How to Turn Movement into a Game Mechanic

I love games that let you move with speed,
fluidity, and finesse.

I'm talking about games with perfect parkour,
comic book web-swinging, awesome skateboarding,

super sonic speeds, and ninja-like wall-running.

The problem is: there's no one-size-fits-all
answer for how to make such a movement system.

What makes Rocket League great is completely
different to Sunset Overdrive, which is different

still to Titanfall 2.

Sure, we can get point to obvious stuff like
responsive controls, visual effects, and cool animations.

But perhaps we can go further.

What we can do is look at the very different
ways that movement works in a bunch of brilliant

games, and then see if there's anything these
varying approaches all have in common, and

help answer the question of how to make movement
fun.

So, Hi.

I'm Mark Brown, and this is Game Maker's Toolkit.

Okay, let's start with Super Mario Odyssey.

This game is all about giving the player a
bunch of different moves - that all allow

for slightly different actions.

You've got tall jumps and long jumps and fast
jumps and last-minute-save jumps.

It's about knowing which move to use, and
when.

But what's even better is that these moves
can be chained together to eke out further

advantages.

Mario's jump, dive, and hat throw can be carefully
chained together to bound between rooftops

in New Donk City.

We see similar stuff in other 3D platformers
like Sackboy: A Big Adventure and A Hat in Time.

But also the Tony Hawk's series, which is
laser focused on combining moves.

There are two actions - the revert and the
manual - which are specifically designed to

keep your combo going between the skatepark
pieces.

Next up is Insomniac's open-world zombie blaster
Sunset Overdrive.

Now here, the main character doesn't have
a particularly involved moveset: just a basic

run, jump, and roll.

But that's because this game is all about
using things in the environment: running on

walls, bouncing on awnings, grinding on rails,
and swinging on poles.

Clever use of the environment will put you
at a huge advantage over the enemies.

Other games that put the focus on environmental
interaction include sci-fi ninja sim Ghostrunner,

and the best bits of the Ori games as you
bash to propel yourself off enemies and projectiles.

Next, let's look quickly at The Pathless.

And this one is all about timing.

In this game you can temporarily boost your
speed by shooting arrows at floating targets

in the world.

You have to charge the shot and release when
the meter fills up completely - giving the

game a sort of rhythmic action as you try
to efficiently time the release of every shot.

And that's not to mention that if you release
when the meter is only halfway full, you get

a much bigger burst of speed.

But, if you screw up the timing, the shot
will miss and you get nothing.

Moving on to Titanfall 2.

And this game is all about momentum: building
it, and keeping it.

The pilot can run at a max speed of only 22
kilometres per hour.

However, your speed can be temporarily boosted
by things like wall-running, leaping away

from walls, and sliding along the ground.

So to be truly fast, you've got to try and
keep that momentum up, by endlessly chaining

together those moves.

But that's not all.

When we go into multiplayer, we can get things
like the grapple which hooks onto a wall and

then retracts - like Link's hookshot on fast
forward.

Combine that with a jump and you can slingshot
your way across the map at super speed.

And we're still not done.

Because when you come to land you can do a
slide-hop (which is where you hit crouch,

then jump) to maintain that momentum.

The very best Titanfall 2 players - i.e. not
me - are the ones who are always thinking

about ways to keep the momentum they've built
up.

We see similar stuff in older shooters like
Quake and Counter-Strike, where bunnyhopping

to build momentum was a physics-busting emergent
strategy not intended by the developers.

The parkour gem Mirror's Edge will force you
to maintain momentum if you want to nail its

time trials.

Crumble is all about getting faster and faster,
the more you move.

And in the platformer N++, you need to build
momentum in order to make the biggest jumps.

Next up is Cyberhook - a first-person speedrunner
about grappling onto blocks and launching

yourself towards the goal.

And so this one, I think, is about understanding
trajectories.

Bear with me for a second.

A trajectory is a path an object will follow,
when moving under the influence of a physical force.

And we subconsciously consider this when playing
any platformer, because the arc of every jump

is determined by gravity.

But in games with grappling hooks - like A
Story About My Uncle and Bionic Commando - the

swing's arc is determined by both gravity
and the taut pull of the rope.

And so to get the most out of the mechanic
we have to mentally map out the precise arc

of the swing - and know the best time to latch
on and let go.

We also see this in games with gliding mechanics,
it's all about the shapes the character

will make when moving, and understanding
how to use that to your advantage.

And finally, I want to touch on Rocket League.

This game is kind of unique because the character
- in this case, a car - is basically a physics

object, and you just apply forces in different
directions.

This allows you to move the car about in pretty
much whatever way you desire: leading to masterful

players discovering absurd tricks like making
a car fly across the pitch, or doing bonkers

bicycle kicks.

Trust me, this one is way over my head - but
I thought it was still worth mentioning.

So, here, I've identified six different elements
that great games use to make movement more fun.

Those are chaining moves, using the environment,
nailing timing windows, building momentum,

understanding trajectories, and playing with
physics.

Now that's not an exhaustive list - and it's
also important to note that many games mix

and match these different elements.

In Just Cause 3, for example, you need to
hook shot onto the environment, which builds

momentum as the rope retracts.

You can then chain into your parachute and
then chain into your wingsuit.

At which point you're carefully considering
the weirdo trajectory of this thing as you

dive away from enemy attacks.

So this gives us a sort of table of elements
when it comes to movement.

The building blocks that are used and combined
to make interesting interactions.

