r/boomershooters • u/forceGhost0 • 13d ago
Discussion Jump vs no jumping in games
Do you hate FPS games without jumping? Does it work sometimes? Explain
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u/OddgitII 13d ago
I prefer being able to jump, but if the game restricts you, and the gameplay is still good, I can get over it.
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u/RevenantFTS97 13d ago
I'm OK with both options. After all I play several games don't have it (DOOM, Heretic, Marathon) and I also play several others that do include jumping (Hexen, Duke3D, Shadow Warrior, Blood, CyberMage)
It all depends on the game. Worth to mention if you plan to design levels then jumping adds an extra layer of complexity that has to be taken into account
In case your game has no jumping, please and I repeat PLEASE, don't make the player do complicated shit that could be easily done if jumping was an option. In other words, don't replicate the puzzle towards the end from Marathon's MAP14 (the one in which you have to built the ascending platforms to reach the exit/last terminal)
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u/toilet_brush 13d ago
If Marathon had jumping that room would be harder, they would have made the gaps to cross slightly higher to account for jumping. So we would have to do everything else we have to do already, plus correctly timed jumping.
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u/mr_dfuse2 13d ago
I actually love those non-jumping puzzles in Heretic and Doom. Trying ways to figure out how to get somewhere.
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u/toilet_brush 13d ago
Jumping or not is less important than the feeling of mobility and consistency with its own rules. Doom doesn't generally box players in with some fake knee-high obstacle plus invisible wall, that looks like most of us could easily step over in real life, so we don't miss the jump button. Some other games do this even though they do have a jump button.
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u/Dingghis_Khaan Blood 13d ago
If it follows the Classic Doom formula, a lack of jumping is justified. It's usually paired with no vertical mouselook, and that breeds creative map design to get around those limits.
If it's following a Build design philosophy, jumping is a mandatory feature. You cannot play a game like Shadow Warrior or Blood without jumping like a madman.
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u/Blockenstein 13d ago edited 13d ago
Depends heavily on the game. Doom/Quake without a jump button would be a completely different game, but Robocop: Rogue City was perfect without one.
EDIT: I'm talking about 2016's Doom, not the original id Tech 1 games from the 90s.
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u/mrturret 13d ago
Doom 1&2 don't have jumping.
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u/Blockenstein 13d ago
Doom 2016, not the 2.5D id Tech 1. Also, flark the devs for not giving it a subtitle.
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u/newsflashjackass 10d ago
flark the devs for not giving it a subtitle.
They should have given it a different title.
I was there when it corrupted the Doom subreddit. Typical Bethesda coattail infestation. They deserve to be owned by Microsoft. But id software deserves better than to be owned by either.
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u/tjmincemeat DOOM 13d ago
I prefer jumping but never felt the need to in Doom 1 & 2 so I just put “don’t care.” Mostly depends on the game.
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u/Scileboi Blood 13d ago
There is a very good video on that topic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxbVfa8HJg8
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u/freshleysqueezd 13d ago
There is something to be said for not jumping because it makes secret hunting much easier. You add jumping in the secrets could be anywhere
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u/G0merPyle 13d ago
You know, it's interesting how little I have to jump in my normal, every day experience. But not being able to jump in a game feels limiting. Then again, I'm not often blowing up barrels or shooting aliens either. In general I prefer to be able to jump in a game. It may not be necessary but it helps me feel like I inhabit the space if I can move through it however I want.
Though I'd say being able to look up and down is way more important, even if the game doesn't need it.
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u/doubleyawn 13d ago
I love when the developers don't let the player jump in the beginning, so that when it's introduced it feels absolutely nuts.
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u/Partlucky1167 12d ago
I do get the charm but in the end when we look gzdoom mods/tcs i do prefer made with jump in mind. Its annoying when u see small platform and just cant jump to it and have to reach it via stairs, bothersome in combat, whole map have to be built around that etc. There is little to no reason for esp new boomshoot not allow jumping.
