Now Chromebook users can try out keyboard support for some Android games with touch-only controls. The new feature is in early alpha testing, starting with ChromeOS 105.
In a somewhat belated move that comes years after Chromebooks gained access to Android apps and games, Google says ChromeOS users will get access to an "early alpha" of game controls optimized for certain games that run only on touchscreens. Mobile games are obviously intended for use on phones with touchscreens, which many computers do not have. To close this gap, the Google operating system can convert keystrokes into simulated touches starting with ChromeOS 105.
According to Google, "We see game controls as a way to overcome the initial challenges with the ChromeOS gaming experience while users wait for developers to fully optimize their apps for ChromeOS," even as the company pushes for game developers to include input support that works for phones, tablets and computers.
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| Source: Google |
Android Police spotted the first signs of the feature more than a year ago, which Google also hinted at by mentioning the public beta of a "gaming overlay" when it announced plans for a Steam Alpha earlier this year. In the future, Google said, gamers will have access to an editor that should allow the same control mapping for all games in Google Play that work on a Chromebook, as well as expanded support for mouse, gamepad and other types of touch controls.
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| Hill Climb Racing and Tap Titans 2 |
Google's announcement included a list of all the games supported so far (which you can read below), with joystick action games like Pixel Blade R - Revolution, a number of 2048 variants to try out swipe controls, and some single and multi-button control games like Hill Climb Racing and Tap Titans 2.
If you have a game PC, a game console or even your own phone to play on, you might not be looking for a way to play more mobile games using the keyboard. But for kids who have a Chromebook as their primary device, or anyone else who prefers this type of gaming, it could open up easier access to gaming, especially while we wait for Steam to become available on more ChromeOS devices and Google to make its game store available on Windows PCs.
To try it out, users do not have to do anything special as long as they are running version 105 or higher, which arrived in the stable release channel yesterday and should be rolled out there shortly. According to Google, when you open one of the games with support for game controls, an overlay will pop up with a list of buttons that correspond to the various touch controls. If you want to adjust the control settings, just click on the white square in the right center of the game window.
Joystick games:
- Archero
- AXES.io
- Heroic deeds Epic legend of Archero
- Wizard Legend: Fighting Master
- Pixel Blade R - Revolution
- Zombero: Archero hero shooter
- Archer Hunter - Offline Action Adventure Game
- Mr. Autofire
Single button games:
- Geometry Dash Lite
- Stack Ball - Crash Platforms
- Fireballs 3D
- Stack Smash
- Drop Stack Ball - Fall Helix Blast Crash 3D
- Helix Smash
- Stack Crush Ball
- Crush Stack Ball Blast
- Stack Fall
- Helix Stack Jump: ball smash
- Tap Titans 2
Games with multiple keys:
- Hill Climb Racing
- Ninja Arashi 2
- Ninja Arashi
- Ninja warrior: Legend of adventure games
- Power Hover
- Grimvalor
Swipe games:
- 2048 (Androbaby)
- 2048 Original
- 2048 (Solebon LLC)
- 2048 number puzzle game
- 2048 (S2Apps)
Also Read:
1- Everything You Need to Know About CalyxOS
2- Operating System Wars: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Chrome OS
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