Castle Climber devlog 1

I've made the start of a simple platformer which I've called castle climber.  You control a "castle climber" as they race to the top of the level, jumping from platform to platform. 

I wanted to see what I could do with a simple mechanic such as a jump. Limiting the player to one action means I had to automate things such as movement which would normally be under the player's control. To do this, the "castle climber" never stops running forward and only changes direction when hitting a wall (He's a got bouncy shoes on). This proved to be interesting as one could time their jump so that you hit a wall mid jump and subsequently change your direction whilst in the air. This opens the door for some interesting jumps to be placed in the level.

But there's no fun in just jumping your way from level to level, so I added some coins to collect along the way. The coins don't do anything yet, except making a noise when they get collected. This could be expanded on as a way to unlock levels or as a simple level % complete system.

With player interaction limited, further game mechanics would need to be external from the player. So I added a well known obstacle, some spikes. The spikes are just spikes, they poke you if you land on them and you start the level again. Avoid the spikes to get to the top.

By combining these systems I've managed to make a few levels. I feel, however, that more creativity with regards to how these mechanics are used as well as additional mechanics are needed to make the game more enjoyable.