novelODS Chapter 147 Coyote Time (
Chapter 147 Coyote Time (
Chapter 147 Coyote Time (
"Operational compensation?"
The group looked at Lin Lixin writing this word on the whiteboard and were all somewhat puzzled.
This seems to be a term I've never heard of before.
"That's right, it can help us achieve a relatively perfect platform jump control system."
Lin Lixin smiled and drew two platforms spaced apart on the whiteboard.
Then he asked a completely unrelated question: "Have you ever watched cartoons?"
"?"
The group exchanged glances, and finally Will broke the silence.
"Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and MGM's Tom and Jerry? Of course I've seen them."
"That's right!"
Lin Lixin snapped his fingers, pulled out a videotape of "BB Bird and the Wicked Wolf," and pushed it into the projector.
"The idea for this comes from the classic character of the 'Wicked Wolf'."
He adjusted the animation speed and fast-forwarded to the scene where the wicked wolf was getting ready to chase the BB bird.
The two ran swiftly along the cliff, and just as they were about to reach the edge, the BB bird stopped abruptly.
Meanwhile, the wicked wolf was propelled straight off the cliff by the powerful inertia.
"Stop! This is it!"
Lin Lixin was quick-witted and captured the moment.
Will stared at the screen, lost in thought.
Lin Lixin didn't give them much time to think and gave them the answer directly.
"I call this Coyote Time," I said. "After bursting off the platform, the wolf can still run in the air for a short time, even performing various actions. Don't you think this is perfect for video games?"
"Ah, I understand!"
Will suddenly realized, and combining this with what Lin Lixin had just said about a "perfect jump," he had a clue. "You mean—allowing the player to still be able to jump for a period of time after they leave the platform?"
"Eactly!"
Lin Lixin nodded.
Even in the era of booming video games, side-scrolling jumping, one of the earliest game genres, has not remained stagnant.
Every now and then, some excellent designs emerge, giving this seemingly ancient genre a renewed vitality.
The best of these is clearly "Celeste".
"From a player's perspective, players always like to make their actions as efficient as possible."
If damage fluctuates, then everyone will naturally pursue maximizing damage.
If the jump distance changes, players will naturally try to jump as far and as far as possible.
This is a self-actualization need that originates from instinct.
Coyote Time is an optimization specifically designed to address this instinct, and can be considered the underlying logic of modern platform jumping.
Players tend to try to jump at the last minute as much as possible in order to achieve the longest jump distance.
"And in this process, the closer you get to the limit, the easier it is to make mistakes."
As players get closer to the edge of the platform, the time allotted for both players and the system to react becomes shorter.
The detection range continues until the character has already broken out of the ground.
In traditional video games, jumping can only be performed on the ground.
After all, no one wants a character to suddenly shoot upwards out of thin air in mid-air.
Unless it's a deliberately designed double jump.
This means that at the program implementation level, the jump function always needs a prior judgment.
That is, whether the character is on the ground.
This condition is naturally not met when the player slightly moves off the platform.
This means that even if a character only moves one pixel, it is impossible for them to jump.
"From an absolutely rational perspective, it is certainly correct that one cannot jump outside of a platform."
"I know! We need to put the player experience at the core of our design, not just pure theory!"
Will took the initiative to speak.
He also grew somewhat after designing "Momotaro Dentetsu".
Will is currently working hard to find a balance between absolute science and the gaming experience.
"That's right! If a player's jump fails to execute for this reason, the sense of frustration is extremely intense."
Rather than thinking "I think I made a mistake," many people would believe that there is a problem with the game's design itself, or even suspect that the game has a bug.
The fact that the jump button was pressed is an established fact for the player.
"We can give players about 100 milliseconds of reaction time."
"Hmm—I think we could add a buffer period before landing."
Sid Meier broke his long silence and succinctly offered a different perspective: "I remember a similar design in The King of Fighters, right? It would start reading the player's input before a special move even ended."
It has to be said that seniority really does make one more experienced; their thinking is much more flexible.
Lin Lixin laughed and said, "That's right! Of course, besides that, we can also do a reverse coyote time."
He turned around and drew a dotted line on the whiteboard to represent the character's path.
One end of the dotted line extends slightly beyond the end of the starting platform.
The other end is located a little bit in front of the opposite platform.
"Platform attraction: when a player is almost at the other side, we provide a small compensation so that they can still reach the other platform."
The group stared at the drawings on the whiteboard in silence for a long while.
There's no need to say anything more.
These three elements combined are enough to create an unprecedented ultimate jumping experience.
Lin Lixin's statement about "the perfect jump controller" is no exaggeration.
Even Nintendo's flagship title, Super Mario Bros., doesn't have controllers of this caliber.
"However—" After a long silence, Will spoke again, "Wouldn't that make level design completely effortless?"
According to Lin Lixin's proposed Castlevania game, it is not a simple game like Ultra Marathon that is suitable for all ages.
Instead, it's hardcore games like Fire Emblem, which are geared towards hardcore gamers.
Overly optimizing the controls can actually diminish the fun of the game itself.
Just like in Fire Emblem, there are no explicit hints about the enemy's next move or whether the attack will hit or trigger a critical hit.
It’s too late.
"Mr. Will, I think it's probably because this is an action game, not a platforming game."
Kojima adjusted his glasses and gave his opinion in fluent English.
Lin Lixin nodded.
"That's right, this is an action game. Ideally, I don't want players to focus too much on basic elements like jumping; the challenge should be in the combat."
"Monster design, equipment combinations, ability selection—I hope players will focus their energy on these aspects."
The less a company wants players to focus on jumping, the more effort they will need to put into the jumping itself.
Perfection does not mean overshadowing the main subject.
It is precisely because of its perfection that the jump itself subtly and naturally constitutes the player's basic experience.
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