Creating a platformer absent of a jump mechanic requires finding something which can replace it, and replace it well.
At the end of the day, Escape from Sunnyside, is still a platformer. The player is still required to navigate platforms, clear gaps, and reach goals in each level. So whatever it is that replaces jumping, needs to be just as useful to the game's progression, and just as imperative.
Although the narrative to the game hasn't been too fleshed out as of yet, I do like the idea of having the protagonist attempting to escape from somewhere. Its quite a common theme in platformers to ascend from point A to point B, and in order to give this game a retro feel, sticking to this seems complimentary to the project more than cliche. So that begs the question; how do we ascend without jumping?
The obvious answer comes from the name of the genre. Platforms. But just moving onto a series of rising platforms doesn't sound particularly exhilarating. I think one of the things that makes platforms themselves interesting in these games besides how they behave, is usually trying to land on them with precision. So we need to rise and land, in a controlled manner, without jumping. The first idea that comes to mind is some sort of propulsion. Some sort of force that would in turn apply force to the player like the kickback on a gun. In fact, if you were to fire a gun at the floor, in a cartoon-like world, the force of that gunshot might push you off the ground. How can I play with that idea?
Welcome, chicken laying eggs. Yes that's right. I can't quite piece together exactly the train of thought that led to this decision but somehow that's where I arrived. A chicken which shoots eggs out its own butt so hard that it shoots itself up into the air. What I immediately loved about this idea even more, is that chickens are flightless birds. It makes perfect sense that they wouldn't be able to jump, taking something based in reality, and exaggerating it to fit a cartoon and comedic world.
To take this idea even further, I then had the idea of eggs becoming physical objects in the game world which we can interact with and use like weights to activate pressure plates which would move platforms and unlock doors to new areas. This silly farfetched egg-laying mechanic, quickly showed its potential to cover all the elements of platformers I wanted in my game.
With that came another idea. To lean into this retro feel even more, why not take advantage of the depth and versatility of this mechanic, and create a 2-button game!