Thanks for the input. I tried using a mouse at first, but it isn't working for me. I do know how to use it, but the controls would be too complicated. A keyboard could perhaps work, but that too could be tiresomme over time. One thing I'm considering is having two pads, making it a combination of Pong and Breakout. The player would simply use both pads at the same time, with a pad on each side of the screen, or one on top and one bottom. This works great with a gamepad, as I can use the two analog sticks for the gamepad. Left stick for the left pad, right stick for the right pad. That also means that only the thumbs will be in use, so the player can easily reach various buttons on the gamepad. (like shooting lasers with the triggers etc).
This won't work well on a keyboard, naturally. You would need too many fingers to steer the pads alone, and then there's the other controls on top of it. I might be able to work around it somehow, perhaps by steering both pads with two keys. But this would be a problem when there are more than one ball in play. (or, ah, dodging bullets.)
I would implement both the gamepad and the keyboard to ensure that someone that doesn't have a gamepad is able to play still.
Edit:
Gamepad functions that may be of use to you
Has gamepads
On gamepad connected
On gamepad disconnected
Source:
https://www.scirra.com/manual/143/gamepad
Thanks, but I got the gamepad working already. The question was more if I can expect the player to have one, or if I need to include keyboard- or touch-controls as well. But thanks anyway.
And btw, when I preview the game in a browser (Chromie), I need to press a button to make the gamepad register. This is easily solved by disguising it as a "Press a key to start" message.