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[Cypress]

I think mousewheels could be a really neat method of control for games, but are hella underused. They're just so cool. You could use it to scratch a turntable, or adjust the length of rope for a grappling hook, and other assorted tasks that would require spinning. Are there things any of you have done/thought of as uses?

[Enshoku]

Weapon type scrolling, thats about it, and its probably the feature its most used for in video games in general.

[Core Xii]

Weapon/item switching in action games.

Zooming in/out in strategy.

I... can't think of any other uses.

[tim_the_tam]

a eat mechanic where you scroll up to open mouth and down to close..

[William Broom]

Yoyo game

[Dacke]

Yoyo game

 

[DeadPixel]

Intimacy simulator?   

[Tifu]

It's useful if your game has a level editor, to scroll through the different blocks/enemies/wotsists that you can place without having to bring up a menus or such.

[Core Xii]

It's useful if your game has a level editor, to scroll through the different blocks/enemies/wotsists that you can place without having to bring up a menus or such.

For an editor I'd much prefer zooming.

[Dacke]

It's useful if your game has a level editor, to scroll through the different blocks/enemies/wotsists that you can place without having to bring up a menus or such.

For an editor I'd much prefer zooming.

plain scroll
ctrl+scrollwheel
alt+scollwheel
shift+scrollwheel
etc.
I like having many things at my fingertips.

Edit: Like in browsers. Plain scroll is.. scrolling. Ctrl+scroll is zoom.

[Melly]

Many mouses have some shitty scrolling wheels. It's often hard to have precision with them. But if what you wanna use them with doesn't require too much precision, it can be useful.

[fraxcell]

^ Not to mention mouses which have broken or missing wheels.

That being said, I think the mousewheel is useful in places where the rest of the mouse is otherwise occupied. For example, when aiming a grenade, the mousewheel could control how far you throw it, so you have more control over its trajectory.

[Stwelin]

I hate games that use the mousewheel by default with no alternatives set up.

<< trackball mouse user.

[Melly]

Yeah, i believe the main reason mousewheel use is not only rare but most often not mandatory is because not everyone has mouses with wheels, there are trackball users, and so on.

[agj]

There is a very interesting Flash game out there that uses only the scrollwheel, but I don't remember its name. I couldn't play it anyway, because my mouse's scrollwheel is broken.

I want to make a game for tablets, though. Some day.

[gimymblert]

Intimacy simulator?   

+1

[BlueSweatshirt]

There is a very interesting Flash game out there that uses only the scrollwheel, but I don't remember its name. I couldn't play it anyway, because my mouse's scrollwheel is broken.

I want to make a game for tablets, though. Some day.

Making control schemes for touch-screen games can be hell. Virtual buttons is a bad excuse for a touch-input control scheme, at least as a primary method of input.

[Tanner]

Super Paper Mario.

EDIT: Oh crap, wrong type of mouse wheel.

[Core Xii]

Like in browsers. Plain scroll is.. scrolling. Ctrl+scroll is zoom.

Web pages are designed to flow in a vertical fashion, however. An editor for your usual 2D content goes in both directions, which undermines the value of vertical-only scrolling. I'd reserve panning to holding the right mouse button or maybe WASD, depending on context.

[Dacke]

Indeed. Context-based functionality is the way to go.
I just meant that browsers are a good example of scroll-wheels fulfilling several roles at once.