A strange little side quest
Lav Runner may feel immediate, but the ideas around platform games have been evolving for a very long time. Sonic the Hedgehog launched in 1991 and turned speed itself into a defining platform-game mechanic. A second detail makes the picture even better: Doom changed game design and distribution in 1993 by separating its engine from content and spreading widely through shareware. That history is one reason familiar mechanics can still feel new when they are recombined well.
