Finghurt
What is it?
Finghurt is an arcade platform game that makes you play with your controller in unusual ways. It was made in approximately 6 months, all alone during free time.
In this project, I wanted to explore gamepad's usability limits as well as confronting our player's common sense.
Credits to: Kevin MacLeod for the background music (Special Spotlight).
Design intentions
The point of this game is playing the same level ten times in a row.
Each time you reach the goal point, you get back to square one with different inputs to play with.
I wanted to challenge players with their own common sens and game habits. Traditionnaly, in platform games, A is jump, left arrow is left and right arrow is right.
In the game beggining, I kept this logic but with different input to ease the player in the input gymnastic.
Then, I slowly break it little by little to finally invite player to launch the game in random mode.
Random mode makes each run unique by randomizing each set of input, it is also significatly harder because of the input set not being designed by a human.
To make it playable, I denied some combinations such as having the stick and the stick button bind for the same set of input as it is impossible to press the stick and tilt it in a direction. Or having two opposites arrows for movement and jump, since it would be impossible to jump while moving.
It's interesting to record gamepad's inputs to mesure the gamepad's usability limits depending on the time needed to pass each "level"
Normal Mode Gameplay
Random Mode Gameplay
Overall observations
In general, people tend to have more trouble using the : Start, Select, RS button and LS button.
It might be because these buttons are not often use in video games or are considered as situational inputs (opening menus).
It might sound trivial, but an inputs set that is clearly separating the right input from the left input will show a shorter adaptation time. Having the right input on the right side of the gamepad for example or on the right of the left input makes it easier to understand. Rotating the gamepad can be a solution facing these spatial logical issues.
Jumping shows less adaptation time when not bind on potentiometer inputs. Moving works the exact opposite.
Of course there is several years of gaming habits behind it but it might be because Jumping is an explosive actions, a burst that last a short amount of time (0 or 1 state button). Moving is a slower process involving acceleration, the mechanics of several muscles and joints and it is an action that is maintained in time (0 to 1 state button).
That shows the link between how players perceive an action and the feeling they intuitively seek with a controller.