Make a Side‑Scroller on iPad Without Coding

Looking to bring your side‑scroll platformer ideas to life on an iPad? Say hello to hyperPad. It is the all‑in‑one, no‑code game‑making toolkit that gives you full control through visual scripting. You don’t need to know or do any code. Best of all? It’s optimized for iPad devices.

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🎮 Top Side-Scrolling Platformers

1. Celeste
   A challenging yet rewarding platformer that combines tight controls with a heartfelt narrative about overcoming personal struggles.
   
   
2. Hollow Knight
   An expansive Metroidvania set in a beautifully hand-drawn, insect-inhabited world. Known for its deep lore, atmospheric exploration, and challenging combat.
   
   
3. Shovel Knight
   A love letter to 8-bit classics, this game offers polished gameplay, charming pixel art, and multiple campaigns featuring different characters.
   
   
4. Super Meat Boy
   Renowned for its fast-paced, precision-based platforming and humorous tone, it's a test of reflexes and patience.
   
   
5. Cuphead
   With its 1930s cartoon-inspired visuals and jazz soundtrack, Cuphead stands out for its unique art style and challenging boss battles.
   
   
6. Pizza Tower
   A high-energy platformer inspired by Wario Land, featuring frantic gameplay, expressive animations, and a quirky sense of humor.
   
   
7. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
   A modern take on the classic series, offering inventive level design, cooperative gameplay, and a vibrant world.
   
   
8. Rayman Legends
   Celebrated for its fluid controls, imaginative levels, and stunning hand-drawn art, it's a platformer that appeals to players of all ages.
   
   
9. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
   A seminal title that helped define the Metroidvania genre, blending exploration, RPG elements, and gothic aesthetics.
   
   
10. Ori and the Blind Forest
    A visually stunning game that combines emotional storytelling with precise platforming and a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack.
    
    

These titles highlight key elements for a successful platformer—tight physics, engaging level design, player control, visual charm, and audio polish. Use them as your creative benchmarks!

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🔧 How hyperPad Makes Platformers Possible on iPad

hyperPad gives you a visual Behavior Editor where each game mechanic is built by dragging “behavior blocks”—no syntax needed.

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Key Features for Side‑Scrollers

• Object → Passable Platform behavior: A game‑essential tool that lets your character jump up through a platform from below and land on top—critical for creating layered platforming layouts.
  
  
• Jump behavior: Enables characters to leap with realistic physics.
  
  
• Collision events: Detect landing, hitting walls, or sprite interactions.
  
  
• Movable Platform: Support for dynamic, moving platforms within your levels.
  
  
• Collectables and scoring: Easy addition of coins and score counters with on‑collision behavior.
  
  
• Destroy Object & Passable: Make stars, enemies, or items interactable—victims can vanish upon contact, players pass through platforms, and collectibles trigger scoring—all visually lined up in a flowchart.
  
  
• Export & Publish: Instantly test on iPad, export to Xcode, and publish to the App Store—all with a one‑time purchase.
  
  

🛠️ Sample Behavior Flow for a Pass‑Through Platform

1. Drag a Passable Platform behavior onto your platform object.
   
   
2. Add a Jump behavior to your player character.
   
   
3. Use Collision Event: “On Top” to detect when landing.
   
   
4. Adjust behavior properties so the player can fall through when jumping.
   
   
5. Combine with Movable Platform to create dynamic environments (e.g., floating platforms).
   
   
6. Add Coin objects with:
   
   
   • Passable + Collision (with player)
     
     
   • Add‑to‑Score + Destroy Object behaviors
     
     

Voilà! You’ve built a Mario‑style setup, complete with character mobility, platform logic, moving elements, pickups, and scorekeeping. All without writing code!

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Make Your Side Scroller Platformer Game on iPad Now

With hyperPad’s intuitive visual behaviors like Passable Platform, Jump, Collision, Movable Platform, and Add‑to‑Score, building a polished side‑scroller on iPad is within reach, even without coding. Inspired by platforming masterpieces like Celeste and Hollow Knight, you can create layered levels, collectibles, and smooth gameplay. All optimized for touch and immediate testing.

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Start simple, iterate often, and let your iPad be your creative studio. Try hyperPad Starter for free! When you’re ready, simply upgrade to our full version of hyperPad for unlimited game creation and publishing. You get to keep 100% of your royalties and more! All for you with a one-time payment.