How 'Mario 64' Teaches Us About Parallel Universes

I’m increasingly losing long stretches of my life watching crazy speed runs and glitch nightmares on YouTube. I think I like breaking games more than I like actually like playing video games? Oh, wow, this probably speaks to my problem with authority, doesn’t it? Break all the rules! Break all the rules for Mario!

Which brings us to the increasingly manic work performed by YouTube creator pannenkoek2012, who is dabbling in the act of producing runs of the game Mario 64 without using the jump button. These limited A-button runs also including a variation where he presses the button once but never releases it, thereby creating a system of rules for engaging with a two-decade-old piece of entertainment that only a sociopaths would inflict upon themselves.

Here’s where pannenkoek2012 is doing something much different: He’s explaining and breaking apart the science of the universe upon which the game is designed, and where it goes from there gets into details that defy the math of possibility planes and may force you to ask whether God’s existence is more probable than you once believed.

OK, maybe not the God part, but I think you’ll agree this is one of the most fascinating 24-minutes you could spend in 2016. If you’re anything like me, you’ll repeatedly shout, “Why is this so interesting?” which is a shockingly excellent compliment.

What. Just. Happened.

There’s something so intoxicating about the appreciation and dedication that the creator brings to a single dumb video game. This is so great, and there’s plenty more.

If you enjoyed this video, you have to check out these other recent additions to his video channel:

And a 2014 video about cloning that shows the beginning of this obsession.

Additionally, there is a $1,000 bounty he has placed on any user who can repeat a glitch he saw on another user’s feed because that’s how important understanding the game has become.

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