The controls for Hollow Knight are just incredible. It has the same jumping mechanic at Meatboy, in that as soon as you let go of the button you started to accelerate downwards. The weapon swing is a key part of the platforming, to the point where it becomes second nature to use it even in new areas. Part of that is the consistency in the artstyle in regards to objects, but it really does feel fantastic to play. Ori and the Blind forest also goes into a fabulous category of movement controls. Always fluid, and it never feels like the character does anything that you didn't tell it to do.
I actually hate the controls in Hollow Knight, because they are sometimes unresponsive. I press the button and because there is some kind of delay between actions or something, character just ignore my input completely. And no, it's not my fault, neither my controller's. I play many games and for example, I have no issues in Ori. Great responsiveness. Which unfortunately Hollow Knight lacks.
@@ManjCactus Game is working as intended. Which isn't really that good. You can often not get pogo on spikes when You literally press the buttons. There is weird delay between performing action after the last one has ended. And no. It's neither my controller, my PC, connection or anything else. I played more requiring games with the same specs, like Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Using same controller. Ori doesn't have that issue either. It's just Hollow Knight. And I hope Silksong will have it fixed.
Some advice. I think to get your point across about the games you identified are having "tight" controls you should also also point out games that do not. Identify something well know that will allow players to better understand your point by pointing to it's antithesis.
I was thinking that as well. It's all well and good to show a number of games that got it right, but like they said in the vid, when it's done right, you don't notice it so it makes sense to show a couple of examples where it's done wrong as a contrast. But, in the vid's defense, it's hard to talk about bad controls in a non-interactive medium like a video, as shows like AVGN and Caddicarus have pointed out.
I really like the flying controls in some dragon games I've played. you press the button for a short time and it does a small wing flap and if you hold it for longer times you move further than without and the wings swing accordingly
Praecantetia too bad it can't be applied to planes and most fliers are based on planes... but the good thing is... many, probably most games now change your jump height based on the same principle, the longer you hold the higher and longer your jump will be...that's really nice too...and irritating to find out that some games have fixed lengths, like hold for 1sec=move 3 tiles, 3sec=5 tiles and anything inbetween gets rounded down...
I guess the moment is always related to what and who you're playing, since we're not going to have a flapping metal plane or a fish walking on it's fins. I mean that's possible, but absurd.
Praecantetia pretty sure there are several games featuring walking fish, very probably at least one plane with flapping wings too, possibly made as a mod but still... I think I've seen a fish one myself, but I'm not sure if I actually saw the flapping plane or just fabricated that idea, no way of making sure either... but yeah, that is ridiculous...just like qwop...
One game that I always really liked was the Gargoyle Quest game for the original Gameboy. It was a platformer where you jump then when in the air press the jump button again and it establishes a height you can 'float' at for awhile while you can still move. Sort of like the princess in Super Mario Bros 2 but more controllable since if you wish you can begin floating after only a half-jump (which I don't think Princess Toadstool could do in SMB2 but its been ages since I played so maybe I'm wrong). I've always wanted to find more games that control like that one did.
Something that I've noticed is very important to me in a 2D game is camera behavior. If the camera view is fixed and the overall screen perspective doesn't respond to my changing movement or facing from left to right, it leads to the character themselves feeling stiff, which in turn makes the game somewhat unpleasant or unwelcoming at the start, before I have sufficiently mapped my brain onto it. What I like is for the camera to smoothly pan to show further into the distance on the side of the screen my character is looking towards. This has gameplay ramifications, so it's unreasonable to simply demand it always be there, but I find the sense of dynamism it provides the game invaluable. Actually, it's a bit more complicated than that; I've further realized that, in games that follow the Mario example and include acceleration at the start of any movement before the avatar gets up to speed, the camera shift may not be necessary. It's really an either/or question. If I'm playing the kind of sidescroller that has simpler movement in which you reach top speed the instant you press left or right on the d-pad or stick, then the game definitely needs to perform a smooth camera pan to show me more distance in either facing direction to compensate for the character's stiff movement. And by smooth camera pan, I mean that the camera movement needs to have its own acceleration, fast at first when you turn and then gently settling into place. Essentially, either the character can feel stiff or the game can; not both. So if your gameplay calls for your character to have simple, pretty much binary movement, you need to create some dynamic camera movement.
yea, the way the camera acts is really important. I've been looking at dedicating an entire episode to it. As you've shown it's a very broad and interesting topic. I like it when I have some control over the camera but if the game has a good enough cam I don't usually think about it!
The Megaman games, especially speaking about the X games (first 3) they give you total control over X and his jumps, you can change your position mid air and you can "cancel" the jump when you stop pressing the jump button, this gives you time to respond to enemies that are above you, because the Megaman games have a lot of them, also the hitbox of your buster when standing or jumping is basically aimed so you don't miss your shots easily, that way you have the option to calculate jumps in order to hit weird positioned enemies, enemies above you, enemies in platforms and such, and the dash is a great alternative to the slide of the classic Megaman games, because it's basically a emergency escape button, you can have fast reactions with the dash and that makes boss battles more fair and enjoyable
Ori and the Blind Forest is by far my favorite game in terms of gameplay and character actions. In the definitive edition you can use the teleport mechanic, but in the original game you had to "walk" through the levels. The more you progress and unlock more abilities, the "walk" becomes an acrobatic act and it is so satisfying overall to see how easy it is to go through the earlier levels again with the new movement controls. Despite character controls, I also like the tilt mechanic of racing games, for example Motorstorm was one of the first games I think with with the controllers being able to tilt, so you could get a better sense of steering the vehicle.
