link What comments?

Mario Maker 2! A little appreciated feature of this game is the comment system. It doesn’t just support text or reaction images, it also supports custom images drawn using the gamepad. Some of the data I collected through the Mario Maker 2 API included these custom image comments. I was blown away by some of the amazing artists that are hidden because their work is so difficult to trace, so I collected 35 thousand of them from 496 different players as an art installation, an exhibit of talent often hidden in video games with user created content.

link How good are they?

Good. A small number of users bot their comments using external tools such as arduinos, but their work is still incredibly pretty when the right image is chosen:

link Usabell (V1GM9LPCG)

Botted image from Usabell

Some are drawn by hand :

link 3 Amigos (M1BVBBVJG)

Hand drawn from 3 Amigos

Some are very heartfelt and touch on deep issues… this is a Mario game remember!

link Hippy♀Aino (7P5PG9HBG)

Comic frame from Hippy Aino

There are even better images in the collection so feel free to just scroll and see what you find!