If you've ever tried building a platformer game, you know how challenging certain mechanics can be. Moving platforms, pass-through collisions, synchronized physics... these features can turn into development nightmares depending on your engine of choice. But here's the thing: Godot Engine has the best tools for platformer games by far.

The Moving Platform Problem

Let me paint you a picture. Have you ever tried to make pass-through characters and moving platforms in Unity? It's absolute hell. The core issue is synchronizing the forces moving the platform with the player character's physics. It gets even worse when you want to allow jumping while the character is standing on a moving platform. The physics systems just don't play nicely together without extensive custom code and workarounds.

I remember working with one of my mentees, Todoris, who was developing his first commercial game, Perception: Heart and Mind. He came to me completely blocked, struggling to implement moving platforms. The feature was eating up days of his development time, and he was getting nowhere.

My suggestion? "Have you tried snapping the CharacterBody2D and using an AnimatableBody2D?"

Within 20 minutes, we had the feature fully implemented and working perfectly. No custom physics code. No complex synchronization logic. Just Godot's built-in node system doing exactly what it was designed to do.

Why Moving Platforms Matter

These days, most quality platformer games include moving platforms. They're not just a nice-to-have feature; they're core to the platforming experience. Moving platforms add depth to level design, create dynamic puzzles, and keep gameplay engaging.

And if you want to take it even further, Godot offers another powerful tool: Path2D and PathFollow2D nodes. These let you create what I call "Path-follow Platforms," which follow predefined paths through your levels. It's an incredibly quick level design tool for creating platforming puzzles and challenges.

Remember the Way Cool level from Super Mario World? That entire level is built around path-follow platforms. It's a masterclass in how this single mechanic can create engaging, memorable gameplay.

What's New This Week

I'm excited to announce that the Platformer Essentials Cookbook 2.0 now has everything you need to create levels like Way Cool. The following chapters are complete and available:

• Moving Character
• Pass-through Character
• Moving Platform
• Path-follow Platform

The Path-follow Platform chapter is particularly special. It's the first chapter to implement dynamic embedded elements instead of the static content from the PDF version.

How to Access the New Version

If you already own the Platformer Essentials Cookbook, you can access version 2.0 right now. Simply download the book on itch.io and look for the "Platformer Essentials Cookbook 2.0" download option. This will take you to the new HTML platform where all the updated content lives.

Don't have the cookbook yet? Now is the perfect time to grab it! Once I complete the full port to the HTML version, the price will increase from $9.99 to $29.99. Lock in the lower price while you still can and get access to all current and future updates.

Happy game developing, and I can't wait to see what platformer mechanics you create!

— Henrique Campos