Disabled Gamers Are Asking for Button Mapping in Console Games

[Ulysses S Grant]

I don't see why not. (http://www.destructoid.com/disabled-gamers-are-asking-for-button-mapping-185230.phtml) I'm a PC/Console gamer, and one of the things I love about PC gaming is that even between completely different games, I can keep my control style mostly consistent. Console games, however, require a lot of adjustment, and that's partly why I'm slowly phasing them out in favor of the PC entirely.

Oh yeah, and something about quadriplegics if you're into that sort of thing...

Also, here's something from tibetanpunk. I didn't read it but the lab boys told me that I should be sure it's informative.
My plea to game developers: Add button remapping to your games! (http://youtu.be/jK5kCaGk1CY)

http://www.petitiononline.com/cu5t0m/petition.html

Petition FAQ: http://www.AskACapper.com/petition

Worthy cause.

[Jinoruizraged]

Its a great Idea, but I see the consoles turning into PC's. I mean, the PS3 is basically a PC.

[Ulysses S Grant]

I mean, the PS3 is basically a PC.

Only the PC doesn't phase out random, important features with new updates.

[DAWeeE1]

Its a great Idea, but I see the consoles turning into PC's. I mean, the PS3 is basically a PC.

Well... is there something wrong with that?

[abcxyq]

Giving players any ability to customize their console will lead to piracy, obviously.

[Ulysses S Grant]

Giving players any ability to customize their console will lead to piracy, obviously.

You wouldn't customize a car, would you? How about a video, or a song?

When you change controls, you are customizing. And that's wrong.

[Fatimmortal]

Avast is blocking the website for me, saying it's malicious.

Oh well. :/

[DAWeeE1]

You wouldn't customize a car, would you? How about a video, or a song?

When you change controls, you are customizing. And that's wrong.

I guess I misread the thread then.

[surfrock22]

Avast is blocking the website for me, saying it's malicious.

Oh well. :/

Same.

[Sgt.Gotee]

That's just darn unreasonable of those disabled gamers!

[Jinoruizraged]

Avast is blocking the website for me, saying it's malicious.

Oh well. :/

That's wierd, Its destructoid. :eek:

Only the PC doesn't phase out random, important features with new updates.

What? like Linux Support? They've been adding interesting features [Video editor] lately though the past few updates have been very menial.

[Sirhc Nacnud]

You wouldn't customize a car, would you? How about a video, or a song?

When you change controls, you are customizing. And that's wrong.

I would give you rep, but I'm all out. Sorry bud.


I don't see why they shouldn't or couldn't have button mapping.

[>X2<]

Consoles are just an outdated low price PC with less features and a game platform installed without an OS.

If they become more modifible and upgradable they will loose the benifit of less cheats.

Compare MW2 on xbox and PC to see those differences.

Button mapping should be fine though.

[Hobo Joe]

You wouldn't customize a car, would you? How about a video, or a song?

When you change controls, you are customizing. And that's wrong.

You wouldn't customize a purse.

[surfrock22]

That's wierd, Its destructoid. :eek:


Sure is!

*budump chhhh

[Baron_Fel]

Its a great Idea, but I see the consoles turning into PC's. I mean, the PS3 is basically a PC.

the 360 is way more like a PC than the PS3 is.

[nevann]

You wouldn't customise a handbag. You wouldn't customise a car. You wouldn't customise a baby. You wouldn't customise a policeman. Customising games is wrong. If you do it, you will face the consequences.

[Jinoruizraged]

You wouldn't customise a handbag. You wouldn't customise a car. You wouldn't customise a baby. You wouldn't customise a policeman. Customising games is wrong. If you do it, you will face the consequences.

The point is that game Developers should have customizable buttonBinds for their games. :p

[nevann]

The point is that game Developers should have customizable buttonBinds for their games. :p

But any sort of customising is wrong! Sure, it only starts with buttons, but then console gamers will want 3rd party skins and eventually evil things like user-made levels. How will the game companies sell their precious map-packs then? Just think!

