The 'Shroom:Issue 150/Pipe Plaza

Director’s Notes

Let's do this one last time. For real, this is the one.

Well, readers, I made it- despite the last year or so, it's time for me to head out. I hope you're prepared for an unforgettable leaving speech. I am pleased to announce that Zange (talk) will be my successor, starting from Issue 151 onwards. While I'm sad to let this team go after 4, 5 years of being led by Englishmen, I'm confident in Zange's capabilities and I'm excited to see what she can do with Pipe Plaza.

Looking back to the end of 2017 when I was appointed as this role, I had no idea where I would take it or what heights or depths it would reach. I'm delighted to see Pipe Plaza being voted as the second favourite 'Shroom Team in this year's awards, and consistently presenting 8 teams for what felt like many many months was a pleasure. And this month is not just a celebration for the past 20 issues of my iron leadership, but also for a special milestone for the paper and community as a whole. So, we did it; we reached 150 issues, and still growing. The fact that we've reached this number without showing any signs of stopping is just phenomenal- I'm just amazed. Thank you all so much for supporting this paper and helping it grow, and I hope you take the time to go through all of the special projects we've put up today.

A special thank you goes out to Alex95, Superchao (and all of his interviewees), LudwigVon, Lakituthequick, Hooded Pitohui, Raregold, Yoshi876, GPM1000, and the Poll Committee for contributing to this team. You're the ones who make this page what it is and I'm truly grateful for that.

I'll be back. In what form, manner and date is up to me, but I'm not forgetting this team or community and I hope that the same could be said of the reverse. For one final time, enjoy the read. It's a small one today, but I know it's going to grow under its new monarch.

Section of the Month

Pipe Plaza SECTION OF THE MONTH
Place	Section	Votes	%	Writer
1st	Anniversary Announcements	3	30%	Lakituthequick
1st	Interview	3	30%	Superchao
3rd	Mario Calendar	2	20%	GPM1000
3rd	NIWA Spotlight	2	20%	Alex95

The ongoings of the Mario Awards.
[read more]

You heard the word from the bird? If not, read this!
[read more]

The best analysis of the polls around!
[read more]

Anniversary Announcements

Written by: Lakituthequick (talk)

“Yeah I think the biggest problem was somebody killed me. If we could fix that for the next game I'd be a 10/10.”

—Chester Alan Arthur (Talk Page · Forum Profile)

Good day dear folks, to the last Anniversary Announcements of the season! And a small one at that, only tournament information this month. The last Committee Interviews are below those though, check them out!

Tournaments

In the table below, you will find the last information about the remaining tournaments.

Guess the Results
Anton Lakituthequick Turboo	The results have been posted!
Finished
Forum topic
Kirby Air Ride Time Attack
YoshiFlutterJump	With nine rounds completed, it is Meta Knight who acquired the most points! Congratulations!
Finished
Forum topic
Mario Kart 7 Time Trials
Alex95	After all nine of the rounds have been played, Crackin355 has been crowned the winner! Congratulations!
Finished
Forum topic
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Lakituthequick	The single versus and battle portions of this tournament have produced Crackin355 as the winner of both! Congratulations!
Finished
Forum topic
Minecraft
2257 Mr. Edo Super-Yoshi Uniju	Due to issues caused by an update of Minecraft, the event will not happen as part of the awards season. It will eventually happen, but as a separate thing.
Forum topic
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Meta Knight	This tournament has also finished, and produced Turboo as the winner of the singles, and the Satellite Lovers consisting of Roserade and Coffee as the winners of the doubles! Congratulations to all of them!
Finished
Forum topic

Committee Interviews

Welcome to Committee Interviews! In this part of Anniversary Announcements, I will do short interviews with the members of the Awards Committee, so you can get to know them a bit better! This month, the other two of our newest members: MsRetroGeek and Roserade!

MsRetroGeek

	You joined the Awards Committee for the first time this year, what made you decide on joining?
	Thank you for taking note of my first time joining the Awards Committee. The reason why I had wanted to become a part of the Awards Committee was to try and see what happened behind the scenes of every Awards Show. I was curious my first year and had wanted give my support for the show. Now that it had been another year I had wanted to give my support and help any way that I could.
	How did you experience it all being new?
	It was a really interesting experience getting to work so closely with everyone. This was like a first time getting to really talk to those that have been here for a while. It gave me a lot of respect for those who have been in this committee for a while seeing them go through so much hard to create a huge event such as the Award Show. I was also given some work do such as vote on categories and results that needed votes to decide what should be used. I felt that we were making some serious decisions whenever we had to give our opinion. I also learned to be more punctual due to our meetings and to speak whenever we had something to say. Overall, it was a great experience and I might potentially look into recommending this to anyone who wants to get more involved with the community.
	Did your sub-directorship for The 'Shroom at the beginning of the year have an effect on your choice or otherwise influence this run?
	Oh do you mean towards joining the Awards Committee?
	Joining and/or being in it.
	No not really. At the time I had separated my duty as sub-director and being a part of the Awards Committee as two different things. I’m just someone who naturally loves to do whatever I can to help. I was interested in joining the Awards Committee to do my best to try and help.
	What did you find to be the most fun aspect of the committee process, and/or the awards in general?
	What I found to be the most fun aspect of the awards in general was the creativity that was put into each and every single awards piece that was within the Awards Show. It was really cool getting to see what everyone did with the categories that they had signed up for. We had fun games, cool videos, and just so much art work pieces that will most likely go down in Shroom' history. I really appreciated the amount of hard work everyone had just gone ahead and placed into this show. It was just so awesome getting to see us all work together to create one amazing show.
	The variation is indeed astounding every year again.
	Oh yeah it definitely is! Please keep up the awesome work everyone ^^
	Did you have any goals regarding awards when you joined?
	No not really. I just wanted to make sure that I could be a team member that could be relied on when someone needed me. That I could do my best to participate within the meetings that were scheduled and participate if I had something to say. However, if I did have a goal I would have wanted to just try and do my best to be cooperative with everyone and make a difference.
	Something else, looking at your name, one would assume that you are into retro things. Am I thinking games, films, something else?
	Haha yeah you would definitely be right there, LTQ. I am pretty into retro things. I would say that I am into retro games, films, music and cartoons. I guess the reason why I have included Retro in my name was because of me falling in love with things that would just bring nostalgia. Nostalgia is just such a nice feeling whenever you encounter something that brought joy to your life when you were younger. Do you sometimes get that feeling, LTQ?
	Definitely, the other day I found an animated series again while looking into a genre I found through other means, nostalgia is a very nice thing! Did you have such an encounter recently?
	Oh really? That sounds seriously neat! I hope it brought back some past memories of you enjoying that series. Do you mind me asking what the animated series was?
	Oh and I definitely do! I actually watched a Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire Music Medley that brought back a ton of memories from when I was a preteen playing on my Gameboy Advance SP. Man when the intro hit it just brought me back to the joy of being young again choosing my favorite starter pokemon, Torchic and leaving to explore a life in the Hoenn region. Man that was a seriously fun and simple time.
	The series was Skyland, and it sure did!
	Oh wow that looks like a cool series! I'll have to look into it once I have the chance.
	Finally, is there anything you would like to add into this interview yourself?
	Yeah there is one thing I'd like to add. I would just like to thank you for the amount of time and energy you put into these interviews. You're definitely such a hard worker, LTQ. Please remember to take care of yourself and don't work too hard. Everyone please look forward to my awesome friend LTQ's interviews. He's a totally awesome interviewer and I've had such an awesome time answering his questions.
	Thank you so much for your time, LTQ! It's been a true honor being interviewed by you.
	And I thank you for having this interview with me! Enjoy your night, Issue 150 and we'll hopefully see you next year!

