Shigeru Miyamoto on replaying levels versus checkpoints

[frogbeastegg]

There's a fascinating series of discussions on wii.com between Miyamoto and Iwata about what makes a Mario game, and lots of inside information about how and why many decisions were made. If you have any interest in Mario games or in game design the series is well worth reading.

Number 9 "The correct way to enjoy an action game" has a theme which, after a bit of consideration, I found to be especially interesting. In the checkpoints versus do-overs war I've always sided with the checkpoints; I don't like being forced to repeat sections I have already completed over and over. I'd much rather spend my time tackling a fresh challenge, and feel happier that way. Miyamoto take the opposite side and his logic is different to the usual stuff about increased challenge and extending game length. It's certainly food for thought.

Miyamoto:With platform games, only playing the difficult parts can really take it out of you. It feels good to play parts that you can breeze through as well.

Iwata: Yes, you're right about that.

Miyamoto:That's one of my guiding principles...

Iwata:That's why rather than having lots of checkpoints where you can save your position, it's better to play through the easy part again.

Miyamoto:Right. That's more pleasurable for the player. And while you're playing the parts that you're good at again, you'll get even better at the game. In the past, when arcade shooting games would keep getting more and more difficult, the "Continue" system was developed...

Iwata:Insert a 100 yen coin and you can keep on playing...

Miyamoto:That was doubtless something the arcade was happy about, as players would keep pumping in 100 yen pieces. But what it actually ended up doing is ensuring that the player would always be playing at the very limit of their abilities. I don't think it feels good to play like that.

Iwata:You're right.

Miyamoto:It might be exciting, but it doesn't feel good.

Iwata:So it might be thrilling for the player, but it doesn't give them that sense that: "Hey, I'm really good at this game!"

Miyamoto:Precisely!

Iwata:All the player experiences is that feeling that: "I'm still useless at this!"

Miyamoto:But once someone makes the assumption that always playing in a high state of nervous excitement is more fun, and they then come to discussing how the gameplay should be balanced, they'll always be trying to ramp up that excitement. But the ideal is actually to make the player feel this kind of nervous excitement in moderation while being able to enjoy playing. However, it is not very easy for us to be able to realise that at all times. So, I think replaying the levels is the correct way to enjoy an action game. That's something that I'm quite particular about.

I recommend following the link and reading all of part 9 to get the proper context. This quote's intended to highlight the part I found so intriguing.

What do others think?

[pevergreen]

Varies, game to game for me.

Some games, I enjoy parts of the level up until the part I can't do.

After 50 times of retrying, I'm sick of it. I just want to be done with the level, not having to redo it.

If a game relies on you having to redo instead of checkpoints to extend its play value, its doing something wrong.

[Reenk Roink]

Good discussion, thanks for posting. For the replaying levels thing, I agree with the point that playing easy parts is fun and it also makes you better, but I still get frustrated at replaying easy parts that I have played so many times when I just want to complete the part I died on.

In fact, especially on those old Mario platformers, replaying a level many times not only brings tedium, but it also imprints the feeling that you suck so bad to be doing this over and over again.

[frogbeastegg]

The thing which gets me most about the '5 levels then save' and 'no checkpoints' in many of the 2D Mario (and similar) games is that often I don't want to play 5 levels. I want to play 2 or 3 and quit. Can't do that without losing all of my progress, so I then don't play. It's a matter of time and finding the gameplay best suited to very short bursts rather than anything else.

Although back when games like Donkey Kong Country were new I was over the moon to have a game which saved my progress without using passwords. :glares at Echo The Dolphin: Or which saved it at all! :glares at Super Star Wars: How the march of technology changes us