Godot Genre Platformer

NEVER Do (Expert Anti-Patterns)

Physics & Movement Feel

• NEVER multiply velocity by delta before move_and_slide(); the method internalizes the timestep.
• NEVER skip Coyote Time (approx 0.1s); without this grace period, jumps will feel unresponsive when walking off ledges.
• NEVER ignore Jump Buffering (approx 0.15s); players expect to jump the instant they touch the ground if they pressed the button early.
• NEVER use a fixed jump height; strictly implement Variable Jump Height (cut velocity on release) for player expression.
• NEVER forget to scale gravity by delta before adding to velocity; gravity is an acceleration and must be frame-rate independent.
• NEVER rely on discrete collision for high-speed movement; strictly use CCD_MODE_CAST_RAY to prevent tunneling through geometry.
• NEVER use move_and_collide() for standard traversal; it lacks the slope/stair handling of move_and_slide().
• NEVER check coyote or buffer timers using exact equality (== 0.0); strictly use is_equal_approx() or >= 0.0.

Polish & Level Design

• NEVER use linear camera snapping; strictly use Camera Smoothing or lerp() to prevent motion sickness.
• NEVER skip Squash and Stretch on jump/land; movement feels weightless without these subtle visual "juice" cues.
• NEVER create Blind Jumps; strictly use camera look-ahead or zoom triggers to reveal landing zones.
• NEVER use individual Sprite2D nodes for level geometry; strictly use TileMapLayer for optimized collision and rendering.
• NEVER use complex/concave CollisionShape2D for the player; strictly favor primitive shapes (Capsule/Rectangle) for stability.

Architecture & Performance

• NEVER use CharacterBody2D for simple moving platforms; strictly use AnimatableBody2D and enable sync_to_physics.
• NEVER ignore platform_on_leave for descending platforms; use PLATFORM_ON_LEAVE_ADD_UPWARD_VELOCITY to preserve jump impulse.
• NEVER disable recovery_as_collision on the player character; it is required for correct floor snapping reports.
• NEVER use the ! (NOT) operator in AnimationTree expressions; strictly use is_walking == false.
• NEVER use standard Strings for high-frequency state checks; strictly use StringName (e.g., &"jumping").
• NEVER load heavy level chunks synchronously; strictly use ResourceLoader.load_threaded_request() to prevent frame stutters.

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Available Scripts

MANDATORY: For movement feel, read the controller + modules — do not re-implement coyote/buffer/variable-jump inline.

Controllers (golden path)

• advanced_platformer_controller.gd — MANDATORY before any precision jump/run controller.
• platformer_controller_2d.gd — Leaner CharacterBody2D baseline when the advanced stack is overkill.
• player_ground_controller.gd — Floor constant speed + slope snap refinements.

Movement modules

• coyote_timer.gd — MANDATORY with jump feel work (or use the integrated advanced controller).
• jump_buffer.gd — MANDATORY with coyote for landing responsiveness.
• variable_jump.gd — MANDATORY for release-cutoff height expression.
• wall_slide_sensor.gd — Nodeless wall detection.
• ledge_grab_sensor.gd — Shape-query ledge grabs.
• one_way_drop_handler.gd — MANDATORY before drop-through / one-way platform input.
• custom_collision_slider.gd — High-speed inter-frame slide response.

World / camera / polish

• synchronized_platform.gd — AnimatableBody2D sync_to_physics platforms.
• fast_projectile_ccd.gd — CCD to stop tunneling.
• platformer_animation_sync.gd — Boolean-safe AnimationTree sync.
• platformer_camera.gd — Look-ahead / smoothing (pair with godot-camera-systems).
• game_feel_helper.gd — Tween squash/stretch on visual node (pivot at feet).
• speed_trail.gd — GPUParticles trail toggle for dash/run juice.
• checkpoint.gd — Area2D checkpoint id + SaveManager position hook.

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Core Loop

Jump → Navigate Obstacles → Reach Goal → Next Level

Skill Chain

godot-project-foundations, godot-characterbody-2d, godot-input-handling, godot-2d-animation, godot-audio-systems, godot-tilemap-mastery, godot-camera-systems, godot-monte-carlo-balancer

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Movement Feel — Decision Knobs (not tutorials)

MANDATORY read: advanced_platformer_controller.gd plus coyote_timer.gd / jump_buffer.gd / variable_jump.gd. Copy those modules; do not paste coyote/buffer recipes here.

Tune only these knobs in project code after reading the scripts:

Ground: instant direction response. Air: slightly reduced accel. Gravity scaled by delta; never velocity *= delta before move_and_slide().

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Level Design Principles

The "Teaching Trilogy"

1. Introduction — safe learn → 2. Challenge — moderate risk → 3. Twist — combine / time pressure

Flow and Pacing

Easy → Easy → Medium → CHECKPOINT → Medium → Hard → CHECKPOINT → Boss

Camera

Use platformer_camera.gd / peer godot-camera-systems for look-ahead — never blind jumps.

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Platformer Sub-Genres

• Precision (Celeste / Super Meat Boy) — instant respawn, tight controls, frequent checkpoints
• Collectathon — hub worlds, ability unlocks, backtracking
• Puzzle — slow pacing, environmental physics
• Metroidvania — route to godot-genre-metroidvania

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Common Pitfalls

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