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PlatformerPower

@platformerpower / platformerpower.tumblr.com

PlatformerPower is a tumblr sideproject by @PixelProspector which is dedicated to the platformer genre.
Additional PixelProspector sideprojects can be found here
Platformer Design Articles + Special Features etc. can be found on the Overview Page
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Posts

Impressive! This website (https://noclip.website/) allows you to freely fly around in many data-mined maps from various games! (Directly in your browser) Games: Super Mario Galaxy 1+2, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario 64 DS, Mario Kart Wii, Zelda: Skyward Sword + Wind Waker + Twilight Princess + Ocarina of Time + Majora's Mask, Banjo-Kazooie and many more...

Orignally discovered on twitter via fabraz (the dev of Slime-san)

#noclip website#video game maps#data mined maps#gamedev#website discovery#games#gaming#video games

120 Notable Platformers of 2018

I've just created a new compilation video which shows 120 Notable Platformers that were released in 2018. It features a wide variety of platformer subgenres thus you will see traditional platformers, hardcore platformers, platform shooters, platform fighters, puzzle platformers, action adventure platformers, and more...

A YouTube playlist with trailers for all 120 games can be found here. 

Note: Some platformers were originally released in 2017 or earlier and then re-released in 2018 (Switch release. Special Edition etc.). In those cases the original release dates are shown in brackets in the lower right corner.

Below is a list with all shown games (plus links to the related twitter accounts)

#120 notable platformers of 2018#platformers#2018#pc#ps4#xbox one#nintendo switch#2d#3d#pixel art#pixelart

Interview Series - Part 3: Romain Claude (Splasher)

Welcome to a new interview series on PlatformerPower which focuses on people who create platformers! So without further ado here is the interview with Romain Claude (@clauclaudr) who talks about Splasher  (A fast paced precision platformer with paintgun mechanics)

Release: Sep 2017 (Switch, PS4, XB1) | Feb 2017 (PC) [A list of all interviews can be found on the interviews page. Moreover in case you are interested in articles and videos about platformer design consider to check out this list over here]

1. Hi Romain, could you briefly introduce yourself?

I’m Romain Claude, a 32 years old game developer. I discovered video games with Super Mario Bros on the NES when I was around 7 and well, it kind of influenced me a lot … From that day I developed a strong passion for video games, and not only platformers even if it’s one of my favorite types. When I grew up I needed to figure out how to make my own video games. So I began with programming in high school, learning alone by copy pasting and modifying code from C++ books. To be honest this was not very efficient so after high school I decided to attend real courses. I did a computer science degree for 2 years, before entering a game design school called Supinfogame in Valenciennes (France) for another 2 years. During these 4 years I’ve worked on a lot of small personal projects, demos and stuff (such as developing 2D/3D game engines and level editors). All of this design + tech background led me to get hired as a game designer by Ubisoft Montpellier in 2008. Since, I continue to make games for a living. A part from that, when I have time for something else, I’m a normal person who likes normal persons things such as drinking with pals, swimming, and going to movies. Oh and some people say I’m ginger. But I’m not.

2. What is the background story (and inspirations) of Splasher … how did it come to the game?

The project officially started at the end of 2013, a year after I left Ubisoft during Rayman Legends’ production in 2012. Short story : They wanted me to stay and I have to say it was a cool project, but I was tired of making “AAA” games (even smallest ones like the Raymans). We were not working hard all the time but each time it happened, I was even more frustrated to give so much of my daily life to someone else’s game. Working a lot isn’t a problem for me at all, as far as I can see that it is worth the sacrifice. A 100 hours week once in a while isn’t a big deal as far as my mental and physical health are good, and as far as the result is valuable for me. But in a big company like Ubisoft, it was not the case despite all the positive aspects, and I had this will of becoming indie since a little while then. So when my contract ended and was about to be renewed for a permanent one, it was the right moment to quit the company. After a couple of experimentations with the XNA framework, I came to the point that making my own engine wasn’t a good idea, and most of all I had no precise “game idea”. Actually I just wanted to use my expertise in 2D platformers (as a player but also a developer) to make a good one my own way, and thus release a first game as an indie. So I was seeking for a cool idea, and the right tech to do it.
A friend of mine, Richard Vatinel, who was a classmate in Supinfogame, had made alone in 2011 a small game called One Eye Adventure, which was a Metroidvania with platforming and shooting. Richard is mostly an artist, not a programmer, so he has used Construct to make the game. I liked his game and I was ready to maybe retake it from scratch and make it bigger, cooler, juicier … in one word: “sellable”. I was also wanting to work with him since a long time, so it was a good reason to do that, with this base intention that talked to both of us. On my side I decided to give the Unity Engine a try, so I started alone for the first 2 months, digging tutorials and trying to reproduce a “Meat Boy” feeling in a 2D platformer prototype, and mix that with some shooting gameplay (Super Crate Box was an inspiration at the time). I came up with a first demo in September 2013, that you can find on Itch.io if you are curious to check it out : https://clauclaudr.itch.io/super-meat-guns.

(Super Meat Guns - Prototype)

This demo didn’t even have a visual for the main character nor sound and music. But most of all, despite some potential, it was missing something “unique” in the gameplay. As a developer I personally prefer makings games that are trying to innovate at least a bit in the gameplay mechanics. So even if the game first looks classical, to have my “approval” it needs to feature at least one core mechanic that is truly unique in this type of game. Discussing with Richard about this one day, we thought : “why not making something out of this splatter system we have in this demo ? For now it is just esthetic but let try making it interactive, just to see how it goes”. Of course I immediately remembered Portal 2 with its painting mechanics, and making a 2D version of it sounded like a good call. And it was. After 2 additional months of prototyping and decision making, in January 2014 we had our full game idea. Then we started to work more seriously on the art direction, and especially the main character. We also made a public demo to start playtesting the game, and we showcased this demo for the first time in May 2014 at a French arcade gaming festival called Stunfest. I have also put this first demo on Itch.io by the way : https://clauclaudr.itch.io/splasher-original-prototype.

(Splasher - Prototype)

#splasher#romain claude#interview#splashteam#playdius#platformerpower interview#splasher interview#romain claude interview