Hey everyone, mrCamelCase here!

So unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you've seen a lot of very similar looking platformers make it to the front page and a lot of people get mad about it.

Since I would also like to see more creative and well made projects make it to the front page, I figured I'd share my process for coming up with and making really cool platformers (or, for that matter, games in general)!

Brainstorming: Coming Up with Your Idea!

Brainstorming can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be, and your idea for your platformer can evolve as you work on it. Normally, to get started, you'd come up with an idea for the art style for your platformer and then work from there, developing your idea and creating your platformer. This is not the way to do things! If you do this, you'll end up creating multiple platformers that all look pretty different, but have very similar gameplay (meaning it's basically just the same game with new art)!

To make platformers that are unique, interesting, and fun to play, you'll want to brainstorm not ideas for a new art style, but ideas for a new game mechanic.

What does that mean? It means that instead of thinking of what you want your platformer to look like, come up with a way to make the gameplay different and exciting! For instance, consider this platformer I made on my old account (yes, I know it's glitchy, but that's besides the point!) When I was still in the early stages of brainstorming, I decided to come up with a cool idea for a different game mechanic and that I would worry about the art and theme afterwards. So I came up with the idea to give the player only a few seconds to beat the level before the level changes and the platforms switch around (often leaving you hanging in mid air!) I thought this idea was brilliant and so I made it into a platformer, using a computer/matrix inspired theme and story to tie it all together. And lo and behold, it got 17,000 views!

So now that you've chosen an idea for a cool or clever game mechanic, you'll want to flesh out that idea. Now is the time to decide on art style to match your game mechanic. For instance, if your mechanic is that your controls get changed whenever you touch a certain block or enemy, you can choose a magical theme, where you have to make it through an enchanted forest with mysterious mushrooms that mess up your controls. Or, you can choose a sci fi theme, where you play as an astronaut who has to escape an alien planet. The possibilities are endless!

Creation: Making Your Idea Come to Life!

At last, you've got a great idea for your next platformer, and the time has come to get started on it! I'm not going to teach you how to make your own platformer engine (Griffpatch can do that) or how to do anything really; it's up to you how you want to go about making your game.

But I will say this: always improve on your last game.

Make the walk cycle a little bit smoother than your last platformer (or try adding a walk cycle if you've never done so before), put a little more time into making the level art look like you want it to, or give some extra thought to the story. Whatever you do, remember that you won't get better if you don't learn, and you won't learn if you don't try new things.

Promotion: Showing the World Your Platformer!

Congratulations! You've just shared your new platformer, and it is easily the best you have ever made. Now you want to show everyone else on Scratch. There are many ways of promoting your game that are not so good (for instance, you've probably seen “Check out my project!” comments on popular projects with replies that say “Don't advertise!”) However, there's quite a few different ways you can promote your game:

• Front Page Curation
  

If your platformer is good enough and hasn't already gotten too much attention, you can ask a Front Page Curator to post it to the front page for 24 hours. Go to this studio to see who to ask. Keep in mind: each curator has different requirements, so always make sure you and your platformer meets the requirements before suggesting. And if none of the curators want to curate your game, don't get discouraged: new curators are announced every week, and there are other ways to promote your game.

• The Show and Tell Forums
  

The Show and Tell Forums are a really easy way to promote your new platformer. Anyone can post a topic explaining their newest game, the time and effort that went into it, and how happy they would be if you checked it out. Just don't forget to include a link to your platformer somewhere in your post!

• Popular Studios
  

Never underestimate the attention your game can get from being added to a popular studio. Studios like this one or this one are great ways to share your project with your fellow Scratchers! Just politely ask a manager or curator to add your platformer in the comments. Again, make sure you include a link so people can easily find your project.


Well, that took a while to type! I hope you got something out of my most recent essay, and that your next platformer is your best yet! Have fun with your next project, whether it's a platformer or something else, and I'll catch ya later!

Yours truly,
-mCC

Woah! Thanks for this amazing tutorial mCC!

squarepoint wrote:

Woah! Thanks for this amazing tutorial mCC!

No prob! I'm glad you found it useful!

Also, <BUMP!>

Thanks for the tips!

How do I report this to be stickied? A lot of these popular platformer creators need to see this!