Space World 2000
Information
The first footage of Luigi's Mansion was unveiled to the public in the form of a tech demo during Space World 2000.
Space World was a free-to-enter conference held by Nintendo to reveal their newest hardware and software from 1989 to 2001, after which Nintendo opted to only attend E3 instead of hosting their own show.
At Space World 2000, the GameCube was revealed. The reveal of the GameCube also featured various tech demos and footage made using the hardware of the system, with Luigi's Mansion being one of the games showcase, albeit unnamed at this time.
The Luigi's Mansion demo reel featured a glimpse at the mansion & inside it, and the theme of Luigi around ghosts.
Most of everything revealed at the show (excluding the art style) differs majorly from any of the playable products due to being in a primordial state — ghost & room designs, and Luigi himself, with perhaps the sole exceptions being a room close to the final Foyer (LUIJI_03) and the Mansion itself (LUIJI_05).
Short FMV
The following footage is taken from a sizzle reel shown at Space World 2000.
Full FMV
This is the entire FMV shown at Space World 2000. Unfortunately, the only footage we have of it is screen recorded instead of the original video file, so there is some camera shake along with reflections on the screen.
Images
Press Kit
Click here to download the original Press Kit as a .ZIP file. (189MB)
Click here to download only the Luigi's Mansion related files from the Press Kit. (2MB)
LUIJI_03.png
Luigi sliding down a railing in the Foyer in order to escape a ghost.
LUIJI_04.png
Luigi surrounded by blue ghosts in the Living Room. Notice that the table and chairs are missing.
LUIJI_05.png
A full shot of the mansion.
Main differences
- There are no gravestones in the front lawn.
- The design for the 3rd floor windows is different.
- The roof has a more curved shape.
- There are no chimneys on the mansion.
- The gate and fence have a slightly different design.
The Nintendo Difference
The Nintendo Difference was a sizzle reel released on E3.Nintendo.com around May 20th, 2001.
Surprisingly enough, this sizzle reel actually shows two completely separate builds, one of which shares footage with the E3 2001 trailer.
The first build, referred to as the "Nintendo Difference build" (can you guess why?), is the older of the two builds, and is visibly more incomplete than the other.
The second build, commonly referred to as the "E3 trailer build", has footage taken directly from the E3 2001 trailer. The gameplay in this trailer is much closer to the build playable at E3 2001.
Unfortunately, some of the footage from Nintendo Difference sizzle reel has not currently been released in a higher quality than 320x240, and at a measly 15 frames per second.
The version below has been edited in order to make the brightness / contrast more consistent throughout the footage.
Sizzle Reel Footage
Breakdown
The video begins with the game's logo, which has white lettering with a pink outer glow. This logo was eventually scrapped for one with a blue glow later in development.
Next, a scene from the Space World 2000 demo reel.
The final scene is another shot taken from the Space World 2000 demo reel. This is not, and has never been confirmed to be a game over screen!!!
Nintendo Difference Build
Scene 3 is where gameplay starts.
Here, we are shown the main differences from this build to the retail build of the game, such as:
- A green border surrounds the screen, seeming to have a cloth-like texture, similar to Luigi's clothing.
- The Game Boy Horror displays a clock and radar as opposed to the treasure counter.
- A render of Luigi's head is shown next to the health meter.
- The health meter reads as a fraction as opposed to a whole number.
- A scare ghost (colloquially referred to as a "Basher") appears in the 1F hallway, scaring Luigi.
- This causes the camera to zoom in, pulse in and out, and also reduces Luigi's health and max health to 70.
- There are purple, yellow, and white bats on the ceiling where they're not found in the final game.
- The glow surrounding the bats on the ceiling are more dramatic than they are in the final game.
- The door to the Ballroom are boarded up.
- The light that Luigi emits seems brighter.
- The Poltergust 3000 has a completely different design, with a blockier model and longer hose.
- This model can still be found in the final game's files, unused.
This next scene shows the beginning of the cutscene where Luigi meets Professor E. Gadd.
In this scene, we can see the green border mentioned earlier would have zoomed off the screen when a cutscene began.
