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Reuploaded - The Secret of Mario's Jump (and other versatile verbs) (Patreon)

Published:
2017-02-27 07:18:22
Imported:
2026-06

Content

Now with 100% fewer audio bugs (hopefully!)

Files

The Secret of Mario's Jump (And Other Versatile Verbs) | Game Maker's Toolkit

TBA

Comments

Steven Thornton

Another brilliant in-depth video; I love the case studies and working examples you picked. Giving the player more choices and ensuring versatility in mechanics are two of my main personal design pillars - When working with work exp kids and game students I almost always start with something I nicknamed the "wax lips" exercise; after the scene in the Simpsons where someone tries to sell Homer the "candy of 101 uses" then can't think of a second use other than a comedic replacement for normal lips. I ask them to check if a mechanic has versatility (multiple applications in level design) before they add it to the game, by coming up with lists of uses for it without changing its core function. Watching your video I realise how much those lists are dominated by environmental/contextual interaction; something you only touched on briefly with the wall kicks/enemy bounces and wordlessly with the water cooldown in Motorstorm. Although that's a possible expansion point for you here, I think I'll do the opposite next time I am working with students and try to get them to focus on versatility of the action itself

Game Maker's Toolkit (GMTK)

Hey Steven - the context / environmental thing is a great point. It's something I wrestled with, and couldn't quite decide if it was the right fit for this subject. (The wall-jump / koopa shell comment was actually a relic from a past script!). But it's definitely something I'll be touching on in the future. Also, that wax lips thing is hilarious!

Steven Thornton

Wow, fast reply! :P I started the exercise because I found a classic sophomore mistake with students was they'd invent mechanics to enable a specific level design or set piece they had in mind, which isn't cost effective in the majority of studios; this said any “extended” functionality for an action is still always at risk of getting cut if the schedule starts to waver. I've found versatility stemming from a central action is often seen or sold as a collection of optional droppable extras, which is maybe why you don't see it as much as we should (or games designers would like us too) Another interesting point; I've tried a lot of “single button” tricks in the past in games I worked on and whereas it's my personal nature to completely explore a controller and be led into intuitive things like holding a button, some focus testing and user feedback I've been party to suggested some children (below the age of 8) or people unfamiliar with traditional gaming have trouble with hold functions - either prone to long presses that accidentally trigger hold inputs or to quick taps that barely register. The windows are surprisingly delicate, and hard to teach. Final suggestion if you come back to the topic: the “empty press”! Eg attack gap attack. Borrowed from fighting games and brought into third person combat games by Devil May Cry and Fable 2 (which made a huge deal of its one button combat system)

Jordan Amaro

One of your best! (I may be a tad biased though ^^)

Jordan Amaro

My rule of thumb is that any mechanic that does not allow at least five variations expressed (proved) by the level design should not make it into the game. A good practise is to lock the mechanic in a small, isolated puzzle which you can't clear unless you play precisely like the designer intends. Then that puzzle can be "relaxed" to allow multiple playstyles.

Steven Thornton

Good rule - Also links quite nicely into Marks earlier 4-step level design video; introducing mechanics in isolated mostly passive environments before allowing them to mix with other mechanics in the wild

Luiz

Really great stuff! It reminded me of this video by Konjak (creator of Noitu Love, Legend of Princess and Iconoclasts) where he talks in-depth about what he learned from Metroid Fusion's game design and how he applies it to his games: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIWGjyfXF4" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIWGjyfXF4</a> He makes similar points, especially when he talks about stacking upgrades and context sensitivity. I really recommend giving it a peek.

Mathew Dyason (edited)

Comment edits

2026-09-18 21:00 Top notch as always! Made me think about Super Smash Bros - you've really only got two attack buttons (and a throw) but they're augmented with directions to create entirely new attacks. And ones that make sense too, an up attack will lift your character, an across attack will either quickly move you forward or send the enemy flying that way. Such a Nintendo way of making a fighting game, when you think about it.
2017-02-27 13:00

Turbo Button

Shit man this is your best video in a while. Superb stuff. But where's the intro

Steingrímur Jónsson

It's Mario, not Merio. Mah-rio. But other than that very minor annoyance this was really good. I've been playing Super Mario 64 and it's astonishing the amount of moves they crammed into that game from just a small handful of buttons and an analog stick. Jumps, dives, side- and back-flips, air-kicks, long-jumps, triple jumps, sweep kicks,... moving around in that game is just so much fun. If only it had a functional camera it would be perfect.

Shade

Twas a good video. You always bring up good ideas and discussions. At the university where I am currently studying at, one term that was brought up several times was "RNG". You think this could make for a good episode? Perhaps going over how to implement RNG, what games do it right and what games do it wrong?

