Air Actions and Refills
You get one midair burst; glowing pickups hand it back, and the route takes shape.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- Design focus
- Dexterity · Planning · Spatial
No.033Celeste01The core loop
Action → feedback → next choice- 01Leave ground with one charge
- 02Spend it on a dash
- 03Touch a refill node
- 04Dash again to reach goal
↻Feedback changes the situation — the next round starts from there.
Walk through one round
A simplified design example. Situations and numbers illustrate the mechanic, not exact rules from a reference game.
- T1
Turn 1 · The situation
A gap needing three dashes holds two refill crystals 4 tiles apart, one sitting low and left.
- T2
Turn 2 · The player chooses
The player dashes right, drifts down to the low crystal, then dashes up-right to the second.
- T3
Turn 3 · The feedback
The character flashes on each pickup; missing the low crystal by one tile drops them into the pit.
- T4
Turn 4 · The next decision
On retry they delay the first dash a beat, learning timing matters as much as direction.
How it plays
The player carries a few air actions, such as one dash, restored by landing or by touching refill nodes that respawn after a few seconds. Designers string nodes across gaps too long for one dash, turning the level into connect-the-dots. A color change on the character shows whether a charge is ready.
What the player weighs
- Dash early for safety, or hold it as an emergency correction.
- Take the direct line through refills, or a longer ground route that never runs dry.
02Start small
Scope is an editorial estimate for the minimum prototype, not the reference game or a production schedule.
03One mechanic, different implementations
Celeste
Madeline starts with one dash (two later on), restored by landing or green crystals; her hair changes color once the dash is spent.
Neon White
Soul cards scattered in levels are both weapons and movement: discarding one triggers a jump, dash or stomp, so picking up cards is how you refill air options.
The difference worth noticing
Celeste refills one fixed ability, while Neon White hands out different abilities per pickup, so routing also means choosing which to keep.
Case notes are Yoroll editorial summaries; rules may change between versions.
04What could you combine?
Make courier contracts whose clock pauses a second at each refill node, so the fastest delivery links the most nodes.
Prototype this combo in Yoroll→Follow the next idea
Stamina Climbing Routes
Every handhold drains a meter, so the climb is planned around where you can rest.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Scan the wall for ledges
- 02Climb while stamina drains
- 03Rest on a ledge
- 04Push to the next rest
Glide and Pick a Landing
Height is fuel: spend it gliding, then pick where to touch down.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Climb to gain height
- 02Open glider and survey
- 03Steer toward a landmark
- 04Land and explore
Grapple Swing and Release
Hook on, ride the arc, and let go at the right moment to fling yourself forward.
- Prototype complexity
- Who plays
- Solo decisions
- 01Aim at an anchor
- 02Hook on and swing
- 03Release at the right point
- 04Carry speed into next hook