Platform games – assignment 1

Abstract

This research report focuses on different versions of platform games, like single screen, sidescrollers, 2D and 3D as well as different perspectives. By experimenting with these types in Unreal engine 4 I analyse their advantages and disadvantages in order to draw a conclusion for the type and perspective I want to use for my game that I will create for my 2nd assignment.

 

Intro

A ‘platform game’ or ‘platformer’ is an action game subgenre in which the player has to manoeuvre the character over platforms of various heights by jumping and running, avoiding obstacles and enemies in order to advance in the game. Early platformers evolved from popular arcade games like Donkey Kong (1981), in which a gorilla abducts Jumpman’s (later Mario) girlfriend and he has to save her by climbing ladders from platform to platform and jumping over barrels (Electronic Games, 1983). Today platform games can be found in all forms and sizes, across all technical devices. Even though there is such a variety of platformers, some aspects reappear in multiple games and people immediately associate them with platform games, like bright colours, 2D animations and jumping on the heads of enemies to kill them. One of the most prominent associations is that platform games are 2D side scrollers. However, there are multiple ways of creating a platform game, for example, 2D or 3D as well as the camera movement/placement. In this report, I will explore these different versions and create my own short experiments in Unreal Engine 4 in order to better understand their advantages and disadvantages.

 

 

2D vs 3D

2D single screen games

Platformers exist in all kinds of forms. The original arcade platformers were 2D single screen games, where a whole level was displayed on a screen due to technical restrictions. Once one of these levels was completed, the player would be introduced to the next one (Minkkinen, 2016).

This may have worked well for arcade games that are fixed to a certain type of screen, however, if trying to create a game with a fixed camera for PC, certain problems could arise. Different resolution settings and screen sizes may result in certain parts of the level not being visible on the screen. (IMakeGames, 2012)

 

2D Sidescroller games

Eventually, games development moved towards console games that could be played at home with a 2D side-scrolling mechanism. In these games, the camera follows the character and only the part of the level that the character is in is shown. This allows for a much larger level design, as it is not limited by the screen dimensions anymore. (Klappenbach 2016)

As you can see in the screenshots above, I created a very basic version of a 2D side scroller in Unreal Engine 4, using the template that was provided by the engine. From my experiments, I would say that this is most likely the easiest version to create a game as the creator doesn’t have to be able to create 3D assets and can use 2D assets instead which are much easier to create. However, I am not sure whether Unreal Engine is the right engine to create a game like this. While trying to reposition the platforms I noticed that if you accidentally move the platform on the z-axis just a little bit, you won’t initially notice it but as soon as you try jumping on it during gameplay, you fall right through it.

 

 

 

3D sidescroller games

Another form are the 3D sidescrollers, which are games with 3D graphics and a two-dimensional gameplay. In these games the camera may be adjusted to follow a certain path in order to manage what the player sees, making it easier for the player to manoeuvre around the level. (IMakeGames 2012). A good example for this is “Flipping Death” by Zoink (2018). In this game the camera does not only move with the character but sometimes seem to float off in different directions or zoom in and out, depending on whether there might be a design element obstructing the view or it is simply benefitting the gameplay at certain points in the game.

 

This is a simple version of a 3D sidescrolling platformer, created in Unreal Engine 4, using the sidescrolling template as a base. The advantage of this game type is that it feels a lot more modern and there are a lot more design options than in the 2D version. At the same time, it still keeps that certain nostalgia as the game mechanics work just like in the 2D version. In this simple sidescroller I implemented stamina collectables, which add points to the stamina variable. These points could be traded for certain actions like double jumps at a later stage of development. In order to create these, I followed a tutorial by Virtus Learning Hub/ Creative Tutorials (see references).

Figure 2 Blueprint for the stamina collectables

 

3D Platform games

Since “Super Mario 64” (1996) 3D platformers appeared on the market. These lifted the restrictions of the side scroller in which movement was only possible in the x- and y-axis and gave the game more dimension with twists and turns and the ability to make the character jump in any direction.

In 3D platform games the control over the camera is usually given to the player. It is important that the controls are as intuitive as possible so players can easily move the camera. On PC this usually means that the camera is moved by moving the mouse. (Keren 2015)

The advantage of this type of game is that it gives the player more freedom in movement. This way a player can choose how to move around the level, like taking different paths, moving around and obstacle, avoiding an enemy etc, while in side scrolling games there is always just one option.  A lot of the fun comes from being able to explore the movement and the world freely, outside of the given path to solve the quest. However, the challenge with this type of game is that all the freedoms that a player can gain from a 3D platform game have to be considered and developed by the game’s developers first. This means that a well done 3D platformer takes a lot longer to create and is more complex and therefore more complicated than its sidescrolling counterpart. (Boulton, 2018)

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st  person vs 3rd person

 

This is an interesting topic to research as most 3D platform games are created from a 3rd person perspective, meaning that the camera is hovering above or behind the character, making him partly or completely visible on the screen. This has certain advantages, for example it gives the player a better overview of the characters surroundings.  This system has been so successful that it has been implemented into several video games that don’t necessarily count as platformers but merely contain aspects of it, like the Assassins Creed series or Alice: Madness Returns (2011).

Meanwhile 1st person platformers are rather rare as they are quite restrictive. The fact that the player can’t see the characters feet makes precision a lot harder and unexperienced players may easily miss a platform as they can’t see where their feet were going. The movement of the camera in 1st person may also be distracting during fast sequences. In the DLC “Assassins Creed Revelations – The lost archive” (2012) Ubisoft decided to go with a 1st person perspective instead of the usual 3rd person perspective that can be found in all of the Assassins creed games. This seemed to upset a lot of players as it broke the continuity, however, in interaction with the level and environment design it managed to create a sense of unease which complimented the storyline.

 

This is a basic version of a 3D platformer with a 3rd person perspective. I used the 3rd person template provided by the engine as a base and added geometry to create more platforms. This type of game seems a lot more dynamic and gives the player more control over the over all experience. It adds even more design opportunities but also a lot of opportunities for innovative gameplay and creativity to create an experience.

 

To complete this series, I also created a 3D 1st person platformer, using the 1st person template. This proved to be hardly playable for exactly the reasons that are stated above. It was almost impossible to hit the platforms in exactly the way that I wanted to. The mechanism of shooting boxes was a nice addition though, especially when used as obstacles on platforms that needed to be shot down before being able to jump on the platform.

 

Conclusion

 

Today Platform games come in all forms and sizes. This report only scraped on the surface of what is possible, giving me an overview of different types and camera angles that will benefit me when I start to design my actual game. I personally noticed that I very much preferred the 3D 3rd person platformer as it holds so many possibilities for design and gameplay. However, I also liked the 3D sidescroller but was not too happy with the movement restriction on the x- and y-axis. If I could figure out a way to recreate an option of movement along the z-axis like in “Little Big Planet” (2008) this might become a serious option. On the other hand, the 3D 1st person platformer didn’t work for me at all as it was frustrating to not be able to execute precise jumps. I acknowledge however that some players may prefer it, especially the ones that are used to this kind of perspective from other games like shooters.  One example of a successful 1st person platformer would be “Mirror’s edge” (2008), so it is possible to execute this well. All in all, this research report has given me a lot of ideas for the next assignment while showing me all the options as well as their advantages and disadvantages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

 

 

Practical:

 

 

 

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