[haze]

putting in useless clutter may sound "gamey" but I think maybe there's something to it



these columns of blocks don't really serve any purpose, they might as well have been a flat straight-away. but it makes a fun little obstacle course, something to do instead of just running right. maybe the player is new, and will get stuck in the gaps, then this helps train for jump timing. for most players, though, it's no sweat at all to run and jump over the whole lot. they can ignore it completely, or maybe fool around. use it to see how quickly they can jump it, maybe they'll try to hit the ceiling instead.

it's not really that important, it's just a bunch of blocks with no danger besides that one goomba, there's no reward there for thoroughly searching. i'm not saying it's MIYAMOTO'S GENIUS or anything like that, but perhaps a little sign of whimsy that gives the stages some life.

but hey, there certainly are a lot of secrets in Mario. who hasn't wondered if there might be a secret in one of those ceiling blocks? in an exploration game like Blaster Master, it can add mystery to ordinary places as well. "hey i wonder if there's something on that block up there.... or maybe it's just a decoration"


and another thing which I'm not sure about may just be those rare moments when you get to choose your way through a stage. like the Sand Zone in Cave Story, that one part where you had to shoot your way through walls of blocks, because stepping on the sand makes the crocodiles snap up at you. do you go high or low? even if it's a really simple choice, it makes the player consider what they've learned from the game's physics. say there's an enemy ahead, and a platform in front of it, and the player has to choose whether to attack from on top or below. maybe the enemy's weak and easy and the choice doesn't matter, but at least it gets the gears turning in the player's head.
somehow that leads to fun? I have no idea why. Maybe it's because it feels like "learning" instead of reacting to something you've already seen so many tiems and memorized.


I hope I make sense, I'm horrible at explaining things. Does anyone see these kinds of stage layouts the same way as I do?