Run and Jump

The Meaning of the 2D Platformer

Peter D. McDonald

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English

MIT Press
12 March 2024

Computing: general

How abstract design decisions in 2D platform games create rich worlds of meaning for players.

How abstract design decisions in 2D platform games create rich worlds of meaning for players.

Since the 1980s, 2D platform games have captivated their audiences. Whether the player scrambles up the ladders in Donkey Kong or leaps atop an impossibly tall pipe in Super Mario Bros., this deceptively simple visual language has persisted in our cultural imagination of video games. In Run and Jump, Peter McDonald surveys the legacy of 2D platform games and examines how abstract and formal design choices have kept players playing. McDonald argues that there is a rich layer of meaning underneath, say, the quality of an avatar's movement, the pacing and rhythm of level design, the personalities expressed by different enemies, and the emotion elicited by collecting a coin.

To understand these games, McDonald draws on technical discussions by game designers as well as theoretical work about the nature of signs from structuralist semiotics. Interspersed throughout are design exercises that show how critical interpretation can become a tool for game designers to communicate with their players. With examples drawn from over forty years of game history, and from games made by artists, hobbyists, iconic designers, and industry studios, Run and Jump presents a comprehensive-and engaging-vision of this slice of game history.

By: Peter D. McDonald
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 203mm, Width: 133mm,
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780262547390
ISBN 10: 0262547392
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 12 March 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Contents On Thinking Playfully vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction: A Curious Persistence 1 1 Jumping 21 2 Dirt Suspended in the Air 51 3 Philosophy of the Enemy 81 4 Every Game Is Two Games 107 Conclusion: No Cheat Code 129 Notes 139 Ludography 153 Bibliography 157 Index 167

Peter McDonald is Assistant Professor of Design, Creative, and Informal Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research explores the ways people interpret play, the design practices that can support critical engagement through play, and the historical contexts of playfulness.