I’m building a videogame (BEEP) that belongs to the ‘platformer’ genre. More specifically, it’s a ‘2d side-scrolling’ platformer. Platformers were THE dominant videogame genre for much of the 80’s and 90’s. This article explores the platforming genre to understand exactly what it’s all about. After all, platforming remains one of the highest selling and paradoxically, least saturated gaming genres.

With the popularization of 3d graphics in the mid-90’s, the platforming game evolved to utilize the extra dimension. But in the process of doing so, the 2d side-scroller was booted out of the spotlight. Since the mid 90’s, 2d platformers have eeked out a living on the margins of  the mainstream. It would be fully 10 years before this genre would experience a nostalgic revival. Why is it coming back? How has it changed? Is it worth reviving?

Out of Necessity

Waaay back in the early years (late 70’s – early 80s), single screen games dominated. They were easy to program and could easily fit into the memory and CPU limitations imposed by the available hardware. Single screen games include all the major stars of the arcade era; Pac-Mac, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, Galaga, Frogger and Pong. Single-screen games definitely have their place, but it’s difficult to gain a sense of exploration and advancement when the player stays in the same area.

Everyone who played Asteroids imagined what it would be like to drive the spaceship beyond the edge of the screen. Side-scrolling really is a natural extension of the single-screen game world. It wasn’t until 1980 that the first side-scrolling game was released; Defender. Now you COULD take the spaceship to the edge of the screen and explore an area that spans many screens. Suddenly, and for the first time, a video-game gained the added dimension of spacial exploration.

Mario

In the wake of Defender, gamers and developers were left thinking of all the different ways that side-scrolling could revolutionize the established gameplay mechanism (and inBox Artspire new ones). Defender can be viewed as an extension of Asteroids which spawned the scrolling shooter genre (which would be perfected 10 years later by the Raiden games).  Similarly, Super Mario Bros can be viewed as an extension of Donkey Kong from single-screen to side-scrolling.

Super Mario Bros. exploded onto the scene in 1985 to coincide with the release of Nintendo’s NES console. Finally, the jump and run (ie. platforming) gameplay was married with side-scrolling technology. The result became one of the best selling games of all time and spawned a litany of sequels and knock-offs.

But the game that remains firmly planted in the social consciousness was Super Mario 3. This was really the culmination of decades of innovation in computer science and game design. For the first time, gamers were playing a character that really looked like something. Mario wasn’t a block of pixels, he was a cartoon character with personality and animated movements. But even more important than the visuals, was the insanely tight control mechanics. I would argue that Super Mario Bros 3 perfected ‘twitch’ gameplay. Even after almost 25 years, the platforming genre remains saturated with gameplay mechanics that owe their origins to this game. It sold 18 million copies and it’s 2006 sequel (New Super Mario Bros. DS) has sold over 21 million copies. Both games enjoy a spot in the top ten selling games of all time.

The Gameplay

So what is it about platforming that makes it so fun? Finding the source of ‘fun’ in a videogame is a difficult thing. Most people know when they are having fun, but few people can explain precisely why they are enjoying something. I would like to argue that 2d-side scrolling games (the good ones anyway) possess only a few basic traits which people enjoy.

Most obviously, there is the timed jumping (or ‘platforming’). This is as basic as it gets, you have to get from A to B taking into account constraints C,D,E and F. This is the generic form that all platforming gameplay takes. Common constraints includes things like, limited jump height, moving enemies, death pits, fireballs, moving platforms, tilting platforms, disappearing platforms and on and on. In general terms, these can all be view as constraints that combine to create an environmental puzzle. Overcoming these obstacles and finding the right combination of manoeuvres that satisfy all the constraints is what makes platforming fun. In a nut shell, chaining together actions to satisfy a series of constraints is the reason Mario is fun.

Additionally, platform games tend to exhibit a sense of exploration and progression. That is to say, the player feels like they are making progress as they explore an environment. That may seem trivial, but there are many things that the developer must do to keep this intact. The ‘world map’ gives a sense of Mario’s journey to save the princess. The player can look back at the places they have been and anticipate the levels to come. It seems obvious, but many platform games since Mario have failed in this regard. And before side-scrolling, single-screen games were really at a disadvantage in giving the player a world to explore.

Lastly, good platform gameplay immerses the player in an alternate reality. It’s about escaping to a world that exhibits a peculiar version of the Newtonian physics we are familiar with. Playing in alternate realities teaches us about our own. Super Mario Galaxy asks us to consider a world in which gravity can be reversed with a switch. Games like Braid confront the player with a world where time itself can be manipulated and reversed. Playing with alternate law of physics is what excites me the most about videogames, and no genre does it better than the Platformer.

The Revival

As you can probably tell, I really really like platform games. The last console generation (Gamecube, Xbox, PS2) was a terrible time to be a platformer fan. For reasons that I still don’t fully understand, the genre was largely ignored. Maybe it was furor created by the introduction of 3d games, but more likely it was short sighted studio executives that saw it as a ‘dead’ genre. 21 million sales of New Super Mario Bros. suggests the genre is far from dead.

Regardless, there is certainly a revival in the works right now. While mainstream releases like the new Super Mario Bros and Mario Galaxy games are certainly a welcome addition, the indie community is really leading the revival. Braid, a beautiful independently developed game by Jonothan Blow has more innovation in a single pixel than the vast majority of mainstream games have in their entirety. But it’s primarily a puzzle game with extremely light (and thanks to the reverse time feature), largely inconsequential action platforming. Action platforming fans should check out Knytt Stories to see an example of the finest in minimalist action platforming.

There are many other recent titles I’m failing to mention, but the point is that a revival of the genre is here, it’s a good thing, and it’s been largely driven by independent developers around the world.

BEEP

So how would I classify my own game, BEEP? Well it’s certainly a 2d side-scrolling platformer. But it’s also a shooter. The player aims and fires with the mouse which gives it a first-person shooter feel. I’m calling it, ‘Mario… with a gun’. Gaming enthusiasts might argue that the side-scrolling shooter genre exists and was established by games like Contra, Bionic Commando and Metal Slug (all games that I enjoy).

I would agree, but BEEP is different from those games in one very important way, the mouse. The Contra games used a d-pad for aiming which limits the precision of the shooting mechanic. This control system has a dramatic effect on the feel of the game. Aiming with a d-pad is more about controlled chaos than precision shooting (especially in the Contra games which get ridiculous in the amount of on screen clutter).

Additionally, BEEP includes a gravity gun. You hover the mouse over a dynamic object and click-hold the right mouse button to pick it up. This effectively becomes a virtual hand that the player can use to reach into the game world and move stuff around. The gameplay ramifications of this are profound. I’m still exploring the possibilities this control mechanism enables. So BEEP is the marriage of Mario (running, jumping) and Half-Life (precise shooting, gravity gun). At least, in theory. We’ll see if the audience agrees once it’s released into the wild.

There were many reasons why I chose to make a 2d side-scroller. But chielfly among them was the richness and diversity of gameplay options that the genre possesses. With utmost humility, I must admit that the majority of BEEPs gameplay is inspired by existing games. But by understanding why these classics were fun and what made them fun, I hope to replicate their success, learn from their victories and avoid their pitfalls. In the process, maybe I can push the genre forward a little bit and make something that people want to play; even if they aren’t sure why.