Super Thesis World is a Super Mario World romhack1. Developed between April 2023 and July 2024, the hack features 11 custom levels, a puzzle, and lots of secrets. The first message box in the game says “I made this when I should have been working on my grad school thesis.” That’s the story.
I began because I wanted to learn something new. Additionally I have been a long-time fan and player of Kaizo2 Mario romhacks. It was a logical step in my mind.
I wrote and edited a video essay about the process of making the hack. You can watch it below.
To download and play the hack: smwcentral.net/?p=section&a=details&id=38166
A full playthrough / developer commentary is here: youtube.com/watch?v=0n6DKigYOFQ
1 ROM hacking is the process of modifying the files of a video game to alter the game's graphics, dialogue, levels, gameplay, and/or other elements. This is usually done to improve an old game, as a creative outlet, or to make new, unofficial games using the old game's engine. Romhacks (Kaizo or otherwise) are typically fanwork; made as a love letter to either the original game itself or to the community who plays the game.
2 Kaizo is a Japanese term which means “modified” or “reconfigured.” In the context of video games it is used to describe a game design philosophy of modifying a game to be more difficult than it was originally.