDIBLE. It cannot be stated enough how amazingly well the editing, presentation, and explainations are done in this video. You've somehow managed to explain a rather complex 3D technique with a beautifully succinct explaination and most importantly a very easy to understand visualization. There are hour long tutorials that don't explain displacement maps as well as this video. These are the perfect videos for 3D artists, hobbyists, and game designers to watch; fun, informative, and well edited. I've used your website before to get inspiration for my own work and it's an absolute joy. I'm so eager for more videos from you because this is 100% the content I crave and I adore your passion and commentary! Thank you!

[@uniworkhorse]

amen

[@keistzenon9593]

takes a passionate person to dig so deeply and and explain a concept in this fun way 😀

[@anagavrylyuk2035]

i've never thought about how developers make water look like water, this was actually really cool

[@BonusPokus]

Dude, this reverse engineering of Nintendo's visuals is pure gold. Subscribed.

[@alangfp]

Eric Rider EXACTLY ME NOWWW!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaa

[@Guywithaclub]

Agreed. I always assumed it was magic. And honestly, it almost is. Using such simple tricks to make such gorgeous water just blows my mind.

[@DominicGo]

KZbin algorithm please bless this video and recommend it to everyone 😭

[@Pika915]

Your wish has been granted From recomendations and I love the vid. Bell has been rung.

[@WestberryFilms]

hmu if you get it

[@safir2241]

You realize that the algorithm recommends people what it thinks they’ll watch?

[@DominicGo]

Smash Nerd i would like to thank the youtube gods for hearing my prayers haha

[@insertnamehere3675]

Dominic Go KZbin did it I got recommended this video

[@EluTran]

This video was an amazing watch and interesting the entire way through. Awesome job on this and I'm looking forward to more!

[@undomielkay]

I can tell just by your pfp that you are the guy who uploaded the extended soundtracks of undertale

[@Nick_115]

@@undomielkay i knew they were familiar!

[@Ad-im1ne]

@@undomielkay i really hope people keep pointing this out cuz it makes me laugh each time

[@txboy2276]

Are you the guy that uploaded the so long gay bowser video

[@ymireva3718]

Extend the video then, and show us more

[@wileecoyotegenius5955]

This probably explains why the water in Super Mario Sunshine looked so damn realistic compared to everything else at the time.

[@SakoresDark]

OSHIT YOU'RE THE NOCLIP.WEBSITE GUY :D GOOD TO STUMBLE ON YOU SOMEWHERE ELSE

[@Liam-pf7ih]

my exact reaction

[@drgabi18]

same reaction but with a big WHAT scream

[@sentrisentri]

same reaction lol

[@techsupport2173]

That was a huge plot twist

[@JasperRLZ]

i feel its not a very good plot twist if it happens 1 minute into the video

[@lemmelix]

Hardware limitation made you innovate harder. And i f-ing love it.

[@showmeyourmoves8551]

LemmeLix hardware limitation? Gamecube is the most powerful console of its generation.

[@babahshsjjajshd7356]

Show Me Your Moves yet it could never calculate all of the surface vectors required for shading like today’s computers can. Some games incorporated shading without the mathematical requirement by what LemmeLix said, innovation. There has been awesome approximations using binary logic for example.

[@SianaGearz]

@@showmeyourmoves8551 But this is a 2010 game. WiiU wasn't far off, and Xbox 360 had been around for quite a few years and the software on it went through quite a bit of visual refinement. In the meanwhile, the game had to make do with Gamecube-based graphics hardware which first was released 9 years prior, merely clocked 1.5 times higher.

[@showmeyourmoves8551]

Siana Gearz im talking about the gamecube games in the video not the galaxy 2

[@choo_choo_]

These aren't innovations though. Developers have been using these tricks for ages before this game. Not just Nintendo. This is just knowledge that's been built on by other devs. Pretty sure stuff like this was used all the way back since Turok (albeit in a really basic sense).

[@karstdeviz3858]

textures are underrated, i always have tons of fun messing around with them in photoshop. its kinda like looking at clouds, seeing what a random thing can look like.