Roserade

	This was your first year in the Committee. Where'd you get the idea of joining it?
	Being a broader part of this community has always been a big interest of mine. I had already taken leadership opportunities in regards to the Poll Committee and The 'Shroom, so it felt like the logical next step for me. The Awards Committee is not necessarily the most "prestigious" of groups, but it did feel like an honor to help coordinate something so big for the community, so perhaps that's why I waited for myself to be better-established with the community before I actually applied. As well, when Pitohui and I first began planning for Awards Killing Game III, the idea to join really jumped out at me. Since I was already trying to coordinate such a large event for the Awards season, being a part of the Committee certainly couldn't have hurt.
	I should emphasize that my feelings towards applying later are not necessarily how the committee should be treated, and that anybody who is interested in joining should apply, regardless of how "established" they are in the community. It was mostly just a vision of the Committee that I had developed myself, for some reason.
	Very good point indeed, the group is very welcoming to newcomers. Speaking of which, how did you experience it all as a newcomer?
	I had a pleasant experience! Admittedly, my schedule was tricky around the time of a lot of meetings, but I believe I attended at least half, and I enjoyed the feeling of it. There was this sense of formality to each meeting, which I appreciated, but it wasn't an overbearing feeling, and I was still able to joke around with other members, which I also appreciated. I don't know if I have much to critique, because Anton and Turb did a great job at establishing how everything would function; every decision that was made felt smooth, and I felt that I was directly involved in most conversation. All in all, I had a great time and will likely apply again next year.
	You already said you being at in these positions was a logical step before this, but did your experience as Fun Stuff director of The 'Shroom or vice chairperson of the Poll Committee otherwise help you?
	In regards of being able to contribute to the Committee, I definitely think that those prior experiences in a large team in this community helped out a lot. I was able to very quickly adapt to the function of the Committee, as well as how the secret Awards board was maintained, so none of the adjustment felt foreign to me. It also helps that the Committee was comprised entirely of familiar faces, and I had worked with almost everybody on the team at least once before this year. Having that sense of bond with everybody in the Committee really helped me feel comfortable, either sharing my thoughts or sharing a joke. Compared to the other projects I help coordinate, my place in the Awards Committee was less of a leadership role, but I was perfectly fine with that, being able to simply assist with planning as a whole, as opposed to being a main coordinator. Especially with Killing Game on the horizon, it was a pleasant change of pace in that way.
	What was the most fun part of the AC to you, or of the awards in general?
	I don't know if anything else I participate in with this community gives me as much joy as the Presentation day. Everybody crowding around in irc, reading the presentations, giving praise and wise cracks, just making a day out of it. It's the time of the year in which I feel like everybody in the community is unified under one event, and the amount of creativity and work on show every year is exceptional. The Awards Ceremony is my favorite thing the MarioWiki community does, and I'm very happy it's an annual tradition, so I can participate in it time and time again. It makes me proud of my community members, and proud of the fact that I'm a member of the community.
	I couldn't agree more on Awards day as a yearly highlight!
	On a different note, you have picked Roserade as your namesake Pokémon. What's the story?
	I honestly couldn't tell you. Back when I was marioman1213, about seven years ago now, I was very talented at what we in the biz call "random decisions". At one point, I just picked Roserade as my new nickname, and it stuck, so I decided to really rechristen myself that way when I returned. I've always been a big fan of Roserade as a Pokémon, though. I adore Grass types, especially the more "feminine" ones; roses are my favorite flower; I love the theming of masquerades with its mask, since I do a lot of physical theatre involving masks. I'm pretty happy I stuck with it, too, because Rose is a fantastic nickname. Roserade, with Rose being it shortened, rolls off the tongue far better than marioman1213, abbreviation mm1213.
	Interesting! And last but not least, do you have anything you would like to add to this interview yourself?
	I'd like to say thank you for having me! It's been an honor to be here, and I hope that my answers have been insightful and/or entertaining. I really appreciate all of the work you put into Awards Announcements every month you put it together, and I hope our readers do as well.
	Thank you, and thank you for having this interview with me! Have a nice one, enjoy Issue 150 and we'll hopefully see you in the AC again next year!
	Of course, thank you! Same to you!

Again, it shows that being new to the Awards Committee is in no way a hindrance to performing well. People with varying backgrounds and interests are right at home here.

And with that we have reached the end of the season! I hope you enjoyed this run, and I hope to see you again, next year. Bye!

