| abstract | - While Jump Physics are common in video game worlds, and even the lowliest platforming hero is commonly capable of a Double Jump, this is comparatively much rarer: Video games that actually let your character fly freely about the world. From a design standpoint, this seems logical. After all, if your character can fly anywhere, what's to stop them from flying to distant parts of the level and completely avoiding all the obstacles you planned for them? And even moreso: How do you keep them from flying off the edges of the level (or world map) without having to rely on those Invisible Walls? Ignoring the obvious Flight Simulators (and many a World War 2 dogfighting game), there are still games that let your character fly freely through the wild blue yonder, but for the sake of gameplay and level design will usually impose one or more of the following limits:
* Flight can only be used in specific levels or areas, or by acquiring a specific item or powerup that is itself found only in specific levels or areas, or landing/take-off is only possible at certain locations or on certain terrain types.
* Or, similarly, Gravity Barriers impose clear rules on where the player is and is not allowed to fly. A Truth in Television example is the flight ceiling, a general threshold above which real-life aircraft cannot generate enough lift to maintain safe flight. Though for real aircraft this tends to be much higher than videogames featuring such a limit.
* Flight is granted as a late-game ability: The fact that you can skip between levels and areas is moot when you have already played through them just to get there.
* The skies are filled with enemies and obstacles, making them just as treacherous as the ground, if not more so. This is especially the case if your character cannot adequately attack or defend themselves in mid-air, or can be easily knocked out of the sky into the nearest pool of molten lava or Bottomless Pit.
* Or, on the other hand, the skies are empty: There are little to no puzzles, Power Ups, Plot Coupons, or other events that can be accessed from the air, requiring the player to land at the nearest open space and continue the rest of the way on foot. A common limitation of the Global Airship.
* And that's assuming there is a sky to take to. Walls and ceilings encroaching on all sides impose obvious limits as to where the player can fly; more Nintendo Hard games may give the player a whole maze of Deadly Walls to fly through.
* Flight can only be used for limited durations at a time, beyond which the character is out of fuel (another Truth in Television), energy, or is otherwise too exhausted to continue flying and must return to the ground to rest or refuel. Or touch the ground for a split second to instantly reset their flight meter, as the case may be.
* It is Not Quite Flight; for example, a winged character who can only glide or make wing-assisted leaps. In practice, this usually involves mechanics similar to a Double Jump. Examples of Video Game Flight include:
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