Sun Baking: Edition 2
In addition to the underwater control scheme, I tried to come up with a more accurate land-based system. My previous idea received some positive comments, but most felt that it was too complex for a Mario game. and upon reflection, I agree.
My revised design is perhaps a little more realistic and a lot more manageable in a gameplay environment.
Land-Based Control Scheme
Land-Based Scheme (left side)
as you can see, with the left side, I've used the L Button for crouch. By doing this, I am freeing up the right-hand side of the controller. The core idea here is that you can crouch and move at the same time, but you can also punch/swipe or even jump whilst still crouching.
In Super Mario 64, the crouch button (Z Button) was used frequently. It was used for both crouching and for "long jumping" and backflipping. The same techniques could be applied using this control method. Remember: the Z Button was activated by the left hand, as was the control stick. So in essence, you would be using your thumb to control Mario's movement as well as using your index finger to crouch. Therefore, using the L Button is perhaps the closest way of replicating crouching/backflipping/long jumping from Super Mario 64.
In the above example, you can also see that I have completely removed the need to manually activate different Cannon Modes. If Nintendo were to include such a feature, I think it's safe to say that it would be a more automated and easy to use system.
Land-Based Scheme (right side)
In this example, I've also done away with the concept of warm and cold water. The R Button is now simply used to spray water, period. Presumably, the click function will play a role in Super Mario Sunshine. Both myself and Jason agree that Nintendo may employ the click function to allow Mario to launch some sort of special attack or something of that nature.
The Y Button stays the same in this example, too. It still fills the cannon. However, the Cannon Mode operation is now mapped to the X Button. The idea here is that if you wish to change your Cannon's setting, you simply tap the X Button to cycle through the modes. It's easier and a little less confusing in this example.
Furthermore, the a Button is used for Jump and Double Jump. Based on the video of Super Mario Sunshine, we already know that Mario is capable of kicking off walls and performing various kinds of jumps. Tapping the a Button once to jump and then once again when you hit the ground, to do a double jump, is likely to be retained for this game. Of course, it's also possible that entirely new jumps/tricks will be included.
and finally, the C Stick is used to move the camera and the B Button is used for attacking/activation. In terms of camera movement, I think it's likely that moving the stick up and down will move the camera further/closer, while side-to-side movement will simply rotate the camera. This is really essentially the exact same system as in Super Mario 64, except that it uses the C Stick in place of the C Buttons.
Next up, reader responses to the first edition of Sun Baking.