Tomasz Mazurek

Active reload in Gears of War is a bit more complicated. If the player hits the reload bumper while the marker is on the grey area of the reload bar the reload is just faster. However if you hit the tiny white area (which is usually positioned next to black "fail area" for added risk) you get an even faster reload and a damage boost. I know it's nitpicking, but I've spent 2 years working on one of those games, so I wanted to set the record straight ;)

Tomasz Mazurek

I also think there is another thing that can be sad about those "universal verbs". If you consider classic adventure games, they often were based around a "lock and key" design with particular objects enabling particular actions that open particular locks blocking off player progression. In contrast action games use universal actions or verbs that can open various types of metaphorical locks by being used in a right way. Those metaphorical locks are usually a particular type of arrangement of level geometry, enemies, objects etc. Thus when considering a verb it is important to think how many different basic "lock types" can this verb unlock. Even with basic Super Mario Bros jump it is astonishing how many basic level obstacles can be created, each solvable by using the basic jump in just a bit different way. Jumping over a gap, jumping over a gap with a piranha in it, jumping over a gap to a moving platform (vertically or horizontally), jumping over a pipe, jumping over a pipe with a plant in it, jumping on an enemy, jumping on a turtle and then launching its shell, jumping over bullets etc. Those basic locks can be then combined to form complex ones, like jumping on an enemy to jump over a gap onto a moving platform and then jumping to avoid bullets while riding that platform. All of that complex unlocking is happening while using the same basic verb and this is what makes it a truly great universal verb.

Game Maker's Toolkit (GMTK)

Haha, dang - I think I knew that, I just hadn't played a Gears game properly for years. Sorry dude, should have done my research!

Manuel Alcoba

Wow! I like the idea of this as the beginning of a series. You could also do a chapter with the "standard" verbs, that is the ones that everyone automatically recognize or even expect. That is, the basic vocabulary an how it came to be. +1 for the context too. Often the modifier of a verb is the context rather than other button.

Shade

You are welcome. And thanks.

Zach Stasz

Fantastic work Mark, enjoy Zelda. Excited to see where the dungeons (or shines?) fall in the dungeon hierarchy.

Steven Thornton

Did you ever play SSB's knockoff, Playstation Allstars? It pales in comparison, but really went for it on the inputs. It has 3 attack buttons, each with an up/down/forward/neutral on the ground AND the air (24 BASIC MOVES) and on top of that some characters have state modifiers (Drake can enter cover and then his buttons all change again), dial combos, charge modifiers (hold inputs as in Marks video) and even wacky stuff like pressing forward DURING an attack to turn it into a new one. It is fascinating from an input point of view, arguably more than Smash since Smash is much more uniform/neatly designed and Allstars is just a mess of ideas.

Steven Thornton

Really interesting - when I'm doing lectures and trying to explain how I design I often use the flow "obstacle > analysis > action > payoff" .. basically the argument that almost all game interaction is the player looking at a problem, deciding how to solve it, trying their solution, and being rewarded if it works. I often then argue the merits of teaching players the relationship between obstacles and actions with common visual cues etc so they can be applied under more pressure and in more complexity, or in long strings as you describe. It's interesting that this is the same in a totally passive genre like a point and click adventure, or an endless runner like Temple Run, or in high stakes set pieces ala Uncharted/Tomb Raider. People will always feel good putting the right key in the right lock, the simplest of skill checks. But! I never came at it from the other angle, how the difference in those games is how single actions solve multiple obstacles rather than just being paired with a single one - I was always coming at it from the obstacles/locks perspective and how they are solved. Both you and Mark have flipped me on my approaches today!

Sarah McCormack

Great video, it’s given me some things to think about. With Mega Man, I couldn’t quite tell which of these two ways it worked: 1) Press, then: release for basic; hold and release for charged 2) Press for basic, then: release for nothing; hold and release for charged At first I thought the former, but on closer inspection it looks like the latter. Is that right? And do you have any opinions on verbs taking place on the release of a button as opposed to on pressing?

Tomasz Mazurek

I was thinking about it and in many cases it is possible to push this thinking even further - in many action games there are not only keys (verbs) that open many locks, but also locks that can be opened by many keys. Say, if you add a double jump ability to Mario, now a gap that previously had to be crossed by bouncing off an enemy can now also be crossed by using the double jump. Now, hypothesizing, I feel it can maybe make those locks feel cheaper? If a lock can be unlocked with a number of keys it may feel less satisfying to pick the right one. Plus, if one of them is harder to use then it is likely it will be neglected by the players - if a gap can be crossed using a double jump, few players will choose to go for the more risky and context sensitive enemy bounce.