Jumping
Learning paths through this topic
Moving Platforms
A platform that travels on its own and takes the player along. It makes the player time jumps against a moving target, and it turns a gap or a shaft into a ride.
A computer-controlled character that knows if it can clear a gap, and backs up first
Computer characters either jump into every gap and fall, or never dare. The trick is to know the speed they will really have at the edge, not the speed they have now. Here is how to decide yes, no or take a run-up, and when to press jump.
Shots fly wild in the air, and settle again after landing
Jump-shooting should be risky, not impossible and not free. If the wobble is gone the instant the feet touch the floor, hopping around while firing is the best tactic. Here is a spread that grows fast, falls slowly and still treats a walk off a ledge fairly.
A dash in the air that can be used once per jump, in eight directions
Air dashes look easy until a diagonal dash goes further than a straight one, the dash comes back the moment it is used, or the ground refills it in the middle of a dash. Here are the rules for charges, direction and speed that stop each of these.
Hitting an enemy in mid-air should hold you up for a moment
Fighting in the air feels great when each landed blow keeps you aloft just long enough for the next. Allow it without limit and fights never touch the ground; allow it on misses and players hover for free. Here is how the hold works and where it stops.
Walking off a ledge should not give a free extra jump
A character with a mid-air jump behaves oddly when it simply walks off a ledge: sometimes two jumps remain, sometimes none, depending on small details. Here is a consistent rule and the numbers that prove it holds on every path.
A shotgun blast that pushes you back, without turning into free flight
Recoil in the air is a great trick until a player stays aloft by firing again and again, or until the push slows someone who is already flying faster. Here is a push that works on the ground and in the air and still has a clear upper limit.
In mid-air the character stops dead or cannot be steered at all
Reusing the ground movement in the air makes jumps stiff, with speed dropping to zero the moment the keys are let go. Using no control at all makes them feel like a thrown object. Here is the split that gives players a feeling of control without letting them hover.
A sprint jump should carry far, and mid-air steering must not add speed
Players want the long running leap across a canyon, but also a little steering once airborne. Put the two together carelessly and holding forward in the air makes you faster than sprinting, or letting go of sprint stops you dead mid-jump. Here are the rules that keep the leap honest.
Steering in the air without gaining speed from nothing
Let players turn in mid-air and some will find that zigzagging makes them faster than running. Sometimes that is a joy, usually it breaks the level. Here is an air control that steers well, rewards a little skill and has a ceiling you chose.
A bounce pad that always sends you to the same height
Land on a pad at a walk and you go up a little, drop onto it from a tower and you shoot off the screen. Designers want one height they can build a level around. Here is why adding to the speed fails, and how to make the launch land on target.
A hard landing hurts the legs and makes later jumps weaker
Survival games like lasting consequences: land badly and the legs suffer, so jumping gets worse until you rest. The tricky part is balance, because a harsh rule traps the player in a loop of injury, and a gentle one means nobody notices. Here are the leg rules with their thresholds and the way back.