Karasu_Tomoe
Member
I'm experimenting with something of a side-scrolling adventure/exploration-style game with (maybe) an arc-based shooting mechanic. The challenge is I'm trying to limit the controls to STRICTLY WASD/Arrow keys. (no mouse or any other keys or buttons.) Basically I want this to be playable one-handed. Where I'm having trouble is how (or even IF) I should implement the shooting controls.
A/D would move the character left and right, press D/Up once to draw your weapon, and again to fire, or S/Down to cancel. The character would be stationary when aiming, which at least frees up A/D if needed.
I've tried a lot of different styles which, while all fully functional, are a little awkward and counter-intuitive for what I'm trying to do, depending on the circumstances. Example: if you're suddenly attacked by a swarm of enemies and need to react quickly, having to do any kind of complex key combination just to raise your gun and shoot is obviously going to be a nightmare.
Although, I am aiming for a more defensive game pace where you want to tread lightly and NOT try to fight hordes of enemies at one time, or only do so from fortified positions. Taking your time and calculating your shots would be encouraged over frantically spamming projectiles, but I don't think the latter should be completely unfeasible.
I know this is asking a lot from just four keys. Doable? Absolutely. Feasible? Well, that's what I'm asking here.
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What I'm toying with now is:
A.) An aiming mechanic similar to Yoshi's Island (SMW2), where a cursor moves up and down and you simply fire when the cursor is where you want it.
B.) Manually aiming your cursor up and down with W/S while using A/D/Left/Right to fire, or I could swap it the other way around. This feels mechanically intuitive enough, but I'm worried how awkward it would be to use Left/Right controls for shooting OR aiming. Doesn't really feel right either way.
C.) A sort of lock-on system where your character simply targets the closest or most appropriate enemy, and the trajectory is calculated for you. Maybe use left/right to switch targets. In terms of gameplay, probably the simplest and would work for MOST cases, but again, if your met with a swarm of enemies and want to target a specific one, cycling to the correct one might become tedious.
A/D would move the character left and right, press D/Up once to draw your weapon, and again to fire, or S/Down to cancel. The character would be stationary when aiming, which at least frees up A/D if needed.
I've tried a lot of different styles which, while all fully functional, are a little awkward and counter-intuitive for what I'm trying to do, depending on the circumstances. Example: if you're suddenly attacked by a swarm of enemies and need to react quickly, having to do any kind of complex key combination just to raise your gun and shoot is obviously going to be a nightmare.
Although, I am aiming for a more defensive game pace where you want to tread lightly and NOT try to fight hordes of enemies at one time, or only do so from fortified positions. Taking your time and calculating your shots would be encouraged over frantically spamming projectiles, but I don't think the latter should be completely unfeasible.
I know this is asking a lot from just four keys. Doable? Absolutely. Feasible? Well, that's what I'm asking here.
-
What I'm toying with now is:
A.) An aiming mechanic similar to Yoshi's Island (SMW2), where a cursor moves up and down and you simply fire when the cursor is where you want it.
B.) Manually aiming your cursor up and down with W/S while using A/D/Left/Right to fire, or I could swap it the other way around. This feels mechanically intuitive enough, but I'm worried how awkward it would be to use Left/Right controls for shooting OR aiming. Doesn't really feel right either way.
C.) A sort of lock-on system where your character simply targets the closest or most appropriate enemy, and the trajectory is calculated for you. Maybe use left/right to switch targets. In terms of gameplay, probably the simplest and would work for MOST cases, but again, if your met with a swarm of enemies and want to target a specific one, cycling to the correct one might become tedious.