⌨️ Key Maps, Touch, Gamepad and Engine Controls

This documentation explains how all GameCrom engine controls work: keyboard, multitouch, virtual joystick, mouse and gamepad.

📘 Main Keys (e.key)

🟦 Keyboard Events in Scripts

Object scripts can implement these functions:

// Key pressed
function OnKeyDown(obj, key) {
    Log("↓ " + key);
}

// Key held
function OnKeyHold(obj, key) {
    Log("⏸ " + key);
}

// Key released
function OnKeyUp(obj, key) {
    Log("↑ " + key);
}

📌 Example: Pause with Escape

function OnKeyDown(obj, key) {
    if (key === "escape") {
        let panel = getObjectByName("Panel");
        panel.active = !panel.active;

        if (panel.active) Pause();
        else Resume();
    }
}

📱 Multitouch

Each finger becomes a "virtual key":

• "touch0"
• "touch1"
• "touch2" …

These virtual keys are sent to the same functions:

OnKeyDown(obj, "touch0")
OnKeyHold(obj, "touch0")
OnKeyUp(obj, "touch0")

Usage Example

function OnKeyHold(obj, key) {
    // Holding finger on screen
    if (key === "touch0") player.y -= 4;
    if (key === "touch1") player.y += 4;
}

🎮 Gamepad (Xbox, PlayStation and generic)

Gamepad Buttons

🕹️ Analog Sticks

Basic Example

const pads = navigator.getGamepads();
let p = pads[0];

if (p) {
    let x = p.axes[0];
    let y = p.axes[1];

    player.x += x * 4;
    player.y += y * 4;

    if (p.buttons[0].pressed) Jump();
}

🎮 Gamepad Name List for IsAnyPressed

The GameCrom engine automatically maps controller buttons and directions to standard names, so you can use them in:

• IsAnyPressed()
• OnKeyDown()
• OnKeyHold()
• OnKeyUp()

This works the same on Xbox, PlayStation and generic controllers.

🟦 1. D-Pad Directions

🟩 2. Main Buttons

🟧 3. Shoulder Buttons / Triggers

📘 4. Special Buttons

🕹️ 5. Analog Sticks

Sticks are treated as analog axes, but they also have automatically mapped directions for IsAnyPressed:

📌 Examples with IsAnyPressed

Console-style movement

// Move right with:
// → Key D
// → Right arrow
// → Gamepad right
// → Left or right stick pushed right
if (IsAnyPressed("d", "ArrowRight",
                 "gamepad_right",
                 "gamepad_ls_right",
                 "gamepad_rs_right")) {

    player.x += 5;
}

Jump with A / X / touch / space

if (IsAnyPressed(" ", "touch0", "gamepad_a")) {
    Jump();
}

Open menu

if (IsAnyPressed("escape", "gamepad_start")) {
    ToggleMenu();
}

🟦 IsAnyPressed — Unified Input Detection

IsAnyPressed is an engine API function that checks if any of the keys, gamepad buttons or touch inputs is pressed in the current frame. It is the simplest way to mix keyboard, touch and gamepad without handling manual events.

📌 Syntax

IsAnyPressed(key1, key2, key3, ...)

• Returns true if any of the values is currently active.
• Returns false if none is pressed.

📘 Basic Example

// Classic WASD + arrow movement
if (IsAnyPressed("ArrowUp", "w"))    player.y -= 4;
if (IsAnyPressed("ArrowDown", "s"))  player.y += 4;
if (IsAnyPressed("ArrowLeft", "a"))  player.x -= 4;
if (IsAnyPressed("ArrowRight", "d")) player.x += 4;

📱 Combining keyboard + touch

The engine’s multitouch system creates virtual keys: "touch0", "touch1", "touch2", etc.

// Jump with space or touching the screen
if (IsAnyPressed(" ", "touch0")) {
    Jump();
}

🎮 Combining keyboard + gamepad + touch

if (IsAnyPressed("ArrowRight", "d", "gamepad_right", "touch1")) {
    player.x += 5;
}

This lets different input methods perform the same action without duplicating code.

🟩 Example

function Update(obj, dt) {

    let speed = 200;

    // Move left with keyboard, controller or touch
    if (IsAnyPressed("ArrowLeft", "a", "gamepad_left", "touch1")) {
        obj.x -= speed * dt;
    }

    // Jump with space, gamepad A or main touch
    if (IsAnyPressed(" ", "gamepad_a", "touch0")) {
        Jump();
    }
}

🟥 IsJustPressed — Single-press detection (edge)

IsJustPressed is a function of the GameCrom engine API that returns true only on the exact frame when a key, gamepad button, or touch input transitions from not pressed to pressed.

It is equivalent to the KeyDown or ButtonDown concept in engines like Unity.

📌 Syntax

IsJustPressed(key1, key2, key3, ...)

• Returns true ONLY on the first press frame.
• Returns false while the input is held.
• Returns false when the input is released.

⌨️ Keyboard example

// Fire only once when pressing space
if (IsJustPressed(" ")) {
    Shoot();
}

🎮 Gamepad example

// Fire only when pressing B (Xbox) / O (PlayStation)
if (IsJustPressed("gamepad_b")) {
    Shoot();
}

📱 Touch example

// Action only when the screen is touched for the first time
if (IsJustPressed("touch0")) {
    Jump();
}

🎮⌨️📱 Combined example (keyboard + gamepad + touch)

// Jump only once when pressing any of these
if (IsJustPressed(" ", "gamepad_a", "touch0")) {
    Jump();
}

🧠 Difference between IsAnyPressed and IsJustPressed

🟩 Recommended usage in Update

function Update(obj, dt) {

    // Continuous movement
    if (IsAnyPressed("ArrowRight", "d", "gamepad_right")) {
        obj.x += 200 * dt;
    }

    // Single action
    if (IsJustPressed(" ", "gamepad_a", "touch0")) {
        Jump();
    }
}