All information above was correct as of 21 September 2019.
Sprite credits: Daniel Sidney, Jefelin, Tailikku (tSR)

Interview

Written by: Superchao (talk)

Hello, 'Shroom readers! September has killed your lovely Director dead. Rest in peace. Yet I come back from the grave to bring you an interview with Hooded Pitohui. Enjoy!

The Interview:
Superchao: Hello, 'Shroom readers! Welcome to the interview, yet again one more time! Great to have you here, assuming you actually read this.
Superchao: Anyhow, this time around I co-opted current Strategy Wing guy, Hooded Pitohui.
Hooded Pitohui: Hello, hello. It's a pleasure to be joining you for this Interview.
Superchao: So, let's start at the beginning. How'd you, personally, find the community?
Hooded Pitohui: Ah, yes, that's a fine place to start, and I could easily recount the whole story in great detail, but, to keep it short, I was about seven or eight and on high speed Internet for the first time (we had dial-up at home), I tried to think of Nintendo things to look up on Google, ended up searching up "Gooper Blooper" because it was easy to spell, and I found the article on the Wiki and I was immediately hooked by just how much information there was.
Superchao: How long ago was this?
Hooded Pitohui: Why, I don't recall the exact month or anything that specific, but, given the timeframe, it would have been some twelve or eleven years ago, now. Of course, that's only when I discovered the Wiki. It was about another two or three years before I realized there was a whole community behind it when I found The 'Shroom and dove headfirst into watching the people and community behind the Wiki, behind The 'Shroom, and on the Boards.
Superchao: I'm guessing that really changed your perspective on things, huh? When you had just originally thought it was an information resource.
Hooded Pitohui: Oh, absolutely! It was such a moment when I realized that not only was this a collaborative project and I started looking into the Recent Changes and Userpages, but when I realized just how strong the sense of community is around here. This wasn't just a place built by some transient editors. There were people who cared about each other and worked on this project while being extremely close. The 'Shroom really helped in that regard. I think the first 'Shroom article I ever read was Edo's "World of Mushroom" in Fake Games, and, ah, let me tell you, that was a good place to start realizing the diversity of the community and how people could joke with each other.
Superchao: And that's how you accidentally doomed yourself to (eventually) working on the 'Shroom someday, right? Right.
Hooded Pitohui: And, yes, little did I know that those simple discoveries would lead me down such a long and winding road to be here today!
Superchao: I... don't remember that one. I am the worst director!!!
Hooded Pitohui: Issue 38 and 39, I believe, for when you want to go into the archives.
Superchao: So, is the 'Shroom what really kept you around?
Hooded Pitohui: You know, I think I'd say that The 'Shroom had a strong role in it, but, honestly, I'd have to give that credit to the people here more than any given project. Don't get me wrong in that regard. Awards Ceremonies become my favourite event of the year, and I religiously to this day read The 'Shroom cover to cover the day it comes out. But, really, I think much of my interest came from following the people here as closely as I could and keeping up with them because, even as an outsider, I felt like there was such a strong sense of community here that it was hard not to think of myself as a part of the community... though, hmm, that may not be the right phrasing.
Superchao: Yeah, considering none of us knew you existed for a decade!
Hooded Pitohui: But it became a part of my average day to check in on this place, and to get to know - from my perspective as best I could - the people here.
Hooded Pitohui: Everything from reading Walkazo's fanfictions to laughing at forum threads to - and this one I prominently recall for some reason - watching this little new user named Goomba and then Mr. Game and Watch join on board, get used to the Wiki, start one of those talk page shops, then have to abandon it.
Hooded Pitohui: I lost track of him for a long while, but then it was eventually you who told me it was the one and only LB I had watched enter the community once upon a time.
Superchao: What made you want to watch from the sidelines rather than ever participate, though?
Hooded Pitohui: That's a grand question, actually, and I wish I had an easy answer. I think, honestly speaking, it really comes down to fear and hesitation. Early on, I rationalized it off as "this Wiki stuff looks pretty serious, so I'll wait until I'm older," and that did make some sense, since I always thought back then that one day I'd join the Wiki and - because I really do enjoy all of that policy and bureaucracy and documentations - work my way up through the ranks to become a Bureaucrat one day. But that never really precluded me from joining the community in general or being on the forum.
Hooded Pitohui: So, honestly, much of it comes down to me just not being willing to jump into new things without the right push, and, well, I didn't have that right mix of circumstances that let me overcome my apprehension until a certain Pokémon tourney came up, some other factors aligned, and I convinced Raregold to take the plunge with me.
Hooded Pitohui: And then... I promptly did nothing but appear for the tournament for like two years.
Superchao: Makes sense! And then if anything he was the more active one for a while there, wasn't he.
Superchao: Yeeeep.
Hooded Pitohui: But what pushed me forward after that was actually LB and the first Killing Game, here.
Hooded Pitohui: Well, that and Mario's Boombox, I should say.
Hooded Pitohui: One day, I just decided to look up Luigi's Mansion songs on YouTube, found this one called Something Strange by a fellow named Mandopony, and I fell down a rabbit hole of videogame-inspired music.
Hooded Pitohui: And, let me tell you, I was so excited by the prospect that I could not only share these excellent songs and artists I was finding, but that I could bring back one of my favourite 'Shroom sections of all time to do it.
Hooded Pitohui: So, I ultimately swallowed my fear and I applied for The 'Shroom. I don't know now why I was so incredibly nervous when I did it, but, ah, it turned out to be an excellent move.
Superchao: It really, really did, that's for sure.
Hooded Pitohui: So, being there to start my time with The 'Shroom and having such a good time watching the glorious mess which was 20 people trying to navigate a KG for the first time, I realized that getting in on the next KG would be a perfect way to start building up relationships in the community.
Superchao: And was it?
Hooded Pitohui: Well, ehehehe... no and yes. I sure came in and made a mess of things with my first KG. I can tell you I was absolutely mortified when I found out I had broken a rule by fullquoting my results. My heart felt as though it was going to jump out of my chest. But, ultimately, I moved on past that, and...
Superchao: I remember I was really pushy about punishing you for that! Wild that our first real interaction was so negative
Hooded Pitohui: Well, I have to admit, I think Raregold made the better impression and I often tagged along with him, but, soon after that, I was invited to a few Discord servers, and I started talking to people more, and I made some really close friends through that.
Superchao: That's probably the weirdest part of it. You definitely started as the "afterthought" but sure aren't like that anymore.
Hooded Pitohui: So, all in all, yes, 'Shroom KG did make for an excellent entryway into the community! And then I was able to redeem my game performance in Awards KG II, and since then, I've made numerous other connections in the community.