Additionally, the room named "Parlor" in the final game is referred to here as the "Living room".
Here's another scene showcasing the same cutscene as the last scene.
The main difference that can be seen are the paintings; instead of the realistic portraits of human characters seen in the final version, these show a purple ghost in a top hat with a pipe in his mouth.
This scene shows Luigi being scared by something in the Boneyard.
In this footage, the unused "Stake" model can be seen.
Additionally, Luigi's health and max health can be seen lowering to 50.
This scene shows Luigi capturing a purple Basher in the Master Bedroom.
There are numerous differences here, such as:
- There are two paintings on the left wall where there's one in the final game.
- The large bed on the left wall is instead two half beds at the back of the room.
- There is a large wardrobe added in the back left corner, where the plant usually is.
- The bedside table that's usually beside the bed in the final game is between the two smaller beds here.
- There's a meter showing a value of 8 at the bottom of the screen, likely the overheat meter seen in the E3 build.
- There's a basher here, where only Lydia spawns in this room in the final game.
- The ghost seems to be using a different, slower animation when being sucked up by the Poltergust.
This scene shows the end of the Parlor / Living room cutscene where E. Gadd is punched by the ghost, the ghost laughs, and E. Gadd says "Ouch".
- There is an additional seat added next to the sofa.
- The table in front of the sofa is missing the tablecloth and candle.
- The door to the Anteroom is boarded up, and has a different door frame.
- Instead of having 3 candlesticks on each side of the painting in the back-center, there's only one on each side.
- The cabinets have textures to represent the items inside instead of see-through models.
This scene shows footage of Luigi capturing a purple Puncher in the 1F hallway.
- The door to the Laundry Room is blocked off.
- The overheat meter goes from 7 to 6, suggesting that it counted down from 10 instead of counting up from 0.
- There seems to be a spike coming out of the end of the Poltergust's nozzle.
- The vase models are different.
- This model was used again in Super Smash Bros. Brawl's Luigi's Mansion stage.
This scene shows Luigi being dragged around by a white Puncher ghost in the 1F hallway.
- The doors to the basement and Fortune-Teller's Room are blocked off.
E3 Trailer Build
These scenes show a later build than the "Nintendo Difference" build, one that's a lot closer to the one showed at E3 2001.
Extended versions of each of these scenes appeared in the trailer for Luigi's Mansion shown at E3 2001.
This scene shows a short clip of Luigi looking around the Study.
| Nintendo Difference footage | E3 2001 trailer footage (edited to match) |
|---|---|
A few differences include:
- The distinctive green border and render of Luigi's face from the Nintendo Difference build are no longer present in the HUD.
- Next to Neville, there is a table with a bottle and glass of wine.
- The lamp in the front-left corner of the room seems to be behind Neville's chair
- A white mouse spawns in the room, where no mice spawn in the final game.
- The ship-in-a-bottle on the mantle of the fireplace is a texture instead of a full model in the final game.
- The carpet on the ground takes up more space on the floor than it does in the final game.
- The radar on the Game Boy Horror detects ghosts instead of Boos.
This scene shows Luigi being ambushed by two orange "Puncher" ghosts in the Boneyard.
| Nintendo Difference footage | E3 2001 trailer footage (edited to match) |
|---|---|
In the final game, the only two ghosts that spawn here are Spooky (which can be seen briefly) and Mr. Bones.
Additionally, Puncher ghosts in the final game are only colored pink, not orange.
Finally, the Graveyard area is not rendered and just shows a basic skybox instead.
This footage shows Luigi capturing a Basher in the Nursery (known as the Child's room at this point).
| Nintendo Difference footage | E3 2001 trailer footage (edited to match) |
|---|---|
Main differences include:
- Bouncing "ball" ghosts are seen bouncing around the room.
- Their model can be found in the final game, and version of the model is reused for the projectile you shoot at the Moon in the Observatory.
- Instead of having 3 of the same teddy bear on the shelf, one of the stuffed animals is replaced by a rabbit.
- Standard ghosts don't spawn here in the final game.
