Why are momentum-based platformers so rare these days?

[Plastiware]

Back in the day, when platform games were the most common kind of game, it seemed like there was a pretty even split.  Control was either binary (you start and stop instantly, and stop moving when you let go of the direction mid-air), or momentum-based (you accelerate to a maximum speed, and keep going if you let go in mid air).  Nowadays, with a resurgence of indie retro-style platformers, it seems like they're almost exclusively binary.  Shantae, Shovel Knight (who accelerates a little bit, but still stops dead if you let go in mid-air), and the majority of Metroidvania style games are all examples.

So, whatever happened to the momentum-based platformer?  These days it seems like only platforming veterans like Mario and Sonic get momentum-based platforming.  This is a shame, as it's got to be my favorite style of 2D game.  I know a game is great when simply running and jumping around is fun and satisfying, but I just don't see it anymore.

[Ad Bot]

[Tetris]

i agree that they are a dying race, which is unfortunate because i'm not a fan of binary controls or whatever

anyone ever play "Glace"? it was a super old physics based platformer that i spent hours playing

[Conan]

there was also that little standalone game Bushido made for some gba competition or something iirc

that was really fun; too bad he didn't go further with it :(

[Trogtor]

because ive talked to momentum he's a little bitch

[Squideey]

I want to be cynical and say it's because momentum is hard to fine-tune for lazy developers or that everybody is obsessed with megaman controls, but I don't have a good answer

Make a momentum-based platformer and make a thousand million dollars in an empty market

[Katadeus]

Last semester I made a platformer with a decent amount of momentum and people just couldn't loving do it. It was ridiculous. They had the hardest time. I had to shift it considerably toward binary.
But people seemed to generally suck a lot for a group of people in a game dev course

[Ninja Decoy]

Dunno if its just me, but it just feels very floaty if done wrong. Now, can anyone tell me if SMB is either binary or momentum? I feel like its a mix of the two, where if you let go of jump you immediately start descending, which is the trick to a lot of the tricky jumps, but you also need to use a running start for a lot of the jumps.

[Plastiware]

I want to be cynical and say it's because momentum is hard to fine-tune for lazy developers or that everybody is obsessed with megaman controls, but I don't have a good answer

Make a momentum-based platformer and make a thousand million dollars in an empty market

I think this is actually the most likely reason.  While it's much more fun when well-done, it is much harder to do well than simple binary platforming physics.  And I will say there are a lot of (mostly older) games that do momentum-based platforming monumentally badly.  It's also probably harder to test and design levels for, since there's more you have to take into account.

I'm actually working on a momentum-based platformer.  But it is a secret to everyone~ not really I've probably shown it to like 30 people by now.

Dunno if its just me, but it just feels very floaty if done wrong. Now, can anyone tell me if SMB is either binary or momentum? I feel like its a mix of the two, where if you let go of jump you immediately start descending, which is the trick to a lot of the tricky jumps, but you also need to use a running start for a lot of the jumps.

SMB is without a doubt momentum-based.  Mario accelerates and slows down, sails through the air if you jump and let go of the directions, is very difficult to turn around in mid-air, and overall feels like he really has a sense of weight about him.  For a game that came out 30 years ago, it's fantastic.

[Path]

I absolutely hate movement and air acceleration. I'm a freak for complete control over my player's movements, and I prefer platformers like castlevania or megaman

any form of movement acceleration adds a level of depth to the player's control scheme. It either makes it more fun or just complicates it. From a design perspective, removing acceleration from movement makes the game simpler

[Bushido]

I want to be cynical and say it's because momentum is hard to fine-tune for lazy developers or that everybody is obsessed with megaman controls, but I don't have a good answer

Make a momentum-based platformer and make a thousand million dollars in an empty market

its more like most platformers now are no longer *just* platformers and just use platforming as a skeleton to add another mechanic onto

the real star is this second mechanic, not the first mechanic, so if the platforming got in the way of whatever isn't platforming it'd be frustrating so platforming has to be toned down

[joe411]

Freedom Planet is probably the only momentum based platformer made within the last few years that I can think of.
It's based off of Sonic, after all.