Chapter 3. Side-scrolling Platformer
At this point, we have a chance to work on a full game, but we've only used 2D so far. In this chapter, we will explore how we can use the concepts that we learned in 2D and use them with a 3D game with 2D gameplay.
As long as we have played games, there has been one particular genre that has stayed with us almost from the beginning, the platformer. Starting with Donkey Kong with the familiar content that we know, refined in Super Mario Brothers, given more action with Mega Man, taken faster with Sonic the Hedgehog, and used even today with games such as Terraria, Super Meat Boy, and Child of Light, there is something that draws us to this specific type of game, especially within the indie game community.
A platform game (known commonly as a platformer) consists of a player controlling a character that can move around a game environment with extensive jumping between platforms, hence the name.