[SaneDunk]

You wouldn't customize a car, would you? How about a video, or a song?

When you change controls, you are customizing. And that's wrong.

You wouldn't customize a bear either. (http://www.meh.ro/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/meh.ro5019.png)

[Microshocky]

I never saw any reason developers couldn't just let you map any button.

Resistance 2 did it very well.

[Oliolli]

Same.

This.

[annihilfxation]

http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm
Nothing here about button mapping.

Cheater (http://universe-review.ca/I10-10-polydactyly.jpg)


Noob (http://www.tsrhc.org/img/HandDisorders/symbrachydactyly2.jpg)

Next they'll want button scripts and macros.

[hutzdani]

Only the PC doesn't phase out random, important features with new updates.

I'd say it does, i did an windows update that broke windows update, so my pc gets stuck in a infinate update loop, now i fixed it i have no windows update.

thats a good thing if you ask me :D down with non-hardware specific updates !

[crunchyfrog555]

A subject very dear to my heart is that of disabled gaming (I'm disabled myself). I'm a member of a few disabled gaming groups, apart from dispensing disabled legal advice I give (and very often gaming and the legal advice mix).

I also try to do my bit in regard to making developers aware of some simple requirements they can make to include the majority of disabled gamers, who without such modifications, cannot play the game AT ALL.

I won't post that "simple" list here right now, but I'll put it up if anybody asks.

In any case, as you'll no doubt realise, asking and getting are two very different things, and this subject is certainly no different.

That's why I'm delighted to report this bit of news that a gamer with cerebral palsy put himself in the spotlight, to publicise the need for configurable controls in the PC version of Dead Space 2. EA have complied with this, not without a certain amount of cajoling, I wouldn't be surprised.

If you can empathise with disabled gamers here for a moment, many like to use gaming as a means to escape their day-to-day lives. Partly because of this, many wish to also not publicise their disability online while gaming. The most common reasons for this being that they want to truly forget about it for a while (true escapism), they see no relevance in broadcasting it, or sadly, because from experience they've found others treat them adversely when they find out.

I could go through many an example of people who have been ridiculed for having speech difficulty in online communication, kicked out of servers upon advising of their problem(s), or sworn at by people with a total lack of empathy at their difficulty in a certain play styles.

So, you'll appreciate just how big a step it is for a guy such as the one in this news article to come forward and stand up for a cause, however much it may be of personal interest to him.

Anyway, read it for yourself here:

http://www.ablegamers.com/game-news/dead-space-2-to-be-made-accessible-thanks-to-one-disabled-gamer.html

I hope, by my publicising this just a little more, it will go some way to helping change the attitudes for the future.

[crunchyfrog555]

Completely forgot to add that this is by no means the first time this cort of thing has happened, whereby a disabled gamer has made the stand to get things changed.

Ablegamers were responsible for getting those colour-blind options in World of Warcraft. NOM4D was responsible for getting an alternative control configuration in Call of Duty: MW (which admittedly, they cruelly removed for the sequel, despite assurances to the contrary).

But they rarely get shouted about of course, so I'm doing it.

[Sneaky Bear]

It's been e-news over the past week or so, and I've been there since the start, it's a story about a disabled gamer named Gareth from the UK who suffers from Cerebral Palsy and has to play games using just his chin.

Original thread here:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18236540

There's an interview here which he did with PCgamer:
http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/02/11/interview-dead-space-2-disability-campaigner-gareth-garratt/

The reason I'm posting this is because a guy named Chuck a.k.a. AskaCapper is running a petition to try and get custom remapped controls in games which developers don't think they need to add in any longer and desperately wants to hit 50k signatures before pax (I think) which is in around 30 days.
It takes 2 minutes to put your name down on the petition and can help less fortunate gamers enjoy games that we all take for granted http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?cu5t0m

Edit: Sorry, must have missed the thread.

[Pebr]

I don't understand why customized controls aren't in every game by default... It's the foundation in which you play the game and how well you control it. No-one should be forced to use a scheme that hinders their abilities.

