One Button Games

The mighty Milk and Cookies blog had an entry about a game called "Kax." It reminded me, fondly, of many conversations I had, many years ago, with Dr. David Thornburg, about "one-button games." Dave and I were fascinated by the challenge of creating a computer game that would be playable by children with limited mobility. A one-button game, in theory, could be played competitively by a child with a mouth straw against a fully-abled adult.

At the time, I was being interviewed for a position as game design consultant for Children's Computer Workshop, a short-lived division of Children's Television Workshop. I was so intrigued by our conversation that the first game I proposed was my own version of a one-button game called "Lightwaves," (later purchased by CBS Software).

(Another aside - I needed to build a prototype. Looking for a good, fast programmer to help me, I found someone named Dave Winer. Yup, the same Dave Winer who is currently the "father of podcasting." All of which is maybe some kind of testimonial to the power of an idea that's built on compassion, and the serendipity of living near people who shared in the compassion, the curiosity, and the Silicon Valley.)