Why, thank you. I'll be sure to show it around these parts, of course.

But there is an advantage: intuitivity (or naturality, or familiarity, as some would call it.) Up is a direction, and upwards you jump, so it makes natural sense. That said, it's not good when it obstructs a prominent mechanic, like in just about any 2D platformer, where you're supposed to make minute adjustments to your trajectory in midair, all the while holding the jump button to go as high/far as possible. It all depends on the game itself, so there's not really a recipe solution, like for most things in life.

I find Ico's solution interesting, though. I know we're mostly talking about keyboards here, but still: in most console games you jump with the bottom-most button (B for SNES, X for PSX), but in Ico you do it with the one that points upward (triangle;) this is complimented by the fact that the button that is opposite to it (pointing down; X) is used for going down most of the time. I don't think that the game is terribly intuitive (I, myself, had some problems understanding the mechanics at times,) but this scheme shows concern in making the control accessible. So yeah, not because every game does it in a particular way, or even because a particular solution has been proven to work in most cases, does a game have to use it in favor of some other way that might, perhaps, be more appropriate.

"Block of Jumps." Sounds like a trendy decontructivist take on Super Mario Bros.

So I just registered here, and since there's an introduction thread I guess I should do this. Here it goes.

I am of the opinion that games have failed to become relevant beyond their own context, and that the medium has a huge potential that is untapped as of yet, so I'm a big proponent of games with content that transcends the game itself, games that make you think, teach, communicate, illustrate, and just do something relevant for the player's life and for society, beyond serving as mere entertainment.

Critical as I've become of the medium, of course, I'm now trying to take matters into my own hands by making games myself. I'm actually a graphic design student doing my final project, which will become my first videogame: in it, the player will create visual compositions, which the game will evaluate according to parameters such as symmetry, color temperature and rhythm, in such a way that the player will actually be free to make the composition they want (with the 'objects' they are given) as long as they keep a clear focus. It's going to be kind of a mix between Mario Paint and Puyo Puyo, if you can somehow picture such a thing. The player will get better scores as he learns to compose through the game.

So, as it is now evident, I have joined here to learn more about making games independently, discussing such games, discussing where developers should lead the medium, etc.

Oh, and how did I get into the indie scene as a player? I guess the big eye opener was Knytt, for me; before that, I knew that there were good indie games, but with Knytt I became aware that there is so much to do beyond the usual commercial stuff. I guess only at that point did I realize that the medium was a stranded island, and that there were so many directions to take it from there.

So, hi, guys. Nice to meet you.