I hope the game moves ahead as well. There's been progress aplenty on the non-game issues raised by the brief flame war as well. MoD's got a new attitude, and it has earned him a moderator position, and the record for all to see is in the "
Our Mistakes" thread.
Yes, there are a lot of Mario recolors, but pulling from sprites of different Mario games can help (the sprites have changed a lot over the years). Also, there are plenty of other video game characters available as well. (The fact that this site is at least partially dedicated to a Mario game homage is not insignificant, though. It makes sense for everyone here to identify with Mario... We just need to find where the limit is, though.)
There is a way to handle this that does not step on anyone's toes, but it has to be approached with patience, compassion, and restraint. I think the ban will give everyone a chance to cool down, but I hope that we can all keep our heads when this gets back into full swing. Till then, I've got my fingers crossed.