Editing Platformer (section)

==={{visible anchor|Auto-runner games|Endless running game|Endless running games}}===
{{See also|Endless runner}}
Auto-runner games are platformers where the player-character is nearly always moving in one constant direction through the level, with less focus on tricky jumping but more on quick reflexes as obstacles appear on screen. The subcategory of endless runner games have levels that effectively go on forever, typically through [[procedural generation]]. Auto-runner games have found success on mobile platforms, because they are well-suited to the small set of controls these games require, often limited to a single screen tap for jumping.

Game designer Scott Rogers named [[Side-scrolling video game|side-scrolling shooter]]s like ''[[Scramble (video game)|Scramble]]'' (1981) and ''[[Moon Patrol]]'' (1982) and chase-style gameplay in platformers like ''[[Disney's Aladdin (1994 video game)|Disney's Aladdin]]'' (1994 8-bit version) and ''[[Crash Bandicoot (video game)|Crash Bandicoot]]'' (1996) as forerunners of the genre.<ref name=Swipe>''Swipe This!: The Guide to Great Touchscreen Game Design'' by Scott Rogers, Wiley and Sons, 2012</ref> ''[[B.C.'s Quest for Tires]]'' (1983) has elements of runner games,<ref name="newyorker canabalt"/> keeping the jumping of ''Moon Patrol'', but replacing the vehicle with a cartoon character.

In February 2003, Gamevil published ''Nom'' for mobile phones in Korea. The game's designer Sin Bong-gu, stated that he wanted to create a game that was only possible on mobile phones, therefore he made the player character walk up walls and ceilings, requiring players to turn around their mobile phones while playing. To compensate for this complication, he limited the game's controls to a single button and let the character run automatically and indefinitely, "like the people in modern society, who must always look forward and keep running".<ref>{{cite web |date=May 28, 2004 |url=http://www.dt.co.kr/contents.html?article_no=2004052802011468700002 |first=Ji-suk |last=Han |title=[Geim Keurieiteo] Geimbil 'Nom' gihoek Sin Bong-gu siljang |script-title=ko:[게임 크리에이터] 게임빌 `놈` 기획 신봉구 실장 |trans-title=[Game Creator] Director Sin Bong-Gu, planner of Gamevil's `Nom` |language=ko |website=DigitalTimes |access-date=July 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160709103137/http://www.dt.co.kr/contents.html?article_no=2004052802011468700002 |archive-date=July 9, 2016 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

While the concept thus was long known in Korea, journalists credit ''[[Canabalt]]'' (2009) as "the title that single-handedly invented the smartphone-friendly single-button running genre" and spawned a wave of clones.<ref name="newyorker canabalt">{{cite magazine | url = http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/dont-stop-the-game-that-conquered-smartphones | title = DON'T STOP: THE GAME THAT CONQUERED SMARTPHONES | first = Simon | last = Parkin | date = June 7, 2013 | access-date = December 17, 2016 | magazine = [[The New Yorker]] | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161217051533/http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/dont-stop-the-game-that-conquered-smartphones | archive-date = December 17, 2016 | url-status = live | df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-01-21-temple-run-2-review | title=Temple Run 2 review | work=Eurogamer | date=21 January 2013 | access-date=February 1, 2013 | author=Faraday, Owen | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202182013/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-01-21-temple-run-2-review | archive-date=2 February 2013 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all }}</ref> ''[[Fotonica]]'' (2011), a one-button endless runner viewed from the first person, that was described as a "hybrid of ''Canabalt''{{'}}s running, ''[[Mirror's Edge]]''{{'}}s perspective (and hands) and ''[[Rez (video game)|Rez]]''{{'}}s visual style".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2011/01/19/fotonica-you-need-this-game-now/ | title=Fotonica: You Need This Game Now | work=The Sixth Axis | date=January 19, 2011 | access-date=May 25, 2016 | author=nofi | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616234517/http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2011/01/19/fotonica-you-need-this-game-now/ | archive-date=June 16, 2016 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

''[[Temple Run]]'' (2011) and its successor ''[[Temple Run 2]]'' were popular endless running games. The latter became the world's fastest-spreading mobile game in January 2013, with 50 million installations within thirteen days.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-01-temple-run-2-is-the-fastest-selling-mobile-game-ever | title=Temple Run 2 is the fastest-spreading mobile game ever | work=Eurogamer | date=February 1, 2013 | access-date=February 1, 2013 | author=Purchese, Robert | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204175202/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-01-temple-run-2-is-the-fastest-selling-mobile-game-ever | archive-date=February 4, 2013 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref>