Comments on: The guide to implementing 2d platformers

The guide to implementing 2d platformers

Artw — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:20:19 -0800

Having previously been disappointed by the information available on the topic, this is my attempt at categorizing different ways to implement 2D platform games, list their strengths and weaknesses, and discuss some implementation details.

By: Doleful Creature

Doleful Creature — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:39:09 -0800

Wow, this is really, really great stuff. My brother and I, despite being complete noobs with regards to game design, have been "working" on a 2D platformer game for some time now, this article is incredibly useful.

By: hellojed

hellojed — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:44:39 -0800

Another good article: Lou's Psudo 3D page, which details how to make an old-school racing game. Something I've been working with the past few weeks in an attempt to make a retro racing game.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:51:31 -0800

Correction: Samus is two tiles high.

By: postcommunism

postcommunism — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:56:52 -0800

I'm only down to the Ladders section, but this is interesting. I love the tile breakdown - it's like the platform game version of perspective lines.

By: jcreigh

jcreigh — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:12:42 -0800

This is a bit of a tangent, but Lode Runner is such a beautiful game. It's very simple and limited, with plenty of quirks, most notably the often-strange AI of the guys chasing you. And yet the design of the levels cunningly takes advantage of all of that, and uses both the game's strengths and weaknesses in a way that plays off the strengths and makes the weaknesses seem intentional. It's a game that's a bit weird but damn proud of itself. Charming, even. I never played it back in the day, (and was not, in fact, alive when it came out) but I played through the original in an Apple ][ emulator a year or two ago. And now I'm stuck on level 34 of "Championship Lode Runner", the much more difficult sequel. I feel like too many games keep adding bells and whistles, piling game elements and gimmicks on top of each other, instead of just saying, "look, we've got these few game elements, what can we do with them?" and then pushing those simple elements to their absolute limit. I think that VVVVVV (which I also love) is a good modern example of that sort of purposeful, refined simplicity. I guess what I'm trying to say is, go play Lode Runner.

By: griphus

griphus — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:19:01 -0800

Oh, this is wonderful.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:39:54 -0800

I will second jcreigh endorsement of Lode Runner. Back in high school a lot of us were addicted to it on the school's lone Apple IIc computer, and it wasn't long ago that we came very close to beating the Turbografx 16 Battle Lode Runner on Wii Virtual Console, which has some insane levels later on.

By: Doleful Creature

Doleful Creature — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:41:40 -0800

TEAM LODERUNNER FOR LIFE

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Thu, 24 May 2012 16:43:43 -0800

This is pretty great. Actually, the only one I've ever tried implementing is the bitmask. On an 8-bit Amstrad CPC, I think I must have been about 11. Great machine, I've always felt, but its big downfall was a lack of hardware sprites. So when I decided to make a platform game, I was faced not knowing assembly not being able to use actual tiles. So the levels were drawn with pixels, and the moving character read the pixel values under its feet to decide whether it was falling, or on solid ground. It was pretty painful.

By: fleacircus

fleacircus — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:01:01 -0800

One of the best things about Lode Runner was that it included a map editor. Good for making maps for your friends while you wait for your Axis & Allies turn to come up. Wasn't Championship Lode Runner wholly or in part customer-submitted maps?

By: interim_descriptor

interim_descriptor — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:18:54 -0800

Very nice article! One thing to consider: A brief mention that a 2D platformer can also be implemented with a standard 3D engine / toolset. Though it might be overkill to create such an engine for a 2D game, it might very well be time-saving to use an existing 3D engine. It all depends on whether one prefers to wear a programmer-hat or a designer-hat, for a given project.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:24:25 -0800

I ran into the guy who wrote Loderunner in a Vancouver BC strip bar in the mid-late 1980s, I think. He was set for life, as I recall. I have no idea how much of this anecdote is really true, other than being in the Hotel Cecil.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:47:42 -0800

That is what I heard about Doug Smith, maxwelton. Here's IGN's interview with Doug Smith (back from when Lode Runner was getting remade in 3D). Old discussion from rec.games.programmer I read somewhere (which location the casual Googling that uncovered those two links didn't reveal) that what really made Doug Smith's fortune was the Japanese market, which has featured many ports of the game, including more than a couple specifically for arcades. Hudson especially released a lot of versions. In fact, the character design that we now recognize as Bomberman was originally used as an enemy in console Lode Runner games. Most of those versions, however, did not have the direct influence of Doug Smith, except for the 3D versions released around the N64 era.

By: RobotVoodooPower

RobotVoodooPower — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:47:56 -0800

Huh, I never realized the Lode Runner running guy was the same as the Choplifter running guy, even though the games had different authors. Ah, when four frames of animation was a tall order.