Hooded Pitohui: Yeah, I still can't believe that was our first notable interaction. Funny how things work out, isn't it? I mentioned it to you a while back in conversation, but it's such a wild thought now to look back and realize I used to think of you as an intimidating user.
Hooded Pitohui: That's certainly the furthest possible position from my opinion today!
Superchao: I remember you telling me all that and me going "what the fuck". That was a ride and a half, for sure.
Superchao: Awards KG 2 helped because now I permanently associate you with a bloodthirsty psychopath!
Hooded Pitohui: I could go into a whole list of reasons why my decision to roleplay Pitohui in Awards KG II ranks among one of the best decisions I've ever made. I could never have told you back then how many things it would lead me to - I've really jumped into quite a few things because of that roleplay.
Hooded Pitohui: And to think that it all started as a joke about a character's name and I only knew what I could gather on her from a cursory reading on TV Tropes and looking over what pictures I could find on Tumblr and GIS!
Superchao: You have. Probably more than even I'd expect, huh?
Superchao: So, would you say AKG2 was the real turning point?
Hooded Pitohui: Yes, I'd say so. I didn't know how many different links that was going to end up connecting me with - which is why, I think, despite it not being a particularly groundbreaking series, AGGO in general and Pitohui in particular are always going to be on a bit of a pedestal for me. But, ah, speaking to your other question, I would certainly cite AKG2 as the event which really propelled me into the community in a way I had never joined it before.
Hooded Pitohui: After AKG2, I was applying for 'Shroom Staff positions, running in the Director elections, joining PC and AC, making Awards presentations, and doing much more than I had even to that point.
Hooded Pitohui: Raregold never lets me live down the fact that I applied for 'Shroom Staff and actually became a member of The 'Shroom Staff because, back when I was just pushing for him to join 'Shroom KG with me, I told him it would "probably be about seven years before I was on the Staff"
Hooded Pitohui: And, well, I've done much more in a single year than I expected to accomplish in seven, and I have absolutely loved every moment of it.
Superchao: >seven years
Superchao: cannot even imagine you taking that long!
Superchao: you're just too good at this
Hooded Pitohui: Awwww, you make me blush! That's an overstatement of things, truly, but I appreciate your confidence.
Hooded Pitohui: Thankfully, I have had an mentor par none, and everyone has been supportive and helpful in their one ways.
Hooded Pitohui: There's many people here I owe a major debt of gratitude to, chief among them yourself and Rose, but including many others from all sectors of the community.
Superchao: I've noticed you and Rose feel like an equal-level team of sorts, as opposed to me being more of your mentor type.
Hooded Pitohui: That's something Rose and I have spoken about before, actually. And, ah, I don't want to speak for him, so I'll only speak from my experience here, but, I have found him an excellent colleague and friend to lean on for support and advice. He's reliable, level-headed, and observant to a great degree. I'm lucky to have had someone who has taken on more and more roles in the community at the same time as I have. We, if I might say so myself, make an effective team, and he's become someone I have absolute trust and faith in. There's few people I could have chosen who would have made as good a partner to host a KG, and I can only hope I've been as helpful to Rose as he's been to me.
Superchao: We will be very afraid if you ever play in a KG together, that's for sure.
Hooded Pitohui: Perch... we have to team up for a KG... you know that it is law. ~~One day we must have the Monika and Pitohui dream team to reflect the partnership between myself and Rose.~~
Superchao: alternatively it's the you/me/rose team
Superchao: and nobody ever survives.
Hooded Pitohui: A truly unstoppable team, we could be. Of course, we must ensure that you deliver the killing blow on Shoey.
Superchao: look, if the last kg is any indication
Superchao: it's going down like that whether i like it or not
Hooded Pitohui: That is true, isn't it? Ah, accidental kills were one of the most frustrating pieces of hosting AKG3. They were so difficult to balance. Thankfully, that's one of the many things we're looking to fix for future games. There's always something to improve.
Superchao: So, what draws you to the 'Shroom?
Hooded Pitohui: What draws me to The 'Shroom...? Hmm? That's a fair question. That's not something I've had to really think about in a long while. It's become so much of a regular part of my life at this point that it's almost just habit, but I wouldn't stick with it if there wasn't something that drew me to it.
Hooded Pitohui: I think... perhaps it's just the variety of interests and styles that are on display, along with the general sense of this being a volunteer-based community project.
Hooded Pitohui: LTQ asked me what my favourite aspect of Awards is, and I focused on how astounding it is that people have come together year after year and put so much voluntary effort forth to keep a grandiose event going year after year.
Hooded Pitohui: And, I think part of it is the same for The 'Shroom. It has grown from a simplistic collection of tiny articles filled with typos and cobbled together by a handful of young teens to a much more organized publication with a strong team of Staff and writers behind it and increase standards.
Hooded Pitohui: Yet, as much as it has grown, it's never lost that sense of being, ultimately, a community project, Why do people write and read The 'Shroom? It's a community tradition and it's an enjoyable experience to contribute to it and see it come out with new content month after month.
Hooded Pitohui: And, as for why I continue to write for it and I want to remain on the Staff as long as I reasonable can, well...
Hooded Pitohui: I'd be lying if I denied that there's still not a little sense of childhood wonder in it all. The Mario Wiki and its community was easily my favorite website and one of my favourite places on the Internet through all of my childhood. To this day, there's still some times where I'm working on a 'Shroom project and I just step back and think
Hooded Pitohui: "Look at that, I actually went and joined this community I admired for so long and now I'm productively contributing to it and I can give back to it all those things it gave to me for so long."
Hooded Pitohui: And I know that's an odd view of things, but, ah, I was a young child and it calls back to that. It just feels good to be a part of something I admired so much through my youth.
Superchao: Heheheh, I can't blame you. I've been there with things like that myself!
Superchao: Any particular Shroom sights you have in your crosshairs in the future?
Hooded Pitohui: Well, I've had plenty of plans made and shelved or put on the backburner just because I didn't realistically have time for them, but, for now, the biggest things I would like to do are continue with Mario's Boombox as long as I can, get Recap back off the ground because I've missed writing that section so badly, and, if possible, I think I'd like to revive a version of 876's Monthly Thoughts. As much as I read and collect BBC News articles, I feel like it would be a pretty decent Critic Corner section for me to tackle using somethings I already read regularly.
Superchao: It's pretty crazy how much stuff you take on. And if anything, you're probably going to take on more!
