MarioGPT lets you create Super Mario levels using AI

MarioGPT is a tool that uses AI to generate Super Mario levels with nothing but a text prompt, but you’ll need some technical know-how to use it.

We’ve all had our own ideas for Super Mario levels swimming around in our heads for years, and with the advent of Super Mario Maker, Nintendo helped them become a reality. But now, a new wave of classic Mario levels could be on the horizon, developed by AI.

A group of developers has banded together to create something named MarioGPT, a tool that allows you to generate classic Super Mario levels just by inputting a text prompt. According to the paper that the developers released, they are using GPT2 for their models, which is trained on the original Super Mario Bros and The Lost Levels. The developers also hope that this may also address the challenges of creating a procedurally-generated game.

The paper itself gets quite in-depth with how the tool was developed, how it functions, and some of the challenges that it faced along the way, with some interesting examples.

MarioGPT requires some technical know-how to use

Unlike more mainstream applications like ChatGPT and Bing, MarioGPT will require a little bit more technical know-how and game development knowledge to start generating your own levels. This means that there is no website or place where you can quickly generate levels.

For those who do have the skills and interest, you can find the team’s instructions to get generating levels for yourself on GitHub. But again, you will need to understand technical languages to get set up.

Who knows, with the knowledge out there now, we may see some kind soul develop a website to use this on, but Nintendo is also notoriously litigious when it comes to getting fan projects shut down. Until then, this is just the next development in the swathe of AI-generated ideas becoming public, following the heated consumer AI battle between Microsoft and Google.