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[Zack Bell]

Do you guys like them?

More importantly, do you think they would work well in a metroidvania or platformer? That is my current plan, but I was curious about others' opinions.  

EDIT:

For those who don't know.

W,A,S,D to move (W to jump)

And arrow keys to aim weapon.

EDIT 2:

Nobody has replied so I added it anyway.

 

[Zetsaika]

It's no good when a game try to make WASD and ARROWS feel like 2 analogs.
They will never be fluid enough to be a good option, that if you want something smooth and with some degree of precision.

[Zack Bell]

Ok, I can see that. I know that I've been playing with it for maybe twenty minutes and I'm fairly comfortable.

I failed to mention that there is no need for a "shoot button". While you hold right, you shoot right.

I feel like Isaac was a fairly difficult game and the controls never screwed up anything that I tried to do.

[Uykered]

I prefer movement on arrow keys and action keys on the left side, if I'm not using a controller.

Also, there wasn't much point in quoting Zetsaika since he was the only other person posting in the topic. :D

[Zack Bell]

Unquoted! Haha 

And I suppose it would be easy enough to let them choose which set of keys aims and which moves the dude.

[forwardresent]

I liked the controls, more than using a mouse to aim and shoot. It's a little difficult to get any precision but it works.

[dustin]

I like the controls a lot.  In fact I like this type of controls better then with two analog sticks but that's probably just because I played a bunch of robotron and smash tv.  Although I would prefer if it had 8 way shooting instead of 4 way.  Just shoot diagonal if your pressing two directions at once.

[s0]

I did something exactly like that in an arena shooter I made 2 years ago. Though the controls were WSAD for movement and IKJL for firing to get some symmetry in there. I personally think it works OK but remember several people reacting negatively to the default control scheme.

Also: Make the buttons freely configurable. There's no reason not to do this in a PC game that uses the keyboard unless the game is like QWOP or GIRP or sth.

[baconman]

I do like the controls a lot, but I'm not sure how well they'd work in a platformer. First of all, what exactly would you be shooting downwards for, except maybe in mid-air? Secondly, while in a top-down 3/4 view like Issac, you can work around the environment to get shots in, but in a platformer, diagonals are often pretty crucial; and keyboard stroke limits on some models don't make that very effective - if you're pressing two keys to shoot diagonal, and then two MORE to jump to the side, your software's gonna trip up *somewhere.*

I do still prefer it to mouse aiming, though. Now, if you do a setup for aiming keys, or at least aim-rotation keys on Q and E that allow you to aim and move independently (ala Ikari Warriors), you can make some good tactical gameplay while still keeping a couple of shoot/item buttons.

[Zack Bell]

Shooting down will only be relevant in mid-air.

And honestly, I liked that you couldn't shoot diagonally in Isaac. I think I 'll like that in platformer context as well. It reminds me of Megaman and old-school games like that. You focus more on platforming and moving the player to a position that lets him shoot his enemies, rather than a stationary player who can aim freely.

[Schoq]

I do like the controls a lot, but I'm not sure how well they'd work in a platformer. First of all, what exactly would you be shooting downwards for, except maybe in mid-air?

To shoot enemies on platforms below you, obviously. Never played Contra?

[Zack Bell]

That's actually a good point. We have lots of jump-through platforms that will also be able to be shot through.

Shoot-through platforms, they're the new jump-through.

[baconman]

Well, you could do that. Or if you were going for MegaMan context, you could Hero:Core it with a simple shoot-left and a shoot-right button.

[saturdaymorning]

I like the control scheme in general. It took me a bit to get used to the momentum based shooting in Isaac, but after you get used to it and notice the different situations it's useful for, it's a lot of fun.

As for sidescrollers: I automatically thought of games like Contra and Gunstar Heroes, but really, the control scheme can work in any game as long as there's a reason for independent movement and aim.

[Zack Bell]

Well in a month or less there will be a devLog and you guys can try it either way 

[Falmil]

I got used to the controls pretty quickly, but they were definitely not what I preferred. I suppose they make sense in the context of the way the game is designed. Still, there is that 7 Deadly Sins boss that has a diagonal area attack, which doesn't make sense considering you should never be diagonal from him if you're constantly attacking him.

[saturdaymorning]

haha yeah, there's a normal enemy that does the same thing

[Falmil]

I think it makes sense with normal enemies considering they have the potential to swarm you.

[saturdaymorning]

That's true though I haven't really had trouble with them there either. I have the biggest issue with the dudes that jump up through cave ceilings I guess and ground pound to get their shots off.

Back on topic: I also enjoyed the Geometry Wars option of having movement on the mouse and having 8-way directional shooting on the keyboard. I haven't really seen much of that and I think it worked well there. That wouldn't work for side-scrollers though.

[deathtotheweird]

I use a ps2 style controller. left analog stick controls movement and the face buttons (x, triangle, o, square) control the shooting. the right analog stick is also mapped to control shooting but I prefer the face buttons.

I tried playing with keyboard and found it impossible.