Written by: Monday, September 06, 2010
Seriously. If I cannot jump in an action game, chances are high that I will not play it.
Do you remember that there once was a game type called "Jump'n'Run" – where according to the genre name jumping was 50% of the gameplay and the joy? Jumping on its own is fun and it is a natural way to show emotion. In World of Warcraft, for example, jumping is the simplest expression of feelings. – Typing emotes is way to complicated for me ;-)
When implementing jumping an interesting question arises: How much control does the user have while jumping?
One extreme in video games is total control in the air. This enables unrealistic behaviors, like jumping around corners.
On the other extreme the player has no control. The player cannot change direction after he or she has left the ground. This option is for fans of realism: In real life the outcome is pretty much determined once we are airborne. We can flail with the arms, pull up the knees - but the influence on the landing position is limited.
But in this case the more realistic solution is not the best one. Video games have a lot of restrictions: Limited field of view. Limited perception of depth. Limited precision of the input devices. Limited gameplay experience of the player. … Applying the restrictions of real life in the game creates an experience that is more restricted than real life. We impose the restriction of real life and the restrictions of video games onto the player. - To compensate for the video game restrictions the user must have additional unnatural jumping control. Video games should be larger than life - less restrictions and more fun.
A good character controller and good jumping behavior is the basis for every action game.
Credits: Photo by Only Sequels (licensed under Creative Commons)
0 comment(s) so far...
A collection of the most useful blog articles can be found here:
Article Collection (on Documentation page)
DigitalRune is a trademark of Garstenauer Information Technology OG.
Garstenauer Information Technology OG Weingartenstrasse 35, 4452 Ternberg Austria (EUROPE) office@digitalrune.com