History Main / TeachingThroughAccident

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'': As discussed in this page's opening quote, the iconic ?-block set-up at the beginning of level 1-1 was created with this idea in mind:
** The player has already been taught three things in the first few seconds of the game: Goombas are bad, Goombas can be jumped over/on, and ?-blocks give coins.
** The player, being tempted by a second ?-block, hits it and releases the Goomba-like Super Mushroom.
** In jumping to avoid the mushroom, the panicked player bumps a floating Brick Block. This teaches the player that Mario cannot break Brick Blocks when tiny.
** The Brick Block stops Mario's ascent, forcing the player to collide with the mushroom. Mario grows big and the player is taught that Super Mushrooms are good.

* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'': Right after you acquire the Dagger of Time, there is a series of unpredictable traps that, upon inevitably falling into, prompts the tutorial to reverse time, allowing you to predict and avoid the traps the second time around.
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' has its first boss designed so that a first-time player is very likely to kill them by accident while trying to spare them (you're led to believe you need to weaken enemies before they can be spared, but try this on the first boss and you'll eventually do a huge amount of damage out of nowhere), thus encouraging them to [[SaveScumming reload a save and try again]]. This introduces the player to two things: firstly, that bosses will have non-standard methods for sparing them, and secondly, [[spoiler: that the game keeps track of your SaveScumming, as if you managed to spare this boss after reloading from a file where you killed them, the next character you meet will be aware of that.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania}}'' games usually have candles and the enemies in the beginning of the first level so that players accidentally hit the candles to discover they contain items. The reason being that hitting candles for items is normally non-intuitive.

* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia'' the Sands of Time; right after you acquire the Dagger of Time there is a series of unpredictable traps that upon inevitably falling into prompts the tutorial (press [button] to reverse time) then allowing you to predict and avoid the above traps.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManX'': To teach the wall slide, the devs lure the player into a situation where there's very little they can do. The designers further lure the player to fall into a tiny gap between two girders. In falling into the gap, they will notice wall-sliding. Arin "Creator/{{Egoraptor}}" Hanson talks about this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FpigqfcvlM here.]]

Compare with IMeantToDoThat. Subtrope of InstructiveLevelDesign.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/MegaManX https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wallslide_edited_4562.jpg]]]]

*** The Cold-X do exactly the same as the regular X, in that they will try to be absorbed by you to deal damage, but once you have the Varia upgrade, their damage will instead heal you, showing you that you can now gain health by absorbing them.

** In level 4-2, the player zigzags up a series of platforms and is encouraged to try to climb a ladder at the top that is impossible to climb. They'll die if they try to. However, by being around the ladder and experiencing the death, they will learn the mechanics of the game.

** ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' has one early section that's a seemingly dead-end room, with the initial available exit cut off by a destructible ceiling section that resembles regular terrain and has a ceiling-crawling enemy on it. The player is likely to attempt to shoot the enemy from a diagonal angle, miss a few shots thanks to the enemy's movement and small size, and hit the destructible ceiling, opening a path to the exit and teaching the player that certain hidden spots in the terrain can be destroyed even if they don't look destructible.

** ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' has one early section that's a seemingly dead-end room filled with ceiling-crawling and flying enemies, with the only open path cut off by a destructible ceiling section. The player is likely to attempt to shoot a ceiling-crawling enemy, miss, and hit the part of the ceiling that can be destroyed, opening a path.

-->-- ''Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto'' on ''[[https://youtu.be/zRGRJRUWafY how he designed]]'' ''the opening to [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 Super Mario Bros]]''

* ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 Super Mario Bros]]'': As discussed in this page's opening quote, the iconic ?-block set-up at the beginning of level 1-1 was created with this idea in mind:

** ''Videogame/SuperMetroid'' has an example of this just after acquiring the Morph Ball Bomb. You are at the far left of a corridor that you need to morph-ball-bomb your way down. Morph ball bombs, when laid, explode after a second or two. This makes the player somewhat impatient - they sit there waiting for the bomb to explode, but they want to go down the corridor, so they hold right. When the bomb explodes, it flings them up in the air. Now it just so happens that there is a secret cubbyhole - the FIRST secret cubbyhole - just above where they are. Because they are holding right from impatience, they will "accidentally" discover that cubbyhole! This teaches them about secret cubbyholes.

* ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'': The second part of test chamber 10 in Portal has a pit with a tiny ledge over it. Stand on it, and you'll probably fall off, into the pit, a boring place to be. The only way to get out of the pit is to put a portal on the floor, which will take you back to the door of the level. But the cool thing is, the solution to this puzzle involves having a portal on the floor, so they're luring you into solving it.

* ''Videogame/WarioLand'' has players discovering how to progress by basically running into things that in any other game would kill them.
* ''Videogame/PrinceOfPersia'' the Sands of Time; right after you acquire the Dagger of Time there is a series of unpredictable traps that upon inevitably falling into prompts the tutorial (press [button] to reverse time) then allowing you to predict and avoid the above traps.

*** After Defeating Security Robot B.O.X. the second time and getting the Wave Beam, your first task is to shut off the [[DarthWiki/MostAnnoyingSound "Warning! No entry without authorization!"]] alarm, which you do by shooting through a gate with your new beam that can go through walls, which opens up a passage into a hidden laboratory.

*** After Defeating Security Robot B.O.X. the second time and getting the Wave Beam, your first task is to shut off the [[MostAnnoyingSound "Warning! No entry without authorization!"]] alarm, which you do by shooting through a gate with your new beam that can go through walls, which opens up a passage into a hidden laboratory.

** The player has already been taught three things in the first few seconds of the game: goombas are bad, goombas can be jumped over/on, and ?-blocks give coins.
** The player, being tempted by a second ?-block, hits it and releases the goomba-like Super Mushroom.

* ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}'': in an early part of this game (1-3: "Hunt"), there is a jump that the player is likely to miss after many tries. When they miss it, they have to do a lot of walking and climb two ladders to get to a point where they can do it again - but alternatively, they could rewind time to get back to the jump. The part exists to encourage the player to make proper use of their time-rewinding ability.

* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series: Many of the 2D series entries begin with you having a choice about whether to go left or right. Most games are about going right, so there's a good chance that players expecting Metroid games to be normal games will go right. However, going right takes you to a dead end, communicating to the player that this is a game about exploring, where you have multiple options about where to go.
** ''Videogame/SuperMetroid'' has an example of this just after acquiring the morph ball bomb. You are at the far left of a corridor that you need to morph-ball-bomb your way down. Morph ball bombs, when laid, explode after a second or two. This makes the player somewhat impatient - they sit there waiting for the bomb to explode, but they want to go down the corridor, so they hold right. When the bomb explodes, it flings them up in the air. Now it just so happens that there is a secret cubbyhole - the FIRST secret cubbyhole - just above where they are. Because they are holding right from impatience, they will "accidentally" discover that cubbyhole! This teaches them about secret cubbyholes.

->''"We simulated what the player would do. If [[TheGoomba a suspicious enemy appears]], the player will need to jump over it. And again if we have a question block, they might want to try and tap that as well. When they [[FollowTheMoney see a coin]], it'll make them happy and [[LuredIntoATrap they'll want to try again]]. Argh! You try to run away [[FakeTrap but you're hit]]. But by being hit [[PowerUpFood you become bigger]], and that makes you feel really happy."''