This scene shows Luigi sucking up coins in the Parlor (then known as the Living room).
| Nintendo Difference footage | E3 2001 trailer footage (edited to match) |
|---|---|
- The coins rotate around, similarly to coins in standard Mario games, instead of having physics like in the final game.
- The painting between the candles shows a render of the "composer" ghost shown in some posters in the final game instead of the painting of a human.
- The table on the left-hand side has a tablecloth over it, a candle on it, and an additional chair to the left of it.
- Also, the right-hand chair is moved out slightly more than it is in the final game.
This scene shows Luigi vacuuming a white Puncher ghost in the 1st floor hallway, before overheating the Poltergust.
| Nintendo Difference footage | E3 2001 trailer footage (edited to match) |
|---|---|
- Luigi is unable to overheat the Poltergust in the final game.
- There is a vase where a fake door would be in the final game.
- The lighting is different, with darker shadows and a greener tint.
- Luigi is capturing a Puncher ghost, when only Ceiling Surprise and Bowling ghosts spawn in the hallway in the final game.
E3 2001
Trailer
Unfortunately, we don't have the full trailer in high quality, so I've interwoven the parts which are with the lower quality one.
Artwork CD
Luigi crawling away from a white Basher in the Living Room.
Luigi unlocking a double door.
Luigi and E. Gad during the Living room cutscene.
Luigi and E. Gad talking during the Living room cutscene.
GameCube Press CD / Preview CD
Differences
The images on these CDs feature two builds of the game which have multiple differences compared to the final version:
Build 1 / The "Eye Camera" Build
- The Game Boy Horror features a first-person view instead of showing a treasure counter.
- The overheat meter appears on screen, even when not vacuuming.
- Boos' health is inflated from the final game, suggesting that at one point they were either more difficult to catch or the Poltergust 5000 drained their health at a higher rate.
- The ghosts' health number appears slightly to the right instead of centered.
- In the Conservatory, the saxophone and an additional horn instrument were placed on the wall and had stairs going up to them in order for Luigi to activate them.
- In the final game, the saxophone rests on a table and the other horn instrument is nowhere to be found.
Build 2 / The "Sprite Money" Build
- The Game Boy Horror's screen shows the final treasure counter, but the treasure icons are in a style reminiscent of Mario games on the Game Boy Color.
- The Boo counter at the bottom right is displayed as a whole number instead of a fraction.
- The Boo radar is unlocked and a Boo is captured before it is possible to do so in the final game.
- The Boo radar is unlocked after releasing the Boo from their hatch, which can only be done after defeating Area 1, making catching a Boo before capturing Neville impossible.
- The Boos' health appears to be down to the retail value, suggesting this build came after Build 1.
- The overheat meter seems to be removed by this point.
Photos
Build 1 / The "Eye Camera" Build
Luigi peeking through the front door of the mansion in the entrance cutscene.
| Press CD | Preview CD |
|---|---|
|
|
| Luigi vacuuming the chandelier in the Foyer. | |
A Boo with 300 health spawning in the Parlor.
Luigi capturing a Boo in the Study.
Luigi glowing red in the Kitchen.
| Press CD | Preview CD |
|---|---|
|
|
| Luigi capturing Neville in the Study. | |
| Press CD | Preview CD |
|---|---|
|
|
| Luigi capturing a Garbage Ghost and Gold Ghost in the Wardrobe Room. | |
Luigi looking into the Graveyard from the 2F balcony.
Luigi walking up to the mansion in the intro cutscene.
Luigi standing in the basement hallway.
Luigi hitting a drum in the Conservatory.
Build 2 / The "Sprite Money" Build
Luigi capturing Neville in the Study.
Luigi vacuuming the chandelier in the Foyer.
A Boo appearing in the Parlor.
GameCube and Game Boy Advance Game Footage CD
Footage credit goes to this video by cake on YouTube.
Original Footage
Footage with subtitles
This video has subtitles added which describe each notable difference the footage features from the final build of the game. The video isn't slowed down, so you may have to pause the video to read the text.
Player's Guide Interview
Question 1
Nintendo Power:
Tell us about the process of selecting Luigi as the star of the first adventure title for Nintendo GameCube.
