Line #18 WebVideo/SuperMario64BetaArchive


1	[[quoteright:100:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unnamed_985.jpg]]
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3	[[https://www.youtube.com/c/SuperMario64BetaArchive Super Mario 64 Beta Archive]] is a [=YouTube=] channel and AlternateRealityGame based around fictional unused content found in early builds of VideoGame/SuperMario64.
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5	The channel is run by Eric Bennett, a tester for Argonaut Software who worked on an experimental feature of the Nintendo 64 which would read the player's thoughts through the controller to customize the game. Later on, Eric is accompanied by Meg Moberly, who developed a GUI for the game.
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7	Note that none of the content seen in this channel is real, as it is just a rather unique take on the [[MemeticMutation Mario 64 iceberg meme]], but with how convincing the videos look, it’s no surprise that one would think these are legit at first.
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9	In January 2021, "Eric" announced that [[https://www.youtube.com/post/UgyYhXODqvfEiLAa0Op4AaABCQ he would cease uploading videos.]] Some of the team behind this channel would go on to start a DenserAndWackier SelfParody SpinOff channel called [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXc6gyxeYYO1vdIGvNqImhQ Ultra Mario Brothers Alpha Archive]] that same month, ran by a man simply known as Tim, who apparently hates Eric and Meg for supposedly ruining his career. The channel was later simply rebranded as [=TimMarioArchive=].
10	----
11	!Tropes:
12	* ArcSymbol: Water. It's a reoccuring symbol across multiple videos, one of the people running the channel is even [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes afraid of it.]]
13	* CallBack:
14	** One of the renders shown in "Render Showcase" is of Mario looking at an N64 cartridge in confusion, the same render from "Anti-Piracy Screen".
15	** N64 Employee Tape references Developer Animation Showcase, Developer Crash Handler, and Early Castle Grounds.
16	* CopyProtection: As indicated by the title, "Anti-Piracy Screen" depicts the game opening a stock anti-piracy message, the text for which is taken directly from [[https://tcrf.net/images/b/bc/Super_Donkey_Kong_SNES_warning.png the actual anti-piracy screen]] for the Japanese version of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1''. Alongside the text is a render of a baffled Mario holding an N64 cartridge while sitting on the console's logo.
17	* CutShort: The series abruptly ended with the video "Summer '95 Build", with Eric citing the (InUniverse) reason being that he and Meg decided that they wanted to return to a normal life. A community post was uploaded shortly afterwards confirming the end of the series.
18	* DeliberateVHSQuality: Tying in with the setup of the channel's content consisting of rediscovered tapes made during ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''[='s=] development, almost all of the channel's videos feature a VHS filter with authentic distortion effects (the exceptions are the cassette rips, which use HD artwork that mimics the game's promotional renders due to the main content being audio-only). Additionally, the game footage features visual artifacts typical of composite video, adding onto the idea that these tapes were recorded in the mid-1990s using original Platform/Nintendo64 hardware.
19	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first video, "1995/07/29 Build Rejected Commercial" (taken down but re-uploaded elsewhere), was a lot less subtle than later videos and ends abruptly with a flash of monochrome. Later videos would go down the route of being just slightly unsettling.
20	* InstructionalFilm: "N64 Employee Tape" instructs employees both on how to clean the console and how to set up a playtesting session.
21	* JustFriends: In the community posts, Eric and Meg both insist that they're not romantically involved with each other.
22	* TheMostDangerousVideoGame: This channel's personalization mechanism, Game Sync, seems to read the player's brain waves. Strong negative emotions, like guilt and grief, mess with the system in a way that can cause serious harm to the player. Consider the following text, from "Wing Cap Tower GUI":
23	-->GAME ASSETS AND LEVELS AT RISK.
24	-->PRESS A FOR MORE DETAILS.
25	-->PLEASE REMOVE ALL STAFF FROM THE ROOM.
26	-->PLEASE SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION.
27	* MysteriousNote: Eric receives an encrypted zip file in an anonymous email and uploads it in a community post. The subscribers brute force it open and find [[spoiler:design documents that belonged to him]].
28	* NightmareFace: The "Developer Crash Handler" screen from an early debug mode features a somewhat disturbing small photo of Mario smiling with his eyes obscured in darkness, along with a text in Japanese, and a percussion-only version of the Game Over theme.
29	* ScriptBreaking: The method of crashing the game (copying, checking score, and then trying to erase an empty file) featured in Developer Crash Handler is an actual way to crash the game. The crash handler doesn't show up for obvious reasons, though.
30	* SideEffectsInclude: N64 Employee Tape tells employees to stop a playtesting session if the playtester shows signs of a panic attack, is sick or needs a break, begins to experience DejaVu, the game crashes or locks, background music stops playing, cases of extreme lag for seemingly no reason, or [[Main/IKnowYourTrueName the game displays the playtester's name.]]
31	* SnuffFilm: "Developer Animation Showcase" features a shot of Mario drowning that's a bit longer than in the final (real) release. Innocent enough, until you read the description.
32	-->''[[WhamLine Fun fact, all the animations for Mario were done with real human reference footage.]]''
33	* TheTelevisionTalksBack: One of the signs in "Early Castle Grounds" will repeat Eric's thoughts.
34	* TheUnreveal: "Early Castle Grounds" shows a secret entrance at the rear of the castle, and ends just before we get to see where it leads.
35	* UnbuiltTrope: The "Anti-Piracy Screen" video. Far from [[WebVideo/MarioPartyDSAntiPiracy calling 911 and forcing you to confess]] or containing any blatant Creepypasta tier imagery like many of the videos that followed in its wake, the Anti-Piracy Screen is simply a set of English and Japanese messages (taken verbatim from the Japanese release of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1'') overlayed on top of a picture of Mario sitting on the N64 logo holding a blank cartridge.
36	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Invoked with the very concept of the channel, which pretends to be a real showcase of scrapped concepts for ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' and, in some cases, the Platform/Nintendo64 itself.
37	----
38	-->''Say thanks on the way out.''

Context WebVideo / SuperMario64BetaArchive