Is a one-button game possible?

[soloista]

Hi guys. I'm curious if a bullet hell game can be developed with the controls being only one button. I think I saw a game featured on tigsource that had you controlling a plane from 3rd person (and slightly overhead) view with that one button control.

Basically, in that one button control setup, the player moves to one direction by default. Button input causes the player to move in the other direction.

If you guys think it could be possible (well, there have been instances of some players pulling off left-right only playthroughs), I'll go ahead and post my proposal.

[lordgalvar]

I think a one-button control scheme could be implemented as a rhythm-type game: the player would tap and/or hold the one button based on a preset path and shooting pattern and any mistakes would lower the score or result in a collision. A series of lines and dots would create the rhythm path/pattern and be shown directly in front of the ship (like the path on the fret board in Guitar Hero). Though it would be a disguised rhythm game instead of a shooter, I think it could be an interesting mobile or flash game. It seems like a lot of work for a very basic and potentially boring game in my opinion. The idea could be spiced up and grow in interactivity with user defined music that the game would use to make a path and patterns based on the song with some level of randomness.

Otherwise, I don't know the other game you are mentioned.

[Elixir]

Since when does the dpad count as a button? Yes, a one button game can be made, tapping the button to shoot and holding the button to bomb.

[Ex-Cyber]

Since when does the dpad count as a button?.

Since when does the phrase "with the controls being only one button" imply the presence of a d-pad?

Some people use the term "one-switch game" because the physical control is not necessarily a button, especially in situations where the motivation is to create games accessible to people who can't use conventional controls (e.g. quadriplegics), which is one of the lines of thought behind this kind of game.

Anyway, there's clearly no fundamental reason that it can't be done. Hell, if you really wanted to, you could design a translation layer to play an existing game with one switch (in essence, serial-to-parallel conversion, which is done all the time in digital systems) It probably wouldn't be terribly playable for most games, but it's not like it would make them burst into flames.

[lordgalvar]

What about designing the around a speed control mechanic in a similar manner to Gallop / Armed Police Unit by Irem. If the button is tapped the ship would go faster then the scrolling background and create a faster/stronger beam (go forward). When the button is held the ship would let the scroll catch up with it and fire in weaker/slower bursts (go backwards). If the button is not pressed the ship would move with the scroll and not fire (no movement). The ship would be centered on the screen and controlling the speed of the ship by not pressing, holding, or tapping the button would be the dodge mechanic. The game could definitely look like a "bullet-hell" style game, but the patterns would have to allow some passage through the middle at all times. It would probably take a lot of timing to get a clear path through out the game.

I don't know if I am over-thinking your original premise, but it is fun to think of strange ways to implement control.

Bonus idea: you could make a shooter like space invaders but you are on the Maginot or Alpine Line with a 135 mm cannon. There is no movement or aiming. In levels one through five the player would wait with hope that they don't die of avian flu. Then, in level six through ten, the player would shoot at invaders when they come in the line of fire. The reward for each hit would be a historical factoid. The game could then be marketed to junior high schools in the United States for their computer labs and would compliment Where on Earth is Carmen San Diego? and Oregon Trail.

[worstplayer]

Arena shooter Squid Yes, Not So Octopus: Squid Harder has one switch mode. Not very playable, but the possibility is there.

[Danbo]

Why?

[worstplayer]

Because you have to always move, always shoot, and you can only change direction in 90deg increments.

[soloista]

I see.

One thing to add for the one-button movement would be that the player would be around 1/3 up to the middle of the screen.

Would it kill anyone if I said I am designing a Touhou fangame?

[Danbo]

I would probably enjoy a one-button Touhou fangame if the button's function was to quit

[Elixir]

Since when does the dpad count as a button?.

Since when does the phrase "with the controls being only one button" imply the presence of a d-pad?

Why would you say "Is a one-button game possible" and then proceed to claim that the only controls exclude the dpad?

Who cares, it sounds awkward as fuck, honestly. It sounds like Wii syndrome, dumbing the controls down to nothing just to make it more "accessible" (see: giving the people who have taken an hour or two to learn the controls/would have learned if that option were available to them, a kick in the face) to a larger audience. It sounds like a pretty bad idea.

[Ghegs]

Since when does the dpad count as a button?.

Since when does the phrase "with the controls being only one button" imply the presence of a d-pad?

Why would you say "Is a one-button game possible" and then proceed to claim that the only controls exclude the dpad?

Because when game developers talk about "one button games", they talk about one button games.

