Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The Playstation Controller

Dedicated PlayStation entry continuing from the Console Controllers of the Big Three post.

See Also:
The Xbox Controller
The Gamecube Controller
The pre-GameCube Nintendo Controllers
 
As aforesaid, the PS controller has remained essentially unchanged since '94. It started out like this:

Simple. Clean. Elegant?

Once upon a time, primary movement control in a video game came through use of the D-pad. Shoot with , jump with X. There were games in which the L and R buttons wouldn't be used at all, especially the older ones. (Things have come a long way.) If at all, they would only reorient the third-person camera sometimes. But this was enough for most of them.

Eventually, we got the analog sticks. This was a big step forward! Now you could walk, walk faster, OR run full tilt. Up until then, the D-pad's digital signals limited your choices to 'Go' or 'Not going'. There was no speed gradient. Still, the four L and R buttons remained secondary controls. Game designers would try their best to assign the most needed functions to the face controls.

Dual Analog controller.
I want you to note the slightly elongated handles. I didn't pull this information from any kind of official document but I think this design change corroborates my belief that at that time the PS controller was still meant to be held with three fingers of each hand supporting it from the bottom. You didn't need to have your middle fingers on the L2 and R2 buttons because they weren't used often enough to warrant it.

A detail not to be overlooked: The addition of the analog sticks eventually lead to the inclusion of two more 'buttons': the L3 and R3 from pressing the analog sticks.

DualShock.
Note the change in design on the joysticks from smooth concavity to textured convex rubber. In my experience this improves gripping ability, especially on sweaty hands. Also the handles have been shortened back to their original size. I'm not sure when the trend began but these days firing control in FPS games has been assigned to the R1 button, I'd go so far as to say exclusively so. This trend exists across the board for console games and Playstation's were no exception. Grenade throwing or weapon switching usually ends up L2 and R2 so gamers now have need to leave fingers on those buttons at all times. This leaves only the four fingers supporting from below. Again, I don't know with certainty that this shift has anything to do with the reversion to short handles but I think it is related, even if only obliquely.

Since then there have also been some changes involving pressure-sensitivity of the face buttons, motion-sensing technology on the Sixaxis/Dualshock 3 but these aren't the focus of this blog post. The ergonomics. That's what I want to talk about. This controller hasn't changed much in that respect. Oh, it came close, real close to changing with the PS3. Check this out.


Also known as the Boomerang controller. If you followed that link, before you call me on it, I know, it was only a prototype for which he clearly states he put ergonomics aside. Nevertheless, I'd like to point out how NEEDLESSLY long those handles are.

This is what it would have looked like being held.
Note that even in this artist's rendition, the Playstation controller is being held with six fingers supporting it. I've never held one but just looking at it I don't think you can deny that it doesn't seem to be designed to be supported by four. The center of gravity is just wrong, see? The controller would rest against your index fingers. Maybe you don't think that's an issue but I find it uncomfortable having a button also serve as a point of support.



Ok, here's the controller we know and love, right? It's iconic, I'll give you that. I just wish the gamer community had been a little more open to change and/or that Sony had a little more spine.

I got out my PS2 controller, the DualShock 2, and took some photos.

Here's the grip I find most secure and comfortable.
Three fingers, yes?
Only one finger to access L1 and L2.
Examine this side view.
See the angle it makes and where the apex lies?
First the angle.
This angle is why the balance of the controller is 'off' in my opinion.
Resting the controller on two fingers leaves it tilting forward, see?
And I don't know about you but I don't play with my forearms angled upward to compensate for that angle. That gets tiring.

Furthermore, with my fingers gripping the controller naturally, the other fingers do not line up with the L and R buttons like they should.

See how the middle finger clearly doesn't line up with the L2 button?

Closing the fingers results in this odd resting place.

Holding the controller like this is not extremely uncomfortable but it isn't as natural as it could be. See how the weight rests on two points, 1) My pinky and ring finger. 2) The L/R button rack. That's not right. For one, my pinky really doesn't have a strong grip on anything. They're almost fully scrunched. It bothers me that the rest of my fingers are active but the pinkies atrophy from lack of use. ATROPHY!
 
In addition, when using the D-pad there is no supporting force from below. The third finger should be there, see? And that apex cavity is certainly not for the ring finger, it's too far forward.

Final push, k?

Supporting it at L1 and R1.

Letting go.
The controller fell forward. My middle fingers ended up in the gaps between L1 and L2, R1 and R2.

