decadent bourgeious, holding RAM orgies no doubt; like,like,like…modern day plebians of some digital Rome? whence else such as Jill of the Jungle?
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is that a mod for black and white 2?
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don’t think platform masters itself was ever released, but “the supernatural olympics” is a kind of trimmed-down version of the same movement systems and is mysteriously compelling in the same way, and the free version can still be downloaded. I don’t mean to just present it as a curio since I really do think these games were doing something powerful, in pushing further and more directly at a certain feeling you can very occasionally glimpse in like Jumping Flash or Within A Deep Forest.
feel like part of why these games excite me is that gravity is one of those axes on which the format’s constant back and forth between gameyness and more nebulous digital art toy sensations is always playing out. on one hand tight gravity is a constraint; easier to direct, easier to build challenges around, more granular and concrete feeling. on the other hand, loose and floaty-feeling gravity can just feel strangely pleasant and compelling in a non-utilitarian way that’s harder to define. and maybe also harder to scale up and build upon. legend of kage feels a lot more chaotic in a game design sense than the nes castlevania games, but I secretly also know which one I find more alluring.
I do feel like a lot of mainstream platformer design is trying to find a way to synthesize the two approaches by having the chaotic floaty bits deployed in a modular enough way that they can be incorporated as just another part of level design vocabulary - capes, springs, low-gravity zones, etc. but I think i’ll still always prefer games that give you the real shit and accept that falling down an infinite tunnel at perpetually increasing speed can be its own reward.
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The Lost Vikings 1 & 2
Mario vs. Donkey Kong
I would call these Puzzle Platformers. Seems like an unpopular segment of the the platformer genre.
Much maligned but I do adore it. (disclaimer: I’ve made a bunch)
Puzzle platformers can be good, but IMO they generally have to decide to be either more of a platformer or more of a puzzle game. The ones that try to split the difference evenly are the ones that struggle the most. I base this on a full 30 seconds of thought so I’m sure there’s no immediately obvious examples that would blow this notion to smithereens.
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Agreed, I really really hate getting stuck and not knowing whether my puzzle solution idea or execution is the problem. I sometimes rule out the correct solution too early and then spend hours pounding my head trying to execute incorrect solutions, before finally circling back
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Is Captain Toad Treasure Tracker a platformer?
It depends on whether you classify Lode Runner as a platformer (my answer: yes).
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if lode runner is a platformer then surely toki tori is a platformer
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this is the most degenerate post in this whole thread
I bet you want a whole game made of the nitro section of Castlevania 64
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I always thought of Downwell as a platformer but maybe it’s too shooty to fit.
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What are the platformers where you make your own platforms
- Mr. Gimmick
- A Valley Without Wind
- Probably a zillion more, what are they?
(bonus points for examples of highly conditional platform creation in regular platformers, e.g. Metroid Ice Beam)
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A section towards the end of the Unfinished Swan plays with this platform-creation idea very briefly. Mario Galaxy 2 cloud cap also kinda allow for safety net platforms.
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Lomax and the DK Countryman Spider
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There’s Solomon’s Key too!
A few games have platforms you can create by sticking an object into a wall (Valkyrie Profile, Quackshot)
The incredible machine is maybe technically a platformer where you create the platforms
The only problem is that you have no control over the « characters » and the outcome is already decided when you press play
But if you think about it, our lives are already determined so is there any meaningful difference? In this essay I will
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Are Mario Maker levels that forbid the player to jump not platformers, though?
I’d say it’s the platforms that make the platformers, not the jump
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I never knew there was a Lemmings platformer but it makes sense that it would have this mechanic
Mario Maker comes to mind too in The Incredible Machine connection (and IIRC you can add platforms in mid level-test-play)
While we are here recalling obscure examples this just made me remember that NES Megaman is full of platform creation abilities
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I would argue that the mechanics through which Mario (and any other game) work are broad and varied enough to make the idea work without also not stopping level design from incorporating jumping
Lode Runner kind of strains what I would think of when I think “puzzle-platformer” but mostly that’s me and it was a dumb driveby shitpost and it’s not like my actual opinions are good at any rate
like how no one can stop me from calling Splatoon 1 and 2 platformers
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