The director of Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jurassic Park, and many more classics has long spoken about his love of video games, stretching back to 1982 when he revealed the instant thrill and ego “massage” that playing games like Donkey Kong and Tempest provided.
Based.
In all seriousness some games work better on controllers. I’ve found it much easier, and significantly less frustrating, to play souls-likes using a controller. It also would have been next to impossible to play the Ascent (twin stick shooter) without one. I used to get all PCMR about only using keyboard and mouse but nowadays I use the best tool for the job.
Oh I played the hell out of the Prepare to Die edition of Dark Souls. Keyboard and mouse was the objectively wrong way to play the game lmao
Haha what an absolute masochist! I’m impressed.
I played through Jedi: Fallen Order, which was my intro into the genre, then tried it for Elden Ring and got hard stuck in the opening area. Still pretty useless at them overall but no longer feel like I’m battling against the control. It’s 100% just a skill issue.
To be fair, I did use a controller, so it wasn’t that bad. It even ran way better with the hd mod than the 360 version ever did.
I did get kind of masochistic with it though lol. My last run was a soul level 1 that I think I stopped playing around Anor Londo. If I remember correctly, the archers were rage inducing and I never got back into it. It’s probably still my all-time favorite game, jank and all.
Well it’s only because from software did a really shit job at porting the game. Elden Ring plays fine with the mouse and keyboard.
For sure. I wasn’t even mad it was rushed and just was stoked to have it on pc. I remember a petition going around cause everybody wanted it so bad.
It was a culture shock when I realized how well later games played lol
I played Grand Theft Auto V with both. KB&M on foot, controller for vehicles
Saaaame! Vehicles are so much better with a controller, but aiming suuuuucks with a controller.
pcmr means you have the choice of which works best for the job instead of being stuck with a specific controller or ms+kb
I feel like everything besides shooters and rts is better on controller. I can’t play an fps with a controller though.
My first souls game was Dark Souls 2. Played it with keyboard and mouse and only found out you can lock onto enemies about 100 hours in…
Then you get things like GTA or Saints Row, where whether I want to be using kb+m or controller changes based on whether I’m driving or on foot.
I’ve long thought that the ideal control scheme would somehow incorporate both a mouse for camera control, the sheer number of buttons you get from having your off-hand on a keyboard, and also analog inputs for things like movement/steering and vehicle throttle.
They have left-hand hardware that has a thumb analog stick and a bunch of mapable keys. Problem is getting games to use “controller” functions like analog sticks and mouse functions at the same time. I haven’t tried it myself, but apparently most games don’t have a way to recognize and use that as a keyboard function
it actually works in a decent number of games i think. now i dont have one of those controllers, but i use a ps5 controller to play, and used ds4windows to map the touchpad to mouse and the mute button to left-click (initially just so i dont need to put down the controller when not in-game) control and just cause 3 both didnt really have problems with dual-input, though just cause 2 did.
I play rocket league with a keyboard and mouse. Have gotten up to champ in 2v2 and 3v3 ranked.
Also beat ds1 and 2 using keyboard and mouse.
In other words git gud.
Guys, it really depends on the type of game.
Anybody really do mouse keyboard for fighting game?
Just the keyboard, but yes
+1, very much enjoying using keyboard for Tekken. Haven’t had much luck with games like SF that might require 360/720 inputs.
Random celebrity has opinion: news at 11.
That’s no random celebrity, that’s The Director.
Of BoomBlox obviously
I don’t care that his work has made me ugly cry in awe of profound humanity, he’s a random celebrity on this subject.
He’s a random celebrity who has made games before, including directing the masterpiece BoomBlox.
Never heard of it. Was it played with a keyboard and mouse?
No, but it was out for the N-Gage.
No, something much more elegant.
The Wiimote.
So… Now do you see what’s funny about this article?
Name checks out
He really is a videogame fan. When he co-created DreamWorks he pushed for a gaming arm of the company. If anyone played Metal of Honor (especially the first one) it’s because of him.
Also, ET helped cause the videogame crash in the 80’s!
The d day level of medal of honor was a serious moment. It’s like “yeah, you keep dying and it’s frustrating. You’re watching all these other people die. But that’s what it was actually like.”
There was a moment where I had made it to the buildings and looked back and saw my brothers in arms being mowed down and it’s a different experience than seeing it on TV.
Yep, one of the most memorable levels in a video game ever
Controller is more comfortable to me, so unless I’m playing an fps that requires a lot of precision, I play on controller. I already have to sit at a mouse and keyboard for work everyday
He wrote E.T on a spilt keyboard in vim and managed to exit it first time… True story John Candy told me.
