and I guess more future thinking but what if you wanted to incorporate multiple control inputs or w/e?

like, what if you wanted to incorporate the dk bongos or the taikyo drums or the bemani controller into your vr game?

this isn't something specific btw lol.
I'm just curious how I should prepare.

I want to make games and experiment with various forms of input, and the steam machine seems like it's created what I'd consider my ideal developer situation mix of unique controls and what I think is going to be a fairly reliable install base of users w/the hardware so how would I navigate that?

the movement one lowkey got me b/c imo strive, and 2xko which they also mentioned, are far from slow/heavy feeling games. it felt more like they just wanted to complain about strive.

that, and ppl coming after some poor soul that dared to question why motion inputs are mandatory. complaining about modern games with bad movement like "ggstrive." there were some questions about it being a 4 button game that seemed negative but I lowkey couldn't tell tbh.

just general d-baggery.

we've had many of these features before in various controls but never together in one controller. I just hope *this time* the damn controller doesn't become something I have to spend roughly $40 each for USED CONTROLLERS FROM EBAY that may or may not work.

I still wish it had the old layout though.

I have a firm belief that gaming and game design stagnates when the input devices stagnate. this is the first major change, that will also have a significant and UNIFIED user install base, that could potentially change the direction of how other companies make their controllers, which affects games.

anyways, I hope my adhd doesn't screw me over b/c I want to make a vid or something that shows how I regularly use mine. the reason I'm so passionate about this damn controller is partially b/c I'm likely a bit neurodivergent about it lol, but also it has so much fucking potential to change gaming.

there's also other cool use cases!

have you ever thought about whether a game can use mouse input for the camera control while also using the joystick for character movement?

I've wanted to do some experiments with games that weren't designed for this for a while and now I have a reason to do so!~

dyk that you can set layers of controls that are easily accessible through tons of ways like chorded button presses, double taps, and other things like this?

I EXCLUSIVELY use it when playing phantasy star online 2 b/c I have access to the 0-9, numpad, and other hotkeys at once!

the key to it being used in a meaningful way is that you have to stop using it at a surface level and really consider what the customization options offer you.

for example, did you know that you could also use the trackpads like a track ball used on the centipede arcade cab?

I think the widespread adoption of the steamdeck and most likely the same happening for the steam machine will at minimum make some devs comfortable with having genuinely impactful alternative controller layouts that really take advantage of the controller's feature set.

that sucks. I was talking to someone about how the worst part of online pvp isn't the anxiety of not doing well, but the anxiety of dealing w/ppl that choose to be assholes.

there's nothing wrong w/being competitive, but it looks & feels *very different* if you respect the other player as a person.

The bigger any production becomes, the more likely it is to have reprehensible human being involved at some point in the chain. And knowing where to draw the line is difficult and a choice that I can't make for anyone else.

Being human is complicated. Things you love can cause harm in the world.

And of course there's the issue of ethical consumption being just a nightmare under capitalism. I love Doom, I love Ninja Gaiden, I love most of what Obsidian make. I've no issue with those studios (mostly) but they're part of the Microsoft Zaibatsu, which I'm boycotting and avoiding promoting. Bleh

This does not mean you should shovel money into the pockets of bigots. That's obviously bad.

But knowing the artist is a bad person does not suddenly disrupt the timestream. What was once good does not magically become bad. You don't need to pretend you never enjoyed things, or performatively deny.

gaming will never fucking move forward b/c the industry refuses to rethink design decisions from over 20 fucking years ago, across the board in game design and hardware design.

it's the fucking pot roast story, but for gaming, which is why they can use a remake of a PS3 games as a PS5 launch title.