"Unlike a movie, which moves forward with the progress of time, a game cannot move forward without the actions of the player, so in a sense, a game is an incomplete story. Because we want players to complete the story by playing the game, we do our best to build an emotional bridge between ourselves and the players while trying to ensure that we can finish the game together. For example, we prepare enemies that look like they should be jumped on, mountains that are begging to be conquered, and princesses that look like they should be saved, but it's the players who actually do these things. In that sense, perhaps our relationship is like the relationship between a lead actor and a director." - Yoshiaki Koizumi, producer of Super Mario 3D Land

I think that's an interesting way to look at things! I'll gladly take control of Mario and direct him to victory!