I agree with this wholeheartedly.

Since Playstation there has been a standard in place for game controls.

The Xbox threw that standard out the window with games like Flatout.

The bottom button is Gas (at least the devs got that right), but the left button above that should be the brake, and the right button should be the e-brake. For some reason they brain-farted and the game is ridiculous.

They fixed it in Flatout 2, but there is no local network play, and yes, you guessed it Live is now dead for original Xbox.

If only to fix what the crazy devs do, this should be supported.

I contend that it be supported at the BIOS, OS, or firmware level of the consoles. A simple patch and you can choose to re-map in the console menu.

seems like a combination of gestural control, eye direction mapping, and speech recognition could present this guy with a much better solution than having to mash keys with his mouth. i imagine playing the way he does in the video is bad for his lips, gums, and teeth….

That’s why you just buy a Gaming PC, where nearly -every- game has the ability to rebind keys/buttons. You know, I can’t think of a game where I haven’t been able to do that, and both UE3 and Source engine games have an extensive console and ‘macro’ system as well.

and you don’t deserve to breathe air

I’m sure I speak for the majority if I say that you’re not welcome here with comments like that. I’m sure so called cripples justify their existence, not just by paying as much tax as you but leading rewarding fulfilling lives. If you’re offended, then fuck off!

Maybe you could ask benheck.com to add a section for disabled gamers in the forum and advert it on the main page to get it started?

I know he makes custom controllers, in fact he designed a one-handed completely customizable controller.

it just crossed my mind, excuse me if its silly: how about feet on a touch pad?

XCM has an accessory for the Xbox 360 that allows you to connect your keyboard as a controller called the XFPS 360. I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve read articles saying that it’s pretty nice.

@hoschi wouldn’t work well for this guy since he’s quadriplegic. That means that he can’t really control arms or legs that well.

My method would be to figure out which traces on a controller’s pcb to solder to to get the right button mapping, then make some controller that he can implement (waterproof with bite, tongue, and head-tilt, maybe implementing eye-tracking).

It would be more appropriate to start a movement AGAINST too much catering to the handicapped in FPS’s (read on, I’m not making the point of the troll earlier, this is another kind of rant), they do not belong on consoles (first person shooters that is) but they are there and now all the FPS’s are ‘consolified’ on PC’s with everything being done automatically and aim-assist and stuff like that so that its now usable by handicapped people and toddlers, now I have nothing against them, but don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater and ruin any challenge and interesting aspect of games to make them suitable for everybody, or at least don’t make PC versions the same as console versions, all simplified.
As for the issue of the handicapped, well the handicapped should use tools designed for their use, programmable controllers and such that compensate for their problem and can’t expect things to be suitable out-of-the-box, and you can argue there’s nothing wrong with games having button assignment but after years of issues with flaky button assignment in PC games I’m thinking perhaps they hope for too much to expect their wishful thinking to become a reality.

My remarks were about trying to make a game accessible to everybody out of the box, even to small groups that normally would find fixes for their unique issues themselves, and collecting signatures to push and promote that, and my thought on where that leads to, namely oversimplifying things so they are suitable for everybody but ending with games that are too simple to be playable with much enjoyment.

Reconfigurable controls are sorely needed for many players out there. Great to see this call get such good coverage. If people want to learn more about this, then I highly recommend a trip over to Alt-Controls.com, OneSwitch.org.uk, AbleGamers.com and the like.

Shame about some of the embarassingly ignorant comments above. Adding accessibility features to games is a design choice, and the right thing to do, if done well. They tend to be optional, so if you want to play a difficult game, set your game up for hard-core mode, and don’t make use of any optional assist modes. Baffles me how many people can’t grasp that. For those who still don’t like that concept, why not campaign for the removal of wheelchair ramps and level access to public buildings? Campaign for the removal of subtitles on DVDs? Etc. It’s daft not to see the bigger picture, and the fact that anyone can become disabled at any time in their life. If that does happen, do you just give up on wanting to play the games you previously loved? Or would you rather there were some accomodations in your options screen that can help to keep the game playable and fun?

While I’m here, I’d also like to mention: AskACapper, you’re awesome, if only for being able to play Modern Warfare WITH YOUR FACE! Mad props for that alone.

@Whatnot
YOU: “waah waah disabled people threaten my gaming abilities. they should just deal with it and stop complaining because nothing will ever change anyway!”

get out, troll.

PC gaming is the way to go, period. You can re-map any key to any function, and even 3rd party software will allow you to remap whole key combination to a single keystroke. If consoles do not want to cater to your needs, and do not even put features like button mapping in their games, then I ask you why on earth are you purchasing their products??? If your relatives actually enjoy playing online with you, I would not think it would be a huge deal for them to purchase a descent PC for a gaming rig. You could then host your own games, and never have to worry about “dropped” gaming sessions because some server decided to stop working for a heartbeat. No Xbox Live fees to pay for access that is intermittent… it’s a win win situation!

@colecoman The manufactures kinda are the problem their QA testing mean the DEVz need to “test all possible aspects of a game” (was told this by a major developer guy) so the companies need to test the remapping extensively & and expensively. Some do it and benefit (Bio Shock and Gran T 5) I see the Devs pushing them as the way to go. But I got some hooks inside MS Game division so I try.

Not that the controller would be any better, I am not positive what would be optimal for that but on the PC, the xbox accesory adapter apparently supports up to four wireless controllers. I have only ever tried to use one with mine but the buttons are fully configurable in your game and the program xpadder helps. Now I don’t know current pc games that support many controllers but I cant see why you couldn’t configure them to play emulators multiplayer (just off the top of my head I think of goldeneye for 64 and mariokart 64 but those are pretty old school).