Hooded Pitohui: That's the plan, certainly. I'd like to contribute in as many areas as I can. I had to step away from the PC this year just because I knew I would be a little more crunched for time this year during the most important periods, but I plan to return to it next term!
Hooded Pitohui: The only place I don't do much on is the Wiki itself, unfortunately.
Superchao: Soon, you'll find something, and your reign will be perpetual
Hooded Pitohui: Mayhaps! I used to think I'd get really involved on the Wiki, but between not having the time and there usually being someone better equipped to do it and faster in getting it done, there's just not much I find I can do. That said, I do get myself excited when I find something I can help out with, especially through Spotlight.
Hooded Pitohui: I'm an avid collector of English language strategy guides, so I at least can sometimes fill in a missing reference or check a dubious claim against those.
Superchao: I've never been able to identify why it feels so difficult to break into the wiki, just that it does.
Hooded Pitohui: That's more or less my sentiment, too. There's areas I could help, I'm sure, but I've just never been able to find those long-term or large-scale projects to contribute to regularly that I have the passion and the means to contribute effectively.
Hooded Pitohui: Clearly, you and I just need to take a month going through the Mario Golf games together so we can both kick each other into gear on that particular project.
Superchao: Sounds like a genius plan to me
Superchao: Speaking of Mario, though, do you have a favorite Mario game
Hooded Pitohui: Ahhh... an excellent question. Hmm, there's a few which come to mind as potential favorites. Mario Supper Sluggers is always a good time, Super Mario World is a top-tier Mario platformer in my eyes, and Galaxy and Odyssey are great, too. Buuuut, if I had to pick a favorite...
Hooded Pitohui: I'd say it's a toss-up between Sunshine and SMW2: Yoshi's Island
Hooded Pitohui: Sunshine in part for the nostalgia factor, but also because I think it does the 3D Mario formula the best
Superchao: Someone else who thinks that! Please, do go on.
Hooded Pitohui: I like that its levels all manage to be focused - they don't leave you directionless like too many of the 64 levels do or suffer from having too many goals like Odyssey - while still being open for player-directed exploration.
Hooded Pitohui: On top of that, there setting and characters really stand out, especially with the generic NSMB slump the series has been in lately
Hooded Pitohui: Okay, so all the settings are fit into one tropical island, and most of the NPCs are only Nokis or Piantas, but every NPC in the game has personality you get to see develop by speaking with them over the course of an area's episodes
Hooded Pitohui: It may not be much of a personality, but it's a personality nonetheless
Superchao: That's one thing I always liked - the way that the Sunshine levels actually change somewhat over eight episodes.
Hooded Pitohui: Yeah! Exactly! And the cohesiveness of the setting ends up actually making each area more unique and memorable.
Hooded Pitohui: In any other game, a place like Noki Bay or Gelato Beach could be forgettable. They're standard water/cliff and beach levels, But in Sunshine? In Sunshine they make sense. They have a purpose. And it helps to flesh them out, too.
Superchao: There's a reason I feel like people wanted Delfino DLC for Odyssey.
Hooded Pitohui: Just the simple change of "here's a generic tropical beach" to having a fruit cabana and a juice bar (overlooking a coral reef) for the tourists, and to having a Watermelon festival sponsored by the juice bar, and the entire celebration of the Sandbird... it all comes together to give the setting some character, and I appreciate that.
Superchao: What about... Mario games you don't like? Truly, blasphemy.
Hooded Pitohui: Oh, a sideswipe of a question, eh? NSMBU and NSMB2 weren't bad, but they didn't impress me. I've just never been able to get into SM64 or its remake. Ultra Smash was a low point for the Mario Tennis series. And Sticker Star and Paper Jam are best described as mediocre...
Hooded Pitohui: But I don't know if there's any that I would really say I disliked, exactly.
Hooded Pitohui: I even liked Mario Pinball Land well enough.
Hooded Pitohui: Honestly, though, my standards for enjoying media tend to not be that high. There's numerous games, shows, books, and the like which I would describe as being just okay without actually going so far as to say I disliked them.
Superchao: SM64 is not that much of a surprise! Not even the first time the 'Shroom itself has dunked on that classic.
Hooded Pitohui: It's rare that I actually walk away from a piece of media disliking it and feeling like I was worse off for having interfaced with it. Usually I find at least some positive to take away.
Superchao: Have you disliked anything?
Hooded Pitohui: In terms of the Mario series or more generally? Because if we're speaking more generally, then, yeah, there's plenty I've disliked.
Hooded Pitohui: Though if we mean Mario specifically, I can't really think of any, no. Albeit, I haven't played some of the true "classics" like the CDi games or some of the more obscure titles.
Superchao: More generally, yeah. To follow on what you said.
Hooded Pitohui: Ah, yeah, then in that case, there's been plenty of it. I don't know why they immediately come to mind, but any number of movies which rely heavily on making "edgy" sexual or toilet related humour, for one thing. The first example which comes to mind is the movie Grown Ups"
Hooded Pitohui: I think there's certainly a place for humour of that variety, and, when used within the context of a narrative which actually has other points to move the plot forward and other jokes to get humour from, it can actually be a good addition.
Hooded Pitohui: But if that's the entire basis of whatever narrative you're trying to tell... well, then it's really just not an experience for me. I wouldn't say it's objectively bad, because there are people out there who like an abundance of it in their media, but it just isn't for me.
Hooded Pitohui: Of course, there's really a fuzzy line in terms of what feels excessive, there. I feel like I've tried to articulate this point to some people before and they've taken it to mean I'm a prude who doesn't tolerate even a little innuendo.
Hooded Pitohui: But that's not really the case at all. I welcome that kind of humour as long as it's clever, as long as it has a purpose.
Hooded Pitohui: Besides those types of comedy movies and shows, there's been some books that just bored me enough I put them down, and there have been games I never ended up finishing, but, beyond that, there's not really anything I'd say I dislike.
Superchao: Hmm! Interesting to hear. Thanks for sharing!
Hooded Pitohui: If I'm not liking it, I tend to just put it down and move on to something else, you know? If I'm not really enjoying Ocarina of Time, I'm not going to take my time to force myself to keep playing it when I can move on to something else, to cite an example we discussed before.
Superchao: And yeah, I've met an actual prude or two, and you're not it.
Superchao: What about things not Mario that you are a huge fan of?
Hooded Pitohui: Yeah, the way I see things is that people ought to enjoy what they enjoy, you know? Some things are going to be for me, and some things aren't. it's going to be true for everyone, and it's just a matter of respecting what different people like.
Hooded Pitohui: Not everyone need consume the exact same media - what a boring world that would be!
Hooded Pitohui: Ah, what else besides Mario...?
Hooded Pitohui: Well, there's certainly the other franchise I was hooked on at an early age - Pokémon. I've been deeply entangled with that franchise since I was three. And, as I grew older, Mario and Pokémon springboarded me into Smash Bros
