Isometric Platformer Concepts

Isometric games show a 3D-feeling world on a flat screen — great for adventure and collectathons. Lonely Elephant explores related ideas in the browser; older experiments on andyharner.com (Cloud Surfer platforms, character jumpers) practice the same fundamentals with simpler cameras.

Core ideas

• Camera: Orthographic view, often rotated about 30 degrees on X and 45 on Y.
• Movement: Map WASD to world axes so on-screen “up” matches intended depth.
• Sorting: Draw nearer objects over farther ones (Y-sort sprites or depth in 3D).
• Collision: Start with ground footprints (circles/boxes) before fancy mesh collision.

A practical build order

1. Place a flat ground grid and a camera that looks isometric (or orthographic 3D).
2. Add a character that moves on the ground plane only.
3. Add one collectible and one obstacle.
4. Layer companions or power-ups (birds, tools, jumps) — Lonely Elephant’s birds are a good model.
5. Only then add enemies, bosses, or multi-region maps.

Practice projects on this site & andyharner.com