See, I've never felt like the original Super Mario Bros. had "tight" controls, because the game is just so... slippery. Mario has so much momentum that it's hard to do precise platforming with him. To me, "tight" controls are controls where your character literally only moves when you tell him/her to. When you stop pushing right, your character stops moving right -- there's no slide. When you jump, you can move left or right in the air at will, with no momentum, guiding yourself to a pixel-perfect landing if you so desire. Basically, I don't really consider controls in a game to be "tight" unless momentum is more or less disregarded in favor of 100% player control.
This. I tried playing Mario 3 for the first time and I just couldn't get into it due to how slippery Mario is. I like games like Mega Man where movement is as responsive as I want it to be
honestly one of the most beautiful and fun games ever. how did they do it? how does it's beauty still hold up till this day? and how does it still run so well? that game worked wonders.
my experience is with keyboard. it's really poorly done. the character should move how I press buttons. I don't want to have to deal with Rockstar's idea of realism. want to jump to a platform in water? dive headfirst. jumping from a roof? must try to land on my head
Gaming Faster than Light! Maybe a "Math in Videogames" would be interesting, From Trigonometry, to just how certain games used math (For example, Doom's ray casting) Or "Pseudo Logic for Game Mechanic" Where you basically explain certain mechanics from a high-level perspective. (The latter is rather hard to do, since it requires logical examination of certain game mechanics, I mean think of how you'd go about implementing Portal's "Portal" game mechanic... not that simple xD) I'm not sure how well informed you are on Game Design / Game Development stuffs, so these are just suggestions, :P
I'm awful at maths however the pseudo logic is a really cool idea. there are definitely a lot of things we take for granted as 'the way things should work'!
Gaming Faster than Light! I was leaning towards that too, And the topic is pretty broad, for example, in Sonic the hedgehog (Classic) series, how would one implement sonic's "If you press the right button while moving left, you stop faster than if you let the button go", Or Mario's "Variable jump", when you hold down a button you jump for as long as that button is being held. C: The Math in these is fairly simplistic, (Velocity and acceleration are simple as heck), but the logic as to how these were to be implemented behind the scenes would be tricky! You might not always be 100% spot on as to how they implemented it, but if it works, it works! :D
Glad you talked about INSIDE! That game feels really good to play, but I never thought much about why. I didn't really pay much thought to the fact that they make you feel powerless by making the animations slower. It just felt so natural - like you said, when it feels right, you don't notice it.
Skiing in Tribes. Back when it was Starsiege, players discovered that rapidly pressing Jump effectively gives you 0 friction, allowing them to jetpack up hill crests and ski down the back side. This enables players to travel large distances in little time, even with extra-heavy characters. Eventually it was included as a feature (hold Space to ski) and it's been that way ever since.
I think the most satisfying gameplay I ever experienced was finding out you can go faster than the camera in the classic sonic games by timing your inputs with slopes. I dunno if you would consider that tight controls, but it's the most memorable character gameplay feel I've ever encountered
I really like the controls of two of Clover (now Platinum Games) masterpieces: Okami and God's Hand. The flowing movement of Okami is so smooth while controlling Amaterasu, yet you can grasp the agility and swift her attacks while in combat or maneuvering the Celestial Brush. On the opposite side, in God Hand you can interrupt any animation with any animation, giving you that empowered feeling, to pull the nastiest combos, like you're supposed to do.
The thing about Spelunky though is that even before the HD remaster, those changes were already made. In the 1.1 version build that I first played, run had been relegated to shift, and the A and S buttons on the keyboard were dedicated shortcuts to Ropes and throwing bombs. Actually when they made the jump to HD, they eliminated the ability to cycle though items at all. This made the game much harder in early levels, because you couldn't use coiled ropes or unlit bombs to trigger arrow traps.
Some of my favourite game controls are Super Mario Bros 1 and 3. Also, I think it's a good example of how the controls must adapt to the game. Super Mario Bros 1 makes you gain momentum only when you're walking and after running a bit. They are a bit stiff, but it works because, while it is a platform game, you don't need to make special feats. The game relies more on your tactics to get around the combination of enemies and environment. Super Mario Bros 3, on the other hand, has bigger levels, so it's a lot faster. Your jump arc (not distance, arc) isn't dependent on your momentum, and momentum is gained gradually on the ground. Also, the games feels a lot more slippy. And it works. Sorry for the wall of text. Great video, by the way!
I LOVE slicing things into tiny pieces in games that have that mechanic. Being able to control your slices makes it even better. I was never really a fan of things just going "poof" when being sliced, but it really depends on the universe.
I'm especially fond of the movement controls in Pikmin and Shadow of the Colossus because they're both satisfying, but also slightly fidgety in ways that enhance the player character's perceived helplessness
for sure my favorite character actions and controls has to be from the little big planet series, I played lbp 1 and 2 A LOT when I was a kid and absolutely loved it to death, one thing about the game was it had a lot of the things you mention'd in this video, it had the grab controls where you would press and hold buttons like L1 R1 or L2 or R2 to drag environmental objects to create passage ways for things like getting up to things or moving things out of the way if they were obstructing something etc, but also had the mechanics of being able to way your arms around with L1 and R1 and being able to change your emotions with the arrow keys, this together lead to me and other people waving are arms in the air once completing a hard level or doing the angry face and thrusting the sackboys arms in the air when failing, all this in a platforming game lead to many hours of enjoyment! I still to this day occasionally go back to play that game because it will always be a classic game for me.
Tribes: Vengeance was by far the best controls I ever felt. When moving you just felt like you were gliding. Even today when i pick up the game it feels awesome.
My favourite movement in games is the full throttle gravel drifting you can do in Richard Burns Rally, as they give you a lot of control, but not much traction.
