SMBIS RETROSPECTIVE
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November 19, 2006 |
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Every so often, usually when I update the layout of the site, I
update this commentary documenting how the SMBIS has changed since
its conception on October 11, 2000 with a brief description, and
some screencaps. |
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Version 1.0 |
Version 1: Proto Style
[October 11, 2000 - February 17, 2001]
It was 2000. I had found Nintendoland during the
summer, and started reading the fanfics there, especially Toasty's
High School Days. Because of those fanfics, my interest in Nintendo
was enflamed more than previously before. I had made some web pages
for a class, so I modified them slightly and this is what I came up
with. When I started the Info Station on Tripod, it didn't have any
fanstuff and had crude, simplistic graphics. However, you have to
start with something. V1.0 originally had Fanshrines for Mouser,
Lemmy, Bowser and Koopa, but were taken down after lack of updates.
On October 26, 2000, the IS was graced with the donation of the
ever-so-popular Super Mario Bros. Freaky Show fanfic by Toasty, with
more Fanfics being added later.
Version 1.2 |
Version 1.3
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Commentary |
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Version 1.4 |
Version 1.4: Proto
Style DX
I started making sub-versions pretty early, and
typically the main page is the only thing that's affected. When the
IS reached Version 1.4, I made so many drastic changes to it, so
many that this could have been a precursor to Version 2. By the end
of Version 1, I added Mario Nostalgia, where all of you can see the
Mario stuff I collected through the years, as well as the Commentary
page, with the Mario Ice Capades being the first article.
Fanfics |
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Version 2.0 |
Version 2: Panepon Style [February 17, 2001 - June 11, 2001]
Three weeks after Version 1.4 started,
I decided to change the layout of the IS. So, in V2.0, the IS was
given a new design based on the SNES game, Tetris Attack. V2 also
introduced the Fancomic page, a Countdown to the latest Mario games,
and the Interesting Mario Facts, little random Mario tidbits. At
around this time, the IS received it's first award by Latisha Banks
and the first Ultimate Mario's Link of the Month Award in April
(That site is long gone now, unfortunately). The Awards section was
added later to hold these wonderful gifts. I later removed this
section because these were the only 2 awards I've ever gotten. The
Fan Shrines and the extra SMU info pages were also removed for lack
of updates. I also found a JavaScript that made the blue star
background scroll diagonally, but it became glitchy, so that was
removed as well.
Version 2.1 |
Links |
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Version 3.0 |
Version 3: Panepon Style DX [June 11, 2001 - October 11,
2002] June 11th was the same day Game Boy Advance and Super
Mario Advance were released in America. So, to commemorate that
special occasion, the IS was upgraded to Version 3.0. V3.0 wasn't
that much of an upgrade from V2.1; just a few cosmetic changes.
However, soon afterwards, the IS started taking Polls and offering
fan-made Mario Games. In August 01, I added Toasty's cartoon
summaries for the SMB Super Show in the Cartoon page. During this
time, Tripod lowered the disk space of the site to a mere 15MB, and
my site was borderline full. Because of this, the Nostalgia and
Scans pages were removed from the site.
Version 3.1 |
Version 3.2
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Fanart |
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Version 4 Beta |
Version 4 Beta: SMB3 Style Beta [October 11, 2002 -
January 26, 2003] After 16 months of Version 3, I was experimenting on
different designs for a new style change. I wanted to use another
theme based on a Mario game. I attempted to make the main page look
like Super Mario Bros. 3. However, I couldn't decide on the best way
to work the other pages into this design, so they still had their v3
graphics. I only updated the site once when I put up this beta
design. After 3.5 months of stagnation, I came to the conclusion
that this site had to have a drastic facelift, and the design had to
look more original than reusing SMB3 graphics. |
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Version 4.0 |
Version 4: NES Style [January 26, 2003 - July 15, 2003]
I used most of the graphics I used in the beta and used
them to create NES Style. This was the first version to be called a
"Style", as I was heavily influenced by Bemani game inferfaces. This
style was the first to use the horizontal frame menus at the top and
bottom of the page. NES Style only saw three updates within it's
five-month history. With Tripod's limited disk space and annoying
popups. I knew it was time to find a new home for the SMBIS. |
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Version 5.0 |
Version 5: Famicom Style [July 15, 2003 - May 18, 2004]
I don't recall how I found NES Central.
