Simple Controls Infinite Possibilities
As my disability has progressed over the years, I’ve noticed some genres tend to have more barriers than others. I experience Strength & Dexterity barriers, which means games that require twitchy reactions or pressing a smorgasbord of buttons tend to be tough for me. One of those genres that tends to be rather inaccessible for me is bullet hells. Dodging a dazzling swath of projectiles by pixels while white knuckling your controller hasn’t been a thing I’ve been able to do. Enter stage right: One Button Bosses, recently released, deceptively simple and surprisingly addictive!
One Button Bosses is an arcade style bullet hell in which the titular bosses are defeated using only a single button. It’s sort of all in the name really. You move along a set track and pressing your one button reverses your direction. The default weapon automatically fires and builds power as long as you keep maintaining your momentum in the same direction. This may sound simple, but don’t be fooled: The game can be quite challenging.. You can also rebind your one button so bonus accessibility points for that!
Through its simplicity of control, One Button Bosses makes great use of accessibility principles, perhaps unwittingly so. This is in line with the “Do More With Less” design pattern from Ablegamers Accessible Player Experience (APX). Despite the simplicity of the mechanics, the game distills the experience of a bullet hell, while also making it physically more accessible. I got to have the vibes of a game like Ikaruga without my hands feeling like they did Olympic level gymnastics.
This leaves me wondering if developers can apply this idea of simplicity of control to other genres. What other unique games are a possibility when using a creative approach like this? What does a one button twitchy FPS like Apex Legends look like or a one button sports game like Rocket League? (It's a sport fight me). What's a one button fighting game? Actually now that I think about it, that's basically Divekick - which I adore!
As accessibility standards are increasingly prioritized throughout the industry, I hope that developers see that not only can accessibility be used to help people but it can also act as another tool in their creativity toolbox. It’s another lens to develop unique and engaging games for players of all shapes and abilities. So a standing ovation for One Button Bosses for getting me dreaming about the games of tomorrow and including me in them.