Even for console games i remember Goldeneye on the N64 and being able to at least choose a number of varying pres-set button mappings.

[chaplain_wu]

Companies will just ignore this and continue producing games with decadent, obsolete features. Like the automobile industry. Then they'll just whine for a bailout 'cuz they too big to fail even though 99.99% of all fault lay in their laps. And then they might start thinking about adding Button Mapping, for a few months, until the media attention dies down.

[Desol8tor]

True story. Was playing halo reach with some kids I was working on a project with, and one of them had a prosthetic hand. Before we played, he asked "do you mind if I take off my [fake] hand?" and of course we said it was fine. However, he was obviously at a severe disadvantage because he had to use a predefined button mapping scheme.

It turned out that he used his "stump" (is that inappropriate?) to press down on the ABXY buttons individually. He had to rest the controller on his lap as well. Now if button mapping could allow things like "multiple pressed buttons = new function", this could allow for more assignments on the side he had a hand on. Super beneficial.

[Aceofsleep]

"Call of Duty" Stopped reading there

[crunchyfrog555]

Further to what I've put already, these are the general things that developers could readily change to improve things drastically for the majority of disabled gamers (when I say drastically, I mean in a lot of cases it makes the difference between playability and not being able to play the game AT ALL):

(1) As this post already says, customised controls. This one single thing (which is a tiny job for developers to program) will help most of the physically impaired disabled gamers out there.
(2) Avoid red and green colours together. Colour blindness affects around a third of all men to some degree, and red/green colour blindness being the most common. Think of those hacking sequences in Bioshock 1 and 2 - unplayable for a red/green colour blind person. Also, try to avoid overuse of one colour too (think of some of those lavishly coloured areas in World of Warcraft. Pretty maybe, but terrible for others).
(3) Subtitle everything! People often overlook hearing impairment and deafness as it's an "unseen" disability. This one will require a bit more work from developers, but once again it makes a hell of a difference if it affects you. Additionally, it is important to make text legible, using a readable font, decently sized, in a window (white text on black background being best). Make sure also ambient noise is subtitled, as well as the the name of the person who is speaking.
(4) Lastly, a very important one - difficulty levels. Often a bone of contention amongst developers, and a fair amount of snobbery from ill-advised gamers who would never dare consider "easy" mode. A fair amount of disabled gamers are lacking in fine motor skills, so where applicable an aiming helper is a big help. Ideally with difficulty, a sliding scale is by far the best, and there is no such thing as a game being "too" easy - there will always be somebody who find the game harder than you. I've never heard a single good reason as to why this (and some of the others) cannot be in games.

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list, but it is easy to remember, so I reel it out as often as I can to spread the word. I even had quite a good response from Edge magazine recently, who not only printed my letter concerning the above, but are using to field to a selection of developers with a view to a future article.

By all means to anyone who's interested, feel free to use this list and quote from it freely. The more, the merrier.

Just remember that the percentage of disabled gamers are between 10-18%. From a developer's point of view, that's a lot of potentially lost income, particularly for such little work.

Please, spread the word.

[Sgt.Gotee]

I think that it's silly that it took disabled gamers for developers to allow button mapping in their games.

[crunchyfrog555]

I think that it's silly that it took disabled gamers for developers to allow button mapping in their games.

Couldn't agree more, especially as it used to be a standard feature at one stage, but was removed for no reason at all. Totally absurd.

[DOE_JOHN88]

Don't see why you shouldn't be able to do this already, it would benefit everyone.

[spacebug]

Who necro'd this?

I think the only thing somewhat likely to happen is some company creating a controller designed for quadraplegics/tetraplegics. For console games.

As for PC gamers, there are already devices such as this: http://www.axistive.com/what-are-sip-n-puff-mouth-controlled-joysticks.html

[IcarusNine]

It wasn't necro'd, another thread (or two) was merged to it.

[crunchyfrog555]

Who necro'd this?

