Stakker
Level: Goblin
Rank Points: 16
Registered: 04-23-2013
IP: Logged
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Re: iOS port (the new DROD or any version) (+2)
Fair enough :-) You're right, the controls aren't completely issue-free. I may be biased because I've designed mobile games for a living for the last 12 years, so I'm intimately familiar with the worst control interfaces known to man :-)
There is one issue: speed. The more error-proof you want the controls, the slower they will be. But the key is to give visual feedback to the player. The player needs to know what the final control action will do *before* committing. I think this is perfectly doable.
Here are four of my suggestions in order of preference:
1) DRAG & TAP
Works with just thumbs so that you can hold your device comfortably.
Drag (slide your thumb/finger) anywhere on screen. The direction of the drag defines the direction of movement (quantize to the nearest one of the 8 directions). The important detail is this: give visual feedback about the movement direction *immediately* after the slide direction is detected. (Highlight the target square next to the character for example.) The move is executed when you *lift* your thumb. As long as you hold your thumb down, you're safe. This means that you can see from the visual feedback that the slide was interpreted correctly before you lift the thumb and accept the movement command. If the direction is not the one you intended, you can simply slide a bit more to correct while keeping your thumb down. Or, you can even slide in a circle and go through all the 8 directions before choosing one direction and lifting the thumb. (Once you start to drag, the dragging forms a sort of a virtual joystick. The center of the stick is the starting point of the drag and the "shaft" streches as you drag. This allows for the 360 degree circling movement if you wish to do this. But it's not really necessary at all, just a nice detail.) When you are travelling through non-critical large spaces, you can do this sliding motion sequentially really quickly without paying much attention to checking that the direction is always correct. Sometimes it may be a bit off if you do this really quickly, but it doesn't matter. Then when you get to more critical puzzle situations, you start to slow down and actually check that your slides are interpreted 100% correctly before lifting the thumb.
Sword rotation is done by tapping the left and right sides of the screen. (Left 50% of the screen rotates left, right 50% rotates right.) Taps are easy to distinguish from drags (you can always tune the threshold of allowed "sliding" if you want to) and they are fast.
I think this is the best combination of speed and "error-proofness" (and avoiding virtual buttons.)
2) MOVEMENT TARGET SYSTEM WITH DRAG
Also works with just thumbs so that you can hold the device comfortably.
Add a new UI/control element: character "facing" direction or movement target. Always show where the character will move when you execute the movement command. A highlighted square next to the character again, for example.
You can now rotate the movement target freely without making a move (the game does not progress.) The screen is once again invisibly split in two. When you drag your thumb on the right side of the screen, the movement target will rotate into that direction (the drag direction should probably be relative to the character.) Tap anywhere on the right half of the screen to execute a move.
Drag anywhere on the left side of the screen to rotate the sword into the direction of the drag.
This system is probably slightly more error-proof but also slower than the first one.
3) MOVEMENT TARGET SYSTEM WITH VIRTUAL BUTTONS
The same as the previous one, but if you don't like so much dragging (or the dual dragging is too confusing), use two virtual buttons (on the left side of the screen for example) for rotating the sword.
4) DIRECT TAP MOVEMENT
This doesn't work with just thumbs anymore.
The character is always in the center of the screen. Simply tap in the direction where you want the character to move (quantized to 8.) This should also use the same immediate visual feedback system as in number 1 so that you can check for error and adjust before releasing your finger.
Slide to rotate the sword. The direction of the rotation is relative to the direction of the slide and character.
This system is almost as good as the first one otherwise, but at least I find tapping around the screen a bit tiresome (at least on iPad) and your hand tends to conceal a part of the screen, so you may need to peek under it and so forth, which can sometimes be a bit annoying. And you may need a slightly more awkward grip or a table/leg to hold the device if it's a big iPad.
So, yeah, I know you've also thought about these things. But these are my suggestions and I hope I brought something new to the table!
Stakker
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