Nintendo patent from 1994 shows similar idea to Super Mario Maker, but with unique hardware

"Video game/videographics program editing apparatus with program halt and data transfer features"

- focused on a proposed hardware platform which would allow players to pause the gameplay and edit parts of the game
- used a streamlined UI and no programming experience was needed
- create a unique video game through an icon driven, interactive computing system
- permits a video game to be executed, stopped, edited and resumed from the point where the editing began
- stand-alone hardware system
- developers would be able to specify which elements of the game the user could alter at the programming stage
- anyone could potentially create their own unique video game with this system
- user-generated content could be sent over a telephone line