Favorite single character action has to be the dodge roll in Enter the Gungeon. You literally jump over bullets while in the air, but have a vulnerable period where you roll across the ground afterwards. Its goofy, fits the theme, provides a core mechanic that drastically broadens the attacks enemies can use, and its a crisp enough feel that maybe one out of every ten thousand rolls I do feels like I should have dodged something I didn't, and even that's probably just my space bar being wonky (its a bit broken.)
brothers a tale of two sons is the best example i know that really lets you feel the strain of actions and thereby connects you to the character SOOOO good
For me, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet's controls are super smooth and fun to use. I mean, it being a PC game that uses the mouse obviously helps, but their are tons of games that use the mouse that aren't fun to play. Anyways, I especially love how smoothly and swiftly the player character can move while simultaneously aiming and quickly cycling through weapons. Nearly all of the weapons are amazingly fun to use, and I really like how fun it is to use the claw - whether to toss rocks or to grab enemies to use as meat shields. I really should replay it....
One thing I'd like to note: I know you don't say the games shown here were the first to do the things you mention, but it kinda ends up sounding that way. Probably one of the most satisfying games I've played was Mark of the Ninja and I'm pretty certain the two most important reasons for that is awesome level design and pretty much perfect controls.
gonna be that guy and say Crash Team Racing for PS1. Those controls are GLORIOUS. What I love most is two things: *the controls and programming are done so well to the point I don't have to fight my own kart along with competing with the other racers.* Other racing games devs wanna code the fancy ass cars to fight the player for control, thus having them feel like your racing on ice at only about 30mph game speed. 2, *BECAUSE* they took out the need to fight the vehicles for control, it puts *ALL* the responsibility for success or failure on the player. boosting is easy. Drifting is just a tad bit more challenging. all of which can be learned. If you win, it was because you used your skill at the game. If you failed, it was because you messed up. despite it being an obvious Mario kart clone, I like this better. in CTR, the items used on you by the CPU characters aren't so punishing to the point you can't catch back up. you won't drop down 7 or more places. 4 is the average. CTR does not give you any excuses. everything and anything you need is *LITERALLY* at your fingertips. You will either succeede or fail.
something I like about the thief reboot from 2014, that many actually despise, is the animations and hand gestures Garrett uses, as well as being able to look down and see your feet. it really immerses you into the game and makes you feel like you're Garrett.
My favourite video game controls, and the tightest controls I've played of any game thus far is Super Smash Bros. Melee; they're unforgiving when you first play, but the lack of buffer and the accuracy of the analogue inputs makes it feel responsive and crisp, and you know if you mess something up it's you and not the controls, which is always nice
Rocket League has very nice controls to it. All the cars have the same top speed, but slightly different turning radii and hitboxes, which adds variation to how the cars "feel". For example, the Dominus (a muscle car) has a very low hitbox, and is good for sharp ball chips, while the Merc (basically a van) is very tall and feels quite heavy, even though they have the same mass.
It's a game called (I think) "Ninja Time Trials" which features the song "Chaotic" by Waterflame while the screen slowly escalates and you have to swing from platform to platform to keep up, but so far I have not yet reached the top.
Off the top of my head one of my favourite actions in games is latching on and swinging from a hook with the whip in Super Castlevania IV. It's so fun.
Still remember the first and second Assassin's Creed games. The controls were so fluid and fun to just run around and parkour for hours on end. There was a distinct connection between the controller, my movements and the character on the screen and they were all mapped in just the right way so it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
Erika Evasiuk that's what I said lol. It's the best game, and has the best controls, as well as the best premise (besides Pencil Sharpening Sim). It can't be beat. OCTODAD. NO ONE SUSPECTS A THING. im sry
Web slinging in Spider-Man 2 is one of the most satisfying things ever. The sound it makes just makes you want to slap that trigger down harder because the sound is so beefy.
My favorite thing is always activating some ridiculous speed. Obviously Metroid's speed booster is my favorite example of that; you trade your control away for sheer power and speed, and yet it also needs a careful touch in order to use the sparkshine well.
I think that Brothers - A tale of two sons has great controls. There is just one button to make all the stuff you need and it makes the game much more immersive. It is a great game that can tell a good story without even using words.
Castlevania Symphony of the Night was a game I always really enjoyed when it came to how it felt while moving. There were various actions we would run around performing as we moved around the stage, for no other reason then they were satisfying to do. XD Same with Super Mario 64. I especially liked doing the triple jump with the ending back flip. Oooh! And Crash Bandicoot Warped is still probably one of my all time faves for how the controls and motions worked and felt. You know it's got good 'tight' controls when you just mess around in a stage performing actions because they are fun and feel good. ^.^ Especially nice control construction is something I always notice in games, and I am extremely thrilled with and grateful for when I run across a game that it is pleasing just to move the character around.
ReCore has great controls! You always feel like you are in control of your character. Even when you jump you can control your jump height and direction of your fall
I can think of a few other things as well. Such as scale and physical shape of objects. There have been plenty of time where a gap jump felt so effortless that it may as well have not been there. Or where a jump over obstacle was just a few pixels too high in relation to where the character approaches it from. Making it unreasonably difficult to get over for what it is. I've also noticed that some games can't keep consistent physical shape. Wherein some edges can be nudged right up to and others that based on previous experience look like they should allow you to get so close before falling off simply don't. And of course there is terrain or weather effecting movement... The environment really does need to be tuned to fit the character.
I like Sonic Heroes controls. Since the whole game is based mainly on movement, control over your character's speed and direction was designed very well.
I think that harder controls, like in the original spelunky, allowed for more skilled controls. Like, if you wanted your character to do something, you needed to know which keys to press, in what order, and how many times to press/hold them. This means more playing = more skill with the controls, which makes the difference between skilled players and newbs pretty obvious.
Super Mario Sunshine was fluid as hell. F.L.U.D.D. supplemented the already solid Mario controls (in the levels without F.L.U.D.D., it really showed that Mario was fine controlling on his own)
Spyro the Dragon had really tight responsive controls. The character always did what I wanted and I never felt like I was wrestling with the controls unlike many platform games of 1998.
