The talking flowers in Super Mario Bros. Wonder became Nintendo's very own Mr Motivator

The talking flowers in Super Mario Bros. Wonder are a unique addition in that they're the only in-game characters that are fully voiced.

That's because Nintendo designed them to serve a very specific purpose. As explained by Super Mario Bros. Wonder producer Takashi Tezuka during a recent GDC 2024 talk, the flowers were included to ensure players didn't become dismayed or lose motivation during their playthrough.

He explained that, in previous Super Mario Bros. titles, a clapping sound effect would trigger when players had collected all the coins in a specific area.

"Adding a fanfare that sounds when players reach a goal was implemented because we knew players wanted to be praised for gameplay," he said. "But I thought players would feel even more immersed in games if that praise came more often, even for smaller accomplishments."

The talking flowers in Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which hurl out incredulous comments in response to player behaviour, were the result of those musings. Tezuka explained the character's number one goal is to hand out "praise or sympathy to increase player motivation and make play more rewarding."

"In other words, they were created to aid in gameplay like other effects. I believe that the talking flowers helped contribute to increasing player motivation and making the player feel more real," he added.

Keen to learn more about the development of Super Mario Bros. Wonder? Then you'll want to hear game director Shiro Mouri break down how the Japanese idea of "Mottainai" influenced production.

After what, why not check out our full slate of GDC 2024 coverage, including in-depth interviews and talk write-ups, by clicking right here.

Game Developer and Game Developers Conference are sibling organizations under Informa Tech.