The Perfect Level: How Super Mario Bros and ‘World 1-1’ Changed Everything
The Perfect Level: How Super Mario Bros and ‘World 1-1’ Changed Everything
The Perfect Level: How Super Mario Bros and ‘World 1-1’ Changed Everything
By Paul Tamburro
January 10, 2018
Summary
Super Mario Bros designer Shigeru Miyamoto wasn't just crafting a tutorial when he built the game's opening level; he was establishing a whole new world.
Super Mario Bros was released on the NES back in 1985, at a time when the majority of the gaming conventions we're now accustomed to had yet to become commonplace.
For many, Super Mario Bros was much more than their introduction to the now-iconic protagonist plumber - it was also their first foray into video games altogether.
Super Mario Bros was co-designed by Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, though it was the former who was responsible for crafting World 1-1.
Though future 2D Mario games would allow the player to go back on themselves, in Super Mario Bros the boundaries of the screen provides an invisible wall that prevents them from moving left, instantly indicating that there is only one way to go if you want to make it to the end of the game.
For many, the NES was their first home console and Super Mario Bros their first video game, so mechanics we now believe wouldn't warrant an explanation were alien to those acclimatizing to the medium.
One of the most unconventional mechanics introduced in Super Mario Bros is the introduction of the dash button, allowing players to have greater variety in their movement by way of affording Mario with an increased running speed at the touch of a button.
Over 30 years since the release of Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Odyssey introduced the most freedom of movement that the Mario series has ever seen, granting the iconic platforming hero an arsenal of jumps, dives and other assorted moves, all of which stemmed from Miyamoto and Tezuka's decision to give Mario a running jump back in the '80s. But while Mario's move-set may have changed dramatically, one staple of the franchise has remained as recognizable as ever: the Mushroom Kingdom.
By contrast, Super Mario Bros introduced a new, unique and thoroughly surreal world that was unlike anything players had experienced.
The inherent weirdness of Super Mario Bros' world has helped it withstand the test of time, with the conventions established in this first game still present and correct in Mario games today.
Reference
Tamburro, P. (2018, January 10). The Perfect Level: How Super Mario Bros and 'World 1-1' Changed Everything. GameRevolution. https://www.gamerevolution.com/features/362525-perfect-level-super-mario-bros-world-1-1-changed-everything