Run and Jump: The Meaning of the 2D Platformer

[droqen]

Oh man I really want to do these exercises!

1. a memory of jumping . . . describe that moment . . .
ideas: something from childhood, a moment in a film, the way a favourite animal moves
details: phases, how far, what body parts, surfaces, how the surfaces feel, the shape of the movement, is anyone else involved, the jump's purpose
. . . list adjectives that you would use to describe the whole jump.

2. Choose one of the adjectives . . . build a jump . . . change many of the variables . . .
{32-33
the strength of gravity and the avatar's propulsive force . . . maximum fall speed and air friction . . . inconsistencies in [ascending and descending] arcs [..or..] during collisions . . . the slope of the jump arc, its type (linear or quadratic), and the sensitivity of the button during the first few frames of motion. . . . the time before a player can jump again after landing, and "coyote time" . . . how long the player waits for the avatar to move after pressing the button, or how much it can move while in the air. . . . maximum speed or the amount of momentum that carries over from the ground to the air . . .}
. . . a warm-up phase, a short hover at the top of the jump, or a jolt of forward movement. . . .
show it to some friends and ask them to describe the jump with one adjective. Keep adjusting it until your jump communicates the adjective you initially chose.

3. choose a second adjective from your initial list that is similar to your first . . . design a second jump for your avatar that uses a separate button. Leave the previous jump untouched, but tweak the new jump until the difference between the two adjectives is clear. . . . choose a third adjective that means the opposite of your original one.

Ask different friends to try out all three and have them describe the original jump again. . . . see how the addition of this mechanic changed the player experience.

[droqen]

I've selected a memory... and an adjective... and am looking at this grand list of variables and things to tweak and I feel so strangely good about it all. There's this sensation of that moment before a tear comes to my eye. I'm not afraid to say 'it almost made me cry,' but it's just not quite right. There is perhaps the faintest tightness of the throat.

In any case I'm enjoying the exercise. How can I use all these familiar tools, these abstract friends, to convey such a specific and difficult adjective? It feels almost perverse to wield every tiny facet of a jump for something so idiosyncratic, so emotional, to spend so much intentional effort thinking about how to do this, to invest so heavily in this expression.