Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto is a true innovator in the world of platformers, who gave the world the universe of Mario, Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong. However, as it turned out, the legendary pipes in the Mario series of games were invented not only in Nintendo's offices, but also under the influence of the most ordinary things found on the streets of Kyoto.
In one of his old interviews from 2000, Miyamoto shared that when creating the first concepts, it was important for him to come up with an environment where turtles, crabs and other enemies could live. The developers racked their brains for a long time, trying to figure out how to connect the lower part of the screen with the upper part, so that all these monsters could appear again and again. In the end, they came to the conclusion that some kind of visual element was needed that would allow the characters to organically return to where they started their journey.
According to Miyamoto, during one of his walks in Kyoto, he noticed pipes sticking out of the wall and suddenly realized that this was the perfect option for the game. It seems that something is hiding inside these pipes and can come out at any moment. It was also influenced by Japanese manga, where such pipes are often found in abandoned locations.
This is how an ordinary detail of the urban landscape became a signature element of the cult series. Miyamoto said that he himself was amazed at how well these pipes fit into the game: both the problem with the “return” of monsters was solved, and Mario's signature aesthetic was formed.