Endless runner

Endless runner or infinite runner is a subgenre of platform game in which the player character runs for an infinite amount of time while avoiding obstacles. The player's objective is to reach a high score by surviving for as long as possible. The method by which the game level or environment appears to continuously spawn before the player is an example of procedural generation. The genre exploded on mobile platforms following the success of Canabalt, Jetpack Joyride and Temple Run being other popular examples. Its popularity is attributed to its simple gameplay that works well on touchscreen devices.

Concepts

Endless runners can be side-scrolling, as in the genre's early titles, top-down, or 3D, but the player is placed in a neverending level in which the character automatically moves forward. The player's only form of control is to have the character dodge obstacles, either by moving out of the way or using a specific button. Some form of points, currency, or other rewards are gained over time by maneuvering in the level or simply staying alive longer. The game progressively increases in difficulty as time goes on. The player has a game over if they are hindered enough by the obstacles that they are "caught" by whatever is chasing them and die.

History

Precursors

The genre has its origins in the Vertically scrolling video game and Side-scrolling video game, rail shooters and platform games of the early 1980s. In particular the earliest titles to use continuous, automatic, or forced scrolling, and those that limited the options of the player to the avoidance or destruction of oncoming obstacles.

Scramble (March, 1981) was the first title recognised to intoduce forced horizontal scrolling. It was followed by Jump Bug (December, 1981), one of the first platformers to introduce forced horizontal scrolling and one of the first 2D videogames to introduce Parallax scrolling. This effect would be emulated by future titles to create a sense of motion and depth when continuously scrolling. Another forced scroller, Zaxxon (January, 1982) substituted parallax scrolling with isometric 3d giving the player the ability to avoid objects by moving in four directions. Like Zaxxon, Moon Patrol (May, 1982) and B.C.'s Quest for Tires (1983) improved upon the paralax scrolling effect of earlier titles, offsetting the linear forced scrolling by alluding to linear movement through 3 dimensional space.

The Game & Watch title Turtle Bridge (February, 1982) is one of the first to feature endless running with the player using only left and right controls to avoid diving turtles.

Pitfall! (September, 1982) is considered to be one of the genre's primary ancestors. While it did not feature side-scrolling, it featured constant linear (forward) movement from screen to screen along with the avoidance of hazards and a time limit.

The vertically scrolling title MotoRace USA (March 1983) was an overhead perspective car dodging and jumping game which included pseudo-3d segments which endlessly looped through tracks similar to the modern endless runner. Dragon's Lair (June, 1983), unlike platformers, featured forced forward movement by combining full action video and quicktime events to respond to oncoming hazards and obstacles. Another forced scroller - SonSon (1984) allowed you to jump across to fixed platforms as they moved across the screen.

The idea of being chased relentlessly by an indestructible obstacle, monster or boss to enforce forward progression appears was greatly influenced by the boulder scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. This theme appeared in games like Draconian (1984) in which the player must avoid obstacles while being pursuited by an invincible giant dragon. This would become a recurring theme of endless running gameplay.

PC and console era

Side-scrolling platform games were booming in the late 1980s and early 1990s, however titles that limited player movement were rare. Instead, with the innovation of the PC mouse and console controllers in the late 1980s and 1990s, games, in particular platformers, were increasingly giving players more freedom to move in many directions to complete and increasing their objectives. There were, however, a few important precursors in this era. Atomic Runner Chelnov (1988), while also a shooter has many of the hallmarks of a modern runner with forced scrolling and long jumping onto platforms to avoid hazards. Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (1988) also combines forced scrolling with platforming. Nintendo's Super Mario World (1990) and Yoshi's Island (1995) feature similar mechanics. SkiFree (1991) featured an endless obstacle avoiding gameplay. Battletoads (1991) features several forced scrolling areas where the player is required to avoid hazards and obstacles. In Genji Tsuushin Agedama (1991) the player is constantly running in a forced scrolled environment. The popular pinball machine Doctor Who (1992) featured a video mode with forced scrolling running and avoiding obstacles. The 2d platformer Disney's Alladin (1994) featured automatic horizontally scrolling magic carpet segments in which featured hazards entering from the right of the screen by which could be avoided by moving up and down.