Hooded Pitohui: Which then went on to spring me into about every other major Nintendo series, and even a number of non-Nintendo series!
Hooded Pitohui: And, well, outside of Nintendo and videogames, well, there's quite a bit. I think Raregold could tell you well, but, as soon as I find a piece of media I enjoy, even if it's only a little interest, I just about never let go of it.
Hooded Pitohui: But for some of the most prominent examples...
Hooded Pitohui: I think, in the realm of videogames, I've also expanded into indie games in recent years, and I cannot recommend enough Baba Is You, as an example.
Hooded Pitohui: And over the past year, I've expanded my horizons into the realm of anime, manga, and light novels.
Hooded Pitohui: Raregold is probably completely sick hearing me talk about Alternative Gun Gale Online and the Spice and Wolf franchise now.
Superchao: To think, the former only happened because of killing game...
Hooded Pitohui: Indeed, indeed! It wasn't long ago that I ended up on Japanese Wikipedia with Google Translate just because I was desperate for information on the rest of the series. Sometimes you just have to look up and question what you're doing with your life
Hooded Pitohui: ~~And that was one of my moments, you know? And the answer - living it quite well and happily!~~
Superchao: Heh heh heh.
Superchao: So, more specificialy, anything you'd want to recommend to others?
Hooded Pitohui: Oh, oh! You've done it now, you've opened the floodgates! I... I only half-kid, actually. I could be here all day recommending things, but I'll try to limit it to a few things for now.
Superchao: Yeah, just stick to the really big ones!
Superchao: Gotta have room for other stuff in the interview.
Hooded Pitohui: I tend to prefer to tailor recommendations to an individual when possible. I may really like AGGO and Octopath Traveler, but I wouldn't recommend them for people who don't like action anime or standard JRPG fare. Anyhoooow... moving on to a few recommendations....
Hooded Pitohui: I would certainly recommend Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness as a too often overlooked gem, I would recommend Octopath Traveler as a great RPG experience on the Switch, same with Baba Is You as a top-tier puzzler. Undertale is pretty well known at this point, but worth a mention.... and in the anime realm
Hooded Pitohui: Please everyone go right now and watch Kino's Journey (2017) (Sub)
Superchao: Why am I not surprised you recommended that one?
Superchao: Oh wait, because I know you well.
Hooded Pitohui: I cannot tell you how gooooood that show is. I loved every moment of it and then the two penultimate episodes came and smacked me in the jaw and tore my heart out.
Hooded Pitohui: And the whole show had a great philosophical undertone to it, an exploration of human nature that doesn't feel overbearing or pretentious.
Hooded Pitohui: Though I will say you have to get about five episodes in before you really get to the show's core.
Hooded Pitohui: If you just watch the first few episodes, you might think it an action show, and it does have action, but that's faaaaar from the focus.
Hooded Pitohui: And I recommend the 2017 edition specifically because it involved the original author and his input made the show's structure just excellent.
Hooded Pitohui: I could go on and on about the show, but I'll leave it off by telling people to talk to me if they want me to rant directly about it more.
Hooded Pitohui: And eventually, when this awful September crunch clears up, maybe I'll finally get around to reviving my Ask Thread, too!
Superchao: I want to go back in time and prevent the three skipped issues for the sole reason of not having to deal with Issue 150 in September because fucking christ goddamn.
Hooded Pitohui: It's been awful, just absolutely awful.
Superchao: At least whoever has to deal with Issue 200 in four years doesn't have this issue!
Hooded Pitohui: I had such ambitious plans for this issue, but I've had to push all of them back because of university and just this month being really busy for personal reasons.
Superchao: That's what December is for, clearly.
Hooded Pitohui: I do plan to bring all the plans back to the forefront eventually, especially the big Recap special Raregold and I were going to write - though it will just be me, since I'm officially taking the section over in full for now (though... if anyone out there is interested in writing a section feature for Recap...)
Superchao: Haha, yeah, you get big dreams and then things just put you in the backbreaker.
Superchao: It feels like 'Shroom in recent years (post-SMB) has been "smaller pool of contributors but a more intense pool" at times?
Hooded Pitohui: I think that's a fair way to characterize it. It may not have as many people contributing to it at one time, and it may not be going for as ambitious and broad a scope, but those have not in the slightest diminished its quality.
Superchao: Heh, that's true.
Superchao: No attempts to get interviews with Grant Kirkhope here!
Hooded Pitohui: You get a smaller number of contributors who put a great deal of effort into the work they do. I mean, just look at lengthy and polished sections like Half-Baked Reviews or Mach Speed Mayhem. Those are two sections which never disappoint - it's consistent quality
Hooded Pitohui: And then on the other end, you have a small section like TV Tomorrow which still manages to deliver some quality jokes and has a writer who has been at it every month for, what, three years now? Or has Quizmelon been around longer?
Superchao: Speaking of, go vote for Mach Speed Mayhem!
Hooded Pitohui: Always vote in MSM and read Strategy Wing!
Hooded Pitohui: Actually, come write for Strategy Wing!
Superchao: Direct Strategy Wing!
Superchao: Wait, that one might be a bit tough.
Hooded Pitohui: Yeah, might be a bit harder to pull that off.
Hooded Pitohui: It's okay, though! I'll be glad to help anyone with Directing aspirations on their way, if they're willing to learn! One day someone else will have to take over, after all. Hopefully not for a long while, though!
Superchao: Of course not. You have to be there when I finish MSM so I can give you the title of Captain 'Shroom.
Hooded Pitohui: I fully plan here to the end of MSM, even after it gets extended for a year when they finally give us F-Zero NX.
Superchao: To quote that one meme video, NEVER GIVE UP!
Hooded Pitohui: Meme videos, you say? Is this where I get to put a plug in for "Junta! A Junta Musical" and begin my three hour lecture on Latin American History?
Superchao: No, that's after the interview. You've got me intrigued now.
Hooded Pitohui: Latin American history and culture is one of my favorite topics and if I weren't going into biology I'd probably be going into that.
Superchao: How is the biology going, anyway?
Hooded Pitohui: It's going really well, actually! I've taken particularly keen interest into evolutionary biology and physiology. Though, I have to admit, though, I don't know exactly what I hope to do in the field. There's too much of it that interests me.
Hooded Pitohui: Probably not going to be a field biologist or zooolgist, though. I like nature but we don't tend to mix.
Superchao: Are we talking "it assaults you" mix or...
Hooded Pitohui: I still think one of my favorite phenomenon in biology is the whole deal with transposons, though. A gene view of competition and evolution is what made me passionate for biology long ago, and it has never left me.
Hooded Pitohui: I was once trapped in a car by a rabbit and once chased around the park by a squirrel.
Hooded Pitohui: Squirrels are awful beasts, I swear it.
Hooded Pitohui: I'm also clumsy and accident-prone, and the number of times I've managed to inexplicably injure myself doing fieldwork for my classes might surprise you.
Superchao: Trapped by a rabbit? That sounds like a story.