[@yellowblanka6058]

Not really, it's just that pixel/vertex shaders are a lot more versatile so it's become standard to use them for layered effects vs. only textures. Of course they are a lot more computationally expensive en-masse than textures, but they also enable, for example, much more realistic looking water (the water in "Sea of Thieves" for example)

[@Caleb_Landry]

Ugh I absolutely love Slimy Spring Galaxy. I’m so glad it has finally been recognized.

[@SuperMario2401]

SAME MY FAVORITE LOOKING GALAXY/LEVEL EVER!

[@TheAbsol7448]

Nintendo is a bunch of mad geniuses. They make water look better than what everyone else makes on much weaker hardware.

[@hepa00lepa]

@@vidyaWolf what a meh take to respond with lmaoo.

[@JetpackGamer456]

TheAbsol aside from uncharted 4 yeah pretty much

[@Clos93]

Actually the Gamecube was pretty impressive hardware compared to other consoles of it's generation. It was actually more powerful than a ps2, but weaker than the original xbox. It's only hindering factor was the disc format it used compared to the other consoles of the time which were using dvd-roms.

[@reshadegaming6285]

@@vidyaWolf Crysis takes a lot of thought, it's just two approaches to make something beautiful. Nintendo relies more on simple tricks paired with a wealth of artistic talent, for a game such as Crysis that wouldn't work within the games setting. Games such as Crysis back in the day were designed to push rendering to the limit, and it's beautiful in a different way what they've done with it.

[@christopherchilton1955]

This water looks like about what Unreal Tournament had in 1999, what're you fanboying on about?

[@broshiplays1457]

I would legitimately watch an entire series of this man doing this for every level for mario galaxy 1 + 2

[@bellowingsilence]

It’s fascinating how the GameCube had tech that was inferior in some ways to PS2, inferior entirely to Xbox, but the first party Nintendo games from that gen hold up better than anything else from that timeframe. Nintendo knows how to make timeless games... aside from the N64 age, but everyone had their growing pains then.

[@GA-od1fv]

Mario 64 is still playable

[@TorutheRedFox]

gamecube had much better tech than ps2 the mini dvds held it back though

[@kiaelinkx]

GameCube was far better hardware wise than ps2?

[@bellowingsilence]

@@kiaelinkx I said in some ways though. For some main specs, GameCube had it beat, arguably in ways that are even more obvious today. The limited disc capacity and lack of real online support in most cases on GameCube were real drawbacks though. Today, of course, I would much rather own a GameCube for the single player and local multiplayer experience, overall (between exclusives and superior performance on most multiplaform games.) Or really… a first gen Wii is kinda the way to go. Also, I think GameCube performance has aged better with modern display tech. The graphical drawbacks of PS2 performance, particularly out of control aliasing, has only become more glaring on LCD displays and at higher native resolution. The old tube TVs made it a lot easier for us to really say “I don’t care about graphics” back in the day, when they inherently helped blur the lines (sometimes literally) with some of those problems.

[@saturn6458]

@@kiaelinkx what? the ps2 was an sfx powerhouse and i would say most ps2 classics aged better than it's contemporaries

[@alexhiatt3374]

This helped me get a really nice looking water plane in a Blender project without killing my render times, thanks!

[@supahstarclod]

The graphics are gorgeous, but I never really took the time to admire the design and engineering that went behind it all. Props to you for bringing attention to such a niche topic and for explaining it so concisely. Looking forward to future episodes!

[@dingchat555]

I always thought the water in Super Mario Galaxy was absolutely beautiful.

[@tryptamigo]

incredible work not just with the noclip website and reverse engineering nintendo's gfx tech, but also your interactive video editing. the amount of polish here is insane. i wouldn't mind a video on just how you make these videos. technical skill + a knack for presentation is a rare combo and i expect big things from you.

[@MrBallinmangosocks]

This is unquestionably one of the best put together videos on a subject that could be so complicated if done poorly. This deserves an immediate subscription and I can’t wait for more

[@armchairrocketscientist4934]

I really like this. It's very visually appealing - you show, not just tell. Can't wait for more, especially Windwaker!

[@totty2524]

Yeah, I didn't expect he'd go into actually showing the techniques. Such a great video.

[@crustykeycap5670]

This is the first episode? I’m bouta subscribe

[@madotha]

Same! But it's already a month without the next episode :(

[@R34L1TY]

i too am here due to grumpers. like the video and subscribe ! his website must have been an incredible work load, for which he is clearly passionate.

