The definition

Coyote time is a short window after a character walks off a ledge during which pressing jump still produces a jump, as though they were still on the ground.

The name comes from the cartoon convention of a character running off a cliff and remaining suspended briefly before falling. In games it serves a much more practical purpose, which is compensating for the gap between deciding to jump and pressing the button.

Ours is a tenth of a second, which is roughly the low end of human reaction time and long enough to catch almost every genuine intention without feeling like the game is jumping for you.

The problem it solves

Without coyote time, a jump pressed one frame after leaving a ledge simply does not happen. The player pressed the button, the character did not jump, and they fell.

From the outside that is correct behaviour. From the player's side it reads as the game ignoring an input, because at sixteen milliseconds per frame the difference between 'on the ledge' and 'just off it' is not perceivable. The player cannot tell what they did wrong, which means they cannot fix it.

That makes it a legibility problem rather than a difficulty one. Coyote time removes a category of failure whose cause is invisible, which is exactly the kind of failure that should be removed.

Advertising keeps Candy Arcade free. Ads never cover gameplay or controls.

Choosing a duration

DurationEffectVerdict
0Edge jumps fail for imperceptible reasonsFeels broken
~0.05sCatches some intentionsBetter, still frustrating
~0.1sCatches nearly all genuine intentionsThe usual sweet spot
~0.2sNoticeably forgiving; characters hang in the airStarts to feel floaty
0.3s+The game is jumping for youBreaks the sense of control

A tenth of a second is where most platformers land, and it is where we landed after testing. The upper limit matters: too much coyote time is perceivable, and once players notice it the game feels less responsive rather than more forgiving.

Its partner: jump buffering

Coyote time forgives pressing slightly late. Jump buffering forgives pressing slightly early: a jump pressed shortly before landing is remembered and executed on contact.

The two together cover the full set of near-miss inputs. Without buffering, chaining jumps requires hitting the exact frame of landing, which is a frame-perfect demand in a game that is not otherwise asking for frame-perfect anything. Ours buffers for about an eighth of a second.

Neither mechanic makes the game easier in any interesting sense. They make the game respond to what the player meant, which is different.

Why it matters most in hard games

Counterintuitively, coyote time is more important in a difficult platformer than an easy one.

In Candy Jump the gaps have margin, so an early launch usually still lands. In Candy Jump Challenge the gaps are sized to the maximum jump, which means clearing them requires launching at the very edge at full speed - precisely the situation where coyote time is the difference between success and an invisible failure.

Using it deliberately is a legitimate technique in that game rather than an exploit. Pressing jump as you leave the ledge, rather than before it, adds real distance.

How to tell whether a game has it

Walk to the edge of a platform, keep walking off, and press jump immediately after your character has visibly left the ground. If you jump, the game has coyote time. If you fall, it does not.

It is worth checking in any platformer you find frustrating, because its absence accounts for a surprising share of platformer deaths that feel unfair. If a game lacks it, the workaround is to jump slightly earlier than feels natural - which is a compensation the game should have made for you.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming a failed edge jump was your timingIf the game lacks coyote time, the failure was invisible and not your fault. Check before blaming yourself.
  • Setting coyote time too longBeyond about two tenths of a second it becomes perceivable and the game starts feeling floaty.
  • Adding coyote time without jump bufferingThe two cover opposite errors. Without buffering, chaining jumps becomes a frame-perfect demand.
  • Treating it as a difficulty reductionIt removes failures whose cause is imperceptible. That is a legibility fix, not an easy mode.

Practical tips

  • Press jump as you leave the ledge on maximum-distance gaps; coyote time makes it safe and adds real distance.
  • In hard platformers, using coyote time deliberately is a technique rather than a trick.
  • Press jump slightly early when chaining platforms - buffering catches it.
  • Test any frustrating platformer for coyote time; its absence explains a lot of unfair-feeling deaths.

Key takeaways

  • Coyote time is a brief grace period after leaving a ledge during which a jump still registers.
  • It fixes a legibility problem: a failure the player cannot perceive the cause of.
  • About a tenth of a second is the usual sweet spot; much more feels floaty.
  • Jump buffering is its counterpart, forgiving early presses instead of late ones.
  • It matters most in hard platformers, where gaps are sized to the maximum jump.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is coyote time?

A short window after a character walks off a ledge during which pressing jump still produces a jump. Ours is a tenth of a second.

Why is it called coyote time?

After the cartoon convention of a character running off a cliff and hanging briefly in the air before falling.

Does coyote time make a game easier?

Not in any interesting sense. It removes failures whose cause the player cannot perceive, which is a legibility fix rather than a difficulty reduction.

How long should coyote time be?

Around a tenth of a second. Much longer becomes perceivable and makes the character feel floaty rather than responsive.

What is jump buffering?

The counterpart mechanic: a jump pressed shortly before landing is remembered and executed on contact, so chaining jumps does not require frame-perfect input.