8 steps
A jump that feels good
For: Your first platformer, or one whose jump feels off and you cannot say why.
Most jumps feel bad for the same handful of reasons, and each has a known fix. Build them in this order: first the forgiveness, then the control, then the feedback. Each step says why it comes where it does.
The steps, in order
- 1
Blueprint
Coyote Time
Players judge a ledge by eye and often press jump a moment too late. Without coyote time they fall and feel the game ignored them. With it, they get the jump they meant.
Why here: Start here because the most common complaint, "I pressed jump and nothing happened", is this: the player had already left the ledge. Fixing it changes nothing else.
- 2
Blueprint
Jump Buffering
Players often press jump a little before they land. Buffering keeps that press, so the character jumps as soon as it can, and fast movement flows on instead of stalling on the ground.
Why here: The same complaint from the other side: the press came a moment before landing. Together with coyote time it removes nearly every "eaten" input.
- 3
Blueprint
Variable-Height Jump
One button gives the player a whole range of jumps, from a short hop to a full leap, just by how long they hold it. So every jump is in their hands.
Why here: Now the player trusts the button; give them control over it. A jump whose height follows the press length is what makes a platformer feel precise.
- 4
Wiki entry
Tap for a short hop, hold for a high jump
Letting go early should make a lower jump, yet most first attempts feel like hitting an invisible ceiling or make small jumps feel mushy. Here is the moment and the way to cut the jump so it feels natural, with numbers to start from.
Why here: The detail that goes wrong inside the previous step: cutting the speed every frame makes the jump die. Cut it once.
- 5
Wiki entry
Hitting a ceiling mid-jump should drop you, not hang you there
Jump under a low ceiling and the hero sometimes floats along it for a moment, slides sideways stuck to it, or gets shoved down too hard. It comes from what happens to the upward push at the instant of the bump. Here is the small fix that makes the bump feel solid.
Why here: Ceilings are where jumps feel floaty: the body must drop at once, not hang. Do it before double jumps, or they will hide the bug.
- 6
Blueprint
Double Jump
A second jump gives the player control in the air: a way to fix a misjudged jump, reach further or recover from a fall.
Why here: Only now add a second jump: on top of the fixes above it feels like a gift, on top of a broken jump it feels like a crutch.
- 7
Wiki entry
Squashing and stretching a character without making it look like it grows
Scaling a character taller when it jumps and flatter when it lands gives life, but done by hand it swells, sinks into the floor or floats above it. A simple relation between the two directions and the right anchor point prevent that.
Why here: The feedback: a landing that squashes reads as weight. Keeping the volume is what separates alive from rubbery.
- 8
Wiki entry
The camera follows smoothly on my screen but lags or jerks on another
A camera that glides after the player at one frame rate trails far behind at another, because the usual smoothing step depends on how often the picture is drawn. A different way of calculating it gives the same movement everywhere. Here is the calculation and a stopping rule.
Why here: Last the camera, because a camera that lags on one machine makes every jump above feel wrong again, and only there.
At the end
Your jump forgives a late press, lets the player choose its height, and lands with weight.
What this rests on
- Math for Game Programmers: Building A Better Jump
Shows how a jump arc is shaped from the height and distance a designer wants, including holding the button for a higher jump and falling faster after the peak.
- Celeste & Forgiveness
Explains in plain terms how coyote time, jump buffering and lighter gravity at the top of a jump quietly make a hard game feel kind to the player.
- Juice It or Lose It
Live demonstration of how small touches such as stretching, squeezing and particles make a plain game feel lively and satisfying.
- Scroll Back: The Theory and Practice of Cameras in Side-Scrollers
Explains why a camera that follows the character smoothly and shows what lies ahead keeps a side-scrolling game comfortable and readable.
- Game Feel: A Game Designer's Guide to Virtual Sensation
The standard book on why controlling something in a game feels good or bad, giving the basic idea behind all jump tuning.
- GameMaker Platformer Jumping Tips
Describes ledge grace time (coyote time) and jump input buffering in simple terms and notes there is no single right number of frames, so you tune by feel.
Say this to your AI
Follow the Spielerando learning path "A jump that feels good" (get_path jump-that-feels-good) for my game, step by step, and tell me at each step why it comes now.Or skip this and connect the MCP: your AI then finds all of this by itself.Connect the MCP