Levels that teach
Teach a new idea safely, test it, twist it and finish it, all through the layout instead of text.
Super Mario Bros. (1985), World 1-1: the first screen
- Open space to the right
Mario starts at the left edge with empty ground ahead. There's nowhere to go but right, so you learn the direction of the whole game in the first second.
- The first enemy walks toward you on flat ground
A slow walker comes at you with nothing else around. You either jump over it (or onto it), or you touch it and lose a life. Either way you learn, right at the start, where losing costs very little.
- The first mushroom comes back to you
Hit the block and a mushroom slides out to the right, bounces off a pipe and heads back toward you. Most players touch it without meaning to and discover it makes Mario bigger: it helps, it doesn't hurt.
Check yourself
In World 1-1, why does the first mushroom bounce off a pipe and come back toward the player?
- So most players touch it and learn it helps, without any text
- To make it harder to catch, as a challenge
- Because the level ran out of space
- To show off the game's physics
Show the answer
So most players touch it and learn it helps, without any text
Yes. A new player might avoid a strange moving thing. Sending it back to them means most players touch it and learn, by doing, that mushrooms are good.
Introduce, develop, twist, conclude
A four-step way to build a level around one idea, described by Koichi Hayashida, director of Super Mario 3D World, around 2012. It borrows from kishōtenketsu, a four-part story form from East Asia.
1. Introduce the mechanic somewhere safe.
2. Develop it with harder uses.
3. Twist it in an unexpected way.
4. Conclude and move on before it gets old.
One idea, four beats, then the level ends. The next level brings a new idea.
A level built around one idea: the spring pad
Introduce one spring pad on flat ground, nothing else
Develop spring pads over wider gaps, then two in a row
Twist a spring pad riding on a moving platform
Conclude one final climb that uses it all, then the flagFour beats, one mechanic.
The player leaves knowing spring pads inside out, and not tired of them.Notice where the danger goes: none in the first beat, more in the second, surprise in the third, a short test in the last.
Check yourself
A level about a new "ice floor" mechanic: match each room to its step
Show the answer
- A short patch of ice on flat, safe ground → Introduce
- Longer ice with small gaps to jump → Develop
- Ice on a slope, so you slide backwards → Twist
- One last icy run to the exit, then a new idea → Conclude
SAFE FIRST ENCOUNTER
Meet every danger where failing is cheap
The first time a player sees a new enemy or trap, they don't know what it does. So put that first meeting somewhere failing costs little: flat ground, no pit behind it, a checkpoint nearby. Once they understand it, you can combine it with other dangers and raise the stakes.
World 1-1's first enemy appears on flat ground in the first seconds. Losing a life there costs a few seconds of replay, not ten minutes.
Check yourself
Your game has a new enemy that leaps at the player. Where should the player meet it for the first time?
- Over a bottomless pit, to make the moment dramatic
- In the middle of a crowd of other enemies
- On flat ground near a checkpoint, with nothing else around
- Right before the end-of-level boss
Show the answer
On flat ground near a checkpoint, with nothing else around
Right. A safe first encounter lets the player learn how it moves at little cost. Pits, crowds and bosses can come later, once they understand it.
Guide the player without signs
- Light and colour: players drift toward the brightest or most colourful spot.
- Open paths: an open doorway invites; a cluttered corner doesn't.
- Breadcrumbs: a trail of coins or collectibles leads the way.
- Landmarks: a tower or glow visible from far away gives a goal to walk toward.
Check yourself
Players keep missing the exit of your cave level. Which fix guides them without any signs?
- A pop-up paragraph explaining where the exit is
- A trail of coins leading toward the exit, with a light glowing beside it
- An arrow-shaped button in the corner of the screen that opens the map
- Making the cave longer so they find it eventually
Show the answer
A trail of coins leading toward the exit, with a light glowing beside it
Yes. Coins are breadcrumbs players follow by instinct, and light draws the eye. They'll find the exit and feel they found it themselves.
Check yourself
- Level A introduces a new jumping enemy for the first time over a bottomless pit. Many testers lose three lives there and quit.
- Level B introduces the same enemy for the first time on flat ground next to a checkpoint. Testers die once or twice, laugh, and move on knowing how it jumps.
What is the key difference between the two levels?
- Level B's enemy is weaker
- How much a first failure costs the player
- Level A has better graphics
- Level B has more text explaining the enemy
Show the answer
How much a first failure costs the player
Exactly. It's the same enemy. In Level B a mistake costs a few seconds, so players experiment and learn. Over a pit, the same mistake costs a life and feels unfair.
Lesson recap
- A level is a lesson in disguise: the layout teaches, not text.
- World 1-1 (1985) teaches direction, enemies and power-ups on its first screen, where mistakes cost little.
- Introduce, develop, twist, conclude: one idea in four beats, then move on (Hayashida, Super Mario 3D World).
- Meet every new danger somewhere failing is cheap; combine dangers later.
- Guide with light, colour, open paths, breadcrumbs and landmarks. Alternate tension and rest.
- Notebook: pick one mechanic and sketch four tiny rooms for it: introduce, develop, twist, conclude.