Super Mario Bros. X Forums

My son has severe cerebral palsy and limited control of his arms and hands. He is learning how to hit large switches to control things and communicate, but it has been difficult to find switch activated toys and games he's interested in (they're mostly pretty lame and/or expensive). He recently became obsessed with Super Mario Bros. We show him videos on YouTube to motivate him to do physical therapy or to calm him down when he's upset. I just saw Super Mario Bros X in a YouTube video, and I'm very excited that the controls can be set to make it switch accessible. The downside is his switch interface only allows for a maximum of five switches, and right now he's only reliable with two or three. My goal is to create levels for him that only require two or three buttons (such as jump and forward) and slowly work him up to more. My question is if anyone has done this already, or if anyone wants to help out and make some levels for him? I'm low on time and new to the editor, so any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

I'll let you say, there are levels in The Invasion and The Invasion 2 that are possible with low amount of button presses but not really at the later levels though. It's still worth a shot though.

bossedit8 wrote:I'll let you say, there are levels in The Invasion and The Invasion 2 that are possible with low amount of button presses but not really at the later levels though. It's still worth a shot though.

the invasion is kind of hard with three or two buttons, might cause rage or some stuff like that.
i might try to make a 3-2 button level later for him.

Hey CerebralPalsyMom, welcome to Super Mario Bros. X.

I will forward this to our staff and we'll see if there's something we can work out that your son can play.

In the meantime, I encourage everyone reading this to make a simple level that only needs forward movement and jumping, and then post it in this thread. Preferably just .lvl files.

I'd be happy to make a few easier levels with this in mind. I've worked at a camp before with a girl with cerebral palsy

PixelPest wrote:I'd be happy to make a few easier levels with this in mind. I've worked at a camp before with a girl with cerebral palsy

Might I suggest using LunaLua to apply an autorun mechanic? It seems that a lot of the issue will be the shared coordination required to manage the movement keys, so if that can be simplified down, it should allow for an easier to manage control scheme that just relies on buttons such as jump and run.

I was considering that. Then 2.0 would be needed though and Joey said just a level file. This might be a better way to go though

Joey wrote:Hey CerebralPalsyMom, welcome to Super Mario Bros. X.

I will forward this to our staff and we'll see if there's something we can work out that your son can play.

In the meantime, I encourage everyone reading this to make a simple level that only needs forward movement and jumping, and then post it in this thread. Preferably just .lvl files.

That would be amazing! Thank you all so much!!

Surprised how no one asked to specify the amount of A presses needed to complete the level... Oh well.

I met quite a few people that have limited control of certain parts of their bodies. It really is awful, and sad... Feel bad for your son.
Hmm, I'll speak with you in a private message.

h2643 wrote:Surprised how no one asked to specify the amount of A presses needed to complete the level... Oh well.

I met quite a few people that have limited control of certain parts of their bodies. It really is awful, and sad... Feel bad for your son.
Hmm, I'll speak with you in a private message.

Do you mean how difficult to make it? That's a good question. I think it will be a matter of trial and error to figure out where the line is between too easy and boring and too difficult and frustrating. That's why it's great that we might get a variety. He's pretty patient and smart, but would probably be entertained by something very simple.

No need to feel bad; he's probably the happiest kid I've ever known!

CerebralPalsyMom wrote: Do you mean how difficult to make it? That's a good question. I think it will be a matter of trial and error to figure out where the line is between too easy and boring and too difficult and frustrating. That's why it's great that we might get a variety. He's pretty patient and smart, but would probably be entertained by something very simple.

No need to feel bad; he's probably the happiest kid I've ever known!

Just a quick question, why did you name yourself CerebralPalsyMom? I know your child has cerebral palsy, but I'm just curious why you wanted that name.

Well, maybe i could try making a linear level that doesn't require too much detailed control, if that would work.

practicalshorty014 wrote:
Just a quick question, why did you name yourself CerebralPalsyMom? I know your child has cerebral palsy, but I'm just curious why you wanted that name.

Eh, I figured it conveys I'm a busy mom who knows very little about this stuff. Really it was just the first thing that popped into my head.

CerebralPalsyMom wrote:

practicalshorty014 wrote:
Just a quick question, why did you name yourself CerebralPalsyMom? I know your child has cerebral palsy, but I'm just curious why you wanted that name.

Eh, I figured it conveys I'm a busy mom who knows very little about this stuff. Really it was just the first thing that popped into my head.

Well, I can already tell. Say, are you by any chance going to check out the rest of this site? Your son might be able to join here if he's good with conversations.

practicalshorty014 wrote: Well, I can already tell. Say, are you by any chance going to check out the rest of this site? Your son might be able to join here if he's good with conversations.

Haha, yeah I bet. Thanks for being patient with me! I'd love to explore the site more if I ever have time. This would have been my dream as a kid. We only had Super Mario Bros 3 and a Game Genie; I tried every one of the codes, most of them didn't make it any more fun lol.

My son is only four, so he can't read yet. But if my plan is successful, hopefully by the time he can read and go on the internet, he'll be good enough with switches he'll be able to type!

OH BOY! FINALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO SAY ADDING MAYRO TO SMBX 2.0 IS A GOOD IDEA-did I say that out loud-oh no