Hi everyone, I am working on my next game and I try to optimize the controls - too many buttons at the moment and I am out of ideas how to optimize them :/ I have a little wizard - he can: walk left/right = two buttons jump = one button fall = no button needed make/break a block = 2 buttons ( at the moment ) shoot = one button Controls look like this: The problem with building blocks is, that he can make/break the block in 3 different positions: My first attempt was to use one 'make/break block' button in conjunction with a jump and a duck button ( classic d-pad ). So the player needs to press: jump + 'make/break button' to modify the block at pos 1 'make/break button' for pos 2 duck + 'make/break button' for pos 3. Works great with the iCade but with on-screen controls it turns out that is it too annoying when the wizards builds up a floor to walk on: duck + make/break -> walk -> duck + make/break -> walk ... My current approach is: one 'make/break block' button for make/breaking blocks at pos 2 one 'make/break' button for pos 3 jump + 'make/break' build a block at pos1. This is quite OK because pos 2 and pos 3 are the most used positions to make/break blocks. Nevertheless it's 3 different button combinations for basically the same action. It would be more consequent if there would be another button to make/break a block at pos 1 - but that's another button :I I also experimented with gesture controls - works great but if the player needs to be really fast it fails. Any inspiring thoughts would be greatly appreciated =) preussie
You could have just one build button, which could be tapped or flicked up/down. Imagine an unlock slider set vertically with default position in the middle. Though shorter, with a size ratio of 1x3.
The move controls look awkward. You need to have the left and right move at least on the same horizontal plane, ideally with a space between them for the neutral position. Then allow the player to just slide his/her finger from left to right to move left, stay put, move right... without having to tap the buttons.
Thanks for your reply... Great idea. If the 'touch up' event triggers the make/break action there could be a kind of 'build-stone-here-preview' while sliding - thanks Hmm - at the moment I work on the iPad. If you hold the iPad in your hands it is easier to move the thumb radial than linear left/right - I had it horizontal aligned before but IMO it is more comfortable this way...
your controls are at the moment (from the look of the partial screenshot) place at the bottom.. which is odd for an ipad game.. since usualy if you have a strong grip on the device the thumbs usualy end up somewhere mid screen and not at the bottom and you said it yourself a radial placement is more comfortable.. so why not give it a try to move the buttons away from the corner into a more higher position and arange them in a slide arc on the side of the screen.. ) ( and blitter idea about the "slider" is actualy quite interesting.. maybe even expand that idea to not only be able to build into the facing direction but "turning" the block button into some sort of analogue stick if pressed using a num block as an example the button itself would be #5 and you could place blocks at position 7,4,1 or 9,6,3 depending on your facing but it could even improve the flow a bit if you face the wrong direction but select a building spot on the opposite site the wizard turns around on his spot todo so.. a bit like in turrican where you could steer the laserbeam in whatever direction you wanted
Yep, you are right. The buttons might 'hide' a bit more of the game map up there, but I think it does not matter that much... Hah - sounds great! . I give it a try...
I agree with the walking controls, they def need to be at the same level. As for the block and fire controls, why not use swipe gestures to do the block actions and have a fire button? That will drop 3 buttons from the screen, and turn the 2 direction buttons into a joystick. Should clean things up a bit, and simplicity is key when it comes to touch controls. If you can do without some buttons then do without them
Hmm OK, maybe I have a 'weird thumb' but I still think a radial placement is more comfortable - but this seems to be a point that should be player configurable in the game... I am not sure if doing different movements with the hands ( one hand tap, second hand swipe ) will work well and in some situations the player has to be _really_ fast. I tested 'swipe controls' for the movement ( left/right/jump ) and it was definitely too slow. Nevertheless it could work for building blocks - I will test it
A game which has a simple config for walk controls in Mos Speedrun. It was free recently, but there is a lite version if that's changed. Just pause the game and the option is in the list. I gave the game a try on iPad and initially thought the controls were slightly high. Though I adapted before needing to change them. Actually what attracted me to that game was the ghost player!
Without any knowledge about the particulars of your game: do yo need the left/right buttons? Would it perhaps work just as well if the player simply tapped the position the wizard should move to?
judging by the cropped screenshot its a platformer/puzzle mix where you play a wizard who needs go somewhere or kill something on its way there and can manipulate the enviroment partially by creating (destroying?!) blocks.. so yes direct controls would be needed
I like how Junk Jack does their controls, instead of a left/right button, you do a slight 'swipe-left' or 'swipe-right and hold' from anywhere on the screen to get him moving. It is way better than having two extra big buttons on the screen, and very intuitive.
well sounds like an analogue stick limited to 2 direction it really depends if you make very precise jumps i rather prefer a button layout because a tap can be better "dosed" imho than a slide gesture.. not to mention that the hole slide detection is alot more complex than a simple button and therefore needs certain amount of time to be implemented in a quality way with the desired precision. edit: and who or what is junk jack? a search in the store did not gave any results back
By the screenshot he is doing a remake of "solomon's key" (spectrum among other 8 bits computers). A complicated game for iphone/ipad due the controls (not his controls but the game's controls)
Yep - it is a good solution. I think I will adopt it I use a 100 pixel border at the left and right of the screen ( outside the button area ) as an alternative for walking left/right. I think there is the same kind of setting in Mos Speedrun. Tapping both borders makes the little wizard jump. Works great as long as you just walk and jump but if there are any other action to do, you have to move your hands to a different position. Also tapping near the wizard makes/breaks blocks - this kind of control works great when the iPad is located on the table. It fails if you hold it in your hands... Well, creating controls everyone is comfortable with seems to be complicated. Thanks for all the ideas - I will run some tests with different controls.. I am doing a rewrite of a game I coded zillion years ago. But it is heavily inspired by Solomon's Key
