Modding Game Controllers For Greater Grip

japala writes "Fast-paced videogames require a steady hand and great reflexes, it's generally agreed. But some game controllers and pads just don't seem to fit in your hand, and sometimes they slip and slide, making you miss the action. So Metku.net has tried coating videogame controllers with chemical rubber - it seems to improve grip, and possibly even your score."

Comments

my game controller is QWERTY

[krog]

because my game is nethack!

grip

[zoloto]

So Mektu.net has tried coating videogame controllers with chemical rubber - it seems to improve grip, and possibly even your score.

My girl improved her grip without the rubber so I don't know wha.. wait.

This is a game controller? Eh *tries to recover* who said love wasn't a game?

--zo

Better solution...underclocking

[nebaz]

It seems that overclocking the chips are all the rage these days, but I was excellent at Wolfenstein 3D when it first came out, because my computer ran at 20 Mhz and the minimum recommended speed was 25 Mhz. Slowing down the processor turns a real time game into a turn based game.

Now having said that, since overclocking requires massive cooling effects, would underclocking require that there be an external heat source? Or by underclocking, will an endothermic reaction occur, giving you a free air conditioner. Hmmm. I'll have to do some investigating here...

"slip and slide"

[hal2814]

I've used a wide variety of controllers from the old 2600 to newer X-Box controllers and have never once had the controlled "slip" out of my hand. Maybe the people having this problem need to put away the Doritos while gaming.

I could see a rubber coating as potentially more comfortable but even that will not be true if you're playing for long stretches of time as the rubber is more likely to wear a blister on your hand (as did a wrech that I dipped in similar stuff a few years ago that I used for automotive work).

Re:"slip and slide"

[dykofone]

It kinda reminds me of the way my less game savvy parents or cousins would first use a Nintendo controller, by whipping it back and forth in whatever direction they were trying to go. For them, added grip would be quite usefull.

For the most part though the "steady-hand" the submitter mentions comes from, surprise, not moving your hands, it's the fingers that are doing all the work. Expert typists can hit 100 wpm without rubber coated keys or race car style 5-point body restraint systems. It's a zen thing.

Re:"slip and slide"

[Lawbeefaroni]

Shhhhhh...

The rubber coating is actually meant for those bastards that insist on throwing the controllers when they've had their ass kicked in multiplayer game. You know the kind,
"What the hell? Fuck that, I pressed pass...I PRESSED PASS!!!!"
*controller zings by plasma screen as I cringe*

"OH, COME ON!!!! I was JUMPING!!!!"
*controller sends cat screeching into the other room*

With enough coating it will be more like,
"Bullshit, I COUNTERED!!!"
*controller is thrown to the floor, bounces up and hits the guy in the face*

And I imagine a few saved TV screens, scratched pieces of wood furniature, etc.

its not the grip....

[psycht]

aside from the (previously mentioned) dick jokes, I don't think grip is really key here. The main issue I've always had is accuracy in movement.

This is why I prefer to play PC games with an optical mouse. The accuracy of my mouse is far greater than any other game contoller i've used in the past or present. Also, i can cusomize my mouse movement & acceleration in more detail than a controller.

~~o ~o Slippery When Wet ~o ~~o

[Vampyre_Dark]

Stop pounding off to DOA: Extreme Beach Volleyball, and you will find the controller doesn't slip out of your hands as much.