The One-thumb Gaming Revolution

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Please take our . The One-Thumb Gaming Revolution Posted May 22, 2005, 10:00 AM ET by Vladimir Cole Related entries: , , ,

The Guardian reports that games requiring just one thumb to play are becoming popular on cell phones and are redefining playability on that platform. Notes the Guardian: One-thumb games make important concessions to mobile handset design. It is, after all, often fiddly and uncomfortable to play games that require two hands - or even two fingers. Demanding such dexterity breaks the ethos of mobile phone operating systems, which allow users to carry out complex functions such as photo messaging with a single digit.

The paper cites a few popular Korean games that can be played with just one thumb, including Skippedy Seed, a one-thumb jumprope game featuring cutesy characters that the player controls via a single pressure-sensitive button. The harder that button is pushed, the higher the player jumps.

Now if this one-thumb movement had come out of Japan instead of Korea we might hint that the was the inspiration for this innovation, but it aint, so we wont. Its just good, old-fashioned interface design at work here. [Via ]

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» (5/22/2005) » (5/22/2005) » (5/21/2005) » (5/21/2005) » (5/21/2005) () Reader Comments Posted May 22, 2005, 12:01 PM ET by MrNibbles

long live SFcave!!!! that was a blast from my old palm pilot.. never had so much fun! theres a java version floating about somewhere! google it!I agree tho, 1 button games can be a blast! use a simple mechanic and add a few layers of complexity to it. Posted May 22, 2005, 12:26 PM ET by

Reminds me of the competition to make games controlled with one button:It's kinda supprising how much you can do with so few controls... Posted May 22, 2005, 2:02 PM ET by Hug-me

I agree with #1 - simple games are the best - like Nintendo - I am a big fan - simple but fun - I'm gonna start playing my Gamecube againIs it Nintendo doing this or Joystiq - deleting my posts - don't get all omnipitent with me :) Posted May 23, 2005, 7:15 AM ET by

Super Monkey Ball is a one-thumb game available on home consoles; simplication's not just for cell phone games. Add your comments

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