Mega Man
A classic action platformer series with robot master bosses.
Where Mega Man comes up1 episode or test
Mega Man uses lives to turn each stage into a chain of linked challenges. Players perfect early sections to arrive at the robot master with enough health, lives and ammo. Extra lives act as a high-value reward that encourages exploration and risk-taking. The lesson: tie resources across a whole sequence so early performance shapes the final test. The sources give no numbers.
- 1Perfect the early sectionsPerformance in each part carries across
- 2Keep health, lives, ammoResources roll into the next section
- 3Clear the next sectionWhat you kept shapes how it goes
- 4Reach the robot masterArrive with enough health, lives, ammo
From Mark Brown on Mega Man level design
What was said about Mega Man
Mega Man levels make health, lives and ammo a chain of linked challenges. Finishing a Mega Man level usually means perfecting the early parts to reach the robot master at the end with enough health, lives and ammo. Performance in each section carries into the next.
Mark Brown describes this as a meta challenge: "it's about completing a string of sequences where your performance in each part can carry across into the rest." The player is not just clearing each section at any cost.
Mega Man's face extra lives are a reward worth hunting for. Mega Man's extra lives, shown as the character's face, sit alongside Mario's 1-UP mushroom as examples of lives that work as a high-value reward. If one extra life can save a player from repeating a long stretch of content, it is worth searching for.
Brown says this "should really encourage players to hunt down 100 coins, play bonus mini-games, find secrets" and take risks. This point is made mainly through Mario, with Mega Man cited as another example.
Are Lives Outdated Game Design?
Players perfect early stages to reach the robot master with enough health, lives and ammo, so lives make a level a chain of linked challenges.
Mega Man levels make health, lives and ammo a chain of linked challenges. Finishing a Mega Man level usually means perfecting the early parts to reach the robot master at the end with enough health, lives and ammo. Performance in each section carries into the next.
Mark Brown describes this as a meta challenge: "it's about completing a string of sequences where your performance in each part can carry across into the rest." The player is not just clearing each section at any cost.
Mega Man's face extra lives are a reward worth hunting for. Mega Man's extra lives, shown as the character's face, sit alongside Mario's 1-UP mushroom as examples of lives that work as a high-value reward. If one extra life can save a player from repeating a long stretch of content, it is worth searching for.
Brown says this "should really encourage players to hunt down 100 coins, play bonus mini-games, find secrets" and take risks. This point is made mainly through Mario, with Mega Man cited as another example.
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