Platformers

A platform game (or platformer) is a type of video game, and subgenre of action game. It involves guiding a player character or avatar to jump between suspended platforms and/or over obstacles to traverse their environment. The player controls the jumps to avoid letting their character fall to their death or miss necessary jumps. The most common unifying element of games of this genre is the jump button, but now there are other alternatives like swiping a touchscreen. Other acrobatic maneuvers may factor into the gameplay as well, such as climbing, swinging from vines or extendable arms, as in Ristar or Bionic Commando, or bouncing from springboards or trampolines, as in Alpha Waves. These mechanics, even in the context of other genres, are commonly called platforming, a verbification of platform. Games where jumping is automated completely, such as 3D games in The Legend of Zelda series, fall outside of the genre.

Platform games originated in the early 1980s, with 3D successors popularized in the mid-1990s. The term itself describes games where jumping on platforms is an integral part of the gameplay and came into use after the genre had been established, no later than 1983. It is not a pure genre; it is frequently coupled with elements of other genres, such as the shooter elements in Contra, Beat 'em up elements of Viewtiful Joe and Guacamelee!, adventure elements of Flashback, or role-playing game elements of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.

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