The platformer template

Build a platformer with AI that feels good to play

A platformer lives or dies by its jump. So you start here from a template whose jump is already tuned, describe your hero and your world, then refine the feel with sliders and grow the game in plain words. Try the level before you read on.

Start your game free Controls and editing

Moving platformsCheckpointsDouble jump

Dusk TowerCollect the coins, clear the hazards, reach the flag.

Live tuningMove a slider while you play: the change is instant, with no AI and no rebuild.

Gravity1800Lower floats, higher drops fast.Speed150How fast the hero moves left and right.Jump520How high a full press jumps.Double jumpA second jump in mid-air: it is how you reach the three high coins.

← → or A D: Move
Space or ↑ W: Jump (hold for a higher jump)
P · R · Enter: Pause · Restart · Start
Touch: On-screen buttons appear while you play

A platformer level written for this page: a moving bridge, stepping stones and a lift up to the flag. Switch on “Double jump” to reach the three high coins. An illustrative sample, not a game produced by the studio.

Game feel

Six small things that make a platformer feel right in the hand

The level at the top of this page does all six. Try them as you read: most go unnoticed until they are missing.

The jump arc

Gravity and jump strength together set the height and the hang time. Lower the gravity and the jump turns dreamy; raise it and it turns sharp and quick.

A jump as long as the press

A short press makes a short hop and a held press makes the full jump. It is how a player lands exactly where they mean to.

A moment of grace at the edge

For an instant after the hero leaves a ledge, a jump is still accepted. The player never sees it, but feels that the game is fair.

An early press still counts

Press jump an instant before landing and the hero jumps the moment they touch down. The press is never lost.

Platforms that carry you

A moving platform takes whoever stands on it along, sideways and upwards, so it becomes a bridge or a lift.

Checkpoints

A fall sends you back to the last point you passed, not to the start of the level. The challenge stays; the frustration goes.

The template, step by step

How to build a platformer from the template

The template is a complete, working game. You change its skin, its values and its levels until it is your own.

1
Start from the platformer template
Open 2D Game Design and choose “Platformer”. You get a game with a menu, a level, enemies, coins and checkpoints that plays before you change a thing.
2
Describe your hero and your world
Write who the hero is and where they run: “a cat on city rooftops at night” or “an astronaut on a red planet”. Colours, backdrop and shapes change; the mechanics stay.
3
Tune the jump first
Open the tuning panel and move gravity, jump strength and speed while the game runs. Do not build levels before you are happy with the jump, because every level is measured against it.
4
Add levels and enemies in plain words
Ask for a harder second level, a platform that moves vertically, or an enemy that jumps. Each request is built and then you try it straight away, with the earlier version kept in case you want to go back.
5
Try it on a phone, then publish
Switch the preview to a phone size and check that the touch buttons are comfortable and that the level can be finished. Then publish and send the link.

Controls

Controls on keyboard and on touch

These are the keys of the level at the top of this page, and they follow the layout platformer players expect.

Action	Keyboard	Touch
Move	← → or A and D	The two arrow buttons on the left
Jump	Space, ↑ or W	The large button on the right
A higher jump	Hold the key	Hold the button
Double jump	Press jump again in mid-air	Tap the jump button again
Pause	P or Esc	The “Pause” button at the top
Restart	R	“Restart” on the pause screen

In your own game you can ask for different keys or extra buttons.

Editing examples

Eight common edits, and how each is made

The first four are numbers you change yourself in seconds. The other four are additions you ask for in words.

A slider, no AIA floatier jump
Lower the gravity. The jump lasts longer and the landing softens, and gaps become easier to clear.
A slider, no AIA faster hero
Raise the speed. Mind that speed also lengthens the jump, so you may want wider gaps.
A slider, no AIFive lives instead of three
Change the number of lives in the “Rules” group. Good for children and beginners.
A slider, no AISlower enemies
Lower the enemy speed in their group. The game calms down without the levels changing.
Ask the AI“Add a second level in a cave, with platforms that move up and down.”
A new level with its own backdrop and layout, and a transition into it after the first level’s flag.
Ask the AI“Give the hero a double jump.”
A second jump in mid-air, like the switch you tried at the top of this page.
Ask the AI“Add a key that must be collected before the exit door opens.”
A new win rule: reaching the door is not enough without the key.
Ask the AI“Add an enemy that flies between two points and cannot be stomped.”
A new kind of enemy to dodge rather than defeat, which changes how the level is crossed.

Plainly

What not to expect from this template

Not a sprawling commercial gameThe template makes a polished platformer with a handful of levels, not an interconnected world of dozens of hours.

No multiplayerOne player. No online co-operative play.

Fun is your callThe AI builds a level that can be finished. Making it fun takes you playing it and adjusting.

Original charactersDescribe a hero of your own. We do not build on characters from existing games.

FAQ

Questions people ask

What makes a platformer “feel good”?

Instant response, a jump whose height the player controls, and a little forgiveness at ledges and just before landing. The level at the top of this page applies all of that, and you can try the effect of gravity and jump strength yourself.

Can I design the levels myself?

You describe the level in words: how the platforms are laid out, where enemies and coins go, how hard it is. Then you ask for the parts you do not like to be changed, one at a time, trying it after each change.

Why can I not reach the three high coins in the level?

They are placed higher than a single jump on purpose. Switch on “Double jump”, or raise the jump slider, and you will reach them. It shows how one value changes what a level allows.

Does a platformer work well on touch?

Yes, when tuned for it: two move buttons, one large jump button and a slightly forgiving jump. Try the level at the top of this page on your phone to see.

How many levels can I add?

There is no fixed count of levels as such. The practical limits are the published size of the game within your plan and the AI credits each added level uses.

Can I turn it into an endless runner?

It is better to start from the endless-runner template, which is built around a course that generates itself. All eight templates are on the 2D game templates page.

2D Game Design

More about 2D Game Design

2D Game Design

Describe a game and play it in your browser within minutes: menu, levels, score, win and lose, sound and touch controls. Tune it with sliders and publish it to a link.

Open the studio page

Create browser games with AI

The whole path in four steps: describe, customise, play, publish. With an endless runner you can try on the page itself.

See the details

2D game templates

Eight starting points: platformer, endless runner, top-down racing, match-three, arcade shooter, maze, kids’ quiz and tower defence.

See the details

Still deciding between 2D and 3D?

3D Game Design

Describe a world or a game and get a lightweight, stylised 3D experience that runs in the browser on the player’s device, with a visual world editor and edits in plain words.

Open the studio page