Edit: Ah, I see what Tom is missing in 1:5 😉
I did fall to my death, it just stood out as annoying because it was the very last jump of the game 😂
The character is already a Capsule? Are you using CharacterBody3D and move_and_slide? Or your own custom movement?
For the blob shadow, in the Forward+/Mobile renderer you can use the Decal node with a radial gradient on it (screenshot below.) For the Compatibility renderer you need a custom shader like this one but the same basic idea applies. It's not that natural, but the idea is you use it in addition to the lighting shadow just for assisting the player. You can fade the decal out as the player gets close to the ground, or keep it as a sort of cheap ambient occlusion.
