Some of you in tune with the ebb and flow of the indie scene might remember a little game called Poto & Cabenga, developed by Honeyslug as part of the Gamma IV one-button game development contest. A charming little flash game, it set out to push the limits of just how much you can control with a single button. With just your space bar, you were expected to control two seperate characters, able to sprint, jump and brake seperately. An experience akin to trying to pat your head and rub your tummy simultaneously, while hopping on one leg and humming your national anthem of choice.

The remarkably complex gameplay is helped along by a cute illustrated art-style which renders the two titular protagonists (a small humanoid with a big feathery thing on his head, and a horse-like creature with what looks like a birds beak) immediately likable. The enemies look clearly threatening, and the two environments the characters find themselves wandering through create an effective split-screen contrast. A catchy soundtrack tops it all off, too. Of course, you don’t really need to read this to know all that – you can play the original flash version right here.

As with many others, such as Canabalt, Poto & Cabenga has now made the jump to iOS, and, much like Canabalt (and thanks to Honeyslug being kind enough to furnish me with a preview copy) I can fairly safely say it feels like this was it’s intended home all along. Freed from the shackles of quick Flash development, the game runs smoother, boasts an endless survival mode (the key addition over the Flash original, which is only a few minutes long), and generally feels like a fun, charming way to waste a few minutes. It’s not going to change the world, but it’s a good addition to the list of one-button iPhone games.

Poto & Cabenga is due for release on iTunes tomorrow (Thursday, Feb 17th), and will probably set you back a singular American Earth-dollar or equivalent.