Hooded Pitohui: Raregold and I have a morbid joke about how one day I'm actually going to go to New Guinea to observe live Hooded Pitohuis for myself and that's where my grave will be made. With my poor fortune in nature, I wouldn't doubt it.
Hooded Pitohui: Oh, the rabbit! I swear, that awful thing would not leave no matter what I tried.
Hooded Pitohui: We slammed the doors, we flashed the lights, we played sounds on our phone, shouted, threw coins at it, and did everything we could, but the thing would not even flinch.
Hooded Pitohui: And, uh, I'm not going to be the one to approach an unusually fearless rabbit and find out it's rabbit or something.
Hooded Pitohui: ~~And, while it happened two years before I found the show, AGGO showed us just what happens when a little rabbit goes up against a Pitohui - it doesn't end well for the bird!~~
Superchao: Ah, that makes sense. Nature truly has it out for you
Hooded Pitohui: I'm not going to air the details out here, but anyone who is interested should ask me about the salamander story sometime.
Hooded Pitohui: It was... interesting and involved the loss of clothes.
Superchao: ~~Lewd!~~
Hooded Pitohui: It did not feel far from it for one of the people involved!
Hooded Pitohui: Heavens, now you just have me thinking of all of my poor experiences with animals.
Hooded Pitohui: Dogs, spiders, snakes, cats, squirrels, rabbits, deer... there's been plenty of times I have had to barricade myself or run from animals.
Hooded Pitohui: And I don't even do anything to provoke them, at least not intentionally.
Hooded Pitohui: I know animals dislike me so I try to give them a wide berth and bother them as little as possible.
Superchao: Maybe stop being you
Hooded Pitohui: ~~I would try if it made all of kingdom animalia more amicable to me.~~
Superchao: What made you go into bio in the first place, anyway?
Hooded Pitohui: I think that from an early age, I just admired to complexity of it all. You have so much going on at every level of organization, but there's a beautiful order to it all. While I may not be fond on animals in person, I do have to admire the endless forms most beautiful from afar
Hooded Pitohui: I mean, from the functions of a simple bacterium to the fact there's a poisonous bird or we can harvest an explosive powder from the genus Lycopodium... it's grand
Hooded Pitohui: But, as I grew, I think two big sources of inspiration I can pinpoint are...
Hooded Pitohui: First, learning about the theory of evolution in middle school and for the first time really understanding what it meant - the simplicity of its argument and the great meaning of its conclusions.
Hooded Pitohui: I know it may be cliche to describe a theory as "elegant," but the way it brings together all of the disparate fields of biology and the diversity of life we see and synthesizes an explanation for all of it, that's stunning to me.
Hooded Pitohui: And the second, more pinpoint sources, were reading Matt Ridley's "Genome" and Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene" in middle school, as well.
Hooded Pitohui: They are far from perfect books, but heavens did they get me interested in a gene-centered view and understanding of evolution.
Hooded Pitohui: They hit me at just the right time to make me think, "hey, this whole biology thing is wild and fascinating at a deeper level than I ever thought and I want to study it"
Superchao: Pretty nuts, huh!
Superchao: Actually, that's a good segue in terms of:
Superchao: What kind of offline hobbies do you have?
Hooded Pitohui: Oh, well, honestly, I've always been a bookworm, more of an academic than the type to go out and do things. Albeit, I tend not to be a bookworm in the same sense you are. I tend to read non-fiction, though there is the occasional novel or fanfiction thrown in there. And at other times, I browse Wikipedia or read BBCNews when I have the free time and little else to do.
Hooded Pitohui: As for, like, actual activities, I'm an avid walker.
Hooded Pitohui: I try to go once, sometimes twice, on the weekends for at least an hour walk in the park, sometimes closer to two or three hours.
Hooded Pitohui: And, when weather and time permit, I find other venues for walking.
Hooded Pitohui: I've always wanted to join in on some kind of hobby group or club, especially for something Nintendo related, but there's not much out here.
Superchao: Move to New York! We've got all sorts of those things! I think.
Hooded Pitohui: NYC has all sorts of everything, from what I can tell.
Hooded Pitohui: If you come here we have trees and cows
Superchao: But lots of them!!
Hooded Pitohui: We do have lots of them. I will say, the one thing this area has is some gorgeous scenery, especially in the fall. There's one trail you can really see the mountains in the fall, and, wew, if you ever make it down here at the right time, I have to take you
Superchao: Perhaps I will. I've been in NC a gazillion times, after all.
Hooded Pitohui: I'll make you the same promise I make others - come and I'll have lunch prepared for you and we'll plan out your stay from there!
Hooded Pitohui: I have a feeling that you might get bored here, unfortunately. It's a slow life around here.
Superchao: Alas.
Superchao: One thing that's got me curious.
Superchao: As someone who's been, in a way, around so long
Superchao: Do you prefer the community of then or the community of now?
Hooded Pitohui: You know? I don't think I can answer that, honestly. It feels like it's been one continuous development. Users have left, users have joined. Memes have transitioned from pie proposals and Loic and Pirate Goomba to Welcome with Bibbangs to Counting Sand.
Hooded Pitohui: There's things to miss about the spontaneity and loose feel of the community of old
Hooded Pitohui: But there's also a lot in the community in recent years I would never trade for the past
Hooded Pitohui: It's always changing, and, so long as it stays vibrant and keeps its character, I think it'll always feel like a second home of sorts
Superchao: congrats, you just summed up my thoughts on the matter too
Hooded Pitohui: I feel more and more that you and I are just kindred spirits, of similar minds on too many matters
Hooded Pitohui: When do we convince the world that biting into an onion like an apple is a great move when you want a snack?
Superchao: See, that's the one thing we can't agree on:
Superchao: I'm still going with the layer-by-layer method.
Superchao: Onion chips!
Hooded Pitohui: Nothing wrong with that, either! I've done that plenty of times as a side with my sandwhich or as a snack on its own
Superchao: Excellent, now we just have to convince everyone else.
Hooded Pitohui: There's very little that onion doesn't pair well with, in my opinion.
Superchao: The few things red onion doesn't match with, that's what green onion is for
Hooded Pitohui: Leeks, too! Ah, leek in the slow cooker, what better recipe?
Superchao: I have a great leek recipe, I'll need to share it later for sure.
Hooded Pitohui: Oh, please do!
Superchao: Anyhow, I'm curious.
Superchao: Would you say this is the last question?
Hooded Pitohui: Well, I should hope not! Perhaps the last for this interview, but it certainly best not be the last for all time. You have at least a few more months, no? And when you tire, it will be time to take over Interviews myself. ~~Between it and Recap, I can cement my status as community historian!~~
Superchao: Very true, very true. Good luck picking your own subjects to torture information out of!
Hooded Pitohui: But, ah, to bring those to a close - as reluctant as I am to see it end - let me take a moment just to thank you for your time, both your time interviewing me tonight and all of the time you've put into this community over the years. A true role model you are.
Hooded Pitohui: That said, I shall take my leave. You have a grand evening!
Superchao: Goodniiiiight!

