Teaching control wihtout showing them.

[u/1GameQuestionMan]

Hello everyone ! I'm inexperienced in Level design and I just started playing Mario Maker 2, just for the fun of it !

My girlfriend doesn't know how to play Mario. She just know how to walk and jump, not run. I'm actually trying to teach her but without telling her what button to press because I want to see if it's possible to teach new controls in a game without telling the new player directly. After all, there was no indication of what to do in the original Mario on NES. The player had to guess and learn throught the level design !

I already tried a few times, unsuccessfully. In the last level I made, I put an insurmountable wall to cross without running and jumping, but she insists on always jumping without running. She never looks at her controller or wonders what she is doing wrong, although I assure her the level is doable!

So, I want to ask you, the amateurs and professionals : is it possible to do it ? And if yes, how ?

P.S : she have fun while playing it and we laught a lot ! Everything is going well between us while I make her do levels impossible to do without running ! :-)

(Sorry for my english, I had to use google translate ! :-P)

[u/JoystickMonkey]

This is more a game design rather than a level design question. You might have better luck asking there because this sub is kinda dead.

In the original Mario, there were only two buttons for actions, jump and run/fireball. The first handful of stages did not require running to complete any jumps if I recall, so someone without knowledge of run could get pretty far. Hopefully during that time they’ll figure out run. The game also came with an instruction manual which explained the mechanic.

For more complicated stuff, this video goes into detail of philosophy behind introducing more complicated mechanics: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dBmIkEvEBtA

[u/1GameQuestionMan → u/JoystickMonkey]

Ok ! Then I'll post the same question on the game-design subreddit. I don't know when, but I'll do it.

Thank you for your answer and indications ! :-) I'll try to make some levels that are doable without running, but with 1 or 2 complicated jumps to make. Like, you can barely jump the right distance if you only press the jump button ! Maybe the raising in intensity will make her search a better way to play !

This video was interesting ! I'll try to implement the tips into my levels.

Have a good night/day ! :-)

[u/letusnottalkfalsely]

You’re overlooking the role that other people have in teaching you new game mechanics. No, the NES didn’t flat-out tell you how yo run, and that was arguably really bad design. It left people having to rely on their siblings/friends/other players to tell them how to play the game.

Look back on your own experience. How did you learn how to run? Most likely, someone at some point told you.

So just tell your gf. Don’t be a gatekeeper.

[u/1GameQuestionMan → u/letusnottalkfalsely]

I learned by looking at my controller when I wanted to make a long jump. I tried a few times, then succeeded. Despite having friends and a brother who could have told me.

I won't tell her until I satisfied my curiosity and sure we can't learn something like this thank to the level design. she's ok and happy with that.

Gatekeeper ? If you say so. I'm the biggest Gatekeeper you ever saw!... Fear me !

Thank you for your indications on overlooking the role of people that teach you how to play. That's an important part !

Goodnight.