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TIGSource ForumsDeveloperDesignTouch Controls for Mobile Platformer
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rocketh
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« Reply #20 on: September 09, 2014, 01:53:53 AM »

On-screen controls moves far away from the tactile presence of a keyboard.

That's a major issue when dealing with on-screen controls. You can't use your touch to perform micro-movements or to "feel" your current position, finger-wise.

One interesting solution I've seen in recent games is to "spawn" the controls anywhere the player's finger touches the screen. That way, players don't have to look down on their screen to check if their fingers are placed correctly. So instead of pressing the left button to go left, you tap anywhere and slide your finger left to achieve the same result.
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Polly
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« Reply #21 on: September 09, 2014, 03:35:16 AM »

have they ever made a game like LocoRoco for the iphone?

Rolando
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joeyspacerocks
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« Reply #22 on: September 09, 2014, 04:11:01 AM »

On-screen controls moves far away from the tactile presence of a keyboard.

That's a major issue when dealing with on-screen controls. You can't use your touch to perform micro-movements or to "feel" your current position, finger-wise.

One interesting solution I've seen in recent games is to "spawn" the controls anywhere the player's finger touches the screen. That way, players don't have to look down on their screen to check if their fingers are placed correctly. So instead of pressing the left button to go left, you tap anywhere and slide your finger left to achieve the same result.

Yup that's the solution I use in my games. Works well for most things but does require some way of telling the player what to do the first few times they play (something that I've failed at so far).
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rj
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« Reply #23 on: September 09, 2014, 06:20:02 PM »

everyone saying a tight platformer can't be done on touch hasn't played sonic cd mobile (or the other two whitehead ports) because holy hot fuck
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rocketh
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« Reply #24 on: September 11, 2014, 04:53:59 AM »

To me the issue isn't development related ( though bad programming can sure turn things for the worst ), it's lacking the tactile response from a physical controller. When I play with on-screen controls, I am forced to look down the device every now and then, which is kinda bad if the game is fast paced and slick.
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joeyspacerocks
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« Reply #25 on: September 11, 2014, 05:07:15 AM »

To me the issue isn't development related ( though bad programming can sure turn things for the worst ), it's lacking the tactile response from a physical controller. When I play with on-screen controls, I am forced to look down the device every now and then, which is kinda bad if the game is fast paced and slick.

Yup, there's no getting away from that. Plus you've got the problem that your fingers obscure the play area.

To be successful the game really needs to accept the touch platform in some of the core design decisions. I attempt to do this by removing the number of inputs required. For example, in QB1-0 I made the decision to have the ship always thrusting and always firing, leaving the input to simple rotate + boost. It's a compromise, sure, but you can use it to your advantage - in this instance it makes the game more frantic and I pile on the bad guys to negate making it too easy.

For the platformer I'm writing it's more challenging - I'm trying to design the game around a simple left/right jump mechanic, which means I have to come up with the best ways to trigger events (e.g. bounce on buttons), kill bad guys (e.g. jump on them), etc. without requiring more input triggers.
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« Reply #26 on: September 11, 2014, 06:16:18 AM »

everyone saying a tight platformer can't be done on touch hasn't played sonic cd mobile (or the other two whitehead ports) because holy hot fuck

i did and found it unplayable, same as every other platformer with virtual buttons (keep in mind that i'm bad at twitch type games even with a regular controller tho).
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rocketh
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« Reply #27 on: September 12, 2014, 01:58:09 AM »

One thing I noticed while developing on mobile is that a lot of users are absolutely fine with slapping on-screen buttons on their games.

Even more, those buttons help them relate to the game and its core gameplay. Players see an attack and jump button, they immediately get what they will be dealing with - which is something you may actually want for your game.

On the other hand, any control scheme purposely designed to avoid on-screen buttons - and thus aimed for mobile play - has to be taught. Players will have to go through some tutorials and get used to it. And while most passionate gamers will enjoy the opportunity to learn & try something new, most casuals may find that cumbersome.
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« Reply #28 on: April 11, 2017, 02:31:04 AM »

Hi, i don't know if anyone is still interested in this, but i think we made an awesome control system for a mobile platformer. We dont use virtual joysticks or autorunning, instead everything is done by tapping.

The game is called Space Rabbits in Space. Check out our webpage here: http://ventilatorshark.com/

If you want to try it out, PM me with your platform (Ios/android).
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quantumpotato
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« Reply #29 on: April 19, 2017, 06:46:46 AM »

I was wondering if anyone here has made a platformer game in "PORTRAIT" mode.

If so, how did you arrange the controls( left,right and jump)?

Try left = left, right = left, left+right = jump. Jump left: Left+right, release right.
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