Abilities are a new built-in gameplay mechanic allowing players to explore and engage in new ways. The first Abilities released allow players to fly, double jump, and dance on air.
All the player needs to do is equip the right item(s) if an Experience allows certain Abilities to be used.
Currently, only The Sandbox can create equipment with Abilities.
Use Abilities
Equip Abilities During Play
Press I to open your Inventory.
Find equipment with an Abilities icon on its card (top left).
Double click or press E to equip.
Build Experiences with Abilities
Design for specific Abilities (see details per Ability below)
Ability Types
Slot: Chest
Players can fly for a short duration, hovering or reaching new heights normally inaccessible.
Abilities stats are subject to change to improve controls and gameplay balance.
Benefits
Fly Up - reach new areas in Experiences that take advantage of verticality.
Hover - maintain altitude when platforms disappear, get a bird's eye view to search, etc.
Fly Forward Quickly - dash or change direction fast for exploration or agility challenges.
Use Cases
Traversal & Exploration
Advanced Movement & Gameplay
Design Considerations
Balancing & Accessibility
Flight Duration: Ensure players can't bypass too many challenges and trivialize gameplay.
Obstacle Placement: Introducing mid-air obstacles, moving platforms, or flying enemies to maintain challenge.
Timing & Mechanics: Ensuring players have adequate practice with hovering without making levels too difficult.
Difficulty Balancing: Avoiding the ability from trivializing level design.
Environmental Integration
Height Management: Providing meaningful reasons to fly upwards, such as hidden areas or objectives.
Invisible Boundaries & Skyboxes: Preventing players from flying out of the intended play area while maintaining a sense of freedom.
Environmental Hazards: Designing traps and areas where hovering is essential but limited, such as narrow corridors where players must hover to avoid danger.
Speed Control & Precision: Preventing overshooting and ensuring players can adjust direction mid-flight.
Open Spaces: Designing large, open environments that encourage sprint flying.
Skill Progression & Rewards
Unlocking Progression: Flight could unlock new sections, promoting replayability.
Path Variety: Creating alternate routes that reward mastery of the ability, such as hidden shortcuts or obstacle-based sections.
Slot: Legs
Players can trigger a second jump, affecting jump height, distance, and direction.
Double Jump Basics
Stats (estimate)
Distance: 10 blocks
Height: 4 blocks
No cooldown
Normal Jump
Distance: 6 blocks
Height: 2 blocks (previously 1.5)
Abilities stats are subject to change to improve controls and gameplay balance.
Benefits
Greater Distance - Jump across wider gaps.
Increased Height - Reach higher platforms, climbable objects, collectables, etc.
Mid-air Maneuvering - Avoid obstacles and hazards, control momentum, or land precisely.
Use Cases
Traversal & Exploration
Advanced Movement & Gameplay
Design Considerations
Balancing & Accessibility
Balance: Challenge and reward, but do not requiring perfect timing too frequently.
Soften Consequences: Use checkpoints near challenging sections to avoid frustration.
Assist Struggling Players: Offer as help to players who fall far behind race leaders.
Varied Difficulty: Let players choose courses where the Ability aids or diversifies gameplay.
Obstacle Spacing: Balance hazard placement to challenge without making jumps unfair.
Environmental Integration
Visibility: Ensure platforms, hazards, and useful items are not blocked from the player view.
Jump Length & Height: Ensure jump distance and height are considered in the level design.
Complexity: Vary movement with stationary, rotating, moving, sinking, and disappearing platforms, hazards to avoid, and useful objects in sections and throughout the world.
Signposting: Use lighting, shadows, VFX, or other visual cues to indicate jumpable surfaces.
Feedback: Hint at best jump timing and reward success with visual and audio cues.
Skill Progression & Rewards
Risk vs. Reward: Place valuable collectibles or shortcuts in areas requiring difficult jumps.
Scaling Difficulty: Start with simple jumps and introduce complex combinations over time.
Player Choice: Offer multiple traversal methods, such as edge climbing or directional adjustments, to cater to different playstyles.