[@yosma6]

I'M STILL WAITING THE SEQUEL OF THAT SERIE 😭

[@electroflame6188]

You are about to be very happy.

[@SpringySpring04]

Sadly, the Galaxy series is where Nintendo decided to copy Valve and probably never make a third installment Pensiveface ;-;

[@giulia2476]

Please do more of these, I'd love to learn how Nintendo makes their games look so good despite their hardware limitations. Some of them never seem to age, which is a huge artistic achievement.

[@FirebombFritzz]

Botw aged really badly but nintendo wants evry game excdpt mario to look like it

[@jiffylou98]

Yo. PLEASE make more of these! I've always wanted a show about the weird techniques in graphic design and game art. Subscribed.

[@jjthejetplane1220]

This is some insanely high quality content; those visuals were beautiful.

[@mjordan072]

Between this video and your website... um, can I give you money? I really want to give you money

[@JasperRLZ]

I do not accept donations.

[@mjordan072]

@@JasperRLZ I guess that's smart - that could jeopardize your channel and site. Well just know that your work is incredibly helpful and inspiring for budding game artists and you are so so appreciated!

[@catgode]

@@mjordan072 How exactly would donations jeopardize his work? Curious, because I don't really know... why.

[@evaderxx117]

@@catgode maybe nintendo could argue, that he makes money of their property (levels, gameplay videos, etc.) And the site + videos could be taken down? I don't really know though

[@Clever_Potato]

@@evaderxx117 Knowing Nintendo, if this all blew up big enough, I wouldn't be surprised to see something like that

[@TheMCzorro]

Warning, Michael: Your channel just got Grump Bumped

[@TitusSc]

Can you explain how they managed to make the water look “whiter” near walls, like the foam is piling up

[@seabassthegamer6644]

It looks like that's just a part of detail layer 1 Edit: upon closer inspection, I think I may be wrong.

[@JasperRLZ]

There's a trick to this I didn't explain. I might explain it in a future video, so stay tuned :)

[@TitusSc]

Michael `Jasper` Ashworth thanks, that would be great! Your video was incredibly enlightening, even for someone already well versed in 3D graphics. Thanks a lot for the hard work

[@Jonen560ti]

I'm guessing it's a separate model or the edges are pre-defined in the texture cordinates

[@JasperRLZ]

Nope, it's part of the same model and material. I promise I'll cover this properly at some point, but it will require some time to explain fully.

[@sebg3877]

True optimization, now I see how they managed to make this game run at stable 60fps and looking beautiful

[@PrettyFungi]

I'm glad this was in my recommended videos. This was interesting as hell. I've been working on 2D game development but this video single handedly inspired me to dabble in 3D modeling. The layered textures alone opens a whole pandoras box of tricks that I didnt know were this simple.

[@knifedrowns8272]

"Welcome to the first video of what is hope gonna be a *very long series* -" *immediately subscribes yesyesyes thank you youtube for recommending this video YES

[@JoniSusi]

This was so well put together. I understand basic image manipulation, none of the gamedeveloping, but I understood everything with your explanations. Now I can't stop seeing these patterns everywhere tho :D

[@Pika915]

KZbin recommendations are ON POINT! subbed and Bell has been rung.

[@_carpainterr_6824]

For some reason I keep coming back to this video. It’s been several years since my first watch and it still entertains me. Hopefully soon you will make new videos

[@Quionol]

I checked out the noclip site and oh man I fell in love immediately.

[@Pascll]

that website seems really cool, I'm gonna check that out.

[@hexdump8590]

I love when game VFXs are deconstructred. You nailed on this one. Keep them coming.

[@blockedblock5203]

This is so well-presented and put together. I love how you have very clear and detailed visual examples of what you're talking about, it helps so much in getting the points across. Outstanding level of production.

