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Input handling is essential for creating interactive games. Talon provides comprehensive keyboard, mouse, and gamepad input through Raylib bindings.

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Keyboard Input

Talon provides two main functions for keyboard input:

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isKeyDown() - Continuous Input

Detects if a key is currently being held down. Perfect for continuous movement: 
import "raylib" for Raylib, KeyCode

if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_RIGHT)) {
  player.x = player.x + 2
} else if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_LEFT)) {
  player.x = player.x - 2
}
Use isKeyDown() for actions that should repeat while the key is held, like player movement.

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isKeyPressed() - Single Press Detection

Detects when a key is first pressed (single trigger). Perfect for actions that should only happen once: 
if (Raylib.isKeyPressed(KeyCode.KEY_SPACE)) {
  // Jump or shoot - triggers once per press
  player.jump()
}

if (Raylib.isKeyPressed(KeyCode.KEY_ENTER)) {
  currentScreen = GameScreen.GamePlay
}
isKeyPressed() only returns true on the frame when the key is first pressed, not while it’s held down.

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Common KeyCodes

Here are the most commonly used key codes: 
KeyCode.KEY_SPACE
KeyCode.KEY_ENTER
KeyCode.KEY_ESCAPE

// Arrow keys
KeyCode.KEY_UP
KeyCode.KEY_DOWN
KeyCode.KEY_LEFT
KeyCode.KEY_RIGHT

// Letter keys
KeyCode.KEY_A
KeyCode.KEY_D
KeyCode.KEY_S
KeyCode.KEY_W

// Number keys
KeyCode.KEY_ZERO through KeyCode.KEY_NINE

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Real-World Example: Asteroid Game Controls

The asteroid game demonstrates both types of input handling:
1

Player rotation with continuous input

update() {
  if (!_gameOver) {
    // Rotation with arrow keys
    if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_LEFT)) {
      _player.rotation = _player.rotation - 5
    }
    if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_RIGHT)) {
      _player.rotation = _player.rotation + 5
    }
  }
}
2

Movement acceleration

// Calculate speed based on rotation
_player.speed.x = Math.sin(_player.rotation * DEG2RAD) * PLAYER_SPEED
_player.speed.y = Math.cos(_player.rotation * DEG2RAD) * PLAYER_SPEED

// Apply thrust with UP key
if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_UP)) {
  if (_player.acceleration < 1) {
    _player.acceleration = _player.acceleration + 0.04
  }
} else {
  // Decelerate when key is released
  if (_player.acceleration > 0) {
    _player.acceleration = _player.acceleration - 0.02
  } else if (_player.acceleration < 0) {
    _player.acceleration = 0
  }
}
3

Apply movement to position

// Update position based on speed and acceleration
_player.position.x = _player.position.x + (_player.speed.x * _player.acceleration)
_player.position.y = _player.position.y - (_player.speed.y * _player.acceleration)
4

Game state changes with single press

if (Raylib.isKeyPressed(KeyCode.KEY_P)) {
  _pause = !_pause  // Toggle pause
}

if (_gameOver && Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_ENTER)) {
  initGame()  // Restart game
}

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Mouse Input

Talon provides comprehensive mouse input functions:

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Mouse Position

var mouseX = Raylib.getMouseX()
var mouseY = Raylib.getMouseY()

// Or get position as Vector2
var mousePos = Raylib.getMousePosition()

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Mouse Buttons

import "raylib" for MouseButton

// Check if button is pressed (continuous)
if (Raylib.isMouseButtonDown(MouseButton.MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON)) {
  // Left mouse button is held down
}

// Check if button was just clicked (single)
if (Raylib.isMouseButtonPressed(MouseButton.MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON)) {
  // Left mouse button was just clicked
}

// Check if button was released
if (Raylib.isMouseButtonReleased(MouseButton.MOUSE_LEFT_BUTTON)) {
  // Left mouse button was just released
}

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Mouse Wheel

The camera example demonstrates mouse wheel usage for zooming: 
import "raylib" for Raylib
import "math" for Math

// Get mouse wheel movement
var wheelMove = Raylib.getMouseWheelMove()

// Apply zoom with exponential scaling
camera.zoom = Math.exp(Math.log(camera.zoom) + (wheelMove * 0.1))

// Clamp zoom levels
if (camera.zoom > 3.0) {
  camera.zoom = 3.0
} else if (camera.zoom < 0.1) {
  camera.zoom = 0.1
}

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Complete Input Example

import "raylib" for Raylib, Rectangle, Color, KeyCode

var screenWidth = 800
var screenHeight = 450

Raylib.initWindow(screenWidth, screenHeight, "Input Example")

var player = Rectangle.new(400, 280, 40, 40)
var speed = 5

Raylib.setTargetFPS(60)

while (!Raylib.windowShouldClose()) {
  // Handle continuous movement
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_RIGHT) || Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_D)) {
    player.x = player.x + speed
  }
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_LEFT) || Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_A)) {
    player.x = player.x - speed
  }
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_UP) || Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_W)) {
    player.y = player.y - speed
  }
  if (Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_DOWN) || Raylib.isKeyDown(KeyCode.KEY_S)) {
    player.y = player.y + speed
  }

  // Draw
  Raylib.beginDrawing()
  Raylib.clearBackground(Color.RayWhite)

  Raylib.drawRectangleRec(player, Color.Red)
  Raylib.drawText("Use Arrow Keys or WASD to move", 10, 10, 20, Color.Black)

  Raylib.endDrawing()
}

Raylib.closeWindow()

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Additional Input Functions

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Other Keyboard Functions

// Check if key is released
Raylib.isKeyReleased(KeyCode.KEY_SPACE)

// Check if key is up (not pressed)
Raylib.isKeyUp(KeyCode.KEY_SPACE)

// Get the last key pressed
var key = Raylib.getKeyPressed()

// Get character pressed (for text input)
var char = Raylib.getCharPressed()

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Mouse Delta

// Get mouse movement since last frame
var mouseDelta = Raylib.getMouseDelta()

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Best Practices

Input Handling Tips:
  • Use isKeyDown() for continuous actions (movement, shooting)
  • Use isKeyPressed() for single actions (jumping, menu selection)
  • Always multiply movement by delta time for frame-rate independent movement
  • Consider adding input buffering for responsive controls

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Next Steps

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