What Made Those Old, 2D Platformers So Great?

TheManagement writes "Many current developers of web games seem to have a fondness for 2D platformers. However, their desire to capture what made Sonic and Mario games so great is rarely achieved. In an attempt to breach that gap, Significant Bits takes a look at three common design principles that made those classic titles so enjoyable. 'To start off, the interface needs to be quick and responsive. Input should have an immediate effect on the character in order to foster a sense of full control. Granularity and different control techniques, i.e., pressing, tapping and holding, are also important as they provide a level of precision to the movement. ... Now, as far as the environments themselves, it's not a coincidence that they're often filled with all sorts of slides, bridges, trampolines, ladders, etc. In a way, they're simply playgrounds for the player, both literally and figuratively. They're catered to the moveset, and they enhance the flow of the game.'"

Re:Nostalgia

[nomadic]

Now, can we please stop seeing topics like this based entirely on nostalgia?

But if they stop posting topics like this, in a few years we'll start reminiscing about them. "Remember those old topics based entirely on nostalgia? Weren't those great? I miss those days..."

Re:Nostalgia

[mickwd]

Now, can we please stop seeing topics like this based entirely on nostalgia?

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

Re:The fact that you were younger and less jaded t

[James Skarzinskas]

For me, it's the total difference in attitude. Back then, I was a kid with no disposable income to spare. Your parents rented you some games from the video store for the weekend and you played the hell out of them. Very seldom did you get the exact games of your choice, so you learned to just deal with what you got. It didn't matter of they were clunky or poorly designed, or if the music was no better than 8-bit blips composed by someone totally tone-deaf who figured the NES's "noise" channel was a substitute for any instrumentation; you were on a holy mission to beat the game(s) within the rental period. Eventually, you even acquired a taste for some of the crappier ones that would later manifest as nostalgia. You'd give anything, any genre a chance. The information just wasn't available the way it is today. If Nintendo Power said it was awesome, you prayed to the greater gaming deities that it would show up in the ma and pa store that had a game rental shelf. If some kid on the playground said "Sega does what Nintendon't", you bashed his head in with a rock. It's just how it was.

Now I just find myself cherry-picking for the AAA titles, going for the well-reviewed games, or even following the PR hype train. Games with glitches like "all enemies inevitably randomly lose the will to live and walk into a wall before arbitrarily phasing out of existence" no longer have the chance to penetrate the market, or our nerd hearts.

Re:Nostalgia

[Stormwatch]

I think I saw that video. The nerd complained that the moonwalk move is useless - which is incorrect. In the last stage you can use it to walk on conveyors without losing speed.

Re:The fact that you were younger and less jaded t

[Captain Spam]

If some kid on the playground said "Sega does what Nintendon't", you bashed his head in with a rock. It's just how it was.

Y'know, I'll admit to my fair share of 16-bit zealotry back in The Day(tm), as well as my then and current rampant dirty hippy Nintendo fanboyism, but that line makes me glad I didn't grow up in your playground.

Re:The fact that you were younger and less jaded t

[James Skarzinskas]

We played dodgeball with bricks. You get good, fast.

Re:One word.

[BikeHelmet]

That was amazing! I need to try splitting my insightful posts in two.

Re:The fact that you were younger and less jaded t

[James Skarzinskas]

Hey, Samah. Quick. What's that behind you?

Re:The fact that you were younger and less jaded t

[hal2814]

If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a brick.

Re:without reading TFA, I'll tell you.

[silent_artichoke]

That's cool and all, but does it run on Linux?

Re:The fact that you were younger and less jaded t

[Frogbert]

And 4.6 Million people live in Alabama.

Doesn't mean they aren't all wrong.