Probably a link on a random Nintendo page, or a Google'd result.
Doesn't really matter, because I had stumbled upon a really nice
webmaster who was offering free web hosting of NES sites on his
server. After all the hassle of Tripod, I decided that this would be
a better alternative. So after months of trying to design a new
Style to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Famicom, I launched
the newly-relocated SMBIS and Fami-Style on NES Central. Because of
the additional space, I brought back the then-retired Nostalgia and
Scans pages, and started my own Forums. There were even sounds that
occurred when the cursor hovered over links. This style is actually
half of a bigger style I had initially planned out. There was to be
a DX version of Fami-Style, with the Disk System as a major motif.
The Mario Mania pages would be "Side A" and the Fanarchive pages
would be "Side B", and there would be two main pages, specifically
for each side. However, I was pressed for time, so I nixed this in
favor for an easier design. |
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Version 5.1 |
Version 5.1: Famicom
Style: SMB3 Edition For the
site's third anniversary, and the 15th anniversary of the Japanese
release of Super Mario Bros. 3, I replaced the red and black
graphics with enlarged, altered graphics from the game. Almost an
ode to the failed v.4 beta. As the site gained more popularity, I
focused more on the "Info" on the Info Station, especially the
Commentary section. After years of being a side-comment, I finally
posted up some screenshots (photos taken from my digi-cam :P) of the
Mario Ice Capades, which ultimately lead to the Mario Videos page,
with rare Mario commercials and clips about the Mario Movie, as well
as the Mario Ice Capades special. |
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Version 6 Beta |
Version 6 Beta: Koopa Style Beta [Unreleased]
I had always wanted to make a special
Style based on my favorite Mario characters. For several months I've
been playing with new designs and changes. Koopa Style was initially
meant to be frameless, and utilizing a new color organization
method. The Infostation pages would be green, the Mario Mania pages
would be red, and the Fanarchive would be blue. The letter system
and header images that Pixel Style uses now originated in Koopa
Style. However, Koopa Style as it stands never made it on the web.
There was something about it that I didn't feel right with. Because
of that, I kept it a side project for months until the true Koopa
Style was released a year later. |
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Version 6.1 |
Version 6: Pixel Style [May 18, 2004 - May 1, 2005]
Out of a sudden whim, I ditched the
green, blue, and red colors, to go towards a sterile grey and white
design, then quickly upgrading the site. The design was a stark
change from the colorful Fami-Style. At this time, many sites were
going through facelifts and such because of incoming E3 stuff, so I
wanted to refresh my site as well with newer graphics. I pretty much
combined Koopa Style Beta with Fami-Style to make this. For those
who have noticed, the squares in the page background is in fact an
exploded sprite of regular Mario from SMB3.
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Version 7.0 |
Version 7: Koopa Style [May 1, 2005 - October 11, 2006]
After more than an year stressing
myself out, trying to come up with something really interesting, I
finally decided on a design for Koopa Style. It is a mixture of a
futuristic green interface, grey Koopa hexagons and Bowser's mug
plastered everywhere. My original plan on dividing subsections by
color is reborn. Besides cosmetic changes, the only major difference
now is that I retired my SMU art page, and replaced with with Klub
Koopa, a fanpage devoted to everything Koopa-related, including my
SMU Koopa art. |
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Version 8.0 Beta |
Version 8: New SMBIS [October 11, 2010]
Sadly, Koopa Style wasn't maintained as
much as I had wanted to. Random distractions kept me from updating
enough, enough so that I hadn't posted anything new in a year. When
the site temporarily went down, I immediately jumped at the chance
to start over from scratch. Thankfully, I was able to put back up
the site on NES Central. I had decided to remove the fanarchives and
try to focus the site more on info and nostalgia. |
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