The 3d platformer Crash Bandicoot (1996) focused on forward movement within corridors primarily in third person perspective, including obstacles and hazards that prevented backward motion, very similarly to the modern Temple Run clone. Limiting freedom of movement helped overcome the graphical limitations of early 3d console hardware but the ease and simplicity of its linearity and controls proved extremely popular among gamers.

While early games included elements of the endless runner, few of them were truly "endless" in the sense of the word in that they included some sort of set levels, objectives, stages, time limits or game loops.

Endless games, Canabalt and Mobile gaming boom

Doodle Jump (April 2009), a vertical scroller, was one of the first mobile titles to be endless, with game only ending when falling to the bottom of the screen or hitting an obstacle. It was to pave the way for even more popular titles.

The prototype endless runner, building on Doodle Jump's success, was Canabalt (August 2009), an indie game developed by Adam Saltsman in which the player flees from a city being destroyed by giant robots that is procedurally generated and infinite. Cannabalt used distance gained as the main scoring system. These were both common element of subsequent runners. The 2D scroller limited movement to leaping and dodging obstacles simply by touching the screen, overcoming control limitation of touchscreen devices. Adult Swim Games soon asked Saltsman for permission to adapt Canabalt's design into their own title, and released Robot Unicorn Attack (2010). It became an internet meme due to Adult Swim's larger audience and its quirky themes.

Within just months, the App Store was full of 2D endless runner clones. Some of the more popular 2D mobile titles included Tiny Wings (February 2011), Jetpack Joyride (September 2011), Punch Quest (2012) and Flappy Bird (2013). Running with Friends (2013) is notable in its effort to integrate with Facebook to support social multiplayer running.

Monetization and the Free to Play model

Endless runners became known for the addictiveness of their gameplay. This also led to them being monetized using the Free to Play model. Monetization tactics used in endless runners included virtual currencies (using In app purchases on mobile and the ability to:

• Fast-track progress (so as to avoid having to repeat early stages of the game)
• Credit to extend the run (such as with extra lives) and avoid game over (however this is often considered cheating)
• Customise or unlock new main characters
• Social score comparison
• Advertising

Transition to 3D

Bit.Trip Runner (2010) added rhythm game elements and was also one of the first in the genre to be rendered in 2.5D.

Another of the earliest 3D titles in the genre was Temple Run (August, 2011), introducing an over-the-shoulder viewpoint. Temple Run was followed by numerous clones and 3D innovations. Among the more popular third person 3D titles were Subway Surfers and Agent Dash (2012). Subway Surfers went on to become the most popular game of the 2010s, the first game to reach 1 billion downloads and with a total of 2.7 billion downloads achieved revenues of over $80 million through monetization.

On the PC and consoles, Temple Run clones were slower on the takeup. However the 2D title Rayman Origins (December, 2011) and its 3D successor Rayman Legends (2013) along with their mobile tie-ins were pioneering boss chase levels that would greatly simplify the platform genre and pave the way for more running titles.

Peak Popularity

During the 2010s numerous large franchises adapted their gameplay into endless runner mobile spin-offs. The 2010s these included reboots of classic video games as endless runners including the notable titles: Pitfall! (2012), Rayman Jungle Run (2012), Rayman Fiesta Run, Sonic Dash and Pac-Man Dash! (2013), Crossy Road (2014), Lara Croft: Relic Run and Pac-Man 256 (2015) as well as Super Mario Run (2016). Original titles were often lost in the sea of generic titles, rare exceptions were Race The Sun (2013) and Alto's Adventure (2015) which received positive reviews.

Google's Dinosaur Game (2014) was released at the height of the endless running craze with developers in September 2018 revealling that it had been played approximately 270 million times monthly. Microsoft was later to do the same with Surf (2020).

Conversion of franchises to the format has been criticised for being uninspired and generally lacking innovation.