[Editor's Note: In this guest post from Daniel Johnson, he discusses Wario Land 4 and how the title uses tried-and-true techniques for level design and teaching the player.]
Teaching
One of the criticisms put against video games is that they’re too long; the proportion of fat to meat is too great and our time is too precious to have to sit through unpolished chaff. Wario Land 4, in this regard, is condensed down to the bare essentials.
As with most Nintendo platformers, each level is centred around a new design gimmick (or set of) which is properly introduced and exploited to its full potential within the tight constraints of a single level. These gimmicks are pertinent to mechanics or certain elements of the game world so that each level acts as tuition for a respective part of the skill system. For example: the angry sun in Super Mario Bros. 3, secret exits in Super Mario World and flying cheap cheaps in Super Mario Bros. Thereby, as each level has purpose within the grand scheme of mastery, there is minimal fat in this cohesive design. Wario Land 4 has a modest set of important mechanics, with no weak, wasteful or under-used parts all of which are deeply embedded into each level.
Wild Flower Fields
The video above of Wild Flower Fields is a good example of a tuition in level design. For reference to a full map, please click here. I break everything down into areas marked by their transitions to new screens.
Mechanics up for study: Puffy Wario, heightened ground pounds, spatial navigation against opposing forces (gravity, currents), roll
Screen A and B – Both of these screens introduce the player to Puffy Wario: the primary theme throughout this level. The overhanging spikes take health off Wario when touched and pop him back into the neutral state, sending him falling to the ground, so they add risk to this mechanic with the consequence of a loss of health and wasted time (the player must be stung again to return to Puffy Wario form). The reward is in Screen A1, a CD for the music room. There are also crystals on the first floor of screen A. Here the player can scale the difficulty into multiple tiers, represented literally by the levels of height in screens A and A1, scaling the amount of practice they want with this mechanic:
Ground floor – avoiding the bees, using the flowers as shields and then ramming the confused bees (coins)
First floor – first level use of Puffy Wario (crystals)
Second floor – second level use of Puffy Wario (crystals and a small heart)
Third floor – a tease for the last floor, some crystals
Fourth floor – second level use of Puffy Wario (music CD)
The difficulty can be scaled even further up if the player challenges themselves to get all the rewards in a single go.
In screen B, you’ll notice that the spikes are lower than screen A, representing a heightened challenge. Screen B also allows for a different style of challenge in the form of the hard block leading to screen B1. In order the break the block, the player must use Puffy Wario to reach the raised platform and then ground pound from that platform onto the block below. This type of challenge tests the players creative application of tools.
Screen B1 – Little is taught here in this bonus area aside from the upwards throw of small enemies as hinted by the arrangement of crystals. Ground pounds will push the moles up onto your level.
Screen C – The heightened ground pound is mandatory here and at several other points in the level. The player cannot continue unless they understand.
Screen D – Here we have another non-compulsory form of tuition for ground pounding thicker blocks.
Screen D1 – This puzzle requires the player to combine the jump and throw mechanics by throwing the doctor just above the barriers and then using him as a springboard to nab the diamond.
Screen E – Screen E introduces water currents. Again, we can see another example of the heightened ground bound being used to access the crystal. Similarly, to the right there’s an opportunity to practice the roll move on the slant to break the concealed block and net more treasure. The player also has to contend with the opposing force of the current.
Screen F – Not much is tested here besides spatial navigation.
Screen G – Some forced jumping as by the contrary motion from the caterpillars.
Screen H – More high level play, just as in screen A1, by floating up to screen G from H. Also notice the way risk has been elevated:
- A separate floor with walking enemies
- More spikes on the ceiling
- And thereby less safe areas
- The treasure chest placed right in the bees attacking zone
These transformations (including the diamond in screen G) build on the type of play found in screens A, A1 and B.
Screen I – One more mandatory (and optional) test of the ground pound mechanic before the level folds.
Screen I2 – This puzzle requires the player to practice the throwing mechanic. Additionally, the player must charge this mechanic and aim the projectile at an off-screen target. To break the final block concealing the diamond, the player must throw horizontally and then crouch jump. So, here several facets of the throw mechanic are taught and crouch jump is introduced.
