gaming Video Game Controller Thinkstorm

[Discordian 6,021]

Welcome, everyone, to the ultimate brainstorming session for new video game controller designs. How would you design a controller? How would you improve existing ones?

 

Personally, I don't think controllers have enough buttons. Now, I know what some of you are thinking: Controllers already have a lot of buttons. But think about this: Even with all these buttons we still have multiple functions mapped to various buttons and given the wrong circumstances can make some games frustratingly awkward to play, such as Demon's Souls where the difference between talking to an NPC and reading a message on the ground is the direction you're facing. At least they have a semi-useful solution! PC has it's keyboard with a million buttons (and some games do use all of those keys) but for some such as myself the keyboard is too unwieldy. That's why I prefer controllers.

 

So, all that said, if you were to add buttons to a controller where would you put it? If necessary, tell us which controller you'd be putting it on.

 

I'm going to use the Dualshock 3 layout as shown above for my own ideas. Since the Xbox 360's controller is almost exactly the same thing you could consider these ideas for that as well.

 

Idea 1: I would put buttons on back of the grips where we put our middle, ring and little fingers. I know some people grip their controllers rather tightly so this probably wouldn't work so well for them but I think that's the most natural place to put them without changing the entire shape or weight of the controller.

 

Idea 2: Create a sort of 2x3 face button layout. Something like the Sega Genesis Controller perhaps.

 

Idea 3: The center of the controller is a largely unused space. Usually start, select and the home button are all that's there but there's plenty of room to put any amount of buttons for rudimentary functions such as a button for talking to NPCs which would leave the X and O buttons open for more attack commands.

 

Any combination of the three mentioned would seem okay to me.

 

People always use this image to make commentary on the fact that we have need of so many buttons these days:

 

 

But to be honest, aside from the obviously superfluous triggers and joysticks I don't think it looks too bad. Even if it is a joke image it incorporates a few of the ideas I just mentioned.

 

So what about you? Got any ideas of how to improve the controllers we use?

Edited July 20, 2014 by Discordian