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The Ergonomics of Controllers

Posted by Zonk on from the ow-my-thumb-hurts! dept.

Rahul Choudhury writes "Over the years, the controller device we use as our extra limb into the world of gaming has evolved from joystick to d-pad, analogue control, and touchscreen. Gamingredients investigated the pros and cons of a variety of controllers from Colecovision to Xbox (and expressed their scores in flavours of coffee)."

5 of 136 comments (clear)

  1. Another site... by Soul-Burn666 · · Score: 5, Informative

    This site shows a speculated tree of evolution of game controllers.

    It is indeed evolutionary, with each generation resembling the previous one, but a bit different.

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    1. Re:Another site... by EverdredReturns · · Score: 2, Informative

      The Controller Family Tree site is WAY more informative than the ergonomics one. The ergonomics site is just some guy's opinions on the most popular game controllers (which, as we can see already, are quite debateable), while the Family Tree shows many more controllers and lets you see where they draw their inspiration from. Plus, the photos of prototype controllers are pretty interesting (like a PS1 controller with 6 face buttons, and a GC controller WITHOUT a d-pad).

  2. Re:HA! by kryogen1x · · Score: 2, Informative

    Well, in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, there was something called the stone of agony that would make the rumble pak vibrate if you were walking near a secret.

  3. Re:Too bad they're wrong by PhotoBoy · · Score: 2, Informative

    None of those are genuine cross shaped controllers. They all implement a variation of the cross d-pad that is different enough to prevent them getting sued. That's why the PS1/2 is a segmented design, and why Sega use one based on a circular pad with a cross on top.

    I believe it is the specific cross shape that Nintendo owns the patent to, rather than any underlying electronic design.

  4. Re:Too bad they're wrong by CableModemSniper · · Score: 2, Informative

    The patent expired before the Dreamcast came out. If Sony wanted to they could make a non-broken up controller now.

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    Why not fork?