Noclip is a cool website that lets you fly around levels extracted from a bunch of Nintendo games. The website is more exploratory than educational but is nonetheless a cool way to experience levels from your favorite Nintendo games.
JasperRLZ created the open source noclip website years ago and has continue to support it and add new levels. Dark Souls was even recently added to the batch of supported titles. Jasper has even received help from a number of other programmers and coders. The website runs at a smooth 60 fps even on modest hardware.
Each game has its own set of problems that require unique solutions. Games like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker utilize a cel-shaded style that required its own lighting model to work properly. Other problems like getting animations to play out, adding character, and object models have all required their own bespoke solutions.
Last week, Jasper noted that he had to implement collision models in The Wind Waker because otherwise plant models would simply fall through the ground. How true is the “noclip” name now?
Jasper’s work on noclip was highlighted last week when he was looking at models from The Wind Waker and noted that there were only a few actual body models in the game. The game’s developers simply added heads and clothes atop those bodies to save on production costs.
Noclip hosts a few non-Nintendo games as well. Psychonauts, Dark Souls, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and Sonic Mania all have explorable levels or models that you can check out on the website. Jasper and fellow coders continue to implement new features on the site. If you want to help out, check the site’s GitHub.
In the meantime, jump over to the site and run a couple of laps of your favorite Mario Kart track.
