3 Lessons of Interaction Feeling from Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. is a classic video game that is used as an example of good user experience design when teaching new designers. The game’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, is known not only as a genius in video games, but possibly one of the first UX designers before “UX design” was even a term. The level design of that classic game is so intuitive that kids were able to immediately figure out what to do and what every aspect of the level meant without having to read an instruction manual. However, there might be more to Mario that designers can learn from: the feeling that players get when playing Mario.
1. Objects to Interact With
The “goomba” is a classic Mario enemy that appears in almost every Mario game. I have heard designers site the goomba as an example of design that lets the user know what the function does.
It is a little mushroom monster with an angry face. That angry face informs the player that it is an enemy as opposed to the power-up mushroom which has cute little eyes, signifying that it will help the player. However, there is more to the design of a goomba than just an angry face. It looks like something you just want to smush!
The goomba has a soft shape that tapers at the top, resembling a big button. As a player, I have often found myself stomping on goombas even when they did not pose a threat. Stomping on a goomba just felt really good. How could you resist?
The same could be said for the “koopa troopa”. Its shell signifies that it will not smush like a goomba, but when you do stomp on it, the turtle pops into its shell rather than getting squashed. Mario can then kick the shell to knock out other enemies or break brick blocks. Any Mario player knows that knocking out a line of enemies with a koopa shell is one of the most satisfying feelings in the game.
A third example of a good feeling of physicality in Super Mario Bros. is breaking brick blocks. Players often break brick blocks when there is no need for it simply because it feels good. Much of what Mario does (i.e. running, jumping, and smashing things) is what toddlers often enjoy doing. Miyamoto said himself:
I think that inside every adult is the heart of a child. We just gradually convince ourselves that we have to act more like adults.
Today, interaction designers often give attention to the way it feels when clicking or tapping a button. The exact easing of animation when selecting an icon on a navigation bar down to the fraction of a second could make all the difference. The same could be said for clicking a reaction button on a social media site or opening a chat window when clicking on a virtual assistant.
2. Sound and Interaction
Everyone is familiar with the music and sound effects featured in Super Mario Bros. The sound of getting a coin, breaking a brick block, getting a mushroom, and jumping in the air are all abstract, 8-bit sounds that anyone familiar with Mario can instantly identify. Miyamoto knew the importance of every sound effect in the game. In fact, Koji Kondo, the musician who scored Super Mario Bros. asked himself, “Do the game and music fit one another?”. Kondo composed the music in such a way so that the sound effects feltlike they were part of the music. Kondo said that the sound of the game had to “heighten the feeling of how the game controls”.
Today, many websites and apps make little sounds to enhance the feeling of certain interactions. For example, Facebook makes a certain pop when the user selects a reaction on a post, the iPhone makes a certain sound when the user sends or receives a text message, and Windows and Apple computers make distinct sounds when they turn on. Additionally, the iPhone makes distinct tapping sounds whenever you type a letter, and it sometimes sends delightful animations with fun sounds depending on the message you send. When designing small interactions, a designer should think about what kind of feeling the user should get, and what sound could enhance that feeling.
3. Controlling Mario
While many video games are jammed pack with various game mechanics, few (if any) rival Mario games in terms of the player’s ability to control the player character.
When Mario made his debut in Miyamoto’s first game, Donkey Kong, the player could only make Mario run, jump in place, jump with a running start, and climb up and down ladders. In Super Mario Bros. Miyamoto felt it was important that Mario should accelerate and decelerate when running depending on how the player uses the D-pad on the controller. The player had a little bit of control over Mario’s jump, and could even slightly change Mario’s direction while he was in midair. In each subsequent game, the player was given a little bit more control over Mario’s movement.
Nintendo would later face a new challenge with the invention of the Nintendo 64. With 64-bit graphics, Mario would now be moving in a 3 dimensional world. Other game designers saw the new game consoles as opportunities to make their games prettier and more cinematic; however, Miyamoto thought more about how games would play in a 3D worlds. Nintendo added the analog stick to the N-64 controller in order to allow better control of a character in a 3D space as opposed to the Playstation controller which only featured a D-pad.
During this time in gaming, players were excited to see video games come to life, but they were disappointed to see games fail due to clunky controls. On the other hand, Nintendo spent a lot of time making sure that Super Mario 64 would feature a Mario with tight controls. Players had endless fun making Mario run, jump, punch, kick, double jump, triple jump, and jump off of walls. Although the game is old, many fans still replay old Mario games. The internet is filled with old Mario game speed-run videos. Mario players seem to enjoy moving Mario around even though they are no longer challenged by the game.
Controlling Mario is similar to driving a car. When shopping for a new car, many drivers pay careful attention to how the road feels beneath them while driving, how the car accelerates and decelerates when stepping on the gas and break pedals, and how well the car turns because these are major factors of how a car feels while driving.
The Takeaway
Because of Mario’s interactions, sound effects, and controls, Mario players replay Mario games simply because they feel good to play. Many designers today may be focused on graphics and user-friendliness, but good-feeling-interaction could keep a user coming back to your product again and again. These interactions could range from tapping, clicking, scrolling, sound effects, sliding, or dragging. As a designer, how might you apply “Mario Thinking” to your product?
