Hi @trueisawesome,
It’s fine if you want to use a non-widget button. Basically any display object can be made into a button if you implement the proper touch or tap handler. This guide should help you out on that:
https://docs.coronalabs.com/guide/events/touchMultitouch/index.html
Of course, widget-based buttons make a lot of the process easier, and they can be customized in nearly every way (visually), which is why most people use them. However, you can make buttons manually if you so choose, that’s completely fine.
Take care,
Brent