Altering the way a player interfaces with a game can often make it feel like an entirely new Variant, even if the underlying rules construct is identical. With a drastic enough change, input alone could be enough to turn it into an entirely different variant. This works because games are made of several smaller games, and the inputs themselves are a kind of mini-game that can be swapped out to create novel experiences. A few ideas to consider:
- Changing the number of axis of control
- Altering time & duration
- Fracturing a simple control into a complex arrangement of controls
- Merging a complex control arrangement into a single, simple control
- Swapping or Mixing inputs
Practical Creativity by Raph Koster, GDC 2014 Creativity Through Context Replacement