How the player moves.
WHY IT MATTERS MOST
Movement is what the player does constantly, so it must feel good before anything else.
WHAT THE VARIABLES ARE
Acceleration and deceleration Maximum speed Air control Jump height and duration Gravity
WHAT INSTANT ACCELERATION FEELS LIKE
Responsive and arcade-like.
WHAT GRADUAL ACCELERATION FEELS LIKE
Weighty and realistic, and less precise.
WHAT COYOTE TIME IS
Allowing a jump briefly after leaving a ledge.
WHY IT EXISTS
Players perceive themselves as still grounded, and the game matching that perception feels fair.
WHAT INPUT BUFFERING IS
Accepting an input slightly before it becomes valid.
WHY IT MATTERS
It prevents inputs being lost during transitions, which feels like the game ignoring you.
WHAT VARIABLE JUMP HEIGHT PROVIDES
Control through press duration.
WHAT TO TUNE ITERATIVELY
All of it, by feel, over many sessions.
WHY
These values cannot be derived; they are found.
WHAT TO AVOID
Movement that stops precisely on obstacles Getting caught on geometry Controls that differ between contexts without reason
WHAT TO TEST
Precise platforming, at speed.
