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Mario Teaches Typing

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Mario Teaches Typing
Developer(s)Interplay Productions
Presage Software (Macintosh)
Publisher(s)Interplay Productions
SeriesMario
Platform(s)MS-DOS,[2] Windows,[3] Macintosh[2]
Release1992
May 11, 1995 (Macintosh Enhanced)[1]
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. Featuring several modes of difficulty, the software taught typing letters, words and sentences using aesthetics from existing Mario games.

Conceived by Brian Fargo, the developer aimed to replicate the success of the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software. Mario Teaches Typing is notable for being the first time Mario spoke, featuring the voice of Charles Martinet in the enhanced CD release. Afterward, Martinet became the official voice of Mario, voicing the character for decades.

The game was well received by publications and went on to sell over 8000,000 units. Praise focused on the title's competent yet enjoyable typing tutorials. Interplay continued the relationship Nintendo to create additional Mario games. A sequel to the game, Mario Teaches Typing 2, was developed by Brainstorm and published by Interplay in 1997.[4]

Gameplay

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A rectangular video game screenshot that is a digital representation of a brick road. An Italian plumber in blue overalls, a red shirt, and red hat runs to the right. Two brick blocks, the first with the letter "F" and the second with the letter "D", float above the plumber. On the far right, a green turtle with the letter "S" on its shell walks to the left.
As Mario (center) moves through a stage, blocks and enemies with letters appear. The player must type the corresponding letter to break the block or defeat the enemy. Game statistics like time and words per minute are tracked at the bottom of the screen along with a teaching aid that displays which finger should be used to type at the time.

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 exist, such as a German release that supports QWERTZ keyboards and umlauts.[7]

Development and release

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Portrait of a White man wearing a black jacket in front of a podium with two small goose-neck microphones. His hands are up near his chest while he speaks and looks to the left.
Interplay Productions' Brian Fargo (shown in 2011) conceived the game and approached Nintendo about licensing Mario.

Mario Teaches Typing was conceived and developed by Brian Fargo, who was the head of Interplay Entertainment at the time. Fargo was acquaintances with Les Crane, a talk show host and radio announcer, who had developed the educational typing game Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. The game's success inspired Fargo to create a typing game of his own. He had heard that the majority of the purchases were by parents wanting to teach their children how to type. After considering who could be the face and teacher of the game, Fargo concluded that Mario would be a good fit. Fargo pitched the idea to Nintendo, who was enthusiastic about the concept and agreed to Mario's inclusion.[8][9] At the time, Nintendo felt that a few educational computer games would not damage their industry dominance.[10] Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto was not involved with the Mario Teaches Typing's development.[11] The software reuses the title theme from Super Mario World.[7] The game was first released in the United States in 1992 and later in the United Kingdom in 1993.[12] An enhanced CD-ROM version was produced in 1995 by Thomas R. Decker.[1][13] A Macintosh version of the game was developed by Presage Software, who had also developed the 1995 Mario's Game Gallery for Interplay.[14]

Mario Teaches Typing was the first time the Mario character spoke in a game. Ronald B. Ruben provided the voice for the MS-DOS version and was replaced by Charles Martinet for the CD version.[15] Martinet would go on to voice Mario for decades in over 150 games.[16] He also performed the motions and expressions for the character through virtual actor tracking sensors.[13] 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 suggested 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!'"[16]

Reception and legacy

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The title sold more than 800,000 copies.[24][25] According to PC Data, Mario Teaches Typing was the tenth best-selling Macintosh game of June 1996[26] as well as the eighth top selling software in the first half of 1996 for the Macintosh.[27] The game ranked the 5th best selling educational software for the week ending December 19, 1992 at Software Etc chain of stores.[28]

Mario Teaches Typing was well-received by contemporary publications. Steve Fountain of the Evening Sentinel reviewed the Windows CD version. While pointing out that the premise seemed out-of-character, he wrote that the program is not as enjoyable as a normal computer game but a "better than ploughing through a dull typing manual".[3] Heinrich Lenhardt, the co-editor-in-chief of German magazine PC Player, regarded Mario Teaches Typing 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] Writing for Electronic Games, Laurie Yates noted that Mario Teaches Typing stood out among the rise of kid-focused typing programs at the time and recommended the title, saying that it is a contender as the sole typing program for families.[19] The Oregonian writer Randy Chase praised the software for comfortably people transitioning from familiar video games to the "sometimes intimidating world of home computers".[29] Cameron Crotty of Macworld praised the software for providing challenges to all levels of typists while lessening the "drudgery".[30]

