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Wednesday 20 February, 2008
Super Mario Brothers is a platformer game. You are Mario, the main character and you move through different worlds and must rescue the princess.
Game Session 1: I definitely was excited to play Super Mario Brothers because it reminded me of my child hood. I am sure most people had some kind of Super Mario Brothers experience in their childhood that changed their lives at that time. The cultural impact this game already has on so many generations made me anxious to play. My goal here was to really analyze why Mario Brothers is so popular as a platform game. I noticed very quickly how much the game world creates the challenges. This platform game really utilizes the Platform to create a challenging environment. The first world is very simple. There are six levels in this world and each level has a different setting. There are colorful platforms you can jump onto as well as many blocks you can hit from underneath which hold prizes for you that make you stronger. As each level proceeds the game world gets more difficult. Level six in world one really forces the player to use the platforms as a tool to stay alive because there is no ground in this level only platforms you can jump onto which are in the sky, so if you miss one you die. An important element of this game as a whole, are the fun games you are rewarded with as you beat levels within the different worlds. Every world contains these games. One game you have to match a picture as three different sections of the picture move very quickly. Then there is the game where you must match the cards (very classic). Lastly there are mushroom huts which provide three chests and you can only choose one which reveals a special prize, most familiar are the mushroom, flower, and feather (which all allow you to have special characteristics. These fun games are separate from the levels and contain no enemies. I think this taps into children games and childhood. Most kids learn how to play card match at a young age and this definitely has a huge influence on the familiarity of the game in Mario Brothers. Every world contains a small castle and the big castle which must beat to move onto the next world. The small castles generally all have the similar design layout. There are enemies only particular to these castles. The main castle in the first world was very easy and gives you a feel of how the game will proceed. There are cannons flying around and the one characteristic particular to the main castle is that the screen moves and you are forced to move in that direction or you will die.
Game Session 2: As I proceeded to World Two I noticed the variety of the enemies but most important the variety of how the platforms and enemies interact to create conflict. This is what really makes Mario Brothers a great platform game; timing and platform elements combined with enemies among these platforms creates a great challenge. The second world introduced new enemies. Enemies consist of turtles which you can stomp on and use as a weapon yourself (very clever), mushrooms (flying ones also), turtles throwing boomerangs, fireballs, ghosts (only in castles), etc. The new enemy I would like to mention that was introduced in world two are the jumping blocks which are camoflauged with the platforms you jump onto. This is a very great game element move on the designers’ parts. What are the elements that make a great platform game? Mario Brothers really captures this because the platforms are used as tools to survive, as enemies that can kill, and they even have prizes stored inside them. These blocks have little mushrooms inside them and they try to jump on you when you get close to them. You are forced to use platforms and avoid them depending on the situation. As the worlds proceed the mini castles get harder and again the use of platforms to create conflict arises. In this case there are spikes on top and on the bottom of the platforms and the platforms are moving up and down. So you cannot let them touch you. This brings in another amazing element of Mario Brothers; timing. Not only can you run out of time on every level, but timing as you actually play is important. At times there are platforms that are in the air moving and you must jump from one to the other right on time in order to not miss it. Also, there are times when enemies are very close to your only way out and the platforms you are on or under cause a little bit of difficultly for you as you try to avoid enemies and get to the end of the level. There are also water levels as well as water worlds. The water levels contain their own challenges. The tunnels that you can go into are now used as obstacles to get past because they shoot bubbles out and force you down while you are underwater. There are jellyfish and water plants that can kill you also. They are usually stationed near prizes you need. This creates a challenge. There are levels which combine platforms above water but there is water below with fish and flying fish trying to kill you. As the levels get harder the platforms are more difficult to interact with because they are moving quickly while more enemies with stronger characteristics are surrounding you. Overall, Mario Brothers is a perfect example of a great plaformer game because of the many different states the platforms are in, how you can interact with them, how the enemies interact with them, and the timing you must have at certain point in order to stay alive.
Game Design: The game design of Mario Brothers fits into my Game Session paragraphs very nicely. The level design of a platform game is going to strongly depend on the platforms themselves and how these platforms create a challenge. The graphics in Mario Brothers is very basic but what makes this game fun to play is the design of game world. The levels are designed for the player to really utilize action such as jumping, flying, and running. The game is very colorful and attracting. Platforms are different sizes, shapes and come in different forms. Some are not even large platforms but skinny and thin sticks that stay still for a few seconds, then spin very fast to knock you off. The platforms are set up at different heights and this is very important element in Mario Brothers. This allows the player to get to places very high up in the game world, thus providing the sense of a spacious world to explore. There are not just platforms but other object you can interact with, like the tunnels. There are platforms that you cannot get to unless you obtain a feather and fly up to them. These design elements are what make the game fun and this attracts people to keep playing. The design never gets old because there is so much variety in the level design, I cannot even discuss all the elements because as you proceed in the different worlds, one cannot imagine the many different varieties that the platform actually take. Mario Brothers has definitely proved that a platform game can be taken into so many generations and so much gameplay can come out of it, all because of the different states the platform can take.
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