Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.development (More info?)
Yes, I know, this gets brought up far too often, but I'll bring it up
again, in hopes that something can be done about it.
In most game genres, the keyboard layout is pretty standard, and
remains relatively unchanged from game to game. The benefit to this
is that player's can pick up a brand new game, and dive right into it,
without having to memorize any new controls. Shooters are a perfect
example. In almost every modern shooter, 'wasd' are used for
movement, with 'a' and 'd' strafing, as opposed to turning, the mouse
is used for turning/looking, and 'e' is activate/use. I could go
pickup, say, Half-Life 2 tomorrow, and, having never played it before,
install it, run it, and play it, without consulting the manual.
Why can't we RL-Dev folk achieve that same level of consistancy? What
I propose is the following: we all get together, debate possible
keybindings, and establish a standard. A universal, RL standard.
Obviously, most games have a number of commands that are unique to
their particular game. In those cases, it's apparent that the game
designer needs to pick out those keys. But there are a number of
commands that are common among almost all RLs, and we could benefit
from a solid standard, drafted up and posted for all to see.
As a given, and to avoid pointless flamewars, I think both vi-style
movement and numpad movement should be standardized for 8-directional
movement. Arrow keys can always handle 4-way movement. So, let me
list the major keys/actions, and everyone should contribute their
thoughts on the matter. After a few days, if the general concensus is
that establishing a standards is a good idea, we can take a vote on
the final, proposed standard. I think we'll try and strive for a 2/3
vote majority rules.
Here is my initial proposition:
8-Directional Movement: vi keys, numpad
4-Directional Movement: Arrow keys
Item Pickup: 'g', ','
Eating: 'e'
Look/Examine: 'l', 'x'
Inventory: 'i'
Quit Game: 'Q'
Cancel: ' ', ESC
Help/Manual: '?', F1
My mind is a bit hazy right now, and those are all the 'universal' RL
keys I can think of, although I know I'm missing some obvious ones.
Any command that features two proposed keys for the standard, it's
assumed that the game can feature one or both. Anyone who wants to
share their opinion, please do. And anyone who could be so kind as to
point out some obvious things I missed, please do.
--
Read more about my three projects, SoulEaterRL,
Necropolis, and a little toy RL.
http://www.freewebs.com/timsrl/index.htm
--
Yes, I know, this gets brought up far too often, but I'll bring it up
again, in hopes that something can be done about it.
In most game genres, the keyboard layout is pretty standard, and
remains relatively unchanged from game to game. The benefit to this
is that player's can pick up a brand new game, and dive right into it,
without having to memorize any new controls. Shooters are a perfect
example. In almost every modern shooter, 'wasd' are used for
movement, with 'a' and 'd' strafing, as opposed to turning, the mouse
is used for turning/looking, and 'e' is activate/use. I could go
pickup, say, Half-Life 2 tomorrow, and, having never played it before,
install it, run it, and play it, without consulting the manual.
Why can't we RL-Dev folk achieve that same level of consistancy? What
I propose is the following: we all get together, debate possible
keybindings, and establish a standard. A universal, RL standard.
Obviously, most games have a number of commands that are unique to
their particular game. In those cases, it's apparent that the game
designer needs to pick out those keys. But there are a number of
commands that are common among almost all RLs, and we could benefit
from a solid standard, drafted up and posted for all to see.
As a given, and to avoid pointless flamewars, I think both vi-style
movement and numpad movement should be standardized for 8-directional
movement. Arrow keys can always handle 4-way movement. So, let me
list the major keys/actions, and everyone should contribute their
thoughts on the matter. After a few days, if the general concensus is
that establishing a standards is a good idea, we can take a vote on
the final, proposed standard. I think we'll try and strive for a 2/3
vote majority rules.
Here is my initial proposition:
8-Directional Movement: vi keys, numpad
4-Directional Movement: Arrow keys
Item Pickup: 'g', ','
Eating: 'e'
Look/Examine: 'l', 'x'
Inventory: 'i'
Quit Game: 'Q'
Cancel: ' ', ESC
Help/Manual: '?', F1
My mind is a bit hazy right now, and those are all the 'universal' RL
keys I can think of, although I know I'm missing some obvious ones.
Any command that features two proposed keys for the standard, it's
assumed that the game can feature one or both. Anyone who wants to
share their opinion, please do. And anyone who could be so kind as to
point out some obvious things I missed, please do.
--
Read more about my three projects, SoulEaterRL,
Necropolis, and a little toy RL.
http://www.freewebs.com/timsrl/index.htm
--
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