Analysis of Super Mario Bros. 1–1
Thoughts about one of video game’s most iconic levels.
In 1985 the first level “1–1” of Nintendo’s NES game Super Mario Bros. introduced a majority of players not only to Mario for the first time, but video games as a whole. Therefore, the introductory levels serve a dual purpose of both educating the player on how to play a video game for the first time as well as retaining players continued interest with entertaining gameplay mechanics. Achieving this duality is a core design principle of Nintendo, and can be seen even in their most recent titles.
The NES’s simple controller scheme makes intuiting how to move Mario using the D-pad along with running and jumping by pressing A and B easy for anyone. In-game, sprite’s color design makes the level’s environment clear and obvious to the player. The contrast of flashing orange question-mark blocks against an otherwise ordinary blue-brown-green background grabs the player’s attention. Mario himself sticks out in bright red, making him stand out in both the above ground and below ground sections of the level. While clouds and bushes being the same texture recolored resulted from lack of available memory, at the same time it simplifies the environment to make it less distracting. The bricks also being the same pattern brings focus away from unimportant environmental surroundings to where Mario should jump, and the attractive question-mark blocks.
The very first screen of 1–1 contains a majority of the game’s core content: the ubiquitous goomba, floating bricks, question-mark blocks, coins, a hidden mushroom, and pipes. It seems like a lot of information to take in at once, but it does not take a long time to digest exactly what appears on the screen. Running towards the right comes simple enough, until Mario runs into the goomba and loses a life. Once players learn how to jump, Mario can continue in the level to access the upper row of bricks. Hitting the top of bricks usually comes first by accident - leading to the bouncy ‘doop’ sound and vertical animation implying their interactivity with little-Mario’s head. Head-butting the curious question-mark block sends up coins and more importantly a mushroom, scrolling slowly away across the screen as if to invite Mario’s chase.
After understanding the very fundamentals of Super Mario Bros., level 1–1 becomes slightly more complex with the introduction of koopa, the turtle who leaves behind his shell once you jump on his head. New players will likely notice this, and run into the shell similarly to running into the mushroom. Good thing the game places several goombas beyond the shell, to show how it can take out multiple enemies. The ramp before the large flag pole at the end of the level clearly indicates the player should jump as high as they can to the top, even if most players are unable to build up the speed on their first run through, only to sheepishly jump on the bottom of the pole.
Once level 1–1 is over, the player can pretty much handle the rest of the game. More complex enemies in later levels will continue to provide a challenge, but only the skills presented in 1–1 come into play for the entire game. Not only can the player complete all levels with enough practice, but picking up the controls of any third-party or future Nintendo title instantly becomes more intuitive.
Post Script — Nintendo’s stance against complexity
In Nintendo’s 2001 Game Cube game Super Smash. Bros Melee, Nintendo characters battled against one another in a 2D “ring-out” style fighting game. Nintendo set out to create a fun party game, where up to four players could fight one another and see who would win between their favorite Nintendo characters. However, the game also had an unintended mechanic directly violating Nintendo’s philosophy of creating fair gameplay for all players. The game contained a technical move known as “wave dashing”, which could only be achieved by more technically skilled players.
By inputting a jump then cancelling it as soon as the character leaves the ground by inputting an aerial dodge, your character slides across the stage in a quick dashing motion. Use of the mechanic gave players proficient in their character’s wave dash timing a significant movement advantage over less practiced and knowledgeable opponents. Competitive Super Smash. Bros Melee tournament matches soon largely favored the more technically skilled player, more-so than a character’s matchup.
As a mechanic it was revolutionary for the time, not even being discovered until years after the game’s release. It enabled the game to be popular among competitive players in a way no Nintendo game had been before, and likely ever will be. But Nintendo’s design philosophy of maintaining simplicity for newer players then provides insight why proceeding Smash Bros. Games slowed gameplay down, and made wave-dashing an impossibility.
How does this relate to Mario? The difficulty in Super Mario Bros. gets steeper and steeper with each world, progressing from teaching new players how to play to challenging veterans with tricky jumps and opponents. In Super Smash Bros Melee., if a new or average player picked up a controller and played against a veteran proficient in wave dashing, the difference in ability was significantly larger than a the same veteran player without wave dashing. The mechanic allowed the skill ceiling for the game to become enormous, far exceeding Nintendo’s intentions. This made the game amazing for tournaments with high skill players, but blatantly opposed the design philosophy Nintendo has incorporated all the way since Super Mario Bros.