[@cosmotect]

Great video man :) I'd like to add for viewers, that the displacement map example in the middle of the video is warping the UV coordinates of the texture. In other words, its constantly shifting the texture's position on the geometry. Actual displacement is somewhat different, where the actual vertices get physically moved by some distance encoded in the texture as brightness. In both cases, as well as a myriad of others, we use a black&white texture for these manipulations, and what you call isn't very important

[@scizzer12]

"Is that the Jasper from noclip?" *click* "Hi, I'm Jasper from noclip" Oh shit. Subscribed. To the actual content of the video: This is exceptional. Presentation wise, pacing wise, explanations. Everything. Truly great.

[@sugimation8575]

I knew Galaxy 2 was special for some reason. The fact that you’ve illustrated it so well is fascinating. Thank you!

[@channelmachinebroke9638]

4:23 this section of the video offers a better explanation of bump maps than a lot of dedicated videos on the topic

[@KacKLaPPeN23]

Your website is insane... actually at a loss of words never thought anyone would come up with something like this.

[@HybridAngelZero]

Wow! Man, Nintendo's artists, designers and engineers are an amazing bunch.

[@Squantle]

As soon as you said “very long series” I subbed lol

[@sscarrlink]

This video was so well done. I loved your enthusiasm for the subject at hand. I’d definitely love to see more of this

[@uniworkhorse]

Subbed! The amount of in depth and quality focus was refreshing! I loved how you explained verbally and had awesome transitional visual aids showing the different layers of the process!

[@no00ob]

Finally someone else who loves the slimy springs galaxys begining lmao

[@Beos_Valrah]

IMO it's pure magic (not just the beginning though :)

[@TheWoozly]

This first video has way more polish and clarity than most other multi-million view videos on similar topics. I feel like I learned a lot, and I'm really looking forward to the next one! I think you'll receive a lot more views and subscribers very soon.

[@TheWoozly]

To say nothing of the website associated with it! This is just bonkers. Great stuff.

[@FloNess1]

The most amazing thing about this is your fascination and enthusiasm, I love being told and explained anything if the person explaining it is enjoying it as much as you do explaining this

[@thevioletskull8158]

Came here form Shesez,you explain things in a fun and easy way to understand.

[@Tutorial7a]

Wait...how have I never seen any of this stuff before? This is just about the most epic thing I've ever seen.

[@babyoxeley]

An incredible video. I love hearing people who are passionate about design talk about what makes other people's work so great. I'm excited to see more!

[@VideoGamesCompleted]

Really enjoyed this video. Thank you very much for taking the time to make it, I was always curious about how displacement maps and scrolling textures worked. You explained it well enough that I wasn't distracted or getting bored. Cheers.

[@augustday9483]

I keep coming back to this video. You explain a complex topic extremely well, and the visual demonstrations throughout the video are so useful!

[@wrijack]

Glad I can feel smug about being one of the first 500 subscribers for a channel that will obviously be getting 100,000 and beyond in no time. Great video, and great work with noclip!

[@Rosem_Blossom]

This is awesome. It's explained fantastically, the music choice is great ( you can't go wrong with Mario Galaxy music ). And it was explained very well! I am already looking forward to seeing more of these videos!

[@eliaskessler430]

this is such a high quality video and i’m so so so happy that you made this. i really appreciate this video.

[@burntpaperstars]

This was so fascinating to watch!!! I appreciate you passionately taking something technical like this and making it interesting and easier to understand!

[@QuestionBlockGaming]

Holy cow, this is an awesome video. Can't wait to see even more from you. I was always amazed by the way the gamecube and wii animated water textures, and i never saw other platforms doing it- even in ports of the same game. Thanks for showing exactly how it was done!

[@333Rich33]

I’m excited to see more videos from you. I’m surprised this is only episode 1 actually. Best of luck!

[@dav967]

This is fantastic! it's not hard to spot where the displacement maps and layering is being used but seeing it broken down, replicated and applied is so extremely helpful, please make more stuff like this!!!

[@cat2.096]

I never realized this was what it took to make the textures, I always assumed each scrolling effect was all just one animated surface lmao but,,, this also gets me thinking about how we should learn from this to pay attention to how we detail our games when we make them... h

[@the_cat_the_cat]

h

[@KeithSwanger]

Can't wait for the next episode! You did a fantastic job explaining everything.

[@TheEyesOfLife]

Hey man, this is AWESOME content. I'm an aspiring tech artist trying to learn more of what made my favorite classic games reel me in, and this fits the bill perfectly!

