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Game Controllers For The Feet?

Posted by Cliff on from the lToe-rToe-left-left-right-right-up-down-up-down-b-a-start dept.

Cmdr_Pooky asks: "I like to play a lot of online games and like to use such things like Roger Wilco and play a LOT of Half-life. Is there a device that acts like a switch that can be activated with the feet? I would love to be able to touch a button with my left foot for talking to my clan mates and hold down another button to prime grenades. Anyone know of such a device?" As if game controllers didn't have enough buttons already, this might actually be something that may help some gamers (and get some of the annoying buttons off of the hand controllers!). Are there any such devices for PCs or consoles?

4 of 17 comments (clear)

  1. Nintendo by sharkey · · Score: 2

    I seem to remeber the old 8-bit NES had an "action mat" type controller. I think it looked kind of like a Twister mat, with contacts under the dots. Perhaps with a little work someone could get it rewired to talk over a serial port? I am pretty sure they had "fight ring" that was a big circle of plastic and sensors you laid on the floor and stood inside. It supposedly sensed your actions, and you could actually control fighting games more realistically, or some such. Perhaps that could be modified to work as well. Hmmm. What action could be mapped to scratching your nuts?

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  2. Foot Controllers by HomeySmurf · · Score: 2

    There is a company, Bilbo Innvoations that makes foot controllers similar to those used for an organ or sewing machine. They mainly are used as meta keys (shift, alt, control), but I am sure they could be mapped to other things inside of a game. Links and pictures here . If you are looking for a directional syste, then Infogrips No-Hands Mouse may be a better choice. Info and pics here . I am not sure how this would work in a game though. I know that the Hacker's Dictionary mentions that the original 'space cadet' keyboard at MIT was supposed to have foot pedals, but in the end it was opted out. I think that was a bad decision, made prior to the GUI revolution, and that the mouse was a poor choice. Picking your hand up from the keyboard is a waste of time. Future interface devices need to include a mixture of hand, feet, maybe some sort of head mounted directional stuff (like the things in airplanes that monitor where your are looking for targetting) and perhaps a little bit of voice recognition.

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  3. Been there, done that! by IronChef · · Score: 2

    A while back, I hacked a PC keyboard up so I could plug hand buzzers and other controls into it. Idea being, you mash a button and it registers a keystroke.

    On my site I cover, with photos, how to dissect a keyboard for this purpose. The photos are crummy, sorry, this was years ago before I had a nicer digital camera.

    Once you have wired up the keyboard, get an industrial foot pedal or three and stomp away! You can get foot pedals at Grainger.com. I bought one and used it for a home-made Time Crisis reload pedal.

  4. infogrip by fat_hot · · Score: 3

    yes, take a look at http://infogrip.com, they have various foot-operated devices such as mice and switches. I used to use the "no hands mouse" myself.