I honestly can't remember the game, if I could I would probably be playing it every day. There was a game I played which focused more on teleportion as a way to move around in battle. You could disappear in front of an opponent and reappear behind them if you did the motions correctly with the analog stick. The motion of the stick during the port out animation affected where you would reappear and I believe the other stick was used to control distance. It was amazing, felt like I was in an episode of Bleach abusing the living daylights out of flash step. I really enjoy those teleport type of moves. Even in games like Tales of Graces where it's just part of another move (Phantom Flash), it's an amazing mechanic that is incredibly powerful when used right but extremely deadly if you screw it up.
I like how Mario 3D land, which has three buttons and a nunchuck as controls has so many different possible movements depending on how you manipulate those controls. Eg you can: Dash Long jump Roll Crouch Backflip Somersault And you can do even more actions with the raccoon item. Although it can be confusing it adds more skill and coordination to the game if you choose to incorporate these moves
Just wanted to add Heavy Rain at the end where u mentioned these immersion control schemes. It was really awesome on the Playstation how the controls where mimicing the movement
Nice insight into character controls. I'm actually surprised you didn't use Megaman (or 2) as an example of good mechanics. I feel it's also one of the best examples of good game design in nearly every aspect.
I have always generally been satisfied with fighting games, but for sure favor Super Smash Bros. I just love the freedom of movement that you have and it feels like you can do so many different things. Project M by far has the most satisfying inputs in the series, but Melee HD is probably the tightest.
Should Tales count? my experience with the series is when you start off with a few skills and artes while struggling with some enemies and bosses. it felt thrilling and acomplished when you get a victory, but the more you level up and gain skill points, the more you get to feel the character is progressing. With their skills and new artes unlocked, it makes them more free and versatile in battle and that, for me, feels empowering. My notable example being Tales of Vesperia.
In the Castlevania series, Super Castlevania IV (SNES) and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1) are outstanding examples of smooth controlling of the characters!
I have to agree. When I was younger, I thought that it felt clunky and stiff, due to the lack of a buffering system. But as I've gotten more serious about the game, I find it feels super satisfying and precise BECAUSE there is no buffering system. Also, Super Mario Sunshine is like the Melee of Mario games.
![Mechanically Speaking: Jumping in 2D - [game array]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yuRRPT-Isp4/mqdefault.jpg)
"press F to pay respects" - Tightest control
Press f to amputate leg
That´s like the most anticlimatic thing ever
its just too casual. like "AHHHH MY LEG I'VE BEEN ATTACKED BY A WALk- press x to chop your leg off
The controls for Hollow Knight are just incredible. It has the same jumping mechanic at Meatboy, in that as soon as you let go of the button you started to accelerate downwards. The weapon swing is a key part of the platforming, to the point where it becomes second nature to use it even in new areas. Part of that is the consistency in the artstyle in regards to objects, but it really does feel fantastic to play. Ori and the Blind forest also goes into a fabulous category of movement controls. Always fluid, and it never feels like the character does anything that you didn't tell it to do.
I actually hate the controls in Hollow Knight, because they are sometimes unresponsive. I press the button and because there is some kind of delay between actions or something, character just ignore my input completely. And no, it's not my fault, neither my controller's. I play many games and for example, I have no issues in Ori. Great responsiveness. Which unfortunately Hollow Knight lacks.
@@Netsuki I dont realy get what you are talking about, are you sure the game is working fine ?
@@ManjCactus Game is working as intended. Which isn't really that good. You can often not get pogo on spikes when You literally press the buttons. There is weird delay between performing action after the last one has ended.
And no. It's neither my controller, my PC, connection or anything else. I played more requiring games with the same specs, like Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Using same controller. Ori doesn't have that issue either. It's just Hollow Knight. And I hope Silksong will have it fixed.
Some advice.
I think to get your point across about the games you identified are having "tight" controls you should also also point out games that do not. Identify something well know that will allow players to better understand your point by pointing to it's antithesis.
Barry Smith *any .exe game that has ever been created into existence*
Maybe Spyro would be a good example. All the time you have to adjust camera, to be able to see where are you going.
jarlfenrir Haven't played Spyro here, please explain.
Active mode camera
I was thinking that as well. It's all well and good to show a number of games that got it right, but like they said in the vid, when it's done right, you don't notice it so it makes sense to show a couple of examples where it's done wrong as a contrast.
But, in the vid's defense, it's hard to talk about bad controls in a non-interactive medium like a video, as shows like AVGN and Caddicarus have pointed out.
I really like the flying controls in some dragon games I've played. you press the button for a short time and it does a small wing flap and if you hold it for longer times you move further than without and the wings swing accordingly
Praecantetia too bad it can't be applied to planes and most fliers are based on planes...
but the good thing is...
many, probably most games now change your jump height based on the same principle, the longer you hold the higher and longer your jump will be...that's really nice too...and irritating to find out that some games have fixed lengths, like hold for 1sec=move 3 tiles, 3sec=5 tiles and anything inbetween gets rounded down...
I guess the moment is always related to what and who you're playing, since we're not going to have a flapping metal plane or a fish walking on it's fins. I mean that's possible, but absurd.
Praecantetia pretty sure there are several games featuring walking fish,
very probably at least one plane with flapping wings too, possibly made as a mod but still...
I think I've seen a fish one myself, but I'm not sure if I actually saw the flapping plane or just fabricated that idea, no way of making sure either...
but yeah, that is ridiculous...just like qwop...
Exactly.
