| World 1-1 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First appearance | Super Mario Bros. (1985) |
| Created by | Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Genre | Platform |
| In-universe information | |
| Type | Overworld |
| Location | Mushroom Kingdom |
| Characters | Mario orLuigi,Koopa Troopa,Goomba |
World 1-1 is the firstlevel ofSuper Mario Bros.,Nintendo's 1985platform game for theNintendo Entertainment System. The level wasdesigned byShigeru Miyamoto to be atutorial for new players, orienting them to platform jumping and to the rest of the game. It is considered one of the most famous and iconic levels invideo game history and has been widely imitated, referenced, and parodied.
During thethird generation of video game consoles, tutorials on video game mechanics were rare, so players were oriented to a new video game by itslevel design. The opening sections ofNintendo Entertainment System games such asMetroid,The Legend of Zelda, andSuper Mario Bros. are all designed to force players to explore the game mechanics to be able to advance.[1]
Super Mario Bros. is the firstside-scrolling video game featuringMario, and one of the first video games directed and designed byShigeru Miyamoto. Rather than confront the player with obstacles indiscriminately, its first level introduces the variety of hazards and objects by directing the player to interact with them while advancing.[1]
Miyamoto explained that he designed World 1-1 to contain everything players need to "gradually and naturally understand what they're doing", to be able to play more freely, so that it becomes "their game".[2][3]
At the start of World 1-1, the playercontrols Mario to immediately encounter a slowly approachingGoomba. According to1UP.com, it is likely that this first enemy willkill a novice player, even though the enemy can easily be avoided by jumping over it. As very little progress is lost, the player learns from defeat and can try again.[1] Past this Goomba comes an arrangement of blocks, a few of which are colored in gold. Bumping one of them from below releases a coin. According to Miyamoto, seeing a coin come out will "make [the player] happy" and want to repeat the action. Doing so for the second gold-colored block makes aMushroom come out as a surprisepower-up. The player has learned from the Goomba that mushroom-shaped beings are bad, so perhaps the player tries to avoid the power-up Mushroom, but the corridor of blocks foils escape. Touching the Mushroom makes Mario grow in size and strength, another positive reinforcement.[2][4]
Next comes a series of four verticalwarp pipe obstacles that must be jumped over. Each has a different height, subtly teaching the player that holding the jump button longer makes a higher jump.[1] When encountering variously-sized pits, the player may discover how to use the button for running, because running allows for bigger jumps across the pits. Furthermore, Miyamoto ensured that some pits in World 1-1 have floors and can be simply jumped out of, instead of killing Mario and forcing a replay of the entire level.[2]
World 1-1 includes a few secrets that players can discover byreplaying, such as a pipe leading to abonus room and a hidden block containing a1-up. The pipe also skips much of the level, to expedite the experienced players.[1]
World 1-1 has been cited as one of the most iconic video game levels, described by Chris Kerr ofGamasutra as "legendary".[2][3][5] Boston Blake ofGame Rant rated it among the best opening levels in video games for having "ignited a love for gaming in the hearts of gamers around the world",[6] and Jon Irwin ofPaste Magazine described it as a "master-class in teaching players how to play".[7]
Jeremy Parish of1UP.com stated that "much of the game's success arose from the fact that it equipped players with the tools to master it from the very beginning." Almost all mechanics introduced throughout the game are based on those in World 1-1, and the first levels ofMario sequels (such asSuper Mario Bros. 3) expand them further. He described it as "the most widely imitated, referenced, and parodied single level of a video game".[1] Regarding theSuper Mario Bros. theme, he called World 1-1 an "elegant fusion of sound, music, and action".[8]
The design philosophy introduced inSuper Mario Bros., described as "learning through play", has been implemented in all of Miyamoto's later games.[2] World 1-1 greatly influenced laterSuper Mario games, such asSuper Mario 3D World's first level.[9]
Variations of World 1-1 are frequently recreated asuser-generated content, such as withSuper Mario Maker andits sequel. Examples include an extra difficult version with dozens of twirling fire bars, a vertical climbing version, and a self-playing version.[10][11][12] The stage has also been referenced numerous times in official media.[13][14][15][16]
A mission inNintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour involves the player completing several objectives in a recreated4K version of World 1-1 that fits the entire level in a single screen.[17]
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