Tezuka on Super Mario Bros. bugs that turned into features, the series' future

A portion of a USA Today interview with Takashi Tezuka...

USA TODAY: What were some of your favorite memories during the development of Super Mario Bros.?

Tezuka: One thing was the way I tried my hardest to keep any bugs from creeping through. We deliberately programmed in little surprises for you to notice as you play, but some of the bugs we missed were a surprise even to us — and while it may have been mean to the programmers, we wound up treating them as features. The way that you thought you beat Bowser, but he actually turns out to be a Goomba or something had its start with a bug, too.

USA TODAY: How would you assess the legacy of Super Mario Bros.?

Tezuka: It comes down to the game design concept that comes through via the controls and the character’s reaction when you press buttons -- something that feels right to players and is intuitively understandable without requiring a lot of instruction. That’s part of Mario’s DNA. I think that’s something we can’t afford to change as we bring it forward.