One game that I always really liked was the Gargoyle Quest game for the original Gameboy. It was a platformer where you jump then when in the air press the jump button again and it establishes a height you can 'float' at for awhile while you can still move. Sort of like the princess in Super Mario Bros 2 but more controllable since if you wish you can begin floating after only a half-jump (which I don't think Princess Toadstool could do in SMB2 but its been ages since I played so maybe I'm wrong). I've always wanted to find more games that control like that one did.
Something that I've noticed is very important to me in a 2D game is camera behavior. If the camera view is fixed and the overall screen perspective doesn't respond to my changing movement or facing from left to right, it leads to the character themselves feeling stiff, which in turn makes the game somewhat unpleasant or unwelcoming at the start, before I have sufficiently mapped my brain onto it. What I like is for the camera to smoothly pan to show further into the distance on the side of the screen my character is looking towards. This has gameplay ramifications, so it's unreasonable to simply demand it always be there, but I find the sense of dynamism it provides the game invaluable.
Actually, it's a bit more complicated than that; I've further realized that, in games that follow the Mario example and include acceleration at the start of any movement before the avatar gets up to speed, the camera shift may not be necessary. It's really an either/or question. If I'm playing the kind of sidescroller that has simpler movement in which you reach top speed the instant you press left or right on the d-pad or stick, then the game definitely needs to perform a smooth camera pan to show me more distance in either facing direction to compensate for the character's stiff movement. And by smooth camera pan, I mean that the camera movement needs to have its own acceleration, fast at first when you turn and then gently settling into place.
Essentially, either the character can feel stiff or the game can; not both. So if your gameplay calls for your character to have simple, pretty much binary movement, you need to create some dynamic camera movement.
yea, the way the camera acts is really important. I've been looking at dedicating an entire episode to it. As you've shown it's a very broad and interesting topic.
I like it when I have some control over the camera but if the game has a good enough cam I don't usually think about it!
Unity has a built in tool for smooth camera movement
The Megaman games, especially speaking about the X games (first 3) they give you total control over X and his jumps, you can change your position mid air and you can "cancel" the jump when you stop pressing the jump button, this gives you time to respond to enemies that are above you, because the Megaman games have a lot of them, also the hitbox of your buster when standing or jumping is basically aimed so you don't miss your shots easily, that way you have the option to calculate jumps in order to hit weird positioned enemies, enemies above you, enemies in platforms and such, and the dash is a great alternative to the slide of the classic Megaman games, because it's basically a emergency escape button, you can have fast reactions with the dash and that makes boss battles more fair and enjoyable
Ori and the Blind Forest is by far my favorite game in terms of gameplay and character actions. In the definitive edition you can use the teleport mechanic, but in the original game you had to "walk" through the levels. The more you progress and unlock more abilities, the "walk" becomes an acrobatic act and it is so satisfying overall to see how easy it is to go through the earlier levels again with the new movement controls.
Despite character controls, I also like the tilt mechanic of racing games, for example Motorstorm was one of the first games I think with with the controllers being able to tilt, so you could get a better sense of steering the vehicle.
Ori has some of the tightest, yet simultaneously most fluid feeling controls I've ever used in a 2D platformer. Fucking incredible game.
The bash ability is my (and many other's) favorite
Yeah, Ori's movement sometimes feels more like a creative act than just a means of transportation
I really liked how fluid the action was in the Megaman Zero series. It was always really fun to dash and slash through enemies and the level.
and die over and over and over again
ZarHakkar I consider the MegaMan Zero series to have my favorite movement of any 2D game. Good choice!
Just Cause 3's wingsuiting is something truly beautiful.
See, I've never felt like the original Super Mario Bros. had "tight" controls, because the game is just so... slippery. Mario has so much momentum that it's hard to do precise platforming with him. To me, "tight" controls are controls where your character literally only moves when you tell him/her to. When you stop pushing right, your character stops moving right -- there's no slide. When you jump, you can move left or right in the air at will, with no momentum, guiding yourself to a pixel-perfect landing if you so desire.
Basically, I don't really consider controls in a game to be "tight" unless momentum is more or less disregarded in favor of 100% player control.
This. I tried playing Mario 3 for the first time and I just couldn't get into it due to how slippery Mario is. I like games like Mega Man where movement is as responsive as I want it to be
Great video, but the original Spelunky DID have individual buttons for different items (A and S I think they were) AND for sprinting (shift).
Thank you.
Original Spelunky was best Spelunky
you right
i like how mirror's edge keeps your flow and never lets you stop, and rewards you for keeping your flow and being in action all the time
honestly one of the most beautiful and fun games ever. how did they do it? how does it's beauty still hold up till this day? and how does it still run so well? that game worked wonders.
In terms of feedback, I really like how Kirby always does a flip at the peak of his jump.
GTA V's controls are unresponsive to the point that it makes it frustrating to play sometimes for me.
it's GTA4's unresponsiveness but even worse. move left? but I'm facing right.. I'll just run in a big circl.. dead
I had that a lot in GTA V as well. Really annoying when you're playing custom gamemodes like Cars vs Snipers and you die if you fall off a platform.
you can have more control in first person view but then you can't see where you're going
my experience is with keyboard. it's really poorly done. the character should move how I press buttons. I don't want to have to deal with Rockstar's idea of realism. want to jump to a platform in water? dive headfirst. jumping from a roof? must try to land on my head
What's your FPS in-game?
I LOVE THESE KINDS OF VIDS,
Really informative, Since I'm a game dev!
Thank you! I'm looking for ideas for new episodes so if you have anything you'd like to see me cover let me know :)
Gaming Faster than Light! Maybe a "Math in Videogames" would be interesting, From Trigonometry, to just how certain games used math (For example, Doom's ray casting)
Or "Pseudo Logic for Game Mechanic" Where you basically explain certain mechanics from a high-level perspective. (The latter is rather hard to do, since it requires logical examination of certain game mechanics, I mean think of how you'd go about implementing Portal's "Portal" game mechanic... not that simple xD)
I'm not sure how well informed you are on Game Design / Game Development stuffs, so these are just suggestions, :P
I'm awful at maths however the pseudo logic is a really cool idea. there are definitely a lot of things we take for granted as 'the way things should work'!