Slot: Arms
Players can glide through the air, making it easy to traverse gaps, avoid hazards, and explore.
Air Dance Basics
Stats (estimate)
Distance: 8 blocks
No cooldown
Abilities stats are subject to change to improve controls and gameplay balance.
Benefits
Glide Movement - Hover as you move over gaps to find new ways to explore areas.
Move While Dancing - Walk or run while dancing with VFX that can't be done with emotes.
Use Cases
Traversal & Exploration
Advanced Movement & Gameplay
Design Considerations
Balancing & Accessibility
Difficulty Balancing: Avoiding the ability from trivializing level design while providing an alternative for players who struggle with platforming.
Hazard Placement: Adjusting level hazards and obstacles to accommodate Air Dance while maintaining fair difficulty.
Environmental Integration
Meaningful Design: Designing lateral progression, hidden pathways, and more.
Skill Progression & Rewards
Ramp of Difficulty: Start with simple, safe traversals and gradually increase difficulty of distance, avoidance, and landings.
Toggle specific Abilities on/off (Gameplay - tab)
Find equipment assets with Abilities (Library - ), set as Collectable
Flight
Controls
Toggle: F
Move: SPACE/C+ WASD
Need to Know
More player access and visibility
Forward flies down
Backward flies up
Stable lateral movement
Potential tool for
Large Spaces: Travel quickly to explore expansive environments.
Tight Spaces: Traverse narrow vertical shafts where jumping is insufficient.
Hidden Areas & Secrets: Explore floating islands, high towers, etc.
Aesthetic & Useful Views: Offer wide vantage points or provide aerial clues.
Backtracking & Replay: Unlock new routes in cleared areas.
Avoid Hazards: Bypass dangers like fire, lava, spikes, or electrified floors.
Airborne Interactions: Activate mechanisms, collect items, talk to NPCs, etc.
Timed Challenges: Race in an area, flip switches in order, and more.
Puzzle Verticality: Add vertical depth to puzzles with optical illusions, secrets, and interactive objects.
Aerial Agility Challenges: Speed through checkpoints or obstacles with precision for points, bonuses, etc.
Precise Platforming: Correct jumps as needed for greater accuracy.
Double Jump
Controls
Move:SPACE (x2)
Need to Know
Added reach with
Jump timing matters
Jump correction
More spatial access
Great for speed running
Traverse Large Gaps: Jump a slightly longer distance, normally not possible.
Shortcuts & Alternate Paths: Offer multiple ways to explore and race.
Hidden Areas & Secrets: Encourage exploration and reward risk-taking.
Backtracking & Replay: Unlock new routes in cleared areas.
Dodge Obstacles & Hazards: Bypass moving or stationary dangers, barriers, etc.
Reduce Climbing: Reach or transition into ladders, vines, or walls.
Control Momentum: Fine-tune jumps to avoid overshooting targets.
Reach Useful Items: Collect PowerUps, equipment, resources, consumables, etc.
Speed & Agility Challenges: Navigate sequences of dynamic elements with rapid jump execution.
Puzzle Elements: Create puzzles where jump timing and reach are necessary to find clues, progress, etc.
Accessibility: Ensure that the combination of Double Jump and is intuitive.
Air Dance
Controls
Toggle: CTRL
Need to Know
Includes a dance animation + music VFX
Horizontal Glide
Must jump to activate
Large Spaces: Reach distant areas, explore vast environments, and more.
Hidden Areas & Secrets: Encourage exploration and reward risk-taking.
Traverse Large Gaps: Glide across a distance that can't be crossed otherwise.
Bypass Difficult Jump Sequences: Navigate across an area as an alternative to platforming.
Avoid Obstacles & Hazards: Hover over lava, spikes, or other hazards.
Puzzle Integration: Hover over paths or avoid obstacles to trigger events and solutions.
Music Integration: Enhance fun in concerts, social hubs, and events.
Narrative Integration: Enhance storytelling as a key traversal world mechanic.
