Timing and easing
Learning paths through this topic
Make a swing hurt each enemy once, or again at a steady pace
A sword that stays inside an enemy for six frames either deals six hits at once or, if you stop it, makes spinning attacks useless. Here is a small memory for who was hit and when, so one swing counts once and a whirlwind hits at its own steady beat.
Time a parry so a perfect block pays off and mashing the button does not
A parry that works whenever the button is down is just a shield, and one with a window of a single frame is cruel. Here is a window with two grades, a cost for missing, and the order in which things must be checked so the hit and the button never race.
Make loot fly to the player with a growing pull and arrive on time
Coins that chase the player with a simple pull sometimes never arrive, circle around a fast player, or take longer when there are many. Here is a pull that grows stronger, follows a moving player and delivers every coin in the same time on any screen.
Move a lift or door with a gentle start and stop at a top speed
Moving things at constant speed looks stiff, and a plain ease makes long trips either painfully slow or shockingly fast. Here is the motion real machines use, which also behaves for short trips where top speed is never reached.
Run a power-up timer that stacks with a limit and warns before it ends
A second pickup of the same boost should not waste the first or make it last all day, and the warning before the boost runs out should flash faster as the end nears, on any screen. Here is a timer that adds up, caps and ends exactly once.
Pace a long chain reaction so it speeds up but never becomes unreadable
A chain of eight clears at the pace of the first one drags on for ages, while squeezing each step by a fixed amount turns the end into a blur and a machine-gun of sounds. Here is a pacing rule that builds excitement, keeps a floor, and still respects a total time limit.
Show a hint pulse only when the player is truly stuck, not while the board moves
A hint that pops up while the pieces are still tumbling is annoying, and one that stays hidden for a minute loses players. The trick is what you count as waiting. Here is a small timer with clear states that shows the hint at a fair moment and pulses it gently.
Keep a quick second swipe instead of dropping it while tiles are still sliding
In sliding-number puzzles fast players swipe again before the last move has finished. Ignoring the swipe feels broken, accepting every one makes moves pile up and run on long after the fingers stop. Here is a small rule for exactly one waiting move and a speed-up that keeps the game snappy.
Fly a wrongly dropped piece back to its tray with a time that fits the distance
A piece let go in the wrong place should return on its own. If it always takes the same time, near drops feel sluggish and far drops teleport. Here is a flight whose time grows gently with distance, with a small arc so it reads as flying back rather than sliding through other pieces.
Stack floating score numbers so quick hits in one spot stay readable
When several clears happen on the same spot within a second, the little +10 numbers pile on top of each other into an unreadable smear. Placing them in neat rows is easy until some of them disappear and the rows are handed out again. Here is how to keep the order tidy.
Slide a piece around corners at one steady speed
In sliding and ice puzzles a piece may travel through several turns in one move. If each leg gets the same time, the short legs crawl and the long ones race, and the piece looks like it keeps changing gear. Here is how to give the whole route one speed and know exactly when it ends.
Let a dragged piece settle into the right cell after a flick
When the finger lets go of a sliding piece, it has to find a cell. Choosing the nearest one feels dead; following the flick too far skips cells. And the settling animation must continue the finger's speed or it stutters. Here is how to choose the cell and the time for it.