Opinions on movement

Game Play & Game Design
#1

Ahoy!

So, I’ve finally come up with a pretty fun game, and it just so happens that my driving force is that I really want to play it… hopefully that makes sense. Anyways, I am trying to decide which method of movement I should use for the game.

1.) Strict Tile, you press left, you move to the tile next to you…
OR
2.) Velocity Based Movement, you press left and move in that general direction at a certain speed.

I am currently leaning more towards 1, because I’ve never done it.

What are your opinions?

Thanks!

#2

If it’s a game you really want to play, then what type of movement do you prefer in a game? Does the movement make sense for the type of game?

#3

Wanting to play the game by yourself is a good motivation to make a game. External motivation is more prone to fail, than internal motivation like this.

The movement must match the game. Without knowing more, it is hard to give advice. The more abstract the game is, the better tile-based movement fits (think board games). The more realistic the game is, the better fits continuous movement.

And there are exceptions for both cases - e.g. racing games with fixed steps.

#4

I’m not sure what you’re looking for from us.

It’s like if I asked you: I’ve finally decided what to eat for dinner, but I’m trying to decide what toppings I want. Should I choose ketchup or mustard?

It entirely depends on your personal tastes, the rest of the game, your skill level, etc.

I get that you probably mostly just want to talk about programming, but your best bet is to just go in a direction and try something out. Better yet, why don’t you make two prototypes and test out both approaches to see which you like better?

#5

Can you share some more info about the game, print or some similar game?

I have no idea which one is better without knowing the game before.

#6

As the others have said before me, we need more detail about the game before we can appropriately help you decide.

That being said, a lot of my old games were tile-locked at first (because the collision was easier to implement) then were eventually given free movement because it felt more… free.