I don't know how you held it, Mark, but this is how i hold mine and it's bugged me ever since I got a PlayStation (the original box-shaped one). I have taken hand size into account. This balance issue occurs in my friends' hands, too, though I would venture to say they haven't given it nearly as much neurotic attention as I have.

So yeah, I just wrote an entire post on the ergonomics of this gamepad! A similar treatment of the others will follow, in addition to a bonus one on the N64 controller, though I can't promise they will be as long as this one. Excepting the N64 controller. I have choice words to say about that one.

14 comments:

  1. Wow very interesting, I bought the PS3 in 2006? maybe it was 2007 but it was the first year of it being out and I spent $600 worth every penny no online gaming fees so when I periodically want to play a game on it (im mainly a pc gamer) I can without paying like you have to do with xbox and it has netflix and blu ray capability!

    Great blog definitely following :)

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  2. @Baur: I hope you got the one with backwards compatibility. I didn't pick up a PS3 when the news broke that they would no longer be producing BC models.

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  3. Henry, my brother sadly didn't get a PS3 with backwards compatibility, and at the time that is something that annoyed me. I mean, hell, the Wii has BC for the gamecube and those are two totally different disk sizes. But, this is about controllers, not disks. I took out the PS2 controller again, and took out the xbawx 360 to compare. To be honest I found myself naturally holding the xbox with three fingers like you say you do with the PS2. I will also admit that holding the PS2 one with three fingers felt more comfortable, more natural, but holding it with two felt like no more of a hindrance. I actually can't think of a game that requires you to have all four fingers at the top of the pad. If you're going to do the N64 you need to go all the way back to the NES, back when two buttons was enough.

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  4. Well that's good to know even though I haven't owned any Playstation console and not planning to.

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  5. I'm not a gamer really, I don't play too much so the milliseconds that I'm wasting mean nothing to me, but when I DO play, I just use the index fingers for both the buttons. Making the switch isn't that hard. I'm never into anything too hardcore though, so I might just not need 'em.

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  6. And I thought Nintendos controler was the peak of perfection! Great post! You made many great points!

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  7. 17 years and for some reason I still have never been able to remember which button is the square or circle or whatever, without looking.

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  8. @Mark: Ah yes, yes! I hold the Xbox with three fingers as well- You know what, today is the Xbox post so I'll just say the rest there.

    If I could have held the PS controller with three fingers in all my games without problems I would probably never have thought it a hindrance that the controller feels unbalanced holding it with two. But I played a lot of Armored Core games, L1/R1 to strafe and L2/R2 to look up and down. They are fast-paced and it was essential to have all four buttons accessible and simultaneously at that. I don't know if you've heard of it, although it HAS gotten much more popular as time has passed. The franchise is still going if I recall- anyway, so yeah, at a very young age I became aware of an imbalance. And back then Xbox and Gamecube hadn't even been invented for me to compare controllers with.

    @D4: That's nothing to be ashamed of. Some people have to look down when they type on the keyboard but type quickly and aren't inconvenienced by it. Some people glance down at their controllers when playing video games. I'm not trying to backhandedly insult you, by the way. These little actions don't cost lives or anything dramatic like that, but I suppose I have to confess to being hardcore myself because those milliseconds spent DO bug me.

    @Bersercules: Wait a second. I hope you aren't saying the N64 controller was the peak of perfection?!

    @Bonjour Tristesse: I do hope that just means you don't play that often. If you've played on a regular basis for 17 years muscle memory should have come into play, no?

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  9. I've heard of those games but I haven't played them yet. I think part of it comes from how quickly I just pick up and play a controller. Nowadays most of them have a very similar layout, I just remember which button is which. I guess I just started picking them up the same way too.

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  10. @henry yes I do have the one that is backwards compatible but I mainly play the newer games anyway.

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  11. Yeah to be honest, I've only owned the original PSX. I've always been mainly a PC gamer, I currently have an Xbox360 but haven't even turned it on in close to a year...

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  12. @Baur: Good good. But at least you have the *ability* to play the old ones, no?

    @Bonjour Tristesse: Ah, I, too, have an original PSX. I only picked up my PS2 while away from home and without my tricked out desktop PC.

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  13. @Henry No I ment the nintendo controller. The one from the origanal nintendo. (but my comment was ment as sarcasm... but thats hard to type)

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  14. @Bersercules: That's what emoticons are for!
    (>ワ<) ╮(╯ヮ╰)╭ (≥﹏≤) (ºヮº) (سಥ益ಥ)س (⊙Д⊙)
    I would have used #2 for your comment.

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