Videos made with Jabbertoon
Short films about how cartoons and games really work. Every one is made in Jabbertoon, with the same tools you get for free, and every one opens in the editor for you to change.
Video games secretly cheat, for you
Transcript: Video games secretly cheat, for you
Sandy: I'm amazing at this game. I never fall!
Maya: Want to know a secret? The game is helping you.
Sandy: Helping me? How?
Maya: Run off a ledge, and for a split second you can still jump. Designers call it coyote time.
Maya: It's named after the cartoon coyote who hangs in the air before he falls.
Sandy: So I was already falling?
Maya: Every time.
Maya: Press jump a moment too early, and the game remembers, and jumps the moment you land. That's a jump buffer.
Gus: And me? I'm told to miss my first shots, so you see me coming.
Sandy: You miss on purpose?
Gus: Your hits count a little bigger than they look. Mine count a little smaller.
Maya: And in some games, the last sliver of your health lasts longer than it looks.
Sandy: So I'm not amazing?
Maya: You're amazing. The game just makes sure you feel it.
Sandy: Can I have more coyote time?
Maya: No.
Sandy: Okay, but where can I make a game like this?
Maya: Right where we made this video: jabbertoon.com. Make your own games, cartoons and videos, free.
Make it yours: open this cartoon in the editor, with Sandy, Maya and Gus, their lines and their moves, and change anything: the words, the voices, who says what.
The five cheats
- Coyote time. For a split second after you run off a ledge, the game still lets you jump. Without it, a jump pressed a moment late feels like the game ignored you.
- The jump buffer. Press jump just before you land and the game remembers it, then jumps the moment your feet touch the ground.
- Enemies miss first. In many games an enemy's first shots are made to miss, so you see the danger before it hurts you.
- Kind hitboxes. What counts as a hit is a little bigger than it looks for your attacks, and a little smaller for the attacks aimed at you.
- The last sliver of health. Some games make the end of your health bar last longer than it looks, so close calls happen more often than defeats.
None of them is unfair: each one makes a game feel the way its player expects it to.
How these films are made
Each film is a cartoon made in the editor: its characters are built in the 🛠 Studio from its starters (Sandy is the crab, Gus the gull, Maya a person), their voices are free voices made in the browser, and the editor records the film itself. We add the title and the last card. Nothing else is drawn or animated outside Jabbertoon.
Make your own: start a cartoon, start a game, or follow the lessons.