<…> managed to exit it first time <…>
That is not possible…
I really hate how many people haven’t really picked up or understood the profound difference that gyro aiming makes for controller players.
C’mon valve make a steam controller 2
I need everyone and their mothers to learn how to use Steam Input, lets me easy set up any game for Gyro on the Deck.
For example, if I have my thumb on the right track pad, it’ll make the gyro much more precise, which makes aiming much nicer
Gyros are absolutely key going forward
Pretty much why my Xbox is on a shelf.
And he’s right too
It depends on the game.
Trying to play a platformer using a keyboard is miserable. On the flip-side, trying to play an RTS with a controller sounds like one of the worst experiences imaginable.
it’s only miserable if the developer doesn’t care about mkb.
Analog sticks beat WSAD for movement any day and the mouse beats analog sticks in aiming.
Different tools for the job.
There are keyboards with hall-effect/magnetic switches that allow precise measurement of how much any given key is held down. With that said it’s be possible to map the signals from WASD to emulate a controller’s left stick (at least in games that allow simultaneous kb+m and controller inputs, but that’s fairly common in my experience).
I have a keyboard like that on pre-order and I’m definitely looking forward to trying it. 4mm of travel isn’t much, but it should still be better than a binary signal.
(and thus another 20 page long argument about gamepads and kb+m was started on the interwebs)
nah
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I much prefer controller for anything that’s not FPS. Steam Input makes this glorious.
I want to make love to Steam Input
That’s an interesting perspective.
I’m in the same camp, although I wish it wasn’t so. I’ve gotten okayish at Rocket League with mouse and keyboard, but that really is a controller game.
Oh yeah. Had exactly the same experience. Thought I was doing OK for a while but came to realise that there are some things that are white hard to do in that game with mouse and kb
to each their own.
I had the same problem, having never used a console. I’ve always been using PCs (starting with small 8 bit machines, to a 286, and later to the beasts we currently use (running Linux though). It took me a good while to get used to the Steam deck.
I had no choice because I have no other gaming rig at the moment while my home is being completely rebuilt, so my PC has been turned off for two years now :(.
I’ve gotten better at it, and I’m getting through Fallout on the deck, but I have to avoid some games. For while some games do indeed work better with a controller, others (FPS) are way better with keyboard and mouse.
So all in all, I’m glad that the Deck has opened new possibilities. But the game controller isn’t the ultimate gadget, just another option.
I can handle any action game, platformer, etc. using a controller, despite heavily preferring a keyboard and mouse (excluding racing). I still can’t play FPS/TPS games on a controller… it has to be m&k.
Maybe he knows where all the unsold E.T. carts are buried.
We all know, they were found and partially excavated in 2014 for a documentary
The only controller I’ve ever really enjoyed using is the steam controller. Just about everything else felt worse than playing using a mouse and keyboard. To each their own though, if you like controllers then more power to you.
Its excellent for certain types of games but the lack of a right joystick made it useless with the vast majority.
I mean like “oh no, I’m being shot from behind, just give me 5 seconds to swipe 6 times on this touchpad and line up a shot”
It could totally be setup to feel/work like a trackball, remember playing a bunch of warframe with mine and being able to “throw” it and have it stop when you touch the pad again, took getting used to but substantially more flexible than a regular analogue stick.
oh no, I’m being shot from behind, just give me 5 seconds to hold my joystick all the way to the edge and line up a shot
I agree that the touchpad isn’t best for every game, but your example just sounds like your sensitivity is way too low. I used to have a couple steam controllers, I have a steam deck, and I used to play a lot of mobile shooters before I could afford a pc. In any case, I like my sensitivity to be 1 full swipe = 180° in game. Add in gyro and I’ll make that about 1-to-1 device rotation to in-game rotation (or if anything a little more sensitive).
your example just sounds like your sensitivity is way too low
I mean you can increase sensitivity but then it’s terribly difficult to aim for shit. That’s the problem.
Steam input lets you do different modes, if you’re holding the aim button, you can make the track pad much more sensitive or use gyro. Solutions for everything!
Not quite the same, but I set up my steam deck’s right track pad to be a flick stick, turn around 180° with a flick. (And gyroscope)
I don’t play any multiplayer games, so this could be considered cheating, but it’s too nice to not use
Funny, the game I most associate with him is BoomBlox on the Wii. It’s a really great game, and I guess the wiimote is kind of mouse-like, particularly in that game.
He’s been involved in several games though, even had an office at EA for a while. Most famously, of course, is the original Medal of Honor. Arguably the success of MoH as a franchise led directly to Call of Duty and thus to the current state of gaming today.
