Jungle Jim is a 3D Platformer with tight momentum based movement directed by Jacob Jones. Its core tenets are: freedom of movement, expression of skill, and joy of exploration. In the game, our titular character Jungle Jim can run into mists. These mists will transform Jim into a new character with a new controller. These new characters include Jetpack Jim, Ball Jim, and Paper Airplane Jim. I was in charge of making Paper Airplane Jim.While developing Paper Airplane Jim, I wanted to keep Jungle Jim’s core tenants alive. The movement of the airplane inherently frees the player to play how they want. They can play low to the ground or high up in the air. They can risk high speeds or play safe and slower. Players can choose their own routes to meet their own goals.The plane also allowed the player to express their own skill. Players can risk taking tight turns through narrow crevices, and they can risk dipping down as low to the ground to get an extra boost in speed and height. The controller secretly supports players to make it easier for them to feel skillful.Exploration is built into the paper airplane controller. The paper airplane allows the player to conquer the skies and find new secrets they couldn’t reach as the regular player controller.Through the airplane controller, I was able to keep the core tenets of Jungle Jim alive while letting players play in a fresh and new way.

Character

Development of Paper Airplane Jim started with Jacob and I talking for hours about the characteristics of the paper airplane. We would talk about how the paper airplane would follow the physics of real airplanes or how we’d expect a paper airplane to turn. As development continued, my top priority was making sure that the character of a paper airplane came through. If players could put themselves in the headspace of what a paper airplane should feel like, then the game would have something new to offer them.

Camera

I used the camera to emphasize the feeling of speed while allowing the player to have a full view of everything they need. The camera changes depending on the speed. The faster the player goes, the further away the camera goes and the higher the field of view is. These two changes emphasize the speed of the player while also allowing them to see more and change their course of action appropriately. If the player slows down, the camera slides right in and emphasizes the sudden stopping of the airplane.

Control

My last goal was to make sure that player’s felt in control of the airplane. I balanced players’ expectations of what a player airplane should feel like and a responsive controller. If players felt like the airplane was out of their control or unpredictable, then the airplane would ultimately be unenjoyable. I integrated playtesting into my development cycle so that I knew that players were responding well to the controls.

Designing the paper airplane required some research. I had to learn how airplanes fly and turn while making sure that player has control. So, the airplane has four forces constantly acting upon it. Thrust, lift, gravity, and drag. Thrust is the forward force on the airplane that pushes them forward. Lift is the upward force that keeps the player in the air. Gravity is… gravity. It keeps the player going down. Drag is the wind resistance that keeps the player from moving too fast. Each variable dynamically changes depending on the pitch and roll of the airplane. By manipulating and correlating each of these individual forces, I was able to recreate the feeling of a paper airplane while keeping the player in control.It was crucial to recreate the feeling of the airplane more than replicating the physics of the airplane. For instance, if you’re pitched down, the gravity increases. This doesn’t happen in real life, but the added gravity force recreates the feeling of plummeting more than the thrust force did. It kept the airplane dynamic and made it feel more real than life. Other variables help to support that feeling. The drag holds the player back so that the player keeps the movement downward while giving them more time to react. The added lift also keeps them up, and it lets them get more air after plummeting. While none of these are technically physically accurate, they feel right. To me, that’s what’s most important in making a player controller.

• See The Overall Airplane Code