Super Mario Bros 2D
Level design
Super Mario Bros was a 2D platformer released September 13th
1985 for the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). Being a 2D platformer, a lot
of emphasis was made on level design to keep all stages of the game
interesting. The game was separated into
8 worlds with multiple stages in each.
One notable aspect with each world is that they escalate in
difficulty, keeping the player on their toes throughout. This made the player
think how to approach each situation and freshened their experience every time
they entered a new world. One example of difficulty is world 8-4. This is the
final boss level and has multiple stages.
Initially, the level takes the approach of the previous 3 stages by
throwing in pits and various other enemies. Since the design is familiar to
what they have faced before, albeit with tougher enemies, the player can
proceed through the level with relative ease. However, the level then throws
the player into a water environment forcing them to change their strategy and
adapt to survive the stage. After they have gone through this, they come upon
the final boss, in this case, Bowser. A boss is an enemy, usually with a great
importance in the story, and generally requires the player to use all their
knowledge of the game mechanics to defeat and sometimes their downfall allows
the player to acquire a reward like a power up or a piece of high quality loot.
Due to this the player has to go all out to defeat Bowser and not just win the
level, but the entire game with that being the reward for defeating the boss.
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| World 1-1 - This map shows the starting area, and the obstacles the new players would of faced. |
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| World 8-8 - This map shows the layout of the level, including the different environments, obstacles, and the final boss mentioned in the paragraph above. |
Another example of good level design is the first stage. The player is thrown into the level without knowledge of the games controls. They are forced to adapt to each situation quickly, keeping a tense feeling throughout. It starts off with no enemies and only platforms, allowing the player to practise with the controls. The level then gets more challenging with enemies being introduced. Since Goomba’s can only be defeated by being jumped on, the player has to find out for themselves, maybe dying in the process. To aid their efforts, the game provides ‘1UPS’ that give the player extra lives if they make a mistake. This is a common convention in older platformers. There is also collectibles called ‘Rings’ that allow for the player to gain high scores which can be used to show their skill at the game. (Image’s taken from VGmaps.com)
Rayman Origins 2D
level design
Rayman Origins is a
modern platformer released on the 15th of November 2011 for the Nintendo 3DS. It is a
platformer and as such, has various concepts and mechanics from older 2D
platformers. For example, the first level increases in difficulty as the player
progresses through it. It initially starts with simple platforms to progress
across, but as the player progresses, enemies are introduced, forcing the
player to manoeuvre around the level while avoiding or attacking the enemies
.
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Just like older platformers, Rayman Origins,
has collectibles, in this instance, ‘Lums’, which allow you to progress through
the game. This is the games ‘Ultimate Goal’, which is to collect/save as many
Lums as possible which is done via breaking cages in which they are kept. This
is just like older platformers, which all have an ultimate goal, for example
Super Mario Brothers which is to save Princess Peach from the villainous
Bowser. This gives the player motivation to adapt and overcome every new enemy
or obstacle to achieve that goal and beat the game.
There is also items within the game that
enhance the players ability’s such as ‘Blue Punch’ which increases the players
offensive ability which is similar to, yet again Super Mario, which has
mushrooms that had positive effects on the player character. Items are a tried
and tested aspect of 2D platformers that has become a staple of them ever since
as shown by the inclusion of them in Rayman Origins, even 30 years after they
were first introduced.
Just like older platformers, Rayman has Boss fights. This
enemy provides the player with a harder enemy to defeat and provides them with
a challenge. This has once again been a staple of 2D platformers, among other
genres, which shows that Rayman Origins is an old school platformer at heart,
which shows how timeless games like Super Mario Bros are even now enjoyed and
appreciated by modern gamers.
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| The first level |
The game also has three primary areas that have
different ways to traverse them, and provide new obstacles in each. This forces
the player, to once again, adapt to get through and finish the level, and
eventually the game. This keeps the player interested, due to scenery change. This enhances the players experiences and convinces them to keep playing. (Image taken from GiantBomb.com)