Fellow Grouvee members (Grouvii? Grouveeee? Grouveers?),
I have been on the search for the perfect gamepad for as long as I could remember. I’m not super picky when it comes to ergonomic or aesthetic needs, but my main gripe is functionality. This great controller that I have brewed up in my mind is small enough for me to carry on my travels, but most importantly, it has enough buttons. Why do I need so many buttons? Emulation really, but also the convenience of having your buttons where you want them when you want them is also kind of a big deal.
So far the only controller that has come close is this beauty right here, that is discontinued. I happen to purchase one before, and I can’t find any anymore. If you look closely you’ll notice that the middle triangle has a J, K, and M mode. That means Joystick, Keyboard and Mouse. This little beast can switch to a mode that remaps all buttons to keyboard letters. You heard right. No more Direct X gamepad compatibility issues. Sure you could spend your time fiddling around with Joy2Key, but now you don’t have to! And the mouse mode remaps the left dpad and analog to mouse control, letting you left and right click with the right side’s face buttons. You can switch between games without ever having to put down the controller, or you can deal with managing downloads or browse the web with it while you are playing too. It’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. The one gripe I have with it is that the HK buttons do nothing. Well, they maybe do something, but I can’t seem to figure it out. Everytime I press them I end up switching to Mouse or Keyboard mode. I supplemented my button needs with L3 and R3. Other than that it has been a pretty perfect laptop companion.
What I’ve also been looking for, for a long time is a controller with a button underneath the controller, normally where your ringfinger and middle finger would go if you were holding a controller normally, like in this picture. It isn’t super important, but it just makes sense! Why don’t we have these buttons yet? What are we waiting for? Can you imagine how seamless and easy certain games would be if we allowed ourselves to take a little responsibility off of our thumbs? Jerk reaction melee attacks in FPSs, the ease of putting up your guard in a fighting game will free your face buttons up for more opportunities, and dare I say it, a more advanced branching of reactions and possibilities.
I dunno if it is just me who feels this way, but it must be seeing as how there are so few controllers out there doing what I am looking for, the majority of them are DIY projects. I guess that is the route I’ll have to be going until someone in a development team hears someone like me.
How do you feel about your controllers brethren? Are you pleased with the recent gamepads in this next generation? (PS4, XBONE, WiiU?) Do you have a special gamepad that has served you well among the years? I’m curious as to how others feel about this problem, whether it be a problem for them at all or not.