World 1-1 is the first

level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...

of ''

Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...

'',

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

's 1985

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...

for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

. The level was designed by

Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...

to be a

tutorial A tutorial, in education, is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete ...

for new players, orienting them to platform jumping and to the rest of the game. It is one of the most iconic video game levels and has been widely imitated and parodied.

Design

Design philosophy

During the third generation of video game consoles, tutorials on video game mechanics were rare, so players were oriented to a new video game by its

level design In video games, a level (also referred to as a map, stage, or round in some older games) is any space available to the player during the course of completion of an objective. Video game levels generally have progressively-increasing difficulty t ...

. The opening sections of

games such as '' Metroid'', ''

The Legend of Zelda ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...

'', and ''

'' are all designed to force players to explore the game mechanics to be able to advance. ''Super Mario Bros.'' is the first side-scrolling video game featuring

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

, and one of the first video games directed and designed by

. Rather than confront the player with obstacles indiscriminately, its first level introduces the variety of hazards and objects by directing the player to interact with them while advancing. Miyamoto explained that he designed World 1-1 to contain everything players need to "gradually and naturally understand what they're doing", to be able to play more freely, so that it becomes "their game".

Execution

At the start of World 1-1, the player controls Mario to immediately encounter a slowly approaching

Goomba Goombas , known in Japan as , are a fictional mushroom-like species from Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise. They first appeared in the NES video game ''Super Mario Bros.'' as the first enemy players encounter. They have appeared outside video ga ...

. According to '' 1UP.com'', it is likely that this first enemy will

kill Kill often refers to: *Homicide, one human killing another *cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death Kill may also refer to: Media *'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto * ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006 * ...

a novice player, even though the enemy can easily be avoided by jumping over it. As very little progress is lost, the player learns from defeat and can try again. Past this Goomba comes an arrangement of blocks, a few of which are colored in gold. Bumping one of them from below releases a coin. According to Miyamoto, seeing a coin come out will "make he playerhappy" and want to repeat the action. Doing so for the second gold-colored block makes a

Mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

come out as a surprise

power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chosen ...

. The player has learned from the Goomba that mushroom-shaped beings are bad, so perhaps the player tries to avoid the power-up Mushroom, but the corridor of blocks foils escape. Touching the Mushroom makes Mario grow in size and strength, another positive reinforcement. Next comes a series of four vertical

warp pipe (also known as and ) is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every m ...

obstacles that must be jumped over. Each has a different height, subtly teaching the player that holding the jump button longer makes a higher jump. When encountering variously-sized pits, the player may discover how to use the button for running, because running makes a bigger jump across the pits. Furthermore, Miyamoto ensured that some pits have floors and can be simply jumped out of instead of killing Mario and forcing the replay of the entire level. World 1-1 includes a few secrets that players can discover by replaying, such as a pipe leading to a bonus room and a hidden block containing a

1-up In video games, a life is a play-turn that a player character has, defined as the period between start and end of play. Lives refer to a finite number of tries before the game ends with a game over. It is sometimes called a chance, a try, rest ...

. The pipe also skips much of the level, to expedite the experienced players.

Reception

World 1-1 has been cited as one of the most iconic video game levels, described by Chris Kerr of ''Gamasutra'' as "legendary". Boston Blake of ''Game Rant'' rated it among the best opening levels in video games for having "ignited a love for gaming in the hearts of gamers around the world", and Jon Irwin of ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

'' described it as a "master-class in teaching players how to play". Jeremy Parish of '' 1UP.com'' stated that "much of the game's success arose from the fact that it equipped players with the tools to master it from the very beginning." Almost all mechanics subsequently introduced in the game are variations of those in World 1-1, and the first levels of later ''Mario'' games (such as '' Super Mario Bros. 3'') also expand upon them. Parish described it as "the most widely imitated, referenced, and parodied single level of a video game".

Legacy

The design philosophy introduced in ''Super Mario Bros.'', described as "learning through play", has been implemented in all of Miyamoto's later games. World 1-1 greatly influenced later ''

Super Mario (also known as and ) is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every m ...

'' games, such as ''

Super Mario 3D World is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U in 2013. It is the sixth original 3D platform game in the ''Super Mario'' series and the sequel to ''Super Mario 3D Land'' (2011) for the Nintendo 3DS. Players control Mar ...

''s first level. Variations of World 1-1 are frequently recreated as

user-generated content User-generated content (UGC), alternatively known as user-created content (UCC), is any form of content, such as images, videos, text, testimonials, and audio, that has been posted by users on online platforms such as social media, discussion f ...

, such as with ''

Super Mario Maker is a 2015 side-scrolling platform game and game creation system developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U, released worldwide in September 2015. Players can create, play, and share courses online, free of charge, based on the styles ...

'' and its sequel. Examples include an extra difficult version with dozens of twirling fire bars, a vertical climbing version, and a self-playing version.

References

External links

* {{Mario series 1985 in video gaming Fictional elements introduced in 1985 Mario (franchise) Nintendo Entertainment System Video game levels