Turn your Computer Screen into a Playable Mario Level with Screentendo
If you're bored at work and want an excuse to put off your work Screentendo could be the solution.
The app lets you turn any website into a playable version of the iconic 80s Nintendo classic Mario Bros.
Its creator has provided step-by-step instructions on how to convert the pages into blocks. However it requires some coding knowledge.
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Super Mario code has been created by a London developer. Screentendo is an application that allows you to transform websites into 'blocks.' Mario can be controlled by the stage like in the game. However it will require a bit of programming to enable the feature. The image below is the MailOnline logo designed using Screentendo
Screentendo was built by a London-based developer Aaron Randall.
When you drag a window over a web page, various components can be transformed into blocks from the Super Mario games.
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Mario himself then appears, allowing players to move around the level and to destroy the blocks.
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To be able to use it, you will require the ability to edit source code with a program called CocoaPods.
'When Screentendo is activated, a semi-transparent screen appears, which can be moved or resized over other application windows the developer explained on his site.
'After placing the Screentendo window on top of an area of the screen, a click inside the window will cause the application to render the game level in accordance with the content underneath it.'
Mr Randall said to MailOnline that he developed the application 'in a few days'.
He said that the most challenging part of the program was image processing. This meant that the app know how to process any type of image and the structure that underlies it to create an appropriate level.
He said it works on any website, but it works best on pages with 'distinct contrast'.
Screentendo is an early Super Mario Bros. screenshot shown. At present, Screentendo is only available for Macs. The code can be downloaded from GitHub. Mr Randall states that the app is a 'proof-of-concept' hack in the moment and has a few flaws
Mr Randall continued that he built it because he loves 'building things, particularly smaller projects like this.'
He said: 'It's a great excuse to learn new languages and frameworks, and try to solve some interesting problems you wouldn't normally tackle.
"The idea came in a conversation with a friend from work. He is often staring at graphs that monitor our servers. I joked that I would build an app that would overlay the graphs in order to make them more interesting.
MailOnline was told by Mr. Randall that he had created the program in just several days. He claimed that the most difficult part of the program was the image processing. This involved making the program comprehend how to process any type of image and the underlying structure in order to to generate a level.
"A few weeks later, we had a hackday at my office (where everyone does whatever they want to) and I came up with a concept that eventually became Screentendo.
He notes on his site that the application at the moment is very much an experimental hack that has some flaws.
He also said that the phyiscs were slightly off. He was just trying to design something that worked well enough'.
Read more about:
AaronRandall/Screentendo * GitHub
Screentendo | Aaron Randall