These are the things that make movement fun.

But… why?

Is there anything these different approaches
to movement have in common, to help explain

their appeal?

First, all of these approaches allow for a
real freedom of movement.

They're about giving you options for how to
get around the world: you could take a very

slow and meandering trip up a staircase, or
you could run up the wall, turn around, spring

off the wall, and tuck your feet up over the
handrail.

This effectively turns the entire game space
into a traversal playground.

Walls and big gaps are no longer barriers
to impede progress: they are challenges to

overcome.

And where many games are practically glued
to the ground, these advanced movement mechanics

add verticality to the world.

Second, these movement mechanics typically
allow for very analogue inputs.

Which... let me explain what I mean.

When using the hookshot in Zelda, you must
aim it a suitable point, and then it locks

Link into an unstoppable animation until he
reaches his destination.

It follows a single, predetermined path.

In Titanfall 2, however, the grapple works
in a very different way.

You can latch onto any point in the world,
you can move while it retracts in order to

change its trajectory, you can boost the speed
with a jump, and you can cancel the grapple

at any point.

There is an almost infinite number of paths
it can follow - entirely based on your control

and desire.

And we see this in other mechanics too: like
generous mid-air movement in Mario, being

able to bash in literally any direction in
Ori, and the absurdly granular input you have

in physics-based movement systems like Rocket
League.

These either give you perfect fine-grain control
of the character, or at least the ability

to influence a trajectory.

Third… when done well, these mechanics allow
you to move with flow, which is when you fluidly

move through a level without stopping or slowing
down too much.

So perhaps that's chaining together moves
across an entire level, or keeping your momentum

with careful navigation of the space.

This can be particularly fun in games with
environmental interactions as you bounce from

one object to another - but that's as much
to do with the level design as it is the basic

movement mechanics.

Fourth - and perhaps most importantly - these
advanced movement mechanics are a test of skill.

When chaining moves, you need to know how
and when to link these actions together - and

probably in mid-air or when moving at speed.

When it comes to using the environment, there's
a certain level of precision needed to guide

your character onto a rail or bounce pad.

And timing, naturally, tests your timing.

Momentum has a built-in skill check: the faster
you move, the harder the game is to control.

Trajectories can be particularly hard to understand
until you internalise their unique arcs.

And physics-based characters are naturally
challenging to navigate.

And so while these advanced moves offer huge
advantages over the more basic running and

jumping - such as making you move faster,
take shortcuts, or get the drop on enemies

in combat - they come with a huge skill barrier,
and until you can surpass it, you’re gonna

spend a lot of time scraping your face against
the tarmac.

But, that leads to the fifth and final similarity.

Which is when you do have that skill, all
of these movement mechanics are intrinsically

satisfying to use.

When chaining moves you're performing tiny,
quick-fire piano melodies on the controller

which just feels amazing on the fingers.

When you're exploiting the environment you're
constantly making plans about your route forward.

And hitting a button in a microscopic timing
window and getting a big burst of feedback

is always a hit.

Building momentum lets you get almost uncontrollably
fast, putting you in thrilling white-knuckle

situations as you try not to slam into a wall.

And expertly navigating a character while
navigating gravity and other physics-based

interactions just feels great.

Skimming close to the ground with Just Cause's
wingsuit is an unparalleled treat.

It would be easy to say that movement in a
game feels good because you're playing as

a character with awesome abilities - but I
think it's the player's physical performance

of these skills that feels satisfying - and
not just the super heroic imagery on screen.

Though, let me give a couple caveats.

One is that games should look for precision
- but not perfection.

So it's good to have systems that subtly help
the player out.

I've talked before about coyote time - which
is letting the player jump off a platform,

even if they've already run off the edge.

We can do something similar on the landing,
by pushing the player to safety if they were

just a few centimetres away from the ledge.

You might also give the player moves to save
themselves from a bad jump: like being able

to right your board back in line with the
ground in Tony Hawk's, or slow time and dash

in Ghostrunner - which can be used to realign
for a wall run.

And in King of Cards, if you get hit in mid-air
you'll get a free shoulder bash move which

can be used for a last minute, frantic scramble
to safety.

And secondly, this brings us back to something
I explored in a video late last year.

The idea of whether the player should be given
a power fantasy through slick animation and

highly automated systems.

Or have to earn the power fantasy through
the application of hard-won skills.

Ultimately we want something that can do both:
easy to use, but hard to master.

So please check out that video for more information
- and ideas for how to make these movement

systems more accessible to a wider audience.

So how do we make interesting movement systems
in games?

If you ask me, we're looking for mechanics
that give players a real freedom of movement,

through analogue inputs that let them fully
control how their character moves.

We want to test - or at least reward - the
player's skill, and create movement that feels

satisfying when you perform it well - whether
that's through quickfire finger action on

the controller, or stomach-clenching, near-miss
thrill rides.

I've established a number of elements that
work towards these goals - from chaining together

a big load of actions to toying with the trajectory
of a wingsuit under gravity - but there are

probably more to discover, and more I missed.

So, in the comments below - what's your favourite
movement system in a game?

And - most crucially of all - why?

It's indie game recommendation time, and I've
been having a lot of fun with Cyber Shadow

- an NES throwback platformer that's inspired
by games like Ninja Gaiden and Shatterhand.

It's not quite as punishing as those old games
but it will certainly give you a good challenge.

If you're up for it you can expect great level
design, a huge moveset, and stellar boss fights.

Cyber Shadow is out now on all major platforms.