Having grown up with a plethora of classic consoles, I have seen the evolution of the control pad - From paddles to joysticks, to digital control pads, and then to dual-analog thumbsticks (And now to motion control, but that doesn't count). Over the years we have had to adapt to the way we play our favourite games. My hands have held many controllers, of all shape, size, and style, some being more comfortable than others. Looking back, it's hard to understand how we ever put up with some dreadful controller design. The Atari Jaguar controller springs to mind, as does the Dreamcast, as well as several others. Controllers have evolved to the point where the two main current generation controllers (The PS3 DualShock3 and X360 Wireless) are supposed to be the result of years of research and perfection, blending aesthetics with ergonomic design and functionality. Every generation the controllers get more complex, and we have to train ourselves into learning how to use the tools in our hands to control what we see on the screen. Today's controllers typically have around a dozen buttons each, as well as two separate methods of directional input - One digital, and one dual-analog - Whereas back-in-the-day we would be used to significantly less. That didn't necessarily mean we would have less fun with older games though! I've personally progressed from an Atari 2600 joystick, through the 8bit and 16bit era's, and then to the modern day post-PlayStation era. I was fine up until around 1997 when Sony decided to release the Dual Analog Controller, which is what I consider the turning point for gaming, and a controller which shaped the way we would play games for the next decade... Now I had already trained myself to use the one-buttoned Atari joystick in such a way that it was comfortable to use, cradled in your left hand, left thumb on the big red button, joystick in the other. The NES and Master System controllers were something different, and took a little getting used to, but it was the 8bit controllers which would have an everlasting effect on what we would generally accept as a "normal" layout, with directional control on the left and action buttons on the right. Everything which followed would adopt this basic form factor, up until the time Sony introduced dual-analog controls (Have you ever seen a controller with the D-Pad and buttons switched sides?) The problem I seem to have is that I spent so many years training my brain into thinking that LEFT = movement and RIGHT = action, but no longer was that true with Sony's new controller. Now we had to train our brains into controlling two different axis of movement simutaneously. However, whilst many people have found the transition easy, I have never been able to fully get used to dual-analog controls - Most probably because I am a retro gamer at heart, and still play all the classic 8bit and 16bit games I have to admit, I sometimes struggle in regards to controlling with my right digit. This is mostly evident in console FPS games where I generally tend to be let down by my "lazy right thumb", simply because it's not accustomed to delicate aiming. It's almost as if my right thumb been reduced to a secondary function, numbed over the years through brute force button mashing, where the other digits on my right hand play a more active role in performing those actions these days I'm not saying that dual-analog controls aren't a good innovation, because they are. I enjoy playing console FPS games now more than I ever did before dual-analog came along (Even though I prefer mouse & keyboard controls), and I couldn't imagine what FPS games would be like without them (Although GoldenEye's controls would probably have become the standard control method I guess?). I suppose a new gamer would find the controls very natural to use, as would anybody who has learnt to adapt, but it's just one of those things that i've never really been able to do...
Interesting take and a lot of good points. My view is somewhat reversed. For a start the Dreamcast controller is my all time favourite, it suits my large hands and I found FPS incredibly easy to play, forward, back and strafing movements don't require an analogue control set up. If the Dreamcast buttons had been analogue it would have been perfect for me. The Dual Shock was always an unusual set up for me. The sticks seem slightly out of reach to be comfortable, they were an after thought added to an existing controller, the 360, DC and GC took a better approach by placing the sticks directly under the natural resting position of the thumbs. It seems as if Sony weren't banking on analogue ever becoming mainstream and didn't want to take the risk of alienating players. Unfortunately it seems people just got used to the Dual Shock and seeing as it was paired with the most popular console it just stayed that way. As for the left versus right debate. It was always a curiosity to me. Seeing as most people are right handed you would think it would only be natural to place delicate character control under the right thumb and leave the mindless button bashing to the left hand. Still this is the way it is and I suffer when using emulators as a result. Playing Sonic on a keyboard for example, I'm not accustomed to controlling the character with my right hand on the directional keys and left on the action buttons. An interesting experiment is attaching a generic USB controller to a PC, fire up a popular platformer and flip the controller upside down and reverse the controls. Very weird but you soon find you adapt.
I have quite small hands, yet I find the Dreamcast controller to be quite cramping and restrictive in comparison to the PlayStation and Xbox controllers. The Xbox Controller S would probably be my choice in ideal controller design, but the Dreamcast controller was just too straight and squared to feel comfortable
Excellent read. As I have grown older, I, too, have struggled with the various changes/additions to the game controller. For each button/control that has been added, my gaming competency has decreased. You might enjoy the following article I wrote around a year ago that reflects upon this, but more importantly offers a gaming solution. http://videogameconsolelibrary.com/blogs/mg/?p=431#comments Hope you find it an enjoyable (and humorous) read. Terry
