Pix & Bit's Big Debut
Pix & Bit's Big Debut is a Super Mario World ROM Hack which is currently under development, the game's main developer is Sammy and the project originally started on March 5th, after a piece of pixel art for the character Bit was posted to a Pix & Bit fan Discord server.
The game features both Pix and Bit as playable characters who go on an adventure to stop Lord Sinclair from tearing the world asunder, encountering enemies from oddly familiar places. Sammy has stated that it may be finished by the end of 2025 "if progress continues to be steady."
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
The main movement mechanics in Pix & Bit's Big Debut are all but identical to Super Mario World's mechanics, however the Cape Feather has been changed to remove its flying ability for balance reasons, as in the main Super Mario World, entire levels could be skipped using this power-up. Additionally, Pix and Bit both have the ability to Wall-Jump alongside the ability to Taunt and make poses.
To Wall-Jump, the player has to slide down a wall by jumping and grabbing onto a wall by holding the direction of said wall and then press the Jump button. It is possible to do this several times in a row going back and forth between two adjacent walls to reach high up places, which is used often throughout the game, and has replaced the need for Vines, Yoshi, the P-Balloon, and any other base-game forms of climbing.
To Taunt, the player can simply hold one of the Run buttons (either X or Y on the controller) and press one of the L & R Shoulder Buttons. In doing so, Pix and Bit will do comedic taunts such as flipping upside down, turning into cursed realistic images of themselves, screaming at the top of their lungs or doing their death animation. When taunting, the player is unable to move at all for about one second, and this even applies to being in the air. (as well as the taunts changing depending on whether you're in the air or swimming.)
On the Overworld screen where you select a level to play, pressing the Right Shoulder Button will swap out the current character, and the two share the same number of lives and the same position on the Overworld Map. It is unknown if the characters will have any noticeable differences between each other in how they control, so for now swapping players is mainly for cosmetic purposes only.
Early Development[edit | edit source]
On the 23rd of May 2024, a playable beta of the game was uploaded to the fan discord server, and footage of the title screen for the game was also uploaded to Sammy's YouTube Channel. Included in the demo are four test levels, these levels are Vanilla Dome 2 from the original Super Mario World, "Title Screen Level" which is an ever so slightly modified version of the level "GROOVY", "ExGFX TEST LEVEL" which is the same short level that is shown on the title screen, and the Top Secret Area from Super Mario World, but without the Yoshi Egg.
In the Top Secret Area, the block that would have held the Yoshi Egg was replaced with a Message Block that says the following:
"Yeah no Yoshi isn't gonna be in this game, Sorry! - Sincerely, Sammy. UwU"
As shown in multiple gameplay videos through developer updates on the discord, Bit shares a lot of the same moves and similar sprites as Mario, mainly to keep the game as compatible as possible with its source material's game engine due to how Super Mario World handles its player graphics.
Multiple concepts and ideas were scrapped due to this setback, for example: Before work began on the sprites for Bit when she collects a Super Mushroom, a member of the discord proposed the idea that instead of growing taller, Bit gains her signature orbs that surround her upper torso.
When making an attempt to implement this idea into the game to drastically cut down on development time, a glitched sprite of Bit appeared that was an amalgamation of Mario's torso and Bit's tiara, who was then named "The Crown Man" by Sammy. The accidental creation of The Crown Man was initially met with reactions of horror and shock, though it quickly evolved into feelings of wanting to expand the character into something that would be included in the final game as a boss, operating similar to The Vigilante from Pizza Tower.
Development Team[edit | edit source]
At the moment, Sammy is the sole developer of the game, but has stated that if anyone would like to help out with the game's creation, it would be greatly appreciated.
