Reuploaded - The Secret of Mario's Jump (and other versatile verbs)

Great video, it’s given me some things to think about. With Mega Man, I couldn’t quite tell which of these two ways it worked: 1) Press, then: release for basic; hold and release for charged 2) Press for basic, then: release for nothing; hold and release for charged At first I thought the former, but on closer inspection it looks like the latter. Is that right? And do you have any opinions on verbs taking place on the release of a button as opposed to on pressing?

I really enjoyed that video, thanks!

Game Maker's Toolkit

Really interesting - when I'm doing lectures and trying to explain how I design I often use the flow "obstacle > analysis > action > payoff" .. basically the argument that almost all game interaction is the player looking at a problem, deciding how to solve it, trying their solution, and being rewarded if it works. I often then argue the merits of teaching players the relationship between obstacles and actions with common visual cues etc so they can be applied under more pressure and in more complexity, or in long strings as you describe. It's interesting that this is the same in a totally passive genre like a point and click adventure, or an endless runner like Temple Run, or in high stakes set pieces ala Uncharted/Tomb Raider. People will always feel good putting the right key in the right lock, the simplest of skill checks. But! I never came at it from the other angle, how the difference in those games is how single actions solve multiple obstacles rather than just being paired with a single one - I was always coming at it from the obstacles/locks perspective and how they are solved. Both you and Mark have flipped me on my approaches today!

Steven Thornton

Did you ever play SSB's knockoff, Playstation Allstars? It pales in comparison, but really went for it on the inputs. It has 3 attack buttons, each with an up/down/forward/neutral on the ground AND the air (24 BASIC MOVES) and on top of that some characters have state modifiers (Drake can enter cover and then his buttons all change again), dial combos, charge modifiers (hold inputs as in Marks video) and even wacky stuff like pressing forward DURING an attack to turn it into a new one. It is fascinating from an input point of view, arguably more than Smash since Smash is much more uniform/neatly designed and Allstars is just a mess of ideas.

Steven Thornton

Fantastic work Mark, enjoy Zelda. Excited to see where the dungeons (or shines?) fall in the dungeon hierarchy.

Zach Stasz

Wow! I like the idea of this as the beginning of a series. You could also do a chapter with the "standard" verbs, that is the ones that everyone automatically recognize or even expect. That is, the basic vocabulary an how it came to be. +1 for the context too. Often the modifier of a verb is the context rather than other button.

Manuel Alcoba

Haha, dang - I think I knew that, I just hadn't played a Gears game properly for years. Sorry dude, should have done my research!

Game Maker's Toolkit

I also think there is another thing that can be sad about those "universal verbs". If you consider classic adventure games, they often were based around a "lock and key" design with particular objects enabling particular actions that open particular locks blocking off player progression. In contrast action games use universal actions or verbs that can open various types of metaphorical locks by being used in a right way. Those metaphorical locks are usually a particular type of arrangement of level geometry, enemies, objects etc. Thus when considering a verb it is important to think how many different basic "lock types" can this verb unlock. Even with basic Super Mario Bros jump it is astonishing how many basic level obstacles can be created, each solvable by using the basic jump in just a bit different way. Jumping over a gap, jumping over a gap with a piranha in it, jumping over a gap to a moving platform (vertically or horizontally), jumping over a pipe, jumping over a pipe with a plant in it, jumping on an enemy, jumping on a turtle and then launching its shell, jumping over bullets etc. Those basic locks can be then combined to form complex ones, like jumping on an enemy to jump over a gap onto a moving platform and then jumping to avoid bullets while riding that platform. All of that complex unlocking is happening while using the same basic verb and this is what makes it a truly great universal verb.

Active reload in Gears of War is a bit more complicated. If the player hits the reload bumper while the marker is on the grey area of the reload bar the reload is just faster. However if you hit the tiny white area (which is usually positioned next to black "fail area" for added risk) you get an even faster reload and a damage boost. I know it's nitpicking, but I've spent 2 years working on one of those games, so I wanted to set the record straight ;)

Thanks - good idea, luck and randomness is something I'd like to research one day

Game Maker's Toolkit

Twas a good video. You always bring up good ideas and discussions. At the university where I am currently studying at, one term that was brought up several times was "RNG". You think this could make for a good episode? Perhaps going over how to implement RNG, what games do it right and what games do it wrong?

Shade

It's Mario, not Merio. Mah-rio. But other than that very minor annoyance this was really good. I've been playing Super Mario 64 and it's astonishing the amount of moves they crammed into that game from just a small handful of buttons and an analog stick. Jumps, dives, side- and back-flips, air-kicks, long-jumps, triple jumps, sweep kicks,... moving around in that game is just so much fun. If only it had a functional camera it would be perfect.

Shit man this is your best video in a while. Superb stuff. But where's the intro

Turbo Button

Top notch as always! Made me think about Super Smash Bros - you've really only got two attack buttons (and a throw) but they're augmented with directions to create entirely new attacks. And ones that make sense too, an up attack will lift your character, an across attack will either quickly move you forward or send the enemy flying that way. Such a Nintendo way of making a fighting game, when you think about it.

Mathew Dyason

Really great stuff! It reminded me of this video by Konjak (creator of Noitu Love, Legend of Princess and Iconoclasts) where he talks in-depth about what he learned from Metroid Fusion's game design and how he applies it to his games: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIWGjyfXF4" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIWGjyfXF4</a> He makes similar points, especially when he talks about stacking upgrades and context sensitivity. I really recommend giving it a peek.

One of your best! (I may be a tad biased though ^^)

Hey Steven - the context / environmental thing is a great point. It's something I wrestled with, and couldn't quite decide if it was the right fit for this subject. (The wall-jump / koopa shell comment was actually a relic from a past script!). But it's definitely something I'll be touching on in the future. Also, that wax lips thing is hilarious!

Game Maker's Toolkit

Another brilliant in-depth video; I love the case studies and working examples you picked. Giving the player more choices and ensuring versatility in mechanics are two of my main personal design pillars - When working with work exp kids and game students I almost always start with something I nicknamed the "wax lips" exercise; after the scene in the Simpsons where someone tries to sell Homer the "candy of 101 uses" then can't think of a second use other than a comedic replacement for normal lips. I ask them to check if a mechanic has versatility (multiple applications in level design) before they add it to the game, by coming up with lists of uses for it without changing its core function. Watching your video I realise how much those lists are dominated by environmental/contextual interaction; something you only touched on briefly with the wall kicks/enemy bounces and wordlessly with the water cooldown in Motorstorm. Although that's a possible expansion point for you here, I think I'll do the opposite next time I am working with students and try to get them to focus on versatility of the action itself

Steven Thornton