A is an Input Device used to control a Video Game . A controller is typically connected to a Video Game Console or a Personal Computer . A game controller can be a Keyboard , Mouse , Gamepad , Joystick , Paddle , or any other device designed for gaming that can receive input. Special purpose devices, such as Steering Wheel s for driving games and Light Gun s for shooting games, may also exist for a platform. Some devices, such as keyboards and mice, are actually generic input devices and their use is not strictly limited to that of a game controller.
A game controller can be used to govern the movement or actions of an Entity in a Video or Computer Game . The type of element controlled depends upon the game, but a typical element controlled would be the Player Character 's actions and movements.
See Also: Gamepad
A gamepad, also known as a joypad, is the most common kind of game controller, held with both hands where the thumbs are used to provide input and can have anywhere from a couple of buttons to a dozen or more, combined with multiple omnidirectional control sticks. Gamepads generally feature a set of action buttons handled with the right thumb and a direction controller handled with the left. These let the player control the game element movements in up to three dimensions, with many buttons to perform quick actions. Due to the ease of use and precision of gamepads, they have spread from traditional consoles where they originated to Computer s as a common input device.
Most modern game controllers are a variation of a standard gamepad. Some common additions to the standard pad include shoulder buttons placed along the edges of the pad, centrally placed buttons labeled ''start'', ''select'', and ''mode'', and an internal motor to provide Force Feedback .
Gamepads are the primary means of input on nearly all modern Video Game Consoles . Gamepads are also available for Personal Computer s, but few computer games support gamepads, preferring the more conventional Keyboards and Mice . However, most Console Emulator s support gamepads.
controller (1985), Genesis/Mega Drive controllers (1988+), Digital Saturn controller (1994), Saturn 3D Pad (1996), and Dreamcast controller (1998).]]
See Also: Paddle (game controller)
A paddle is a controller that features a round wheel and one or more fire buttons. The wheel is used to typically control movement of the player or an object along one axis of the video screen. Paddle controllers were the first analog controllers; they died out when "paddle and ball" type games fell out of favor. A variation on the Paddle, the Atari Driving Controller appeared on the Atari 2600 . Designed specifically for the game Indy 500 , It was almost identical in operation and design to the regular paddle controller. However, its wheel can be continuously rotated in either direction, and it was missing the extra paddle included on the previous model. Unlike a spinner, friction prevented the wheel from gaining momentum.
See Also: Trackball
A trackball is basically an upside-down mouse that is manipulated with the palm of one's hand. It has the advantage of not requiring a lot of desktop space, and that it is as fast as one can roll the ball on it. This is faster than one can move a mouse due to space not being an issue.
Notable uses of a Trackball as a gaming controller would be games such as Centipede , Marble Madness , Golden Tee and Sonic Arcade .
See Also: Joystick
This joystick is a Computer Peripheral that consists of a handheld stick that pivots about one end and transmits its angle in two or three dimensions to a computer. The joystick is often used for Flight Simulators . HOTAS controllers, which include extra hardware to simulate throttle and rudder controls are popular among fanatics of the genre.
This device can also be a home version of the kind used in the arcade, or for use on emulators. It features a shaft that has a sphere-like handle that is grasped, and one or more buttons for in game actions. Generally the layout has the joystick on the left, and the buttons on the right. There are instances when this is reversed, or the joystick is in the center with button on both sides.
Joysticks are also widely used in racing games as acelrators and brakes!
The Steering Wheel , essentially a larger version of a paddle, is used for Racing Simulators such as '' Live For Speed '', '' Grand Prix Legends '', '' GTR2 '', and '' Richard Burns Rally ''. Many are force feedback (see Force Feedback Wheel ), designed to give the same feedback as you would driving a real car, but the realism of this depends on the game. They usually come with pedals to control the gas and brake. Shifting is taken care of with either paddles, a simple shifter which is moved forward or back to change gears, or a shifter which mimics that of real vehicles, which may use a clutch. Most wheels turn only 200 to 270 degrees lock-to-lock, but some models, such as the Logitech Driving Force Pro and Logitech G25 , can turn 900 degrees, or 2.5 turns lock-to-lock.
