This image was posted in a group chat and it is the coolest thing we've seen. (Check the comments for a source for the image! Thanks Viz!)
Video: https://youtu.be/bXm6-ghoDOU
Transcription: In Super Mario World, the direction Mario is facing is determined by the value of a variable. If the value is 0, he faces left. If it is 1, he faces right. However, the variable takes up an entire byte of memory, meaning it has 256 possible values instead of just these two. The other 254 values are not normally used, but still affect Mario in unpredictable ways.
Increasing the value of the direction past the first two could be seen as Mario facing directions that do not usually exist, the same way occupying higher-dimensional space would allow someone to face previously impossible directions.
- Direction 2: Mario's head is detached, on his side.
- Direction 4: Mario's head is detached, on the floor behind him.
- Direction 17: Mario's head is detached, on the floor. He stands on it.
As seen above, many of these directions cause Mario's body to distort. However, others have more surprising effects.
- Direction 41 makes Mario invisible.
- Some directions, like 93, change Mario's color.
- Facing direction 15 turns Mario into two eggs.