Tadashi Sugiyama, Design Director:
We started with the idea of making a game in which the player explored a huge house, walking back and forth between the rooms. The house started as a Japanese-style Ninja house. When we changed it to an American-style haunted mansion, we tried to think of a character who would work in those surroundings. Because the house is filled with ghosts, we wanted a character with a cowardly personality. That's why we decided that Luigi was a good choice.
Hideki Konno, Director:
Mario has too much of a reputation for being a hero to be believable as the frightened explorer of a haunted house.
Question 2
Nintendo Power:
If the setting was not a haunted house, would Mario have been your choice as the lead character?
Hideki Konno, Director:
In the initial design phase of the game, Mario was our choice for the lead character. At that time, we were working on new ideas for an exploration game with many different rooms, in the same vein as the dungeon exploration sections of the Legend of Zelda games. During those tests, we changed the setting from a Ninja house to something that was more like a dollhouse. The dollhouse setting seemed natural, because the player always looks through one of the walls to see the other three walls in the room. As we were developing the lighting scheme, we settled on a design that featured a lot of darkness and shadows. That's when we decided that the house should be haunted. Since it isn't part of Mario's personality to be surprised or frightened, we decided that Luigi would be a better fit.
Question 3
Nintendo Power:
What features were you able to put in the game based on the fact that you were developing for the Nintendo GameCube?
Hiroki Sotoike, Main Programmer:
The first thing that we wanted to do was create dynamic lighting with really crisp shadows. Since hardware development for the Nintendo GameCube was not complete at the time that we started game development, we were able to make requests for technical capabilities to be added to the new system. Many of the features that we asked for were adopted.
Question 4
Nintendo Power:
What can you do with the shadows and light in a Nintendo GameCube game?
Hiroki Sotoike, Main Programmer:
We can attach real-time shadows to all objects. The direction and shape of the shadows, and the way that the shadows interact with objects in the environment, is all handled by the hardware. Those capabilities were added to the graphics chip after we asked for them.
Question 5
Nintendo Power:
The Nintendo GameCube has a reputation for being a development-friendly game machine. Did that make the development time for Luigi's Mansion shorter?
Hiroki Sotoike, Main Programmer:
Nintendo 64 development does pose a lot of technical hurdles that aren't there when you're developing for the Nintendo GameCube. The fewer technical problems gave us more time for genuine creative development.
Tadashi Sugiyama, Design Director:
Since Nintendo GameCube graphics are of a very high quality, all of the time that we save from a lack of technical hurdles is spent in creating the best images possible.
Question 6
Nintendo Power:
Since the Nintendo GameCube system is disc based, were there concerns about loading time?
Hiroki Sotoike, Main Programmer:
We load only a few rooms at a time. For that reason, loading time is very short.
Question 7
Nintendo Power:
Luigi's Mansion makes very good use of the Nintendo GameCube Controller. How did that work out?
Hideki Konno, Director:
When we started developing the game, the Nintendo GameCube Controller had not yet been designed. We wanted to use two analog sticks from the beginning. The idea was always to use one stick for movement and another stick for the directional control of what turned out to be Luigi's flashlight and vacuum. Because of the importance of the two sticks in the control scheme, we wanted to use fewer buttons than we would use in game with more standard controls. While we did end up using all of the buttons on the Controller when we developed the functions of the Game Boy Horror, I think that we successfully simplified control by implementing the use of the two sticks. The game may be a little difficult to control when you start, but it eventually becomes very easy. That was our goal.
Question 8
Nintendo Power:
Was there any discussion about how easy the game would be for beginners?
Hideki Konno, Director:
We had a lot of discussion about that. In fact, we did work on a simpler control scheme that used only one stick, but I was very particular about this one feature. I told Mr. Miyamoto that we wanted to use two sticks and that we wanted this feature to contribute to the level of difficulty and challenge in the game. The E3 version of the game had only the Sidestep control technique. We added the Standard control technique after E3 for more ease of play.
Question 9
Nintendo Power:
The A Button doesn’t play a very big role in the control of the character. That seems unusual for a Nintendo game.