Now hush and let people who know what they're talking about, talk.

[Gungriffon Geona]

I would probably enjoy a one-button Touhou fangame if the button's function was to quit

[microcosm]

Deleted.

I didn't read the original question.

[Taylor]

I think tigsource had a whole competition for one button games.

But having one button for alternating movement is going to be confusing. You probably want the path predetermined and some kind of polarity or pod mechanics on the button. Mars Matrix has one button for three firing functions: normal shot, the laser spike thing and the shield, so that might be worth a look - though if you're thinking of games for disabled people the spike laser timing might be undesirable.

[ShmupSamurai]

One button for movement control would be SCARY to me. I don't think you could dodge bullets effectively using one button, infact u'd probably run STRAIGHT into them. And that's not my idea of a fun time.

[soloista]

One button for movement control would be SCARY to me. I don't think you could dodge bullets effectively using one button, infact u'd probably run STRAIGHT into them. And that's not my idea of a fun time.

I took into consideration the problem of dodging the patterns, and I watched GIL's no-vertical run of PCB's Phantasm stage. There absolutely have to be some patterns that can't be put in, or have to be altered to enable one-axis dodging.

In my concept, there really is supposed to than one way to pass through a pattern of (pre-generated) bullets; no bullet barfs in the game. In that case, it's up to you to figure out where those paths lie. (Then again, this isn't new and then there are some that nearly have only one correct answer).

I am thinking that the dynamic difficulty/ranking system will decide how the bullet patterns are pasted together/put in sequence.

In that case, what if, if you force the system to go easy on you for so long, it stops your progression? Meaning, a score threshold to pass onto the latter half of the game?

[ZOM]

Am I getting this right:
-The player's ship is always on autofire so this already eliminates one button
-The ship's movement is restricted to its horizontal axis and that axis will be controlled by the one and only "button" used to play the game, sorta like a dial in a breakout clone
-There are no bombs although it would be possible to implement them as either a live-saving autobombing feature or any other mechanic which doesn't need the push of a button
?
If so, why not consider also a bullet-canceling scoring mechanic which would help for patterns that are less convenient to dodge with only horizontal movement, I think.

[microcosm]

It's easy enough to reduce a three-button game (e.g. Galaxians) to a one-button one:

Right = press button
Left = release button
Autofire.

The question is, how could a bullet-hell game still be playable if the ship is constrained to the bottom of the screen?

Your ship would naturally stop moving at the edges of the screen, which is no good at all - it's pretty much the method Galaga uses to trap the unwary.
A Gyruss arrangement avoids this particular problem.

Perhaps the game could involve a neutron star that moves at a fixed velocity through the enemy territory, attracting bullets in its gravity and destroying anything it touches. Your gunship is in orbit around it. Think of it as slightly similar to Gradius, with the neutron star as the Vic Viper and your ship as the Option.

Ascribe specific instructions to single/double/triple clicks, button holds, etc:

Change orbital direction, clockwise or anti-clockwise.
Change orbital radius, hence orbital velocity (*)
Change direction your ship is facing (outwards, forwards, etc.)

* This could, in principle, be four different commands: move up, move down, orbit faster, orbit slower. These commands need to be inter-dependent, so they won't need four separate buttons.

[ZOM]

The question is, how could a bullet-hell game still be playable if the ship is constrained to the bottom of the screen?

Just use some fancy radial patterns. Will make pretty boring game tho.
Look at some earlier tohou games on normal difficulty; if it weren't for the scoring system the player would just stick to the bottom of the screen and twitch a lil bit left and right from time to time and still avoid all those fancy but useless patterns...

[soloista]

Questions:
Should I just have bullet patterns moving into the screen or have enemies spewing the bullet patterns?
Should triggering the bomb/super move force a character switch after its duration?
Where should I categorize an effect that turns bullet patterns on-screen into aimed/streaming patterns for a period of time?

This is what I have so far.

============

There are two stage types: vertical and horizontal.

Movement:
default:move left/down
press/hold button: move right/up

Characters:
Two. Each one has a super move that clears up the screen in a certain way.

Formation Types:
1. Lead character - One character dominates the play
2. Arrangement of characters
Double/Reinforce: Both characters point in the same directions.
Back-to-back: Characters point in opposite directions. Advantageous when surrounded or anticipating being attacked from the rear

Double formation: Characters are placed around 1/3 of the way through the screen
Back-to-Back formation: Characters are placed around 2/3 of the way through the screen

Mechanics:


Difficulty/Scoring:
Endurance-oriented. Main basis is play time, deaths, grazes. These three factors contribute to a ranking system.

