So the other day on Reddit I came across this image simply titled: “The problem I have playing multiple FPS the same day.” Grammar aside the poster makes a very important point I’d like to go into in more depth. Something which has plagued the consoles for a long time and something which is long overdue for change. I'm talking specifically about button mapping, or more clearly the lack of choice when it comes to mapping your buttons the way you’d like.
The Redditor who posted this (KyleGlen) clearly has a problem adapting to the different controller layouts of the different games he plays. It’s understandable, we’re creatures of habit. I've already talked about how difficult I found adapting to a new keyboard layout, and I still trip up if I have to switch between layouts several times. It’s especially difficult if all the games are of a similar genre, and so all the actions you can perform are the same. The obvious solution that spring to mind is simply to allow users to set the controls any way they want. I'm about to explain why more freedom is always better.
Now you might be thinking “Hang on a minute, most games already allow you to choose your controller layout,” but citizens I must stress, this is only the illusion of choice. You only have the choice between a set number of layouts determined by the developers. The developers ultimately decide which moves and actions they deem as important and need to be placed in more prominent positions on the controller. This is why games never have the same layout and why most people will have at least one gripe with their chosen layout. At the end of the day, if your choice is limited to five or six options, then it’s highly unlikely you’ll find something you’re 100% comfortable with. One size does not fit all.
I honestly believe it wouldn't be too difficult to roll out full button mapping in all future games, and I can’t think for the life of me why it isn't more widespread already. A lot of titles already offer full button mapping, but these are often smaller releases or fairly old games. I mean honestly if we've progressed at all technologically then surely button remapping should be more widespread, not less. Even on the PC games will offer fully customisable buttons if you’re using a keyboard, and then only often a selection of layouts if you’re using an xinput or directinput controller (If they even accept directinput any more, the only game I've played recently that has is shank). It all seems to suggest that it would actually be difficult to implement, however on the PC there are many programs that exist which can give you full button mapping in any game (eg. x360ce) essentially by telling the game you've pressed RB when you've actually pressed A. If these programs exist then it’s not a stretch to believe they would be easy to implement within games. Heck I imagine if these coders are worth their pay-check, they could easily write a universal code that could be used in every game that company makes, having the effect of actually lowering the workload. Honestly I can’t see one solid argument against implementing full button mapping and doing it yesterday!
Now I'm sure some of you may be wondering why I get worked up over such a petty thing as not being able to set my buttons the way I want. Well for some people yes it is a minor inconvenience and a frustration, but doesn't hinder their ability to enjoy the game. But for some people, not only does it stop them enjoying the game, it stops them being able to play it all together. I direct you to the Youtube channel of askacapper (aka Chuck), a disabled gamer who can’t hold the controller in the conventional manner, and therefore has varying degrees of difficulty when pressing certain buttons in certain games. Adding full button remapping to a game would completely change his experience, at absolutely no cost to the wider community, in fact we would all benefit. Now Chuck’s been campaigning for this for quite a while, and has had a large degree of success, in fact his biggest milestone, and the first time he showed up on my radar, was when he convinced Valve to add button remapping to Portal 2. Which just goes to show, if it’s so easy to quickly patch it in after release, why aren't developers saving people the hassle and putting it in, as standard, from the start. There really is no excuse.
So what can you do to help? Well firstly I highly suggest you check out Chuck’s campaign and sign his petition, because he really has a lot of ideas that would benefit not just disabled gamers but gamers everywhere, and because it’ll take less than five minutes of your time and I can see no reason not to. Heck just go do it now, I’ll wait... … ...back? Ok. Now the second thing you can do is realise that the free market is in fact a democracy, yes it provides the incentive to cut corners and maximise profit, but you can vote with your cash, you can choose to support games that have the features you want to see, and you can buy the version of games that provides the greatest potential for customisation (Basically buy a PC bro). On top of that, game developers are the most community focused industry I know of, and they are listening, Portal 2 proves it. You only have to shout loud enough before people start to listen, and the consumer becomes the driving force of the market. Honestly I hope this is all ancient history before too long, because I'm getting pretty fed up such backwards thinking on the port of developers.
I’m gonna go twiddle my analogue sticks.
Jamie out xoxoxo
No comments:
Post a Comment