Button Use

[DannyFree]

To what extent do the buttons and their assigned tasks alienate newer or less experienced gamers?

Having moved to halls of residence for a little while, I ended up leaving all my consoles at home. I made do with a ps1 emulator and a gameboy colour last year, and now I have a ps2 and a Nintendo DS. The games I tended to choose got me thinking.

I had been playing Crash Bash for the ps1 more than I had ever played a AAA game title. The time I'd spent away from gaming actually meant I was favouring simpler games over the more complicated ones. The fact I haven't bought an FPS means I actually have real trouble getting into Black Ops on my friend's 360. I think I've worked it out; that Crash Bash only ever uses a few buttons at a time for each game.

Are there current examples of this type of gameplay, that have a limited number of actions, to be used in a variety of circumstances? I can think of titles like Limbo, with running, jumping and "action-button" being the extent of things.

Obviously I don't think all games should be like this; mastery of something is gratifying. But are there enough games with simple controller mechanics so as not to alienate newer audiences?

 

[Skorpyo]

I haven't seen truly horrific control schemes since <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.260724-Reviews-From-The-Backroom-EarthSiege-2>Earthsiege 2, but "Killing Floor" comes damn near close to it.

I've been asked so many times, "How do I drop money?", "How do I drop Weapons?", "What's secondary fire?", "How do I use the Medi-gun?", etc. It's absolutely nuts.

 

[Outright Villainy]

The simple fact is that, no, there really aren't enough games with simple controls for newer players, or at least games that could be particularly engaging, which is a shame.

Mario galaxy was on the right track. Unnecessary as shaking the the wiimote was for attacking, you're not going to forget it, and for most of the game you can make do with that and simply pressing a to get through the myriad of levels. Later on it shows you how to *gasp*, press z with a for a long jump. Simple stuff for most of us, but throwing too many concepts at a beginner will make them forget nearly everything and stick the most basic thing that works.

Portal is also the best introduction to the fps genre by miles too, since it's essentially 4 buttons.

So sure, it can be done, and it's a bit of a shame more developers aren't accomodating that. Not by simplifying every game, but introducing concepts more gradually, or even have a simplified control scheme for beginners (such as spider man 2 or soul calibur 2 on GC)

I haven't seen truly horrific control schemes since <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.260724-Reviews-From-The-Backroom-EarthSiege-2>Earthsiege 2, but "Killing Floor" comes damn near close to it.

I've been asked so many times, "How do I drop money?", "How do I drop Weapons?", "What's secondary fire?", "How do I use the Medi-gun?", etc. It's absolutely nuts.

Agreed, it was a nightmare to manage until I hotkeyed the fuck out of it. I use about 20 buttons in that game...

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Hindering to new players, yes.

My real trouble is with schemes that break away from muscle memory. Aim/Fire switching the 1 and 2 triggers is most common. The worst I've encountered is a car that drives where you look.

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

I haven't seen truly horrific control schemes since <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.260724-Reviews-From-The-Backroom-EarthSiege-2>Earthsiege 2, but "Killing Floor" comes damn near close to it.

I've been asked so many times, "How do I drop money?", "How do I drop Weapons?", "What's secondary fire?", "How do I use the Medi-gun?", etc. It's absolutely nuts.

Or Deus Ex, for that matter.

PRESS LEFT BRACKET TO RELOAD!

 

[Jaranja]

I haven't seen truly horrific control schemes since <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.260724-Reviews-From-The-Backroom-EarthSiege-2>Earthsiege 2, but "Killing Floor" comes damn near close to it.

I've been asked so many times, "How do I drop money?", "How do I drop Weapons?", "What's secondary fire?", "How do I use the Medi-gun?", etc. It's absolutely nuts.

Or Deus Ex, for that matter.

PRESS LEFT BRACKET TO RELOAD!

Nooooooooo. Left bracket!!!!

 

[teh_Canape]

I haven't seen truly horrific control schemes since <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.260724-Reviews-From-The-Backroom-EarthSiege-2>Earthsiege 2, but "Killing Floor" comes damn near close to it.

I've been asked so many times, "How do I drop money?", "How do I drop Weapons?", "What's secondary fire?", "How do I use the Medi-gun?", etc. It's absolutely nuts.

it's not so difficult

except the "drop money" thing, which I never use, the rest are actually easy and I figured them out in my first play without checking the controls

Drop Weapon: º
Secondary Fire: MButton 3
quick self-medigun: Q

that's all =P

now, for the worst controls I've experienced are 2 games

Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg for PC, good god was it complicated to get used to and even play properly, since the icons were all the GameCube icons

and Devil May Cry 3 on keyboard, man bro was it hard to figure out and get used to in my first playthrough

but not all that bad, since once I got used to it, it played really well

 

[Nieroshai]

Emulators vs the games' original consoles make me wish I owned a PC gamepad. Especially when a game out of nowhere requires me to do tricky diagonals on a dpad like in ff6 with the fighting character's ridiculous input. And don't mention Street Fighter 2. I cannot play the game on keyboard, it's too clunky. As for games like Mass Effect, the PC controls are a little smoother but I usually go for the console version to save memory.

 

[easternflame]

Well I think new players get used to the VERY FIRST GAME THEY PLAY. For example, My sister plays Brothers In Arms and when we play Gears Of War she uses the same controls.
Also I think, even if controllers are horrible you can still master them to a certain level. I can't remember 1 game which controlls I've had to change, you just get used to it.