As far as game mechanics go, I found a very cool style of ‘no jump’ games for platformers. Possibly, everyone out there already knows about them, however I didn’t. So, let’s take a look at these two, Deepest Sword and Getting Over It. Both of these games were developed on game jams. And both of these games use rotation instead of the more traditional jump mechanics we are so familiar with.
Deepest Sword
This is a puzzle platformer and unlike most platformers, there are no jump mechanics. The knight is able to walk back-and-forth with his sword, and the knight’s sword turns the knight around the fixed axis of his sword.
The knight and his sword are actually connect, however different swords display differing weights. The developers have set the weights, dimensions, force of friction and even the rebound coefficients to create a different feel for each different sword. And as you probably guessed, as the knight levels up throughout the game, so does the size of his sword. Each leveled-up sword is not only longer than the previous sword, but also feels heavier, affecting both the center of balance and the knight’s movements.
Here you can read an interview with the developers of the Deepest Sword.
Getting Over It
Getting Over It’s sword rotation is a little counter-intuitive, as its sword rotation is actually tied to the position of the mouse; which makes movement quite difficult to regulate. Players must ascend a mountain, using a hammer to drag and push their character up all manner of obstacles including sheer cliffs and along overhangs. One slip anywhere along the way, and the player could find themselves falling all the way back to square one.
For an interview with Bennett Foddy you can read here. You can also follow the developer, this is the official website with games by Bennett Foddy.
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