[Arnov] is bringing his own custom-made controller to the party and it is sure to impress. The design appears to have been inspired by the Xbox controller layout. Two joysticks for fine control of game characters, 4 face buttons, and two shoulder buttons. He opted for all through-hole components to make the assembly easier. No messing with tiny surface mount components here. We really appreciate the detail given to the silkscreen and the homage paid to a staple of retro gaming.
We were pretty impressed with how smoothly the controller translated to the game. He mentioned that was a huge improvement over his previous design. His original design had buttons instead of joysticks, but switching to joysticks gave him much better in-game control. That could also have a lot to do with the Xbox controller emulator running the background, but still.
Given that gift-giving season is upon us, you could really impress the video game enthusiast in your life with this as a custom gift. You could even run Retro games like Doom if you hook it up to a RetroPie. That ought to get a few people’s attention.
Looks unergonomic like a brick :D
Might be useful for grating Parmigiano cheese
So still an improvement over the original Xbox controller? ;)
Oof! This is how you destroy your hands and your appreciation for old games at the same time.
GTA V is a modern game bro.
The article was published in 2041, after the Covid-39 toilet paper wars.
Given how bad the sticks and d-pad on the (wired, easily pc-able) xbox 360 controllers are, a total lack of ergonomics might be acceptable
I think this deserves better than the lukewarm response it’s gotten so far…
It’s probably very lightweight, and is much easier to both repair and hack on than a standard controller. I like the current minimalist approach for that reason.
The shape of the back and edges could be pretty easily improved with any number of additions (sculpting putty, 3d printed, formed plastic sheet, neoprene pad, etc.) Choose what fits your tools and skills. The front doesn’t really need anything, imo, since really only the control surfaces get touched.
First party controller prices are absurd, too. Even off-brand ones aren’t cheap.
Good work so far, keep iterating!
For increased ergonomic impact I would suggest that he should get the thinnest PCB :)
This wasnt supposed to be a reply. Oops.
It’s nice to see how straightforward building a controller can be. I guess the next big challenge would be analog triggers. A more minor improvement might be to put the sticks on a separate PCB so they’re lower. And some kind of housing might be nice. Using modelling clay, photogrammetry and a 3D printer you could probably turn this into the most comfortable controller ever.