Conclusion:
I'm very tired, so the Interview will speak for itself this month. Thanks for reading!

Poll Committee Discussion

Written by: ArchagentEverlasting (talk)

You know who I am, and you know what I do. Archagent Everlasting here with some exciting poll content! As if you didn't get enough of me already with the analysis, am I right?

Poll Committee News

The Tenth Poll Commitee has finished our incredible series of Awards Analysis, which most of were contributed by yours truly. I know, I know. Hold your applause. Let's get right into the polls!

Analysis

Would you like new characters introduced in Super Mario Odyssey (i.e. Cappy, the Broodals) to appear in more future Mario games?: Of course, us wiki people are fans of our continuity, especially with keeping every character ever into the next game. So, it was only natural that the highest vote would be that people want these characters to appear more in future Mario games, something that I wholeheartedly agree with in spite of my satire of the topic. I'm surprised anybody voted that they didn't want to see these characters reappear. If they reappear, the world feels a lot more vibrant and connected. It just makes the game experience more cohesive overall!

Would you like to see the Mario franchise to crossover with other series outside of Super Smash Bros., in a similar fashion to the Mario & Sonic series?: Something else that I found pretty obvious and predictable. The wiki loves the idea of a bunch of Mario crossovers. However, this one was voted for less, probably because there are some more discerning people who find the idea of a lot of crossover games. Crossovers can saturate a series (hard to imagine a series such as Mario becoming more saturated than it already is) but I think that the area of crossovers is one that has still much room to be explored.

What is your opinion about the Nintendo Switch Lite?: The Nintendo Switch Lite is not very popular with the Mario wiki crowd, but it's not completely villified, as we can see here. Some people think that it's actually worth a purchase! I find this interesting.

That's about it for this segment for this month. This your favorite host, Archagent Everlasting, signing off. Auf wiedersehn!

The 'Shroom: Issue 150
Staff sections	Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight
Features	Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing
Specials	Awards Analysis • Switch It Up! • Fans in Unusual Places • Challenger Approaching! • A Touch with the Music • Welcome to My Dream World • Super Mario Odyssey Travel Guide

The 'Shroom:Issue 150/Pipe Plaza

Director’s Notes

Section of the Month

Anniversary Announcements

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Committee Interviews

MsRetroGeek

Roserade

Interview

Poll Committee Discussion

Poll Committee News

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Would you like new characters introduced in Super Mario Odyssey (i.e. Cappy, the Broodals) to appear in more future Mario games? (Roserade (talk), August 25, 2019)

Would you like to see the Mario franchise to crossover with other series outside of Super Smash Bros., in a similar fashion to the Mario & Sonic series? (ArchagentEverlasting (talk) (That's me!), September 1, 2019)

What is your opinion about the Nintendo Switch Lite? (Power Flotzo (talk), September 8, 2019)

Analysis

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