#5. Mario: The plumber who changed gaming history
From the section "The Story That Saved the Day” of The Sunday Tales.
The Story that Saved the Day is a section of The Sunday Tales that will inspire you through recounting fantastic brand stories. What makes them fantastic? Each of the featured brands were "saved" by implementing storytelling elements and methodologies in their business. Taken from a variety of industries and standpoints, these stories will show you how storytelling is a flexible and adaptable tool that, if used correctly, can produce exciting concepts and incredible achievements.
Along with some storytelling methodologies, I will also list some takeaways and lessons we can learn from each brand story. So get ready to take notes!
My first post is dedicated to a game that formed part of my childhood: Super Mario Bros.
As a child, I preferred board games to video games. But then my brother brought home a Game Boy, and before long I was hooked on Super Mario Bros. Apparently, I was not the only one!
I recently read about the opening of the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, and the story of how the game Donkey Kong and its character, Mario, saved Nintendo from bankruptcy. I found this fascinating and wanted to explore the idea further… not least because it contains some incredible lessons that we can all learn!
How Mario saved the day...
In 1980 Nintendo, the Japanese game warehouse, decided to expand its market by setting up in New York.
The arcade game Radar Scope – their first major release in the U.S. – was successful in Japan, but failed to capture the interest of American players and was a commercial failure. So instead of conquering America, Nintendo was left with a surplus of unsold machines and a financial crisis.
Hiroshi Yamauchi, Nintendo's then-president, decided to task a young and relatively inexperienced game designer, called Shigeru Miyamoto, with developing a new game that would reprogram the unsold Radar Scope cabinets.
Radar Scope: a great success in Japan but a commercial failure in America.
From the inspired mind of young Miyamoto came Donkey Kong: a groundbreaking arcade game that featured a giant ape as the main antagonist to the player’s character Jumpman.
Although Donkey Kong was meant to be the star, it was the short, moustachioed carpenter Jumpman – later renamed Mario – who captured the public's imagination.
So far, so good. But what are Donkey Kong’s three elements of storytelling, and how did they bring Nintendo back from the brink?
The Plot: A creative story that pushed the boundaries of game coding.
As Miyamoto's first game, Donkey Kong was created around the story rather than the gameplay. This meant that the plot was designed first, before there was any real understanding of what these characters could actually do.
Miyamoto envisioned a game in which players would progress through distinct levels or stages, each one offering different challenges and obstacles. This was an innovative idea at the time, as many games had simpler, more repetitive gameplay.
Donkey Kong: the first game which players would progress through distinct levels or stageswas created around the story rather than the gameplay.
There were technical limitations on this creative objective, but despite challenges the small team of developers at Nintendo ultimately succeeded in creating a game with multiple, unique stages. This was a key reason why Donkey Kong stood out from other games of the time.
Takeaway
By focusing on the story first, you can develop creative solutions that make your digital product more innovative and memorable, even accounting for constraints.
The Characters: 8-bit pixels with personality.
Shigeru Miyamoto was an artist at heart. He wanted the characters he created to be distinct and real.
This approach would bring many limitations, but it also pushed the boundaries of the game beyond what anybody knew up to that point.
Inside the limitation of just a few pixels, designing mouths and facial expressions was almost impossible. Here, creativity came into play: Mario’s face was covered with a bushy moustache, which in turn accentuated his big nose.
Mario also wore a hat so his hair wouldn’t need re-designing with every movement. This was a clever design choice that saved programmers from having to animate it during jumps (to this point, see below).
Pixel limitation pushed creativity: Mario’s face was covered with a bushy moustache, which in turn accentuated his big nose.
Mario's exaggerated, unmistakably cute features allowed gamers to relate to and love the character more than the giant ape Donkey Kong. So much so that even today, Mario can be said to be one of the gaming world’s most iconic characters.
Takeaway
Create relatable and charming characters—or interactive elements—that people enjoy engaging with, as this connection can make your digital product more appealing and memorable.
The Context: The importance of story alignment and consistency.
At the launch of Donkey Kong, Mario wore a workman’s outfit and was portrayed as being inside a construction area.
Even though there was no explicit mention of Mario's profession in the game, the setting, the tools, and his actions suggested that he worked in construction – hence the assumption that Mario was a carpenter.
The sewers of New York City: this new environment necessitated a change in Mario's occupation to better fit the plot and setting.
Only when developing the next game, Mario Bros. in 1983, did the setting shift to the sewers of New York City. This new environment necessitated a change in Mario's occupation to better fit the plot and setting.
Consequently, the creative team suggested that Mario (and his brother Luigi) should be reimagined as plumbers.
Takeaway
Using storytelling to guide the development of your product ensures that it can evolve consistently and logically. This will make the product feel more intuitive and engaging for users as it grows and adapts to new contexts.
Bonus takeaway: reinventing features or problem-solving?
There is an amusing legend behind the jumping movement that gave Mario his original ‘Jumpman’ moniker.
The jump mechanism was already part of other arcade games (like Frogger) but typically as a grid-based movement with limited utility.
In Donkey Kong, Shigeru Miyamoto revolutionised the jump feature to add freedom and dynamism. In this way, jumping soon became an essential and recognisable aspect of Mario's gameplay.
How? In Donkey Kong, Mario could leap over barrels and other obstacles with fluid motion. This unique ability became a defining characteristic of the game, allowing players to navigate between platforms and levels with unprecedented control. It was a true innovation of an existing feature that made the game iconic for years to come, as well as ushering in a brand-new era for gamers.
However, there is also an anecdote behind the jump feature, which pertains to the original Radar Scope cabinets. When these were repurposed for Donkey Kong, each had an extra button that needed a function. According to legend, the idea to use this button for jumping might have been more of a spontaneous decision than a meticulously planned feature!
Whether or not this story is true, it highlights an important lesson: when you have a well-designed plot, strong characters, and a rich context, finding creative solutions to unexpected challenges becomes much easier.
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