How Mario 3 taught us to play

[Flake]

http://www.significant-bits.com/super-m ... gn-lessons

The author looks at how Super Mario Bros 3 used its level design to subtlety instruct players how to play the game.

This is a quality to the classics of old that I did not realize I missed until now - I hate how games are overwhelmingly dependent on annoying tutorials these days.

[sevin0seven]

I hate how games are overwhelmingly dependent on annoying tutorials these days.

it annoys me too and on some of them we can't skip it.

[noiseredux]

I hate (forced) tutorials as well. I fear that the future is games sans instruction manuals.

[Croooow!]

I really like how subtle the built in tutorials were as well, especially Metroid where acquiring the Morph Ball taught you that you could go left.

[SadSam]

There was certainly fun and artistry in the simplicity of the games back then. I often miss that too. I think that's part of the reason that retro gaming is so popular. I also think there is a place for the newer, more complex, tutorials-needed, kind of games. I actually think they are a result of consumer demand for more and more complex games.

[swiftzx]

I miss instruction booklets from back then, with the story told to you, colorful pictures, and awesome artcovers(for the most part ). It makes me want to experience what I have missed.

[Mr.White555]

That is pretty rad. I'm totally going to show my friend who didn't have the patience to beat the first level.

[Gunstar Green]

A perfectly designed tutorial should be invisible to the player and teach them without letting them know they're being taught. Mario 3 is definitely one of the games to get it right in this regard.

Interesting article.

[pakopako]

Well, I always thought this was what was supposed to happen in game-design.

It was kinda like this with toy-based comic books: info-dump at the start, get a plot running, and then get diverse from there.

[jfrost]

Had seen already something like this about the first SMB.

The guy from Wolfire does design tours every few weeks, by the way. Here's the video of him talking about the design ideas from the games of the Humble Indie Bundle 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVsWDmSrv5I

His channel has more in-depth videos if you find it interesting.