Super Mario Clouds is an old Mario Brothers cartridge which the artist modified to erase everything but the clouds. The video quotes words from Michel Foucault: “A day will come when, by means of similitude relayed indefinitely along the length of a series, the image itself, along with the name it bears, will lose its identity.” This challenges the definition of authenticity in terms of art. The artist of Super Mario Clouds mentions that he did not touch the graphics from the original cartridge. So there is no generation loss and no “copying”, because he “did not even have to make a copy”. The color and shape of clouds are not exactly the same. This is interesting because it reminds people of Mario Brothers and yet is claimed to preserve its own originality.

This video documents the history of Super Mario Clouds and demonstrates the results of the video creator’s own attempt to “erase everything but the clouds,” a ROM hacking exercise that produces a different game altogether. 

The video reminds me to be always aware of my final project’s originality, while learning from similar projects as well. And I should always document my work truthfully so that people can gain an accurate understanding of my work.