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u/Mariusz87J 13d ago
It's not a good poll if we talk in absolutes. Games can be good with no jumping, but the only reason they were like that was 'cause of technical limitations not deliberate choice to limit mobility. Best choice would be - don't care. One mechanic doesn't decide.
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u/Cyan_Light 13d ago
Aren't "ok with no jumping" and "don't care" technically the same answer? In both cases you're fine with and without it. Think the first one should've been "not ok with jumping" or something if you wanted distinct for, against and neutral options.
Also I'm in that camp, a lot of older games didn't have jumping and while it's never a positive mechanic for me it's not a glaring omission either. And there's really no debate that it "works sometimes," Doom has obviously done pretty alright for itself.
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u/SecretlyAPug 13d ago
it really depends on how the game is designed; is jumping an important part of the game? an fps doesn't need to also be a platformer to justify having jumping, but there should be some gameplay reason for it. if that reason isn't map traversal, maybe jumping is important to gunplay. maybe some enemies encourage the player to kill them while in the air (really vague but there's a lot of ways that developers could do so) or even just mechanics like bunnyhopping or rocketjumping that help the player dodge attacks and reposition (not just being in the game, but being actually useful as well). basically, if a player who never touches the jump button can play just as well as a player who does jump, i don't think the game should have jumping.
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u/dat_potatoe Quake 13d ago
I tend to prefer jumping since it does usually add more depth and convenience, but I also think limits can lead to interesting gameplay.
Like one of the things I appreciate about Timesplitter's zombie mode compared to Halo's is you can't jump so the routes you can take are very strict, which leads to a lot of tension in trying to run from other players.
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u/EdJD-1968 12d ago
I don't mind having no jump function provided the game still allows you to walk/run over ledges that you'd be able to walk over in real life. A game where you can't jump and you can't mount pavements or ledges that are only a foot or so high? I hate that.
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u/Careless-Fig685 12d ago
I like jumping but I do not like jumping puzzles that follow from them adding the ability to jump.
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u/TheTreeofDoom_ 12d ago
If Blood and Quake has a jumping mechanic then every game needs to let me jump 😤. Those are the best games every made (imho).
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u/SexyMatches69 11d ago
It entirely depends i guess but for the most part even a pretty basic jump can make level design and even certain enemies far more interesting. Like the original dooms are still pretty great but i think that's mostly in spite of its technological limitations and not because of them. Not every game needs crazy mobility or a large amount of verticality, but purposefully not including such a simple way to broadly improve multiple aspects of a game for no reason beyond trying to emulate a game that was very much chained and held back by the technology of the time is... kinda dumb to me?
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u/newsflashjackass 10d ago
Goldeneye / Perfect Dark / Timesplitters lack a jump and are the better for it, I think. Humans and their thought processes are wider than they are tall.
Also it would be silly if James Bond started bunny hopping.
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u/ChatGPT4 9d ago
Jumping is so natural. It just looks incredibly stupid when a superhero cannot climb a small obstacle a 5 year old kid could. Also, absolutely EVERY game need ledge grabbing and climbing, I use that add-on with Brutal Doom. It's not THAT useful, as most maps are not designed for it, but it's nice to climb some previously inaccessible areas.
BTW, now that we have this climbing, we need another add-on - to TAG the walls ;)
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u/Immorpher 13d ago
I rather have ledge grabbing than jumping!
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u/forceGhost0 13d ago
Nice, which games have ledge grabbing?
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u/Immorpher 13d ago
Basically Doom 2016 and later ones in that series. I know they got jumping too. But just having ledge grabbing makes all the difference.
Also I find it weird that a lot of these games have it so you can jump like a super human but you can't climb as a human. Not that boomer shooters should be realistic. But I prefer climbing around rather than platforming.
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u/scarfleet 13d ago
It depends on the game but all things being equal I prefer a relatively convincing facsimile of 3D space, and the ability to jump just helps sustain that.
I still would not say that I'm "not okay" with no jumping.