Professional HTML5 Mobile Game Development

Introduction

The 2-D platformer will always have a special place in the hearts of developers who grew up in the era of the Nintendo Entertainment system (and who, like me, can and often do hum the opening 8-bit chords of Super Mario Brothers in their heads). The 2-D platformer remains a popular genre for mobile games because it has simple controls that match nicely to an onscreen keypad and is easy to pick up. This chapter builds the basic elements of a simple 2-D platformer, using the animation tools from Chapter 16, “Getting Animated,” and adding some platformer-specific tiles and collisions.