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Scott Buchanan, (born c. 1994) better known under his username Pannenkoek2012, is a Super Mario 64 analyst and YouTube personality. Pannenkoek2012 is known for creating highly technical videos detailing the mechanics of Super Mario 64, in which he explains techniques he uses to beat levels of the game without using the jump mechanic. In 2014, Pannenkoek2012 collected an item until then thought to be unobtainable in the "Tiny-Huge Island" level. In 2015, Pannenkoek2012 set up a $1,000 USD bounty for anyone who could recreate a certain glitch in Super Mario 64.

Super Mario 64 videos

Super Mario 64 was the first video game Buchanan played as a child. In 2014, before finishing college, Buchanan started uploading videos of reaching Super Mario 64 objectives without jumping on his Pannenkoek2012 YouTube channel. Though Mario's primary skill is considered to be jumping from platform to platform, Pannenkoek2012 decided to attempt to clear the entirety of Super Mario 64 without pressing the A-button (which initiates a jump) by using the game's environmental hazards and Mario's running slide.

Pannenkoek2012 has done a large amount of in-depth YouTube videos describing the mechanics of Super Mario 64, which Allegra Frank of Polygon describes as "programming lessons" that may be both informative and inscrutable. In one video, Pannenkoek2012 explains how a player can affect the random number generator of Super Mario 64 to make Bob-ombs blink or to determine the speed of coin drops. Despite the highly technical nature of these videos, Pannenkoek2012 amasses tens of thousands of views on new pieces. In one of these videos, Pannenkoek2012 shows how he reached an objective in the level "Hazy Maze Cave" by using a "0.5 A-press", a feat which took him thirteen hours to complete and for which he had to use "parallel universes", an aspect of Super Mario 64 not usually experienced in regular playthroughs.

Impossible coin

In June 2014, Pannenkoek2012 collected what was known as "the impossible coin", an item hidden in the "Tiny-Huge Island" level of Super Mario 64 that was deemed impossible to reach. The coin was first discovered in 2002 and a screenshot of it was subsequently posted on GameFAQs. It was likely placed underneath the ground by one of the game's developers by accident. Considered unobtainable, the coin was dubbed "the impossible coin": Pannenkoek2012 managed to collect it using tool-assistance, by jumping and kicking on a single frame while moving out of water. Pannenkoek2012 noted that it should be possible to collect the coin without tool-assistance, but doing so would be highly difficult and require a lot of practice.

In the Super Mario 64 level "Bowser in the Sky", Pannenkoek2012 discovered a misplaced Goomba located at the bottom of the level, held by the enemy, which he dubbed "the Mystery Goomba". Since the enemy currently seems impossible to kill, he called it the "new" impossible coin.

Upwarp glitch

In August 2015, Twitch.tv streamer DOTA_TeaBag encountered a glitch in Super Mario 64 level "Tick Tock Clock", where Mario suddenly teleported upwards in the level. The "upwarp", as it is described, caught Pannenkoek2012's attention, as the glitch may allow players to skip large sections of the game. If the high-level players could reliably recreate the upwarp, they could potentially shave off seconds during speedruns. Pannenkoek2012 offered a $1,000 USD prize to anyone who could recreate the upwarp glitch and send gameplay data to him. As of June 2016, the bounty has not been successfully claimed.

Academic interest

What drives us to look at a game like Super Mario 64 and say to ourselves, "I wonder how I can clear this without jumping?" Is it because Super Mario in general is all about jumping?

Nadia Oxford of USGamer noted that Pannenkoek2012's work, as well as that of other high-level video game players, is of high value for scientists in various fields. Pannenkoek2012's analyses of Super Mario 64's mechanics may be of interest to mathematicians and physicists, though Oxford stated that there may be sociological implications as well, as one could ask why a large group of people feels compelled to turn a video game inside-out and abuse its mechanics as Pannenkoek2012 does.

References

1. ^ Schneider, Steven (2014-11-12). "How to beat 'Super Mario 64'...without jumping". Tech Times. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
2. ^ Hernandez, Patricia (2014-07-08). "The Super Mario 64 Coin That Took 18 Years To Collect". Kotaku. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
3. Frank, Allegra (2016-05-16). "Watch how Super Mario 64 is teaching millions the nitty-gritty of game design". Polygon. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
4. ^ Oxford, Nadia (2016-01-27). "YouTuber Manipulates Enemies, Makes Parallel Universes to Grab Star in Super Mario 64". USGamer. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
5. Wilbur, Brock (2016-02-11). "How 'Mario 64' Teaches Us About Parallel Universes". Inverse. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
6. Gerardi, Matt (2014-08-08). "The quest for Super Mario 64's "impossible coins" and "mystery Goomba"". The A.V. Club. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
7. Plunkett, Luke (2015-04-08). "$1,000 Bounty Offered For Mario 64 Glitch". Kotaku. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
8. Maiberg, Emanuel (2015-08-05). "Win a $1000 Bounty for Finding This 'Mario 64' Glitch". Motherboard. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

• Pannenkoek2012's channel on YouTube

• Living people
• Video game speedrunners
• YouTube channels
• 1994 births
• American eSports players