Hideki Konno, Director:
Most of our games do make more use of the A Button, but because one of the main game control functions uses the C Stick and it’s hard to control the C Stick and press the A Button at the same time, we assigned the vacuum control to the R Button instead of the A Button.
Question 10
Nintendo Power:
The angular control of the vacuum nozzle is a little tricky, but it’s satisfying when you are successful.
Hideki Konno, Director:
That was our intention. Many of the testers felt that it was uncomfortable to use the C Stick for long periods of time. For that reason, we redesigned the C Stick, making it wider and more comfortable for your thumb.
Question 11
Nintendo Power:
What is your opinion about the general degree of difficulty in the game?
Hideki Konno, Director:
Because the control scheme is designed to add a level of challenge to the game, we decided to tone down some of the other game play challenges. It’s very important for a launch title to be well-balanced in its degree of difficulty. We wanted to make the game like Yoshi’s Story in the way that you can reach the ending after several hours, but you feel motivated to play the game again.
Because of that, we decided to have a lot of puzzle elements and not require tons of item collection. We wanted to let the player decide how long it would take to complete the game. For that reason, there are several things that you can do in the game, but you don’t have to do them all to reach the ending.
Question 12
Nintendo Power:
When you collect a key in the game, the Game Boy Horror screen automatically shows which door you can unlock. That is a very helpful feature.
Hideki Konno, Director:
We didn’t originally design it that way, but we decided that it would be frustrating for the player if we didn’t show which door matched the key. In addition to that, we thought it was a good idea to show a map of the entire mansion at the beginning. It’s common to show only the areas that the player has explored, but we wanted to give the player a feeling for the size of the mansion from the start.
Question 13
Nintendo Power:
You don’t give a hint about the warp mirrors in the game. Why not?
Hideki Konno, Director:
We figured that every player would use the Game Boy Horror to examine one of the mirrors sooner or later. The mirror in the foyer is sort of a hint. Because the distance between that mirror and the place that you warp to is short, some people find that to be a little confusing, but it works for most players.
Question 14
Nintendo Power:
The mirror in the storage room plays a part in solving a puzzle, since you can see the button that you must push in the reflection of the mirror.
Hideki Konno, Director:
That mirror was a late addition. At first we had a line of coins that led to the button, but we decided that it was a little too manipulative.
Question 15
Nintendo Power:
There is a line of coins that leads to a trapdoor in the first hallway that you explore.
Hideki Konno, Director:
We also lead players to the trapdoors by the design of the paths of the escaping Boos. I’ve watched many testers follow Boos to the trap doors then get flattened when they try to open the doors. Then I laugh over their shoulders.
Question 16
Nintendo Power:
The collection of all 50 Boos is very challenging.
Hideki Konno, Director:
One thing you have to remember is that the Boos always stay on the same floor. Watch carefully when the Boo leaves the room, and try to chase it to the next room.
Tadashi Sugiyama, Design Director:
If enough time passes, the Boo will find a new place to hide.
Hideki Konno, Director:
When you save the game, quit and return, all of the Boos that flew away to other rooms will return to their original rooms. Another thing to remember is that the hit points of the Boos are not directly related to how quickly they can get I away. Some Boos that have high hit points are fairly easy to catch. Some Boos with low hit points are more difficult to catch because of their speed.
Question 17
Nintendo Power:
Did you ever have the feeling that you weren’t going to finish making the game in time for the system's launch?
Tadashi Sugiyama, Design Director:
We didn't ever feel that we would be late, but some other people might have thought that was going to happen.
Hiroki Sotoike, Main Programmer:
The schedule was certainly very tight. The designers and programmers sometimes had disagreements over whether certain features were going to be implemented in time, but it worked out.
Question 18
Nintendo Power:
Did you have to scrap some ideas because you didn't have enough time?
Hiroki Sotoike, Main Programmer:
Actually, we added more ideas toward the end of development, rather than taking any features away.
Question 19
Nintendo Power:
What features did you add late in the process of development?