Gaming Faster than Light! I was leaning towards that too,
And the topic is pretty broad, for example, in Sonic the hedgehog (Classic) series, how would one implement sonic's "If you press the right button while moving left, you stop faster than if you let the button go",
Or Mario's "Variable jump", when you hold down a button you jump for as long as that button is being held. C:
The Math in these is fairly simplistic, (Velocity and acceleration are simple as heck), but the logic as to how these were to be implemented behind the scenes would be tricky! You might not always be 100% spot on as to how they implemented it, but if it works, it works! :D
very true. smoke and mirrors stuff can be lots of fun!
Glad you talked about INSIDE! That game feels really good to play, but I never thought much about why. I didn't really pay much thought to the fact that they make you feel powerless by making the animations slower. It just felt so natural - like you said, when it feels right, you don't notice it.
Skiing in Tribes. Back when it was Starsiege, players discovered that rapidly pressing Jump effectively gives you 0 friction, allowing them to jetpack up hill crests and ski down the back side. This enables players to travel large distances in little time, even with extra-heavy characters. Eventually it was included as a feature (hold Space to ski) and it's been that way ever since.
Warframe has a pretty impressive movement and parkour system implemented
Big Z and if you spin quickly you turn into Taz
Excellent video and a great insight into how this all comes about.
well i had the help of a very sexy friend ;)
Tanks*
100% didn't expect to see Panzer here! -Jiggly_Man
I think the most satisfying gameplay I ever experienced was finding out you can go faster than the camera in the classic sonic games by timing your inputs with slopes. I dunno if you would consider that tight controls, but it's the most memorable character gameplay feel I've ever encountered
This is a really amazing video, and the examples you picked are varied. Mustache man! Looking forward for some more.
*i hate* the floaty controls of the *new Super Mario Bros* Games! Bring back the tight controls that actually feel like you are IN control!
Favorite control is to press 'b' to blow
the best
Press "x" to "Jason!!!"
JoeBoy Kitz wow a heavy rain reference.
Megaman Zero's 0 to 60 momentum and the freedom to make any attack at any point makes you feel like a god.
10 Second Ninja is my favorite game, it's great to see it in a video every once in a while
I really like the controls of two of Clover (now Platinum Games) masterpieces: Okami and God's Hand.
The flowing movement of Okami is so smooth while controlling Amaterasu, yet you can grasp the agility and swift her attacks while in combat or maneuvering the Celestial Brush.
On the opposite side, in God Hand you can interrupt any animation with any animation, giving you that empowered feeling, to pull the nastiest combos, like you're supposed to do.
The thing about Spelunky though is that even before the HD remaster, those changes were already made. In the 1.1 version build that I first played, run had been relegated to shift, and the A and S buttons on the keyboard were dedicated shortcuts to Ropes and throwing bombs. Actually when they made the jump to HD, they eliminated the ability to cycle though items at all. This made the game much harder in early levels, because you couldn't use coiled ropes or unlit bombs to trigger arrow traps.
Some of my favourite game controls are Super Mario Bros 1 and 3. Also, I think it's a good example of how the controls must adapt to the game. Super Mario Bros 1 makes you gain momentum only when you're walking and after running a bit. They are a bit stiff, but it works because, while it is a platform game, you don't need to make special feats. The game relies more on your tactics to get around the combination of enemies and environment.
Super Mario Bros 3, on the other hand, has bigger levels, so it's a lot faster. Your jump arc (not distance, arc) isn't dependent on your momentum, and momentum is gained gradually on the ground. Also, the games feels a lot more slippy. And it works.
Sorry for the wall of text. Great video, by the way!
Superman 64, of course.
Nah, for real, Super Meat Boy's controls are amazing. Such a good game.
Gaspoo I agree. If I die in super meat boy I don't get left with the feeling of the game being to blame. I know i just didn't make the right decision.
I absolutely love Hyper Light Drifter.
Very tight controls can be found in the "Commander Keen 4-6" games, where you have no acceleration of walking speed which feels very direct.
I LOVE slicing things into tiny pieces in games that have that mechanic. Being able to control your slices makes it even better. I was never really a fan of things just going "poof" when being sliced, but it really depends on the universe.
I'm especially fond of the movement controls in Pikmin and Shadow of the Colossus because they're both satisfying, but also slightly fidgety in ways that enhance the player character's perceived helplessness
for sure my favorite character actions and controls has to be from the little big planet series, I played lbp 1 and 2 A LOT when I was a kid and absolutely loved it to death, one thing about the game was it had a lot of the things you mention'd in this video, it had the grab controls where you would press and hold buttons like L1 R1 or L2 or R2 to drag environmental objects to create passage ways for things like getting up to things or moving things out of the way if they were obstructing something etc, but also had the mechanics of being able to way your arms around with L1 and R1 and being able to change your emotions with the arrow keys, this together lead to me and other people waving are arms in the air once completing a hard level or doing the angry face and thrusting the sackboys arms in the air when failing, all this in a platforming game lead to many hours of enjoyment! I still to this day occasionally go back to play that game because it will always be a classic game for me.
you have really great videos that are well-thought-out and have good content and you just earned a new subscriber.
Tribes: Vengeance was by far the best controls I ever felt. When moving you just felt like you were gliding. Even today when i pick up the game it feels awesome.
All movement in quake. Strafe jumping, rocket jumping and momentum in Quake is hella fun!
My favourite movement in games is the full throttle gravel drifting you can do in Richard Burns Rally, as they give you a lot of control, but not much traction.
