Super Mario Bros 1–1
Let’s start at the beginning, Super Mario 1–1 starts by having Mario on the far left of the screen, it’s not until you start moving to the right for a bit where the real level starts, you run into obstacles etc. This intro walkway isn’t placed here for no reason however, it’s almost a safe tutorial space for users to play around, learn the controls and get a grasp of the different mechanics and speeds of the game.
While Mario typically stays in the center of the screen during the bulk of the actual game, the fact that he starts basically at the very left edge means that users quickly and painlessly learn the direction of the game. It’s a right-facing side-scroller, even if some users were defiant and wanted to try going to the left they basically immediately run into the left wall and realize that it’s futile to go anywhere but right.
Super Mario Bros eases users in slowly introducing the other elements of the gameplay in one by one. You encounter stationary bricks and moving Goombas, it’s important that the first Goomba you encounter is before you reach any ledges or elevated planes. The first Goomba is on the same walking plane as you and moving directly towards you, you cannot move past without jumping hence introducing users to the jumping mechanisms if they haven’t already figured it out pushing buttons randomly. Even if users are unaware of how to jump, they are only sent back a few steps to the beginning. You’re not significantly punished until you learn the different game mechanics and skills.
The simple uncluttered elements of the game are easy for players to take in one by one, with the power-up bricks users are really only able to do a few things with them. Even without an explicit prompt, the question mark is a universal sign that indicates that there’s more interaction to be seen. Users might try walking on them to find nothing, and since there’s nothing else for them to do they’ll soon inevitably try jumping and hitting them to unlock the powerups.
The mushroom powerup that is unlocked falls from the top ledge to the ground level and bounces off the green pipe. If users haven’t already tried to interact with the mushroom the bouncing off the green pipe makes it almost certain that the users will run into the powerup. Users who are inclined to try and jump over the Goomba shaped powerup are met with the bricks above them forcing them to actually fall straight into the powerup. Again, the level is designed to be forgiving in the beginning in order to teach players about the different elements and interactions that exist in the game.
The following segment is to teach players about the long jump, between the two green pipes there’s nothing, no enemies or other elements in general. This clues players into the fact that the thing to learn here isn’t about new never before seen elements but about some sort of game mechanic. This negative space effectively isolates the types of interactions that players can do. There’s nothing to jump off of or run into or through, it’s just a ledge which is obviously meant to jump into, this prompts new players to try out different types of jumps eventually learning to hold their jump.
These are more or less are UX design choices that make the game very friendly and easy to get into as a new player. Before you know it you’ve already learned the core mechanics are coming back for the game itself. The fact that it’s so user-friendly and eases players in at such a deliberate pace makes it a very fun for new and old users alike.
