Mario Teaches Typing
Box art
Developer(s)Interplay Productions
Presage Software(Macintosh)
Publisher(s)Interplay Productions
SeriesMario
Platform(s)MS-DOS,[1] Windows,[2] Macintosh[1]
Release1992
May 11, 1995 (Macintosh)[3]
Genre(s)Educational
Mode(s)Single-player

Mario Teaches Typing is an educational video game developed and published by Interplay Productions for MS-DOS compatible operating systems, Microsoft Windows, and Macintosh. The game uses the Mario character, licensed from Nintendo, to teach keyboard skills. A sequel to the game, Mario Teaches Typing 2, was developed by Brainstorm and published by Interplay in 1997.[4]

Gameplay

Mario Teaches Typing lets the player enter a name, select either Mario, Luigi, or Princess Peach as the player character, and set their target words per minute (WPM) rate. In the base mode, the player must type out a given text without additional decor. There are three difficulty levels of typing challenges based on Super Mario World: the chosen character continuously runs to the right until encountering an obstacle or enemy adorned with a letter (level 1), word (level 2), or sentence (level 3). Entering this string correctly allows the character to proceed. At the end of either mode, the game presents the player with statistics, including the reached WPM and error rate.[5][6][7] Localized versions exists, such as a German release that supports QWERTZ keyboards and umlauts.[7]

Development and release

Interplay Productions' Brian Fargo in 2011

Mario Teaches Typing was conceived and developed by Brian Fargo, at the time head of developer Interplay Entertainment and future founder of inXile Entertainment and Robot Cache. Fargo was acquaintances with Les Crane, a talk show host and radio announcer, who had also developed the educational typing game Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. The game was successful and inspired Fargo to create a typing game of his own. Considering who could be the face and teacher of the game, he found Mario to be a good fit. Pitching the game to Nintendo, according to Fargo "they loved it and it was a huge success".[8] The CD-ROM version of the game was produced by Thomas R. Decker, a producer for Interplay whose past titles included Mario's Game Gallery and Kingdom: the Far Reaches.[3] Mario Teaches Typing reuses the title theme from Super Mario World.[7] The game was released in the United States in 1992 and in the United Kingdom in 1993. Mario Teaches Typing was the first game by Nintendo that released for hardware outside of their own.[9] The Macintosh version of the game was developed by Presage Software.(who developed Mario's Game Gallery.[10]

Fargo told IGN in an interview that when he attended Crane's talk show after the game's release, he saw that Crane was "giving me the stink eye". He called Crane afterward, who expressed disapproval of Mario Teaches Typing; the game was successful enough to become a direct competitor to Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. According to Fargo, "somebody else came out with some other Mario product that was not high quality" for computers, resulting in Nintendo cutting ties with Interplay Entertainment.[8]

In the CD version, Mario was voiced by Charles Martinet, which would be among his first times using the voice for a Mario video game.[11] He also performed the motions and expressions for the character through virtual actor tracking sensors.[12] Martinet considered Mario Teaches Typing to be one of his favorite projects using the voice, as well as one of the most important; it helped him understand the character from a child's perspective. He declared that Mario would never be in a negative headspace, and when he saw the script containing criticism for failing, such as "Oh that wasn't very good, try again", he insisted that the dialogue encourages the user to continue trying, such as, "Not as good this time, but you're gonna do it better this time, let's go!'"[11]

Reception

The game sold more than 800,000 copies.[15][16] According to PC Data Mario Teaches Typing was the tenth best-selling game of June 1996 for Macintosh.[17]

Steve Fountain of the Evening Sentinel reviewed the Windows version, stating that "Mario Teaches Typing is less fun than a normal computer game, but a whole lot better than ploughing through a dull typing manual".[2] Heinrich Lenhardt, the co-editor-in-chief of PC Player, regarded the game as a competent alternative to ten-finger typewriter courses, although he believed its usefulness would be limited to hobbyists as it could not satisfy the needs of experienced typers like secretaries.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Sunila, Joyce (September 16, 1994). "For Kids: SOFTWARE REVIEW: Get in Touch: With typing technique programs, children will have computer savvy at their fingertips". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Fountain, Steve (May 6, 1995). "Mario keys into the typing pool". Evening Sentinel. p. 27. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "MacPlay Kicks off Hit Edutainment Title Mario Teaches Typing Enhanced CD-ROM". MacPlay. May 11, 1995. Archived from the original on December 1, 1998. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Bits&Bytes". Winnipeg Sun. June 2, 1997. p. 14. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Is Mario Your Type?". Richmond and Twickenham Times. July 2, 1993. p. 21. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  6. ↑ Crouch, Henry (August 21, 2012). "Pokémon Takes On the Typing-Tutor Game Sub Genre". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Lenhardt, Heinrich (May 1993). "Lass tippen, Mario" [Let's type, Mario]. PC Player (in German). DMV Daten- und Medienverlag. pp. 24–25. Retrieved September 21, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  8. 1 2 Osborn, Alex (June 20, 2017). "Interplay Founder on Working With Nintendo on Mario Teaches Typing — IGN Unfiltered". IGN. Archived from the original on July 14, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  9. ↑ "What's New". Daily Record. September 12, 1992. p. 26. Archived from the original on June 4, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Pressage Products - Mario Teaches Typing". presage.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 1997. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Fisher, Andrew (January 3, 2022). "Legendary Mario voice actor Charles Martinet on his favorite characters and why he now 'dreams in 2D'". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  12. ↑ Schofield, Jack (April 20, 1995). "Microfile". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  13. ↑ Arnold, Gerda (1993). "Tippen mit Mario" [Typing with Mario]. Aktueller Software Markt (in German). Archived from the original on April 23, 2023. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Mario Teaches Typing". All Game Guide. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  15. ↑ "The Learning Company Announces Exclusive Distribution Agreement With Interplay For Mario Teaches Typing". learningco.com. April 6, 1998. Archived from the original on December 3, 1998. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Best-Selling Children's Typing Software Doubles The Fun With Mario Teaches Typing 2". brainstormfun.com. March 31, 1997. Archived from the original on January 31, 1998. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  17. ↑ "PC Data Hits List of Top Selling Software June, 1996". PC Data. June 1996. Archived from the original on June 29, 1998. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
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