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Why Should It Take Two Hands To Play Videogames?
Thanks to StatePaper.com for their article discussing a Nebraska radio talk show host's plans to create a one-handed game controller. The host, Mike Reed, "has learned to play many of the games using a controller with only one hand", following an accident which happened when "an acquaintance at a party pointed a loaded .410-caliber shotgun at Reed [and fired]", leaving him with very limited use of his right arm. He says that "many games are impossible to play one-handed", and has "designed a dual-motion game controller that consolidates all movement, button response and directional function into a one-handed video game controller", although he and his partners "haven't built a prototype yet." In the meantime, are there any existing console controllers that might work for those only using one hand?
There's a brain overload from the amount of jokes you can make from this...
Sticks designed for flight sims seems to have most if not all of the buttons accessable to one hand, though this tends to be the right hand (I am left handed and notice).
Remapping the keys and clamping it to a flat surface should help too.
I would have thought a gameboy would work, with the pad and buttons close together, I'm sure someone else with a better knowledge of them could suggest a few
Brocklesby Park Cricket Club
Many Arcade games could be easily modified to be used with one hand since they only featured a control stick and an action button. Simply put the button on top of the control stick, voila, a one handed controller.
But with modern day games, the closest you'd come to a one hand remote would be something like a remote control, because there are so many buttons on your Xbox/PS2/Gamecube controller.
A few years back Sony released a one handed controller for the PSOne. There is a catch with it, however. It does not feature one of the analog controllers, and would most likely not work for any game that required it. The other problem is that it is really designed for use with RPGs and is probably not suited to any other genre. I'd think that would be the case with most games out there, IMO.
I have no regrets, this is the only path.
My whole life has been "UNLIMITED BLADE WORKS"
As long as you choose to use an automatic, driving wheels with pedals aren't going to be just fine with one hand.
Super Monkey Ball (and, lets face it, gaming doesn't get much better than the mighty Expert 7) just demands one analogue pad and no buttons during play, so that isn't a problem. Same with its inspiration, Marble Madness.
Many, perhaps most, things on PC should be reasonably playable with the Microsoft Strategic Commander, as it has three analogue axes and a myriad of buttons. Flight sticks offer much the same.
There are always going to be some games that require both hands though, and that is probably only right. Basketball would be pretty difficult to play one-handed as well, but we don't get rid of that. Ensuring games are playable by as many as possible is a good thing, but as a designer you shouldn't break the game just to ensure this.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
The Belkin Speedpad might be an option: it has a dpad built in, a scroll wheel, and several mappable keys. It is for right-handers only, though, at this time.
Specs and Information on the SpeedPad.
Vincent J. Murphy
Spandex Justice
but with shooting games, like Time Crisis, you only need one hand (for the pistol) and one feet (for the pedal). Then, for PCs, there are roguelike games.
The truth is that (most) games are made for the people with two hands, not completely deaf and without any visual disability to discern objects in the screen. When (read if) 3d displays become the norm people with less than two eyes will have also problems with most games. And the same will happen for people with only one good ear when surround sound is important for a game.
There are games that can be played by almost anyone with some little tweaks, but it would be non-optimum for the sofware companies, unless the game is a complete hit or was designed that way from the beggining.
In related news:
"TECMO INC. release one handed XBOX controller for Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball."
I used to play Cruisin' USA on the N64 one-handed... It wasn't really a game where you needed to brake, so I was content with Go and the Analog pad.
If there was gonna be a one handed controller, that's how I would design it... The thumb controller is analog (And can be pressed down like the Xbox's and the PS2's), the buttons are on the bottom, so it almost looks like you're holding a fishing rod... Something interesting to think about is that your tactile feedback and ability to touch something in detail decreases as you move out towards the pinky finger. Hold a glass or a small bottle, and use the pinky finger to touch something right next to it. It won't be a smooth controlled motion. On the other hand, the index finger moves very slowly and accurately. So near the bottom of this controller you'd need larger fatter buttons that can be easily pressed and are very textured, near the top you can have an analog trigger for the index finger, and 2-4 buttons for the other fingers. Then again, you can always have some buttons as pedals on the floor if it's convenient. I know someone who didn't like having a lot of important FPS buttons be very far away so he got pedals and used them for forward and backward movement. To get really complex, he could even have an analog "stick-shift" for his right arm for those who lack accute detail but could handle gross motor movement.
So that in effect gives us 1 analog, 1 trigger, 2-4 buttons + 2-3 buttons + 1 analog (and a button or two?) essentially replacing all the buttons of a controller. While it seems like an elaborate set-up, it could do what he likes.
Or, he could do what someone on my floor in the university did... He was born with a birth defect which left him with no arms (but hands at the end of his shoulders). He still played videogames, IIRC correctly he used one of those mega-huge Neo-Geo-styled arcade pads. I believe it had a steering wheel, and he may have used his mouth.
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
Shouldn't the moron who shot the guy have to BE his one-handed controller for the rest of his life? He should have to just stand by the guy's videogame console 24/7 in case he wants to play something, and then hold and operate the controller as the victim beats him with an idiot stick on different parts of his body to signal which buttons to push.
Syntax error: loose != lose, affect != effect, then!=than
Apparently this is some strange new usage of the word "accident" which I was previously unfamiliar with.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
My right hand was out of commission for a few months ("accident" involving a rottweiler...) and I found one hand and one foot is plenty to run a gamepad (PS2 mostly). At first my foot was rather clumsy so I held the controller backwards (direction controls on the right) with my good hand and used the big toe to handle the d-pad and analog stick. With one hand and one foot direction controls are actually very easy because you can move the gamepad around against your foot using the hand that's holding the pad and doing the buttons.
Later on I actually grew to prefer hitting the buttons with my toes (well big toe mostly) since it required less fine control (and worst case you just lock your toe and move the gamepad against it using your one hand that's holding the pad and handling the other half again). I was even able to hit all the shoulder buttons fine with my big toe using this method (again move the gamepad to help you reach), although multiple buttons at once was tougher. Anyway you hear stories of kids who can write with their feet, running half a gamepad with your hand moving it about the help is nothing.
The standard R/C controller has two sticks, giving you four axis of control (throttle, rudder, elevator, aileron) ... absolutely requiring two hands, unless you limit yourself to one stick and therefore only two channels. (Which is fine for some gliders, but is very limiting.)
But people have made controllers where there's only one stick -- to access the other two channels, you rotate the stick and turn a small seperate knob on top of it. It's not as easy to use as the two stick version, but if you've only got one hand, it gets you back in the air.
(You use a tray to hold the transmitter, so you don't have to use your hands to carry it at all.)
I'd love to give a link to one of these, but can't seem to find one right now ...
Aha -- found one! here's a picture and here's the page with more info. Looks like this one only has three axis on that one stick, but that's enough for the important controls of a powered airplane, and perfect for most gliders.