Alright, fun post today! You may have heard of a small indie game called Super Mario Bros. that became a global phenomenon.
A reason it became so popular is how well the first level served as its own tutorial.
Everything you need to know about the game is included in World 1-1. Yet no instructions are given to the player.
First, the menu screen is actually the start of the first level. Mario starts at the left-hand side of the screen, which lets the player know they’re supposed to go right.
The game really only has 6 inputs – 4 buttons for the direction Mario goes, and the other two buttons can make Mario run and jump. The player can try out these controls and get a handle for the game before approaching their first interesting encounter.
Here you have some questions boxes, an enemy and a pipe.
The player learns that if they jump to hit the question boxes they get rewarded. Some give coins and some give power-ups. The player also learns that if they do the same thing with the bricks, they will break with a power-up but not break without power-ups.
With the enemy, the player learns that if they run into it they will die (and this gives value to the 3 lives they start with). But if they jump on the enemy it will be dealt with.
The game further encourages the player to keep interacting with objects when they get to the pipe. This first pipe is an obstacle that must be jumped over and nothing else can be done with it. But if the player presses down on the 4th pipe in the level it will lead to a secret area.
That is basically everything the player needs to know to play Super Mario Bros. As they progress through the game, they will discover different power-ups (like fire flowers and stars) and also encounter new enemies (like Koopa Troopas), but they’ll never require further tutorials.
The fun thing about this design is that the player will be surprised in different ways. They’ll realise that when they collect 100 coins they get an extra life. Or if they find a hidden block it may have a green mushroom that grants another life.
The best video games teach players how to quickly and easily play the game, because this makes them excited to play it and then recommend it to friends. World 1-1 stands as an iconic example of intuitive design, and I hope it inspires you to make your work and passions more intuitive to others.
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