Its hard to pinpoint exactly when it became normalized, but over the past 20 years the ability for your character to jump in midair became an ability that has injected itself into a wide array of games. Platformers like Psychonauts, hardcore action games to even first-person shooters have introduced the ability to jump off of…nothing.
The first game to introduce this gameplay mechanic is the Japanese arcade game Dragon Buster from 1985. It didn’t really start to catch on until the late 90’s/early 2000’s when it found its way into games like Castlevania Symphony of the Night and Devil May Cry.
I can accept the double-jump if the game gives you a good reason the character can do it, but in so many games it feels like something that’s added simply because its popular or because “research shows that players like double-jumping, so let’s shoehorn it into the game.”
When I gained the ability to double-jump in Doom (2016), I thought “OK, that’s enough of the damn double-jumping!” Why is Doomguy double-jumping?
OK then, so when is double-jumping OK?
Like I mentioned, I don’t have a problem with it in games where the ability has a reason to exist. Super Mario Odyssey gives you a modified version of the double-jump in the ability to bounce off your hat like a trampoline. That makes sense in the context of the game. Compare that to the leap stone you acquire in Symphony of the Night that seems like an easy way to let you reach areas you couldn’t get to without the double jump.
I think this mechanic encourages poor gameplay design because of how it gives you easy access to greatly increased movement.
So what’s the solution?
I have a few ideas on how to achieve a similar effect, without making it seem like my character can just suddenly jump off air for some reason.
Gain a jump boost upgrade
Rather than jumping in midair off nothing, increasing the height your character can jump seems to make more sense. They’re not breaking the laws of physics, they just have more oomph off the ground.
Gain a midair boost upgrade
You gain the double-jump ability in Doom (2016) when you find the Jet Boots upgrade, which are basically rocket boots that give you the double-jump ability.
Summon a platform
In the Devil May Cry games, the Air Hike upgrade lets you perform a double jump. This technique lets you summon a temporary magical platform for you jump off of. This solves the issue of “jumping off of nothing” that many games just don’t address.
OK, this is perfectly acceptable.
Am I nitpicking?
Absolutely.
But that doesn’t mean this isn’t an issue that can’t be discussed by gamers or addressed by developers to create better, more immersive games.
I’ll admit, double-jumping is fun. However that doesn’t mean that it always makes sense to find a way to fit it into a game where it seems out of place. Hopefully games start to make better and more sensible use of this feature, rather than just forcing it into games out of the need to check a box on the features list.
