Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias
Learn the mechanics and level architecture behind great 2D platformers and Metroidvanias. Tune responsive movement kinematics, craft satisfying level pacing, and build interconnected worlds with smart ability gating.
Like Duolingo, but for Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
26 levels across 4 sections, about 52 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Kinesthetic Core and Game Feel, Level Architecture and Visual Language, Metroidvania World Structure, and Combat Integration and Balancing. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias
- Symmetric parabolic arcs feel unnaturally sluggish on descent to players
- Setting downward gravity 1.5x to 2x higher than upward gravity snaps landings
- Increased fall gravity cuts airborne hang time without sacrificing jump height
- Jump height responds dynamically to button release during the upward ascent
- Releasing early clamps upward velocity or applies an immediate gravity penalty
- Input polling evaluates key duration each frame rather than anticipating it
- Zero-ramp instant velocity enables micro-spacing for combat platformers
- Gradual acceleration curves reward forward planning and continuous movement
- Deceleration friction dictates whether stopping feels sharp or committed
- Apex float creates a brief micro-pause at the trajectory's highest point
- The widened apex window gives players critical reaction time to steer landings
- Dampening vertical speed at peak keeps jumps readable without floaty falls
- Vector clamping steals budget from horizontal speed when vertical speed is maxed
- Decoupled axis limits allow full horizontal air control during terminal fall
- Independent axis clamping prevents excessive diagonal compounding on ramps
- Human visual reaction time makes players press jump frames after leaving a platform edge
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
To give platformer landings a crisp, responsive snap, how should your downward gravity compare to upward gravity?
Get it right to open this lesson and 25 more in the app.
How to learn Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias, step by step
Go in order. 26 short levels across 4 sections, about 52 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Kinesthetic Core and Game Feel
- Tuning Movement Kinematics
- Forgiving Inputs and Spatial Juice
- 2
Level Architecture and Visual Language
- Spacing, Cadence, and Obstacle Geometry
- Implicit Guidance and Environmental Signposting
- 3
Metroidvania World Structure
- Ability Gating and Traversal Keys
- Interconnected Maps and Mitigating Backtracking
- 4
Combat Integration and Balancing
- Platforming-Combat Synergy and Boss Arenas
- Progression Curves and Sequence Breaking
4 sections · 8 units · 26 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias
How do I learn Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias?
Go in order: start with Kinesthetic Core and Game Feel, then Level Architecture and Visual Language, then Metroidvania World Structure, then Combat Integration and Balancing. On Tomo that's 26 short levels, about 52 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias course free?
Yes. Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias?
26 levels across 4 sections, about 52 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias?
No. It's pitched at an intermediate level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias today.
Download Tomo, search Designing 2D Platformers and Metroidvanias, and play your first lesson in under a minute.