#gaming peripherals

"Attitude For Your Game!"

If you remember me ever mentioning something like this... well, they made a wireless+gyro version. It works! Feels weird as fuck, but it works!

@avinanyx 's dope Doom 3 keyboard ♡

this is actually a great time to talk about peripherals and ergonomics >:D

Okay, so; there are a few considerations to make when you’re buying any kind of gaming peripheral, regardless of whether you’re an arcade company or an individual user. These are:

1: What does it actually do?

Is this a stupid question? Not if you’re one of the thousands of people who bought a Kinect. Think about it like this: why would you *ever* fucking use a Kinect outside of specific games tailored to use it?

Let’s ignore all of the problems with it. In what possible scenario is a traditional game designed for play with a controller better-played using motion tracking? Differently abled people have peripherals that can accomodate for different numbers of fingers or amounts of hands &or hand mobility (M+KB is a tried and true method that realistically only needs a palm and finger to operate, maybe with a foot pedal system if you can’t reach WASD), so it’s not for that market. And it’s not compatible with other titles anyways unless you mod the damn thing. So what does it actually do?

It lets you play one, maybe two games. So what it actually is, is a large, complicated, expensive-ass access key.

2: Is it the best option for what it does?

VR gloves and sticks are more or less the best solution we currently have for ‘solving’ motion in a 3D simulated space, and even then, they can’t exactly move you around in your room for you (not without making your inner ear Very Cross with you). A horse is… certainly one option to direct your motion, but there are a few others.

Those that come to my mind specifically are harnessed movement discs, foot pedals, and basic-ass leg tracking. If you have none of these, well, then that’s why VR likes to use your arms as a movement indicator, or lets you teleport from place to place.

Now, out of all of these, which would you actually use the most in your general gamespace? Personally, I’d go for the leg tracking or the disc, and it’ll likely be around the same price as that stupid fucking horse. If we’re talking about motion simulation, then generally I would point at haptic suits as being more practical, or even a chair of similar construction to the horse, without the horse.

“But wait!” You say. “Dokky! Why no horse?”

Well, because…

3: How long can you use it before it hurts?

Innuendo kind of intentional. We *are* talking about toys and peripherals here. (Cough.) Anyways.

All peripherals (and ergonomic Things in general) need to be evaluated for their ability to harm the user, accidentally or intentionally. This is why most cars’ auto closing features are very finicky, for example (say, to avoid cutting fingers off. Eat shit, Elon). In this case, functionally, we are looking at a chair that can jostle the user around for possibly hours on end, on a horse saddle. Now. What kind of damage can that cause?

(Horse riders in the chat, you already know.)

We’re talking about a sore lumbar from repeated unsupported linear stress. We’re talking hip problems from a large splay angle. We’re talking leg muscle aches from holding them in constant tension. We’re talking posture issues from zero back support in a high stress environment. You know those bull toys that try to throw people off of their backs with zero support? This is literally that (probably toned down substantially). Why the *fuck* would you play a videogame while riding one of those? Most importantly, are you really signing up for a chiropractor in addition to the onboarding cost of the horse, let alone the game? If you’re an arcade, can you *afford* a fucking medical bill?

This is, unfortunately, the one scenario where those awful racecar seat gaming chairs actually make sense. Because, do you know what a racecar chair actually *does?* It buckets you against a cushion to stop you from falling out and keep you mostly comfortable. *That* is a better design solution to a linear acceleration chair, and frankly, I’m a little mad that I came up with it.

4: Conclusion

Just go ride a horse. Don’t buy old merry-go-round junk to try and cram into your room (there’s another one; how much space does it need for storage?), and for the love of Gods, think about your peripherals. Oh, and.

5: Happy birthday, @happyhydralisk (discord)

Happy birthday, Hydra.