See, you are right and that’s exactly why I started with “This might be a little on the side of the main topic”…

This is a fantastic timeline if you want to go into details.

Well then… To stay true to the history, we probably would have to go back to Galaxian from ‘79, which introduced 1-UPs / additional lives, bonus stages and player upgrades, plus simple summary / statistics for hits and misses.

Well, when I was writing that, after midnight I will add, I had this feeling that Mario was doing this thing earlier but for me Mario stands as an icon for the first level design overall as a golden standard for introduction to mechanics and really efficient use of memory for data, and one of the first uses of dynamic music… So you are totally right, Mario brought a lot of things, I’ve just played Crash much more.

This might be a little on the side of the main topic but there was always something cool about Crash Bandicoot 100 Apples > 1 Life, and you could grind more to make some levels more forgiving, like semi-adjustable difficulty level based on your previous approach… And later on — warp zones, you get to choose from a few options so the progression has variation.

Another thing that comes to mind, not sure if a first game to do it, THPS for unlocking movies and later cheat codes, modes and characters for finishing the career. Plus the whole gap marathon for Private Carrera.

Oh, and chanting from Oddword where it had various uses, for saving friends or for changing into enemies, or using special abilities. This definitely was something, because I still remember thinking as a kid, “how cool is that this one ability has so many different uses”.

Black Mirror was supposed to mostly be a cautionary tale, not instructional.

Hey there! They are simply being inclusive, blind people are potential customers too and should not miss on any “opportunities”…

With the original they wanted the immersion part to feel like you are actually racing with toy cars and make everyday / mundane surroundings feel unique from this perspective and scale — I guess they still want this to be the main fun factor / appeal.

As I am now more in “jump in, jump out” mode, CS2 from time to time, but mostly The Hunter (COTW) with friends and family, mostly as a background to talk and hang out, eventually some solo missions if there is more time or on a rainy day.

So…

1. You want to learn new things and now you are getting discouraged.

Why you wanted to learn new things? Was it adventure calling, random idea, someone gave you some advice/ideas or you were great in your imagination at them before even starting? Whatever it was, learning new things can be equally great and hard.

2. You seem to be failing at new things.

This is how learning works. Some people fail more and harder, or need more explanations, or more trial and error until the “thing” clicks in their head.

Did I miss anything? There is not enough information but let me shoot in the dark:

• The thing with diving or climbing, was it a one and done thing or do you continue doing it anyhow?

Why I am asking? There is quite a big difference in “I want to learn new things”, “I want to try/test new things”, “I am bored and just wanna do something” and “I am seeking for a (new) lifelong passion/hobby” or even harder “I want to get really good at X”… Depending on what your actual need is, there is plenty of possibilities why the process and effects are not satisfying for you.

• What does “looked bad” mean? Was it a comment from your instructor, or someone from the group gave you a weird look or laughed? Or you had it recorded and you compared your technique to others?

Sounds a little like some form of stage-fright, you can process the instructions and get what the instructor is saying but the problem begins during the “performance” part? Following the instructions and so on? This is quite common, especially during group classes with random people you don’t know. They can be quite chaotic and overstimulating… There is not much you can do to avoid it, but there is a lot you can do to work through it.

• Part about “no pressure”

Maybe a form of group classes is too much and just not for you at the beginning — maybe one on one approach would suit your needs better?

There are so many angles to approach this subject…