Fargo considered Mario Teaches Typing a success. After its release, Crane expressed dissatisfaction at Fargo for creating a title that was a successful competitor against Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. Fargo noted that Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, was happy with the game. The success of Mario Teaches Typing led to Interplay releasing additional Mario titles: Mario's Game Gallery and a direct sequel, Mario Teaches Typing 2. However, that relationship ended after a different company produced a game that was not up to Nintendo's standards. The company ceased all such endeavors, including with Interplay.[8][9]

The title has received an overall positive retrospective reception years after its release as well. In a 2016 retrospective of Mario games on non-Nintendo platforms, Vincent Ingenito praised the title for its use of the Mario franchise and being a capable typing tutor.[31] Writing for NPR in 2021, Brittany Vincent noted that the inclusion of a kid-friendly character like Mario in an educational game makes sense now but acknowledged that it was strange at the time. She commented that one of the strange parts was the "creepy" 3D floating Mario head.[15] In 2022, Dalton Norman of Screen Rant praised Interplay for integrating familiar Mario imagery. While he stated that Mario Teaches Typing could never be as exciting as a typical Mario game, the presentation was a "fair approximation of Nintendo's signature style".[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b "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.
  2. ^ a b 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.
  3. ^ a b c 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.
  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 – via Newspapers.com.
  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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b McCaffrey, Ryan (host) and Fargo, Brian (interviewee) (June 21, 2017). Interplay Founder on Working With Fallout, Nintendo, and Blizzard. IGN. IGN Unfiltered. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
  10. ^ Ryan, Jeff (2012). Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 140. ISBN 9781591845638.
  11. ^ Ryan, Jeff (2012). Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 142. ISBN 9781591845638.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ a b Schofield, Jack (April 20, 1995). "Microfile". The Guardian. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Pressage Products - Mario Teaches Typing". Presage Software. Archived from the original on June 14, 1997. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Vincent, Brittany (January 7, 2021). "Sweater Design? Gin Rummy? Typing? These Are The Mario Games You've Never Heard Of". NPR. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
  16. ^ a b 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "Mario Teaches Typing". All Game Guide. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  19. ^ a b Yates, Laurie (October 1994). "Mario Teaches Typing". Electronic Games. p. 120. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  20. ^ "The MacUser 100". MacUser. December 1993. p. 132. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  21. ^ James, Sue (December 1992). "Mario Teaches Typing". PC Review. p. 100,101. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  22. ^ "Mario Teaches Typing". Play Time (in German). June 1993. p. 32. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  23. ^ "After Hours". PCMag. August 1994. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  24. ^ "The Learning Company Announces Exclusive Distribution Agreement With Interplay For Mario Teaches Typing". The Learning Company. April 6, 1998. Archived from the original on December 3, 1998. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  25. ^ "Best-Selling Children's Typing Software Doubles The Fun With Mario Teaches Typing 2". Brainstorm. March 31, 1997. Archived from the original on January 31, 1998. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  26. ^ "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.
  27. ^ "PC Data Hits List of Top Selling Software - First Half 1996". PC Data. Archived from the original on June 28, 1998. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  28. ^ "Software Etc. Bestselling Titles". PR Newswire. December 22, 1992. Archived from the original on November 28, 2024. Retrieved November 28, 2024 – via Gale Research.
  29. ^ Chase, Randy (October 13, 1992). "Software Review". The Oregonian. p. 21. Archived from the original on September 17, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ Crotty, Cameron (December 1993). "Mario Teaches Typing". Macworld. p. 43. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  31. ^ Ingenito, Vince (September 9, 2016). "8 Mario Games Released On Non-Nintendo Platforms". IGN. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
  32. ^ Norman, Dalton (September 3, 2022). "Every Educational Mario Game, Ranked". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
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