By: Wataki

Wataki — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:54:11 -0800

I got to the first image then realised I must immediately install and clock Flashback.

By: ignignokt

ignignokt — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:02:06 -0800

Though it might be overkill to create such an engine for a 2D game, it might very well be time-saving to use an existing 3D engine. I saw a Bubble Bobble clone that was done in two weeks (couple hours a night) in Unity3D. This was the first time the developer had worked with it. There's, of course, lots of tweaks and maybe hacks you have to make to get things to get your platformer to behave just so, but it is quite a head start. I've heard similar things about GameSalad. Of course, if you want to learn how to do make things the way the classics were made, shortcuts are moot.

By: sammyo

sammyo — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:06:47 -0800

overkill to create such an engine for a 2D game Not a game but that is exactly what South Park did when the first short sold and they realized that 2d hand animation would be rather impractical. I think it was done in the precursor to Maya.

By: ignignokt

ignignokt — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:16:21 -0800

Oh, and speaking of which, here's a pretty good talk on making a 2D game in Unity 3D. I think a lot of these guidelines probably apply to other 3D engines.

By: buriednexttoyou

buriednexttoyou — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:18:28 -0800

Those who enjoy this may want to poke around this guide to Sonic the Hedgehog's physics.

By: box

box — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:25:48 -0800

There was also that South Park N64 game that used, if memory serves, the Turok engine.

By: jkaczor

jkaczor — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:32:47 -0800

Don't forget about Amit's Game Programming Information (and his blogs/links/etc) site (Been following his since the old rec.games.programmer.ai days)

By: RobotVoodooPower

RobotVoodooPower — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:50:51 -0800

Lou's Pseudo 3D page Good find. I didn't realize the trials Enduro had to endure (ha) to avoid a division operation. And road images in ROM! Ha! I remember trying to pull off a 3D road in lo-res mode on the Apple ][ and having a really tough time of it (not realizing that Applesoft had slow-ass floating point operations by default).

By: 23

23 — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:02:54 -0800

This is beautiful. I've always found a lot of articles on "get something moving on the screen" or procedural generation, but so very few for polished interactions, especially with action games.

By: Samizdata

Samizdata — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:54:35 -0800

BTW... JUMPMAN! Back to your regularly scheduled codery...

By: Harald74

Harald74 — Thu, 24 May 2012 23:43:04 -0800

For those of you pining for some old-school-type 2D platforming action, there's the recent-ish Rayman Origins (consoles, PC), which feature stunning visuals, lovely soundtrack and of course a proper hard difficulty level later in the game.

By: straight

straight — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:04:00 -0800

Ah, Jumpman and Lode Runner. Two games that you'd think wouldn't hold up very well any more but totally do. (My love for the original C64 Jumpman sound effects and music is probably just nostalgia, but the game itself is still great.)

By: jonbro

jonbro — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:58:36 -0800

regarding using 3d for 2d games, one of the fastest ways of chucking sprites onto the screen is opengl / directx / hardware acceleration. Those api support the z axis, but there is nothing requiring you to actually use it.

By: JHarris

JHarris — Fri, 25 May 2012 07:16:44 -0800

straight, C64 Jumpman remains home to some of the best music on the platform IMO. It's not fancy and flourishy like Ron Hubbard's stuff, and there's really not that much of it, but it's clean, makes such excellent use of the available resources, and it does stuff like just throw in multiple randomly-selected level completion tunes just because it can.

By: straight

straight — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:19:06 -0800

After replaying Jumpman some last night (both in a C64 emulator and in that excellent and very faithful PC port I linked above), I think I agree, JHarris. And the sound effects are really great too -- the jumping sound, the pitter-patter of his little feet. But I'd forgotten how cheap a few of the levels are. That first intermediate level where you basically have to memorize which blocks are going to fall on your head each time you grab a bomb is some serious bullshit. (Can I get a similar ruling on Douglas Fulton's theme for Skyfox? Nostalgia, or three-part symphonic SID masterpiece?)

By: naju

naju — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:07:13 -0800

I got to the first image then realised I must immediately install and clock Flashback. I might be the only person in the world who distinctly remembers that game as being all-around superior to Out Of This World.

By: PipRuss

PipRuss — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:35:14 -0800

This is really great stuff! Especially all the helpful algorithm's for handling slopes. Sounds like a bitch to pull off, but it seems that certain 2D programming styles are more forgiving than others.

By: buriednexttoyou

buriednexttoyou — Fri, 25 May 2012 18:04:22 -0800

Speaking of Jumpmans, this is a pretty good Jumpman. Man.

By: straight

straight — Sat, 26 May 2012 09:51:44 -0800

buriednexttoyou, that game reminds me of one of my favorite Wil Eisner splash pages.