Platforming

Platforming refers to gameplay mechanics that involve the player character jumping over or navigating across platforms and obstacles

Platforms themselves:
1. Solid
2. Outlined
3. Moving
4. Breaking
5. Bouncing
6. Falling
Jumping:
1. Single Jumps
2. Double Jumps
3. Running
4. Wall Jump
5. Metric Focused
Obstacles:
1. Gaps
2. Spikes
3. Enemies
4. Traps
5. Puzzles
6. Help add Variety
7. Adding Challenge
Collectibles, Power Ups, Pick Ups:
1. Rewards for the player
2. Incentives
3. Encourage exploration
Flow and Rhythm:
1. Focus on smooth game-play
2. Comfort in spacing
3. Jumps lead nicely to other jumps
Progression and Difficulty:
1. Challenges slowly get harder
2. New game Mechanics
3. Mixing mechanics together
4. Think about your pacing
Variety and Exploration:
1. Try diverse platform scenarios
2. Vertical or Horizontal Platforming paths
3. Branching paths
4. Help players discover areas challenges, paths, etc…
Visual Clarity:
1. Clear, simple communication
2. Understandable platforms, obstacles, interactable
3. Can they comprehend it?
4. Avoid confusion (Don’t get too fancy)

Player Experience:

Responsive Controls
- Get involved with testing and giving feedback
- Tight and intuitive controls
- Help other teams by providing gyms and testing
- Don’t forget how important you are to this process
Audio and Visual Feedback
- Enhance platforming experience
- SFX, VFX, Animations, etc on successful jumps, collectibles or hazards. Reward them for the good
Checkpoints and Saving
- A must for any large area that may have player failure
- Alleviate frustration
- Helps rapid playtesting
- Encourage repeatability

Leading the Player:

Clearly defined paths and easy to navigate spaces
Don’t show all the stage at once!
Give enough room for the players start the platform section and move around
Guide the players using color

Reusable Mechanics

Reusable game mechanics refer to gameplay elements or systems that can be used multiple times throughout a level or even across different levels. These mechanics are designed to be versatile, adaptable and easily added into various sections of the game

By reusing mechanics, level designers can promote consistency, enhance player familiarity and streamline the development process, while still offering a diverse and engaging gameplay experience.

Don’t be fooled! When thinking design tests many people over-scope their ideas adding many new mechanics for players to get introduced to! Instead… Focus on one or two main features of your level and concentrate on presenting simple and easy to understand game mechanics that fit the game.

Examples of things we re-use:

Different size platforms
Switch buttons
Interactable
Traversal mechanics
Moving platforms / elevators
Hazards

Consistency: Using same mechanics throughout the game enhances the player understanding Efficiency: Reusing existing mechanics saves development time and resources _Depth: Reusable mechanics can be combined, layered or even modified to create more complex and engaging gameplay experiences Mastery: Repeated exposure to mechanics, allows players to learn and improve their skills, providing a sense of progression

⭐ Check your difficult curve, pacing and progression of gameplay when implementing reusable mechanics ⭐You need balance and variety, making sure that the mechanics are used in a way that keeps the gameplay fresh and interesting

Spatial Awareness

How comfortable is to move around the space? How much room the player has?

Pay attention to the scale of your level. Be sure that objects, platforms and structures are appropriately sized relative to the player character, creating a sense of realist and allowing players to gauge distances accurately
Design clear and distinct pathways that guide players through the level. Avoid cluttering the environment with unnecessary collision or distractions that may jack up player movement or disrupt the flor of gameplay
Provide space for the players to land after performing jumps or other platforming actions. Avoid placing hazards or others obstructions immediately after landing points to prevent frustrating or unfair situations

Affordances

A visual or contextual clue in a game that suggests how objects/elements can be used or interacted with. It’s like a visual hint that tells the player what they can do and how they can navigate the game world.

Keep consistency and make them easy to spot and understand just by observing. By applying visual language effectively you can make affordances more apparent and intuitive, guiding the player’s understanding of how to interact with the environment

Affordances should provide feedback to the player when they interact with them. This can be through VFX, SFX or haptic feedback indicating that the interaction was successful and telling the player the result

Limiting Confusion

Use environmental storytelling to convey information about the world, its history, and its NPC’s.

Arrange objects, props and details in a way that suggests a narrative or provides clues about the gameplay

Signposting: Design the layout and structure of your block-out in a way that naturally guides the player’s attention and movement. Ensure that the path forward is visually distinct and easily discernible

Well-designed transition spaces ensure a cohesive and immersive experience for players, preventing jarring transitions and enhancing the overall flow of the level

⭐ Don’t tell me, show me

Assignment

Week 04 - Assignment

On week 4 the theme was Floating City focusing on platforming and traversing. It was suggested that we used a different character, but he was very difficult to get on high positions, since he didn’t “jump” but could only float keeping the height. I took the decision to change the character to a robot that was repairing a exploded (?) space station.

Goals for this week’s assignment include:

Make your own PureRef Reference Board.

Blocking out a new level to move around in and the character can explore.

Get more familiar with Platforming by blocking out spaces that require jumping.

Make some unique compositions to show off a stylized environment.

Try a new character. Let’s have fun with a new Blueprint.

Link to original