What Makes a Good Platformer?

m456arcusm456arcus Member Posts: 189
edited November -1 in Working with GS (Mac)
Already a few weeks into my unnamed platformer, I've been thinking up ways to make it as fun as possible. In trying to think of the best qualities for platformers, I've thought of a few things, but I'd like your input.

So, what really makes an exceptional platformer? The story, characters, enemies, attitudes? Or maybe level design is most important? A variety of different blocks to break? Powerups? Replay value? Physics? And what about graphics, sound, even performance? What do you think?????!

And possibly the most important question, how can a good platformer not be a good Super Mario clone? Originality may be the most important quality, what's your opinion?

Wow, thats a lot of questions. Feel free to answer any, all, or none of them.

Comments

  • SlickZeroSlickZero Houston, TexasMember, Sous Chef Posts: 2,870
    m456arcus said:

    So, what really makes an exceptional platformer? The story, characters, enemies, attitudes? Or maybe level design is most important? A variety of different blocks to break? Powerups? Replay value? Physics? And what about graphics, sound, even performance? What do you think?????!

    Yes!
  • jbrown2177jbrown2177 Member Posts: 66
    I think what makes a good platformer is replay value, good characters & story line both tie in and easy play controls. When you try to do to much in any game it's not very intuitive. Keeping the game simple is possibly the best solution to making any game fun to play.
  • m456arcusm456arcus Member Posts: 189
    jbrown2177 said:
    Keeping the game simple is possibly the best solution to making any game fun to play.

    Great point, I overlooked that one but I totally agree. Especially on a platform like iOS, you can't have anything be overly complicated.
  • DizkoDizko Member Posts: 498
    Lots of platforms to jump on :P
  • StormyStudioStormyStudio United KingdomMember Posts: 3,989
    Italian plumbers... :-)

    ... oh and yeah cute graphics, clever intriguing level design that you can rush through or spend time on exploring. Collectibles and beautiful parallax scrolling.
  • m456arcusm456arcus Member Posts: 189
    stormystudio said:
    beautiful parallax scrolling.

    Having some trouble with that one... I'm not much of an artist, so coming up with something other than Mario hills is getting to be rather frustrating.
  • jbrown2177jbrown2177 Member Posts: 66
    Do you have a main character or mascot? Most people who are breathing know about Mario, Sonic, & Luigi. It's also about character building and presentation. Ask yourself how well does this character stand out in this game?
  • m456arcusm456arcus Member Posts: 189
    Right, I've been trying to think up a memorable character, but no luck. I've even had thoughts of just making him a generic cute blob... been playing too much Hoggy. Not very original, to say the least.
  • jbrown2177jbrown2177 Member Posts: 66
    Don't worry to much about the backgrounds as much as gameplay and features. Mario Bros first backgrounds and graphics were horrible, but it had great theme music, cool characters, and fun boss battles. It overall was the gameplay and features that won the hearts of millions. It wasn't until years later that graphics and sound boards got better so it then became a graphical masterpiece that we see today (Mario for Wii)
  • jbrown2177jbrown2177 Member Posts: 66
    I'm pretty good at character development and game design. However, I'm not the best at using GameSalad yet lol, I can shoot you some ideas and possibly help you with your platform. Hit me up on jbrown9070@gmail.com
  • m456arcusm456arcus Member Posts: 189
    That would be great! However, my budget isn't too impressive. It's 0 dollars. Honestly, all I can really offer is full credit and a lifetime of praise... But I think if I have a good idea of what he (or she) would look like, I can do an acceptable job in Illustrator.
  • jbrown2177jbrown2177 Member Posts: 66
    I'm not into charging people money, I just want to help people with whatever I can offer. I see a lot of people charge, but to me it's all about having fun with what I love and it's video games.
  • jbrown2177jbrown2177 Member Posts: 66
    I'm actually hoping of putting together a great team one day and possibly creating some of the best original games on here. I just want to get better with GameSalad and have fun doing it.
  • m456arcusm456arcus Member Posts: 189
    Really?!?! Cool! In that case, email sent.
  • m456arcusm456arcus Member Posts: 189
    Bump. Really eager to hear some of your comments.
  • tcla75tcla75 Member Posts: 71
    I think the classic run jump on platform break blocks etc has been done to death and no matter how well you refine the game peeps will look at it as another mario clone. What you have to do is really think outside the box. Look at tiny wings. What a game. No baddies to kill just get as far as you can and as high a score as you can and it has lots of replayability.
  • m456arcusm456arcus Member Posts: 189
    Right, ok but Tiny Wings isn't a platformer. A platformer is a unique genre, and I think whoever finds out how to freshen up the scene will be very lucky. The question is how to do that.
  • butterbeanbutterbean Member Posts: 4,315
    Nuff' Said ;)

    image
  • forkliftforklift Member Posts: 386
    i just hate clock/timed platformers
  • m456arcusm456arcus Member Posts: 189
    Agreed, there won't be a timer in this one.
  • svnsvn Member Posts: 445
    Well, gameplay comes first. Try adding some gimmick to differentiate yourself from the billion truckloads of other platformers. Like, um, wall-jumping or flipping gravity. Add some cool puzzles. Maybe try implementing GameSalad's physics engines. Or other stuff.
  • m456arcusm456arcus Member Posts: 189
    That made me think, how many other platformers are on the app store that don't have a ball as the main character? Anyone know of any traditional platformers out there, cause I haven't found any.
  • capitalcarnagecapitalcarnage Member Posts: 371
    This is a topic close to my heart, Im in a similar situation at the moment, my biggest problem is level design at the moment, but i'm sure i will get past that soon.

    One thing that is important to me as a gamer is replay value, something which is echoed in this post, I like the opportunity as a gamer to collect multiple things in the level to achieve a certain goal, for example letters that spell out words (a bit like the old "skate" in tony Hawks) or a number of items to gain a reward.

    The other thing i always liked was in the old mario on the gameboy (i think) where at the end of the level you had a chance at a slot machine of bonuses - jumping to hit the 3 blocks to see what you went into the next level with, 1 Life 3 lives, flower power that sort of thing.

    Im sure there is 101 different variations to be discovered and I hope you find the one you need.
  • TJMNUTTJMNUT Member Posts: 236
    I tried to make my own platformer, so I brought in a picture of my entire level, and it said it was to big to be safe for gamesalad, ten resized it, what did I do wrong?
  • m456arcusm456arcus Member Posts: 189
    Max image size is 1024 x 1024, anything bigger will be sized down.
  • CaniohCanioh Member Posts: 200
    Gravity is always a good start! :)
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