Jumper is a series of platforming games, made by MattMakesGames, which are known for being really, really hard.
The main and only character of the Jumper series is Ogmo—also styled as "OGMO" or "that little red guy"—a small, red, rectangular freak of nature1 that is very cute and very agile. Its eyes and mouth are also large back rectangles, all of different sizes and proportions. No one is sure as of yet whether they are actually eyes or a mouth. Its main weapon against the hordes of platforming levels is its double jump, during which it tends to spin around spastically in the air. Jump arcs are perfectly preserved, though, so everything's cool.
The first installment in the Jumper series, aptly named 'Jumper', is the original that started it all. It was released by Matt in February of 2004, it features Ogmo escaping an unspecified facility. As a platformer, there are really few bells and whistles, just simple physics action. Matt himself has stated that the idea was to strip down all the fluff of platformers, and leave it for what it really was2. Some of the iconic features are the absolutely uneventful landscape of gray floor-wall-ceilings and black background, the Ever-Useful Golden Up-Arrows of Mid-Air Jump Regeneration (EUGUAMAJRs3), and the annoying-as-hell electricity walls. (Red good, yellow bad...)
Then, while you were busy slamming at your keyboard in frustration, Matt came out with 'Jumper 2' in June 2004. In this episode, Ogmo is greeted by a revamped physics engine, allowing for wall jumps and skid jumps. Now, the levels are adorned with fancier dressings: you'll play in some ruins, say, and there will actually be aged columns, cracked stone floors, and shifty runes carved into the walls. The environments are also fresh, too: the sectors now look convincingly like jungles or snow-capped plateaus, as opposed to the monotonicity of the very convoluted and difficult-to-navigate underground facility.
To begin 2005 off, Matt makes 'Jumper: Redux', a recreation of the original Jumper, with updated graphics and music, as well as slightly smoother gameplay. Not enough that it makes it easier to play—that would be just awful—but now Ogmo no longer has the ability to emit jumping sounds in one-block-high hallways, as his head would technically be touching the roof, for instance. Also, lag present in the original game, especially during times when the music finished and had to be looped, was done away with. The game was also extended with a training mode, extra levels, and even an online multiplayer system.
Finally, in 2008, we are graced with 'Jumper 3'. A slight departure from the other games, both in content and in style, Ogmo is now on a strange new planet, and needs to find a home. He does this by splitting up into five different coloured forms, each with their own abilities, such as the ability to grapple, or hovering, to forage a path through this world. A new gimmick in this edition is the collection of the coins dispersed in each level, as opposed to just completing it. The levels are also smaller and easier, and the colours are more pastel-like than the solids and vivids of the other Jumpers. It is no less difficult than the preceding Jumpers, but just went in a new direction.
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1 Jumper is in no way related to the Meat Boy of the Super Meat Boy franchise, except in that both are red, rectangular and are capable of jumping. Meat Boy came out in 2008 at the earliest, while Ogmo was already kicking about since '04. Jumper is also a clearly superior game altogether.
2 Mostly to make it easier to code, he says. But give him a break! He was like, sixteen. Be glad he had enough experience behind him to make such beauties as An Untitled Story and Give Up, Robot work out great.
3 Pronounced 'you-GWA-mah-jurs'. N.B.: They are not actually called EUGUAMAJRs (unfortunately).
[IN12#23]