Since the release of Space Panic in 1980, the platformer genre has gone from strength to strength and became one of the staples associated with video games. It spawned some of the greatest, most critically acclaimed games titles that have graced our screens and rather than seeing this genre die off, many developers have tried to bring it back and with more success than they ever could have imagined. Let’s take a look at some of the original platformers and delve into which games have tried to bring the humble platformer back to life and make an effort to bring us back to where it all began.

The definition of platformer is “a video game which involved guiding an avatar to jump between suspended platforms, over obstacles, or both to advance the game.” This simple idea can be perceived and shared in so many ways that it can be marketed and be produced to tailor to every demographic, whether that be kids, adults, animal lovers etc. the list goes on. It’s a simple template to create something truly unique.

Space Panic is seen at the “granddaddy of platform games” as it predates Donkey Kong and it certainly paved the way for future platformers. It was incredibly simple, you had to climb ladders and dig holes in the platforms to trap oncoming aliens. As any game progresses the difficulty intensifies and later saw you having to line up two or more holes vertically in order to kill the aliens. One aspect that made Donkey Kong stand out and bring it to the next level of gaming was the jump mechanic, this saw you jumping over barrels as well as climbing ladders in order to save the Pauline, the original damsel in distress. Donkey Kong became an overnight sensation, became popular in local arcades and held one of gaming’s coveted accolades, who can be the King of Kong and hold the world’s best high score. This occurred more during the arcade era but started to decline when home gaming became more accessible, meaning the crowds and atmosphere just weren’t there anymore, changing how games were played forever.

As the years went on technology improved and 3D graphics came into play, there was more demand for storyline, characters with dialogue and the ability to save became available so you could come back to the same point at a later date. This almost killed off the platformer as they had to be short games, being based in arcades and all, meaning you couldn’t save it and your high score was set when you ran out of lives, then that was it, straight back to the beginning again. As technology was advancing at such a rapid rate, titles such as Donkey Kong and Pac-man were being forgotten about, the arcade machines had gone into storage and people wanted bigger and better things. This is when RPG’s and story driven adventure games became common place and people only wanted the best graphics available, no matter what console they were being played on. It was the simplicity of platformer games that gave it so much appeal, yes the games were hard and made us scream at the screen in frustration, but what you saw on the screen was it, there weren’t any hidden troves or treasures, you just knew that you had to get from point A to point B and get one hell of a score doing so. For some people though, it just wasn’t enough, this was one of the main aspect that led to their demise.

But, just like in fashion, fads tend to resurface and become popular again, respawning the platformer genre for a new generation. This revival happened in a big way and has seen more indie developers than ever creating their own homage to the original platformer genre. The biggest platform that these titles are sold on is Steam, where small companies can get their games Green lit or Crowdfunded and gives tiny companies, with as little as 2-3 people working on the entire game, the chance to create their own tribute to the classic genre and show a new generation the thrill the original games had.

The perfect example of this would be Fez, a game created by only two people, this was a unique puzzle game in which a 3D space was viewed from four 2D angle, putting a modern spin on the classic platformer genre. This was made possible due to the technology being available and knowing this game would be played on a modern console (PS3/4, Xbox 360/One or PC) that had the ability to handle the graphics. Other games such as Shovel Knight and Escape Goat have gone right back to the roots and created something that, if you weren’t told it was a new game, would be convinced it was published in the 80’s. This was due to the classic gameplay style, the 8-bit graphic and the classic soundtrack that accompanies this style of game.

Other companies such as Nintendo, rather than creating something completely new, have revived one of their classic, Super Mario Bros. This was released in 2006 and was a 2.5D platformer, which saw characters rendered in 3D but used 2D backgrounds, mixing traditional elements of the platformer with more modern graphics. This revival proved to be the best-selling game for Nintendo DS, selling over 18.45 million copies worldwide. This really shows that the demand for platformers really is back and hopefully this will get a brand new generation of gamers playing, if not the classics, at least modern style platformers and will truly revive this retro genre.