Gaming - All the Worlds are Stages

As an amateur actor, I am quite accustomed to walking to the same theatre, multiple times, and see it appear drastically different each time I arrive. The beauty of the theatre is that (almost) anything can be depicted, if the set designers and directors have the imagination. I've played some video games that apply a similar principle. (I will discuss entries from the Super Mario series of games. Nothing against other potential subjects, it's just that I know about this series personally.)

Our first glimpse of this is Super Mario Bros. 3. Unlike the first two games, there is an actual map to navigate from level to level. Technically speaking, there are seven "worlds" consisting of several "stages." To further the analogy, the stages (especially those of the first world) resemble actual theatre stages: some scenery appears suspended from above, platforms have screws in each corner, and the end of each "stage" has a black background, reminiscent of the back stage of a theatre. For better or worse, this adds a factor of separation between the player and the game: the stage-like qualities of the "stage" constantly remind us of the fictionality of the story (as if the cartoonish villains, physics-defying gameplay, and general silliness didn't).

However, for a better illustration of my point, I turn to the wildly popular and excellent Super Mario 64. Mario's first 3D adventure has the player exploring various worlds linked to the castle via painting-portals. True, while the courses are not designed to look like stages, they still fill the same function. Different courses are used multiple time, often with different enemies, objectives, and occasionally altered scenery and props. Later 3D Mario games, like Super Mario Sunshine, S. M. Galaxy and S.M.G. 2 continue this method, increasing the amount of variance, until Super Mario Galaxy removes or adds pieces for different missions. (Paper Mario 1 and its sequel also contain features of theatre, but it is an RPG and its use of the elements would require an article unto itself. Maybe soon!)

Basically, Mario games are action-adventure stage plays controlled by the audience.