After the fold (the blue frog switch)
Screen H – Approaching this area from the other side and with the time limit in mind, we can see how the risk has transformed itself yet again from a mild distraction to a significant impediment. With time being of the essence getting stung to the left of the screen is costly.
Screen B – There’s a lot of contrary motion with the slopes in the level design. There are also 2 elements of risk and reward. First, the hearts on the right-hand side which come at the expense of time and second the diamond and crystals in B2. The diamond can be reached by ground pounding on the browned area and then being stung into Puffy Wario to float to B1 and fall back down on the other side of B. This part is the culmination of everything taught in the level so far: ground pounds, Puffy Wario and spatial navigation-all the while under a time limit.
Besides the optional lesson that I mention above, rolling down the slopes is required to break the block and advance, or, alternatively just ramming the rock and squatting through the gap.
Baiting
Another thing that Wario Land 4 does well is baiting. Throughout each stage, there are items or inactive interaction markers that the player cannot currently engage with. Once the player flicks the switch at the end of the level, these markers will be activated and the player must race back to the level entrance before it closes. These devices, on activation, modify the route back to the entrance as to shift what could have been routine backtracking into something more engaging.
On the trip to the level’s centre point, where the switch lies, a natural curiosity surrounds the interaction markers as, by appearances, you should be able to do something with them. It’s only after you hit the switch that their form reveals itself, creating an impetus for players to keep playing on during the first part of the level, in order to reach the second and have their suspicions checked. But then after you activate the devices, Wario Land 4 makes their familiarity new again by having the player effectively play the level in reverse, under a time limit and often with other route-altering changes.
Fiery Cavern
Fiery Cavern is a great example of curiosity markers. Please refer to the video above or the map screen here.
Screen A – The overhanging platforms and the conspicuous way the lava rises to meet the second platform
Screen B – Hidden passage on the top of the screen, gems at the top of the opening; above the lava pit
Screen C – More of the hidden passage, the unreachable platform and ladder above the pit and the impossible doorway on the far right. It’s worth adding the the pipe can be accessed by smashing through the wall, acting as a red herring of sorts.
Screen D – More overhead platforms, an inaccessible diamond, a floating doorway that corresponds to the one is screen D
Screen E (optional) – The lines of gems and the unreachable diamond below the platforms. The gems and flow of lava create the illusion that the player can make the jump. This only acts as a marker if the player doesn’t realise that they need to continue rolling from the other screen.
Screen F – The raised ceiling and inaccessible area near the door
All of these small elements have a dual purpose of acting as curiosity markers to spur the player on to continue playing and then scaffolding risk/reward in the sprint to the finish.
Tension
What we can also see is how the second part of the level is much more tense than the first. The first part of each level is designed to ease the player in and, as we saw above, tutorialise certain mechanics and elements of interplay. It almost seems as if the first part of each level is made to catch the player unaware for the stress test that follows. There are a few ways that the second part of each level creates tension:
- a natural timer (the frog switch re-opens the portal back to the main hub for a limited time)
- playing the level in reverse
- changes to the level state (such as in this case, freezing over)
- a precondition; having to find the ghost key to open up the door to the next level (lots of risk here)
- heightened risk reward factors (more chances to find one-off gem bonuses and CDs for the sound room)
- more enemies and hazards
- less heart refills
Also, notice how all the pipes leading to the pink puzzle areas are only present in the first instance of the level? The problem solving nature of these puzzles requires time to experiment and beat, making it unsuitable for the level after the fold (where they are blocked off). Also, the same is true of the diamond in screen E in the first instance.
There is an equal number of diamonds in each instance of the level, however, in the first instance, they are tucked away, acting as hidden secrets, whereas in the second instance they are much more apparent, acting as carrots dangled above the player, facilitating risk and reward scenarios.
Original Map Captures taken from Mario Universe
You can find more of Daniel’s posts on his blog, Daniel Primed.
