digital

I was wondering if it would be possibly to connect multiple microcontroller IC's by there I/O ports?

Just had an idea. I'm planning to use a LOT of (tactile) switches on a walking robot. For instance I wanna put several under each foot. But it seems like a waste of pins to use a digital pin for each switch (or use multiplexers). So I thought I might be able to connect the switches in paralel and read several at a time from an analog input using resistors of different sizes connected in serial with each switch. Like this:

This is an electronics question that has little to do with robots. But this forum seems a good place to ask it anyway.

For an upcoming diy project, I am in need of some advice on integrated radio circuits. For my 93 yr old grandmother I hope to build a radio that can do this: