Jumping Puzzles

 You may have heard of "jumping puzzle" sequences in video games, often by gamers who are rather frustrated with them. I will look at some of the reasons why they are often disliked, and how to do them better.

The first reason why jumping puzzles are often disliked is because they often require extremely precise timing. Often, the only way to successfully make a jump is to push the jump button at the last possible second after a running start, which often happens in games with relatively little air control, such as first person shooters. Even in games with better jump mechanics, such as Super Mario Bros., the problem can still persist; in World 8-2 of the original Super Mario Bros., there is a wide gap that can only be crossed by bouncing off a Bullet Bill or by landing on a platform with a running start, passing over the gap between it and the adjacent platform and then jumping with excellent timing.

The second reason is that it isn't always clear whether any given jump is possible, which is part of the reason why they're called jumping puzzles. For example, if the gap between Platform A and Platform B is too wide for you to jump across, then you may need to jump on Platform C in order to get closer to Platform B, and then jump to Platform B. However, there may also be a Platform D that is easily reached from A, but is too far from B or C for you to reach either, making it a dead end, to say nothing of even longer or more complex  jumping sequences.

The third reason is that jumping puzzles can be unforgiving, since a single mistake usually results in you dying or losing enough progress that you may as well have to reload. Compare that with some combat situations, in which taking a hit may be a mistake you can recover from, and you can see why jumping puzzles can be frustrating.

The last major reason is that jumping puzzles are often not part of the main gameplay. While jumping is the bread and butter of Super Mario Bros., first person shooters' primary draw is the combat, so a jumping puzzles in those cases is likely to be less well-designed and more frustrating.

With that in mind, I have a few mechanics that can make jumping puzzles less frustrating.

• The ability to grab onto ledges. If your character gets close enough to a ledge that they can realistically grab onto the edge, it can mean the difference between narrowly missing and barely making it.
• The ability to rewind time. The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Trilogy had many challenging platforming sequences, but gave you the Sands of Time, which enabled you to rewind time and undo your mistakes, among other things, meaning that a fatal fall wasn't necessarily a game over. That said, mistakes did have consequences, since the Sands couldn't save you if you didn't have any in reserve, and using up your sand on platforming sequences could leave you unprepared for difficult situations down the road.
• Falls not killing you. In many Legend of Zelda games, falling into a bottomless pit teleports you to the door you used to enter the room, with a heart taken away to penalize you for your mistake. It won't kill you unless you're on the brink of death.
• Smoother controls and less emphasis on timing.

Essentially, these boil down to making jump puzzles more forgiving, whether by reducing the penalty for making a mistake, or by making it easier to avoid making mistakes in the first place.

Video games should be fair when it comes to rewards or penalties, since it can be aggravating to lose hard-earned progress over one small mistake. As such, it's easy to see why jumping puzzles can be frustrating, and why it's important to think creatively when designing them in order to reduce the frustration factor.