Platformers, what hasn't been done?

[MausBoy]

I'm in the process of making a scrolling platformer for the 2600:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=113904

 

I was wondering what kind of things people would want to see in a game from this genre. I'm trying to use classic nes games for inspiration but it's hard to come up with ideas that aren't done to death already.

Edited September 30, 2007 by MausBoy

[+Random Terrain]

I'm in the process of making a scrolling platformer for the 2600:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=113904

 

I was wondering what kind of things people would want to see in a game from this genre. I'm trying to use classic nes games for inspiration but it's hard to come up with ideas that aren't done to death already.

The main thing missing from most platform games I have played is Controlled Randomness. If the platforms must always be the same, the enemies could at least be in different places every time you play and bonus items and bonus areas could also be in different places.

[MausBoy]

That's good to know. There are whole levels of my game that have completely random playfields so I've already got a good start. If you have any specific ideas I'd like to hear them.

[kidnicky]

I'm in the process of making a scrolling platformer for the 2600:

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=113904

 

I was wondering what kind of things people would want to see in a game from this genre. I'm trying to use classic nes games for inspiration but it's hard to come up with ideas that aren't done to death already.

The main thing missing from most platform games I have played is Controlled Randomness. If the platforms must always be the same, the enemies could at least be in different places every time you play and bonus items and bonus areas could also be in different places.

 

This is a little off topic but I had to comment on one of the quotes in your link.

"When you get to games like Pac-Man or Mortal Kombat where there's a documentable sequence that you can execute to succeed"-Howard Scott Warshaw

 

There's patterns to Mortal Kombat? Is he serious? Does anyone here know the patterns? They seem like they'd be way to hard to memorize.

[liveinabin]

Oh, there's gotta be a whole bunch of stuff that no-one's done yet.

 

From the top of my head, how about different colored platforms, and the only way you can remove various colored enemies is by jumping on the corresponding color platform. Heck, you could even pick up 'paints' as bonus items, letting you paint a platform the color you need.

 

Or you could do the same thing with sound. The tone that strikes when you land (or headbutt, Mario style) a platform affects certain enemies.