The ''. Unlike "real" video game steering wheels, the Jogcon was designed to fit in the player's hand. Its much smaller wheel (diameter roughly similar to a Soda Can 's) resembles the jog-and-shuttle control wheel used on some VCR s.
Nintendo announced at E3 that they would be producing a Steering wheel, titled the WiiWheel. It will come bundled with Mario Kart wii edition (Tentative Title). The WiiWheel dosen't have a stand so users will have to place back to centre by themselves.
See Also: Computer keyboard
Computer mouse
keyboard setup is used widely]]
The keyboard and mouse are typical Input Device s for a Personal Computer and are currently the main game controllers for Computer Game s. The keyboard and mouse with the aid of the Mousepad achieve greater speed, comfort and accuracy for the gamer. Some video game consoles also have the ability to function with a keyboard and a mouse. The computer keyboard is modeled after the Typewriter Keyboard and was designed for the input of written text. A mouse is a handheld Pointing Device used in addition to the keyboard. For games, the keyboard typically controls movement of the character while the mouse is used to control the game camera or used for aiming.
The numeric Keypad found on the keyboard is also used as a game controller and can be found on a number of separate devices, most notably early consoles, usually attached to a joystick or a paddle. The keypad is a small grid of keys with at least the digits 0-9.
See Also: Light gun
A light gun is a peripheral used to "shoot" targets on a screen. They usually roughly resemble firearms or ray guns. Their use is normally limited to Rail Shooter or shooting gallery games like those that came with the " Shooting Gallery " light gun. The first home console light gun was released on the Magnavox Odyssey; later on, Nintendo would include one standard on their Famicom and NES . Nintendo will also release a "shell" in the style of a light gun for the Wii Remote .
See Also: Touch screen
A touch screen is an input device that allows the user to interact with the computer by touching the display screen. It was first used on a dedicated console with the Tiger Game.com . Nintendo popularized it for use in video games with the Nintendo DS ; other systems including the Tapwave Zodiac as well as the vast majority of PDAs have also included this feature.
Modern touch screens use a thin, durable, transparent plastic sheet overlayed onto the glass screen. The location of a touch is calculated from the Capacitance for the X and Y Axes , which varies based upon where the sheet is touched.
There are a few specialized controllers that are specifically used for RTS games and some arcade type games. These controllers can be programmed to allow the emulation of keys, and macros in some cases. They were developed because some of these games require a keyboard to play, and some players find this to be awkward for such a task.
See also:
- Train controls: At a smaller scale, other hardware such as train controls (available after '' Microsoft Train Simulator '' was released), pinball controllers and multi-button consoles for strategy games were released in the past, but their popularity was limited to hardcore fans of the genre.
- Dance Pad s, essentially a grid of flat pressure sensitive gamepad buttons set on a mat meant to be stepped on, have seen niche success with the popularity of rhythm games like '' Dance Dance Revolution '' and '' Pump It Up ''. The dance pad was first introduced on the Atari 2600, called the "Exus Foot Craz" pad. Nintendo later purchased the technology from Bandai and used it on their "Power Pad", for the Famicom and NES.
- Buzzers: A recent example of specialized, while very simple, game controllers, is the four large "buzzers" (round buttons) supplied with the PlayStation 2 Quiz Show game series '' Buzz! '' (2005, 2006); both game and controllers clearly being inspired by the television show genre.
- system utilizes a new kind of controller, called the Wii Remote . It has motion sensors and can detect its exact location and orientation in 3D space.
- NeGcon : is a unique controller for racing games on the PlayStation. Physically it resembles a gamepad, but its left and right halves twist relative to each other, making it a variation of the paddle controller.
- series. The use of these microphones allowed players to issue commands to the game, controlling teammates (as in SOCOM) and other AI characters (Pikachu).
- Steel Batallion for the XBOX was bundled with a full dashboard, with 2 joysticks and over 30 buttons, in an attempt to make it feel like an actual mecha simulator.
- . Later other games for Playstation console use also a similar controllers.
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