Favorite single character action has to be the dodge roll in Enter the Gungeon. You literally jump over bullets while in the air, but have a vulnerable period where you roll across the ground afterwards. Its goofy, fits the theme, provides a core mechanic that drastically broadens the attacks enemies can use, and its a crisp enough feel that maybe one out of every ten thousand rolls I do feels like I should have dodged something I didn't, and even that's probably just my space bar being wonky (its a bit broken.)
really well made and insightful video, thanks for making day a lot better
brothers a tale of two sons is the best example i know that really lets you feel the strain of actions and thereby connects you to the character SOOOO good
what's that thing at 8:44
MrTNT6000 regular led strip...
it's wonderful what you can do with simple, ordinary items if you're a programmer with creativity...
It's a 1D dungeon crawler called Line Wobbler
Just cause 3 has a very good feel to it
Rogue Legacy has some fantasticly responsive controls. Worked great on the keyboard!
For me, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet's controls are super smooth and fun to use. I mean, it being a PC game that uses the mouse obviously helps, but their are tons of games that use the mouse that aren't fun to play. Anyways, I especially love how smoothly and swiftly the player character can move while simultaneously aiming and quickly cycling through weapons. Nearly all of the weapons are amazingly fun to use, and I really like how fun it is to use the claw - whether to toss rocks or to grab enemies to use as meat shields. I really should replay it....
This made me look at games and physics in a whole new way. Thanks!
One thing I'd like to note: I know you don't say the games shown here were the first to do the things you mention, but it kinda ends up sounding that way.
Probably one of the most satisfying games I've played was Mark of the Ninja and I'm pretty certain the two most important reasons for that is awesome level design and pretty much perfect controls.
Loved it, very helpful for understanding how to decide character movements for a game.
gonna be that guy and say Crash Team Racing for PS1.
Those controls are GLORIOUS.
What I love most is two things:
*the controls and programming are done so well to the point I don't have to fight my own kart along with competing with the other racers.*
Other racing games devs wanna code the fancy ass cars to fight the player for control, thus having them feel like your racing on ice at only about 30mph game speed.
2, *BECAUSE* they took out the need to fight the vehicles for control, it puts *ALL* the responsibility for success or failure on the player.
boosting is easy. Drifting is just a tad bit more challenging. all of which can be learned. If you win, it was because you used your skill at the game. If you failed, it was because you messed up.
despite it being an obvious Mario kart clone, I like this better. in CTR, the items used on you by the CPU characters aren't so punishing to the point you can't catch back up. you won't drop down 7 or more places. 4 is the average.
CTR does not give you any excuses. everything and anything you need is *LITERALLY* at your fingertips. You will either succeede or fail.
something I like about the thief reboot from 2014, that many actually despise, is the animations and hand gestures Garrett uses, as well as being able to look down and see your feet. it really immerses you into the game and makes you feel like you're Garrett.
Super Meat Boy controls are the best, which makes this hard game fun to play and it doesn't frustrate you a lot, cause it's fun.
My favourite video game controls, and the tightest controls I've played of any game thus far is Super Smash Bros. Melee; they're unforgiving when you first play, but the lack of buffer and the accuracy of the analogue inputs makes it feel responsive and crisp, and you know if you mess something up it's you and not the controls, which is always nice
Shovel knight: specter of torment has some really nice controls.
This style of video is great and I hope to see more of it c:
Rocket League has very nice controls to it. All the cars have the same top speed, but slightly different turning radii and hitboxes, which adds variation to how the cars "feel". For example, the Dominus (a muscle car) has a very low hitbox, and is good for sharp ball chips, while the Merc (basically a van) is very tall and feels quite heavy, even though they have the same mass.
It's a game called (I think) "Ninja Time Trials" which features the song "Chaotic" by Waterflame while the screen slowly escalates and you have to swing from platform to platform to keep up, but so far I have not yet reached the top.
Off the top of my head one of my favourite actions in games is latching on and swinging from a hook with the whip in Super Castlevania IV. It's so fun.
Still remember the first and second Assassin's Creed games. The controls were so fluid and fun to just run around and parkour for hours on end. There was a distinct connection between the controller, my movements and the character on the screen and they were all mapped in just the right way so it felt like the most natural thing in the world.
I appreciate you not putting a jumpscare in the amnesia part
That clip is from the first 30 minutes of A Machine For Pigs, no chance of any jump scares there.
That clip is from the first 30 minutes of A Machine For Pigs, no chance of any jump scares there.
Well I don't seem to have known that... do I?
Octodad is always a beaut
Erika Evasiuk that's what I said lol. It's the best game, and has the best controls, as well as the best premise (besides Pencil Sharpening Sim). It can't be beat. OCTODAD. NO ONE SUSPECTS A THING.
im sry
thank you for your explanation on character "weights", that's something i've had trouble describing
Web slinging in Spider-Man 2 is one of the most satisfying things ever. The sound it makes just makes you want to slap that trigger down harder because the sound is so beefy.
My favorite thing is always activating some ridiculous speed. Obviously Metroid's speed booster is my favorite example of that; you trade your control away for sheer power and speed, and yet it also needs a careful touch in order to use the sparkshine well.
Solid, some points could've had more depth but still great format! Lovin' it.
I think that Brothers - A tale of two sons has great controls. There is just one button to make all the stuff you need and it makes the game much more immersive. It is a great game that can tell a good story without even using words.
Castlevania Symphony of the Night was a game I always really enjoyed when it came to how it felt while moving. There were various actions we would run around performing as we moved around the stage, for no other reason then they were satisfying to do. XD Same with Super Mario 64. I especially liked doing the triple jump with the ending back flip.