Bullet patterns:
Procedural generation based on the ranking system. Bullet speed, density and types of patterns that appear will be influenced.
Some bullet patterns are pre-made and are generated into the screen based on rank.
Formation type and lead characters can also factor into the bullet pattern that will be generated.

Stations:
From time to time, there will be several circles floating into the screen. They are activated by touching them.
Types:
Switch formation.
Switch lead character.
Trigger super move.

The first two types change the bullet pattern types to challenge that formation. The third type lowers ranking. Ignoring stations does nothing, but I hope you enjoy getting getting shot at from behind with little room to plan and dodge.
=====

[microcosm]

This is what I have so far.

Movement:
default:move left/down
press/hold button: move right/up

Back up a second. You asked about a bullet hell game; unless you just mean a simpler (1980-era) game with modern (2000-era) graphics, bullet hell places quite a restriction on your game design.

Basically, there's a net of glowing plasma creeping towards your ship. In three seconds time, your ship needs to be at a specific position on the screen, or it'll be incinerated.

The bottom-of-the-screen design already means that the safe point will have to be somewhere on your movement rail, which throws away a lot of the complexity involved in observing and extrapolating the encroaching net of bullets. It also throws away the option to fly close to the Bad Guy and blast him with more bullets from your angle shot -- greater risk for the greater reward of killing him quicker.

A simple left-or-right button also means no standing still. Your ship won't be able to hover in the safe spot unless you hammer the control button like a woodpecker.

As your proposal stands, a player's main difficulty will be to master the control interface. This would be a fatal flaw: the game would be called "unplayable", and discarded.

[soloista]

Shouldn't that mean one character is significantly faster than the other?

unless you hammer the control button like a woodpecker.

Then that means hammering the button shouldn't feel like dealing with Sir Sweet's second form on the Prinny game (though I pulled that off with about less than 1:30 on the timer). Something more sane then.

Maybe that means a pattern could have a few (relatively) quiet spots to facilitate the left-right jerking, but not "safe spots" then?

[microcosm]

Shouldn't that mean one character is significantly faster than the other?

The terms "speed" and "velocity" mean different things. "50 mph" is a speed, "50 mph due north" is a velocity.

I'm not talking about the speed (the number of pixels per second, which will presumably never change once the player chooses a ship), but the direction of movement.

Then that means hammering the button ...

Maybe that means a pattern could have a few (relatively) quiet spots to facilitate the left-right jerking, but not "safe spots" then?

It means you should make it so that pressing the button repeatedly, more than about 4 times a second, makes the ship hold still, and not wiggle slightly from side to side.

To be honest, I'm surprised you haven't thought through any of this.

Have a look at Genetos, a doujin shmup that takes you through the history of the genre, from Space Invaders, through Xevious and Raiden to modern manic shooters. Download it from the author's site, here. As you play it, think about the various things you make your ship do in each generation, and how each of them might be implemented on a one-button controller.

[soloista]

Thank you.

This should help me mull over things for a week.

[Taylor]

If you're going with movement another control scheme might be to have the ship only move when you're holding the button and have the direction alternate each time. If you want to stop and move in the same direction again you'll have to double tap and hold. Throw a nice big transparent arrow on the side of the ship and it might work.

[soloista]

That control scheme won't go well. It's easy to hit the other direction, and has semblance of inertia.

[Taylor]

Don't see how it relates in any way to inertia.
Constantly moving is going to be baaaad.

[null1024]

I read through this thread a bit, and experimented with the constantly moving option, but horizontal [ [slightly] easier to make, and makes sense ["gravity" pulls you down]].

link: http://s_a_2_d.sitesled.com/oneemup.zip

Focuses a bit more on killing enemies than dodging, because dodging is hard in 1D. Kill them before they shoot [slow rings of bullets]!

Haven't really tested it terribly much to see if the whole concept would work, did this in barely an hour [with most of it just making sure it was remotely fair, originally, there were more bullets fired at you, faster and denser].

Made this with GM5.3, but uses so few things that it builds just fine in GM8 without any modification, just in case anyone wants to screw with it.

[Elixir]

Because when game developers talk about "one button games", they talk about one button games.

Now hush and let people who know what they're talking about, talk.

So you're linking me to a bunch of nameless games I've never heard of as evidence?

I still think it's a terrible idea.