[@Toshkii]

As someone studying Computer Animation this is so so helpful and I'm VERY interested in where this series goes. Please keep it up! This is an awesome concept!

[@w2719]

Really cool in-depth look at how this was achieved, subbed

[@lukehorta5115]

noclip.website is too good for us, we don't deserve such amazing tool..

[@erikgermani3847]

Great explanations, can't wait to see more episodes.

[@severindusell2468]

Absolutely fascinating technical information, and very well explained! Your website is an amazing feat as well! Eagerly looking forward to more installments in the series!

[@noahlindeman1875]

Awesome video! The explanations made total sense, and the visuals were perfect.

[@PrincessFelicie]

I now *finally* understand displacement maps! Thank you!

[@donovanpereida924]

This was one of the most fascinating videos about in game art design I have ever seen, seriously keep it up!

[@floyddog2283]

Dude this is so rad. Never seen your videos before but I’m so glad I saw this. Hope you never stop uploading man

[@supremebeme]

This helped explain so many techniques I couldn't quite grasp before. Thank you.

[@clay2889]

This is amazing. The website you created, your love for Nintendo and the process that goes on behind the scenes. I share the same feelings, subbed and hit the frickin bell.

[@albingrahn5576]

wait, you're the guy who made noclip.website? that's awesome!

[@KokoroKatsura]

a n i m e n i m e

[@greenninja9330]

What’s wrong with anime

[@albingrahn5576]

Greenninja 4448 I don’t think he has anything against it judging by his profile picture and banner. Maybe he just wanted to point it out or something idk

[@filipinoguy627]

You made something that looks so complex seem incredibly creative and simple - awesome job with the explanations! Looking forward for more cool content

[@barryleveque7552]

Great series man! Looking forward to more.

[@ninfiali]

This is so great ! As a 3D animation student, I can say that you explain things very clearly and helpfully.

[@biscuitslash5443]

As someone who's in the very early stages of creating an independently made game, thanks so much for this! This has really opened up my mind on how I can make the visuals far more impressive, as it's definitely a sector of the development that I greatly fear.

[@ericfear]

This is an expert quality video! Great work on the detailed breakdown, looking forward to seeing more deep dives like this!

[@toddman22410]

This is so genuinely interesting. I wish you had more videos like this

[@callifrigenetic7535]

fascinating ! thank you for putting this together, it was very interesting :) very impatient to learn more !

[@gray1665]

okay SOMETHING mario sunshine. the water, the ink? something!!!

[@erouku]

Thank you so much for creating this channel! Loving it

[@Bentroen_]

Man, just wanted to say your work is amazing!! Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 were a huge part of my life and even today I'm still amazed by how beautiful and carefully crafted they were. I was always fascinated with looking at video game levels from angles you're not "supposed" to see them from (hence why the Infinite Flutter Jump is one of my all-time favorite glitches xD). Part of this is because the landscapes of some levels, as well as how they achieve some of the graphical effects, can't be fully appreciated from the angles you're able to look at them inside the game. It's kind of a hassle to get to see "inside" the games though, and having all this right in your browser is the most brilliant thing I've seen in a while. I don't know how the heck you've managed to make that rendering so true to the original consoles, but thank you for investing your time in bringing this amazing content to us!

[@ThreeHeartsRunLP]

This video was so interesting that I cannot describe it. Let me try it in one word, Subscribed

[@meancrank9039]

For awhile now, I’ve been taking an interest in trying out making a fan game, though i’m preoccupied with more artistic ventures at this point.. You have such a passion for these games and mechanics in programming, it makes me want to delve into programming like this so much more.

[@TasDeNeige]

I wasn't expecting this video to be so good! It's so detailed and well explained, congrats :D

[@matthewshimek]

This is so interesting!! Thank you for explaining!

[@aaronburney2011]

Grumps fan here and now a Jasper fan! This is great.

[@UniversalSketch]

This was super cool glad youtube continued to recomend it to me

[@jamestaylor2958]

This was great! I work in AE a lot and saw a lot of parallels with ways I make use of fractal noise to drive various effects, but this video actually provided more clarity to something I often kind of just muddle my way through till it looks right. Thanks!

[@regisdrift]

I want to see more technical stuff like this! Subscribed.