Oooh! And Crash Bandicoot Warped is still probably one of my all time faves for how the controls and motions worked and felt. You know it's got good 'tight' controls when you just mess around in a stage performing actions because they are fun and feel good. ^.^
Especially nice control construction is something I always notice in games, and I am extremely thrilled with and grateful for when I run across a game that it is pleasing just to move the character around.
Yea it's a really good sign! I liked the loading screen in Assassins Creed that let you do that.
ohh wow this vid is so well done! loved it
Duck game has some amazing controls. They seem simple at first but there's some fine trickery you can pull with a little expertise
Now I understand why I always felt Super Meat Boy's controls were so floaty. I was unconsciously expecting Mario jump physics.
ReCore has great controls! You always feel like you are in control of your character. Even when you jump you can control your jump height and direction of your fall
I can think of a few other things as well. Such as scale and physical shape of objects. There have been plenty of time where a gap jump felt so effortless that it may as well have not been there. Or where a jump over obstacle was just a few pixels too high in relation to where the character approaches it from. Making it unreasonably difficult to get over for what it is. I've also noticed that some games can't keep consistent physical shape. Wherein some edges can be nudged right up to and others that based on previous experience look like they should allow you to get so close before falling off simply don't. And of course there is terrain or weather effecting movement... The environment really does need to be tuned to fit the character.
I like Sonic Heroes controls. Since the whole game is based mainly on movement, control over your character's speed and direction was designed very well.
great choice on the music!
I think that harder controls, like in the original spelunky, allowed for more skilled controls. Like, if you wanted your character to do something, you needed to know which keys to press, in what order, and how many times to press/hold them. This means more playing = more skill with the controls, which makes the difference between skilled players and newbs pretty obvious.
Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows for the win.
Specter of Torment, you mean?
+Chaos Creator It's been out on Steam since April 5th.
I should know. I've played it.
The grappling in Worlds Adrift is pretty fun.
Mario's max jump height may be lower, but it *also* ends when you let go of the junk button.
What's the name of the music you've got in this video during 3:45-5:02(mostly "Inside" gameplay)?
I've played fireboy and watergirl on hudgames for about 2 weeks and I've already been addicted to it!
Klonoa Empire of Dreams for the GBA has some really good and fun controls!
the end is nigh is a criminally underrated platformer with extremely well done controls
Super Mario Sunshine was fluid as hell. F.L.U.D.D. supplemented the already solid Mario controls (in the levels without F.L.U.D.D., it really showed that Mario was fine controlling on his own)
Spyro the Dragon had really tight responsive controls. The character always did what I wanted and I never felt like I was wrestling with the controls unlike many platform games of 1998.
Honestly one of the most satisfying things is long jumping around a small planet/moon in Super Mario Galaxy
Great video! Thanks! ❤️👍
I really like how in counter strike surf maps you can turn in curve in the air on high speeds.
Source engine surf maps in general, really.
grappling mechanics are amazing.
Action Henk has great and tight controls
I honestly can't remember the game, if I could I would probably be playing it every day. There was a game I played which focused more on teleportion as a way to move around in battle. You could disappear in front of an opponent and reappear behind them if you did the motions correctly with the analog stick. The motion of the stick during the port out animation affected where you would reappear and I believe the other stick was used to control distance. It was amazing, felt like I was in an episode of Bleach abusing the living daylights out of flash step.
I really enjoy those teleport type of moves. Even in games like Tales of Graces where it's just part of another move (Phantom Flash), it's an amazing mechanic that is incredibly powerful when used right but extremely deadly if you screw it up.
Great video! imo, the Rain World controls are fun to experiment with... so physics based
I like how Mario 3D land, which has three buttons and a nunchuck as controls has so many different possible movements depending on how you manipulate those controls. Eg you can:
Dash
Long jump
Roll
Crouch
Backflip
Somersault
And you can do even more actions with the raccoon item. Although it can be confusing it adds more skill and coordination to the game if you choose to incorporate these moves
galaxy and 64 has way more moves,but I would suggest galaxy since N64 had like 20 buttons, and it's kinda awkward to control
Just wanted to add Heavy Rain at the end where u mentioned these immersion control schemes. It was really awesome on the Playstation how the controls where mimicing the movement
Nice insight into character controls. I'm actually surprised you didn't use Megaman (or 2) as an example of good mechanics. I feel it's also one of the best examples of good game design in nearly every aspect.
I have always generally been satisfied with fighting games, but for sure favor Super Smash Bros. I just love the freedom of movement that you have and it feels like you can do so many different things.
Project M by far has the most satisfying inputs in the series, but Melee HD is probably the tightest.
I like how in GTA you press the X button while in a vehicle and you duck your head. Very useful.
Gamer feel is such a terrific thing. I love how when playing Skyrim and wearing heavy armor, you can actually feel the heaviness to your character.
Should Tales count? my experience with the series is when you start off with a few skills and artes while struggling with some enemies and bosses. it felt thrilling and acomplished when you get a victory, but the more you level up and gain skill points, the more you get to feel the character is progressing.
With their skills and new artes unlocked, it makes them more free and versatile in battle and that, for me, feels empowering. My notable example being Tales of Vesperia.
Mega Man controls are fantastic, and also Binding of Isaac feels ridiculously satisfying.
In the Castlevania series, Super Castlevania IV (SNES) and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1) are outstanding examples of smooth controlling of the characters!
littlebigplanet jumping and grabbing - good controls
Ssbm feels amazing
Came here to say just that.
best movement in any video game period
I have to agree. When I was younger, I thought that it felt clunky and stiff, due to the lack of a buffering system. But as I've gotten more serious about the game, I find it feels super satisfying and precise BECAUSE there is no buffering system.
Also, Super Mario Sunshine is like the Melee of Mario games.
I think brawl is way tighter
HillMeister's HQ nice meme