CS4455 Fall 2012

Super Mario World does a wonderful job of merging real-time control, spatial simulation, and polish. Mario is a classic due to it’s quick and engaging gameplay, well built levels, and memorable style. The primary mechanics of the game are:

• Walk
• Run
• Croutch
• Jump
• Fly
• Blimp
• Grab item
• Throw/Kick item
• Throw fireball

For the majority of the game you have real time control over Mario. The notable exceptions to this are during cutscenes, death, and moving around the map. Mario’s action in levels consists mostly of walking right toward a goal. One button allows Mario to run and move faster; the other allows him to jump. These controls are very responsive and Mario moves very quickly on screen to meet your commands. You don’t get locked into animations during your play. Even while in the air Mario can change direction of movement as well as his orientation multiple times in a single jump.

Engaging the objects in each level also occurs in real time. You can plan out jumps so that you bounce from one enemy to another by matching the arc of your jump with enemies travel time. Enemies promptly die when jumped upon. Power-ups and lives disappear as soon as Mario touches them.  This precise level of real time control allows the player to feel a great sense of mastery upon seeing the results of their actions.
The Overworld map doesn’t fit with the real time control. Here Mario moves around between dots on a map that represent each level. You can only choose to move along roads you’ve unlocked. When you start moving you can’t stop and lose control until the animation has taken you along the path to the next level or next area of the map. This can be a slow way to travel between levels that are distant on the map.
Being a platformer spatial simulation is critical in Super Mario World. Mario doesn’t use a realistic set of physics. However, Mario and enemies are affected by a floaty gravity. Platforms are strategically placed to make it difficult but possible to reach most areas. Many levels have secret keys that can be found to unlock new levels. These are usually only reachable if you have a certain power up, went a special route, or unlocked a certain area of the map. The maps are mostly continuous with some areas available by warp pipes. Many times enemies are intentionally placed such that you can combo jump from one to the other or kick a shell and kill a line of enemies. The attention to detail in their effort to make the levels fun as well as challenging has led to this game still being played today.
The polish in super Mario World is subtle but effective. Simple things are done such as noises when you jump or pick up a mushroom. Enemies and powerups disappear when you kill them. However there is also many things they did to give the player additional info easily. When you’re low on time the music for the level will play quickly. The same thing happens when the time is about to run out on the effects of a switch. There are also rising tones when you kill one enemy after another letting you know you’re getting near the point of gaining lives if you kill another X enemies.
There are also some smaller things. Dust kicks up at marios feet if you turn while running quickly. Points fly up whenever you get coins or kill enemies. Enemies look around or exhibit some tell before they attack. While these things may not be much by today’s technical standards they were part of a game that helped make Mario the gaming icon he is today.