Hideki Konno, Director:
We added the ability to turn off the flashlight with the B Button considerably late in the process. It was a flash of inspiration from Mr. Miyamoto. He thought that there should be more things that the player can do by pushing the A and B Buttons.
Hiroki Sotoike, Main Programmer:
Of course, there is a functional reason to turn off the flashlight, too. If you light up a ghost from a long distance, it will usually get away before you can capture it. Mr. Miyamoto suggested that the player should be able to turn off the light and wait for the ghost to get close, then turn it on and quickly collect the ghost. I believe that he wanted the feature partially for the added functionality and partially for the fun of pushing buttons and making things happen.
Hideki Konno, Director:
Mr. Miyamoto really values the feeling of control responsiveness in our games. For example, when you check the walls, Luigi used to go through an elaborate animation before he rapped on the plaster, but Mr. Miyamoto thought that it was very important for Luigi to tap the wall immediately after the player presses the button.
Question 20
Nintendo Power:
The use of elements (fire, water and ice) adds a lot of depth to the game. Did you have that idea from the beginning?
Hideki Konno, Director:
One of our early challenges was to display fire, water and atmospheric effects realistically. That was something that we wanted to test. We also were very interested in making the dust look realistic. At first, dust clouds used a fixed animation that looked the same every time. It didn't look very interesting, so we created a solution through programming that would change the amount of dust that flies around the room depending on the level activity in the room. One of our younger programmers worked on the dust programming for about six months.
Hiroki Sotoike, Main Programmer:
Another effect that took a lot of programming was the stretching and bending of the ghosts when they are consumed by the vacuum. It was hard work, but the results are worth it.
Question 21
Nintendo Power:
Did you use motion-capture technology in the development of the game?
Hideki Konno, Director:
Yes. We used motion capture in the cinematic sequences at the beginning and the end of the game. The part at the beginning where Luigi is walking in a very cowardly way through the parlor uses motion capture.
Aside
Nintendo Power:
The way that Luigi hums and whistles along with the music was a nice touch.
Hideki Konno, Director:
The sound staff added that feature after E3 . They thought that the background music wasn't very fun, so they came up with the idea that Luigi would interact with the music. The programming schedule was pretty tight, but we resolved to challenge ourselves and we were able to add that feature in time.
Nintendo Power:
Another nice touch is the way that Luigi calls for Mario.
Hideki Konno, Director:
That was something that we added over the course of development. There wasn't much to do with the A Button, except for examining objects and opening doors. One of our staff members suggested that Luigi should call out for Mario, since Luigi's main motivation is to find his brother. There are about 30 variations in the way that Luigi calls for Mario. They vary depending on Luigi's health.
Question 22
Nintendo Power:
Gallery ghosts look different from other ghosts in the Mario series. Why the change?
Tadashi Sugiyama, Design Director:
We thought that standard Mario-style ghosts and Boos were good for random mansion encounters, but we decided to go for a more human-looking style for the event-related ghosts. That separates them from the other ghosts and makes them more important.
Question 23
Nintendo Power:
How did you feel about including characters from the other Mario games in Luigi's Mansion?
Hideki Konno, Director:
During the design phase, we considered not having other Mario characters in the game, because we didn't want it to feel like another chapter in the Mario series. Then we added the Boos, Bowser and Toad. But we use those characters sparingly, and Bowser is really kind of a surprise at the end.
Question 24
Nintendo Power:
Did you intend to make the game scary?
Tadashi Sugiyama, Design Director:
No. We wanted Luigi to be frightened, but we didn't have any desire to scare players.
Question 25
Nintendo Power:
Some people try to compare Nintendo GameCube games to games for other systems. How do you approach that subject?
Tadashi Sugiyama, Design Director:
I don't think too much about other games and how we should compete against them. I know that there are other haunted house games, but I don't think that Luigi's Mansion competes directly with them. We spend much more time thinking about how we will make our game in our own style rather than considering how it will compare to other styles.
Hiroki Sotoike, Main Programmer:
In addition to making sure that the game worked well from a technical standpoint, we wanted to create something that is innovative-- something that no one else has experienced before. In that way, it can’t really compete with other games, because our game is different, unique.