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Ben Heck's Plan To Make Gaming Open To All

Posted by samzenpus on from the man-with-the-plan dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Legendary DIY gaming guru Ben Heck has given a new interview in which he talks about the Access Controller, his modular controller for consoles that lets disabled gamers play with one hand, and how he plans to update it for the next generation of consoles: 'I'm sure I will. At the very least people are going to want the accessibility controllers I build...People have already asked about them for the next-gen consoles, and that was at E3. When I was there, the thing I looked at the most was the controllers. The Xbox One looks pretty similar to what we have at the moment, but they finally fixed the D-pad.'"

33 comments

  1. But how do you use the Kinect... by Lumpio- · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...if you're an amputee?

    1. Re:But how do you use the Kinect... by Rhacman · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man!

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    2. Re:But how do you use the Kinect... by TheKeyboardSlayer · · Score: 1

      someone will make a product called the DisKinect(tm) http://instantrimshot.com/ My uncle, who is an amputee, approves of this message and thinks it is lulz.

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    3. Re:But how do you use the Kinect... by ArcadeMan · · Score: 0

      Wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube man!

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    4. Re:But how do you use the Kinect... by davester666 · · Score: 1

      Great. Now I have to search YouTube for the video of this.

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  2. He should talk to the Bayonetta devs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Their game was programmed to be played with one hand.

    1. Re:He should talk to the Bayonetta devs by loufoque · · Score: 1

      Bayonetta is pretty light on the fanservice compared to most modern japanese games.

    2. Re:He should talk to the Bayonetta devs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you want fanservice, watch Sekirei or Girls Bravo.

  3. Legendary? by ArcadeMan · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Are we talking about the same Ben Heck who made a CNC and put the X-axis motor INSIDE the gantry, therefore cutting the X travel in nearly half? THAT Ben Heck?

    He may be popular, but sometimes he can totally screw up too.

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    1. Re:Legendary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      He may be popular, but sometimes he can totally screw up too.

      So can anyone, legendary or not.

      The fact that you immediately knew who they were talking about though kind of proved their point... And legendary isn't always good (though in this case I think it is)

    2. Re:Legendary? by LoRdTAW · · Score: 1

      Until this article, I had no idea who the Ben heck was. Saying he is legendary is a bit overblown. Don't get me wrong, I have heard of his portable mods and they are pretty neat but beyond that nothing.

    3. Re:Legendary? by LoRdTAW · · Score: 1

      Arrrgh! I was going to try and be cute and say "I had no idea who the heck Ben Heck is" or something to that extent and screwed it up.

    4. Re:Legendary? by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      Yeah, who the Heck is he?

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    5. Re:Legendary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      HE IS THE LEGENDARY BEN HECK

      THAT IS ALL

      fsckin filter fsckin filter fsckin filter fsckin filter

    6. Re:Legendary? by ArcadeMan · · Score: 0

      Can't agree more. He's the equivalent of the "First post" on Slashdot.

      Famous? Yes. Well-known? If you're a nerd or a gamer, yes.

      Legendary? Absolutely not. Let's not dilute that word of its significance.

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    7. Re:Legendary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My sister was once bitten by Ben Heck.

    8. Re:Legendary? by HeckRuler · · Score: 1

      Yeah, this disabled guy at the hackerspace asked for some help with a piece of code that was somehow affiliated with Ben Heck. Just some arduino stuff to have a joystick move his wheelchair around.

      It was pretty ugly. Apparently the guy can't code worth a damn. I mean, if it actually originated from Ben Heck. The whole thing was kinda surreal. I have no idea if I should laugh when the guy in a wheelchair makes a cripple joke.

      But Ben has that mover and shaker attitude that gets you on TV and minor celebrity status. It's a skill, and one that geeks don't usually foster because it's tied to CHA rather than INT. And everyone knows that's a dumpstat.

  4. Go home samzenpus by Princeofcups · · Score: 1

    You are drunk. "Plan to make" not "making." Not "to all," but to "people with certain disabilities". And that's just from the summary. Haven't RTFA yet.

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    1. Re:Go home samzenpus by Alzheimers · · Score: 1

      Ben Heck's Plan is the subject. Not "Ben Heck" + "Plans"

  5. He should talk to the DOAXV devs by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

    Their game was also probably programmed to be played with one hand. Nudge, nudge. Wink wink. Say no more..

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  6. Legendary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm like neva höörd of this Heck!

  7. Summary quote source? by Chris+Pimlott · · Score: 1

    Where is the quote in the summary from? It doesn't seem to be part of the linked article.

  8. Open gaming? by xtal · · Score: 2

    Isn't that what a PC is for?

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    1. Re:Open gaming? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah a PC is better. The controller is usable by a very small subset of disabled people.

    2. Re:Open gaming? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      ... Open gaming for those who would rather drop $400 on a vendor-locked console, instead of $1,200 for a bad-ass gaming box that they can upgrade.

      The irony of it is like junk food: Tastes pretty good, but wreaks hell on your will to live.

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    3. Re:Open gaming? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your level of closeted homosexuality is major.

  9. Bringing Games to the Gamers by Alzheimers · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think it's awesome that he's willing to put his time, energy and ingenuity towards those less fortunate in the gaming community. Ben has a reputation for some awe-inspiring feats of engineering, and if he's able to use those talents to enable more gamers to enjoy the art and science of Video Games, then good on him.

    The world needs more people like Ben Heck.

  10. Console exclusives and PC anti-cheats by tepples · · Score: 1

    If someone with a mobility impairment wants to play with friends in real life who routinely play console-exclusive games, PC games are not a close substitute. Besides, even on PC, anti-cheating measures are likely to interfere with accessibility tools.

    1. Re:Console exclusives and PC anti-cheats by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Besides, even on PC, anti-cheating measures are likely to interfere with accessibility tools.

      Nothing that can't be fixed by a trip to elitepvpers.com
      Getting banned is a small price to pay if you couldn't play to begin with.

    2. Re:Console exclusives and PC anti-cheats by tepples · · Score: 1

      Getting banned is a small price to pay if you couldn't play to begin with.

      Not if getting banned from one multiplayer game on your account gets you banned even from single-player games on the same account.

  11. Been waiting 20 years for this controller by cyclomedia · · Score: 1

    Have always wanted to hack apart the PSx controller and swap the D pad and main buttons. Envisioned calling it the Leftpad or somesuch.

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