I think the only thing somewhat likely to happen is some company creating a controller designed for quadraplegics/tetraplegics. For console games.

As for PC gamers, there are already devices such as this: http://www.axistive.com/what-are-sip-n-puff-mouth-controlled-joysticks.html

I think you might have the wrong end of the stick here.

This case is over the simple action of going into the "options" screen, and being able to change you button configurations. What could be simpler than that? That very small, easy-to-program thing will help out a huge wedge of the physically disabled gamer. Saying that, as an alternative, would be to have a custom-made controller, is like saying "Damn, my wife's altered the driver's seat in my car. Now I can't reach the pedals. Instead of adjusting it, I'll just buy a new car." No offence intended by this, I just say this to illustrate.

Sadly, due to licensing restrictions, none of the console manufacturers are willing to do it. They're even strict on third-party manufacturers too.

However, there are loads out there, if you know where to look. Have a nose at www.ablegamers.com (you'll have to have a trawl through to find stuff about the controllers), and Evil controllers, who custom-make (or refine) controllers to suit you.

In short, it's already there. Although in many cases, it's ridiculously expensive... but then, what isn't bloody expensive concerning disability?

[Sneaky Bear]

It wasn't necro'd, another thread (or two) was merged to it.

Yeah I made the thread to try and get petition signatures for Chuck, and 1 of the mods merged it.

[spacebug]

I think you might have the wrong end of the stick here.

No, I think I understand. I just doubt that it will ever happen.

[crunchyfrog555]

No, I think I understand. I just doubt that it will ever happen.

Well, that's the thing. As this article shows it is happening, and Ablegamers reputation and publicity is only growing. Look at the changes they've had made to World of Warcraft, for one example. Then there's NOM4D and his involvement of getting controller configurations in CoD: Modern Warfare. These are just the best ones I can remember off the top of my head.

Bottom line is though, if something is a reasonable request (and I fail to see how this issue cannot be), and it applies to enough people (and I also think between 10-18% is a large enough number - it's around the same percentage as that of ALL under-18s, just to give you some perspective) then assuming it doesn't take a prohibitive amount of coding/resources (and all the precious examples in my earlier post don't) it surely must be a matter of time.

If that wasn't obvious or valid enough, then it's magnified by that the issue is usually absolute; those that have a problem with such lack of options (those 4 examples again) it usually means that the game is UNPLAYABLE for them. Then of course, there's the mystifying situation of control configurations being standard in games for years before they disappeared for no reason at all.

[spacebug]

Gotta admit, I was pretty surprised when I watched Dara O'Briain's talk on video games and he mentioned that the crouch button is in a different place in every game. I was just :confused: "Whaaaaa? Stupid console gamer!"

I agree that it can only be a good thing. I am just sceptical.

[crunchyfrog555]

Gotta admit, I was pretty surprised when I watched Dara O'Briain's talk on video games and he mentioned that the crouch button is in a different place in every game. I was just :confused: "Whaaaaa? Stupid console gamer!"

I agree that it can only be a good thing. I am just sceptical.

Ah, fair enough then. Yes, that is a VERY good point. Makes the issue all the more silly, in my opinion.

[Sneaky Bear]

Well, that's the thing. As this article shows it is happening, and Ablegamers reputation and publicity is only growing. Look at the changes they've had made to World of Warcraft, for one example. Then there's NOM4D and his involvement of getting controller configurations in CoD: Modern Warfare. These are just the best ones I can remember off the top of my head.

Bottom line is though, if something is a reasonable request (and I fail to see how this issue cannot be), and it applies to enough people (and I also think between 10-18% is a large enough number - it's around the same percentage as that of ALL under-18s, just to give you some perspective) then assuming it doesn't take a prohibitive amount of coding/resources (and all the precious examples in my earlier post don't) it surely must be a matter of time.

If that wasn't obvious or valid enough, then it's magnified by that the issue is usually absolute; those that have a problem with such lack of options (those 4 examples again) it usually means that the game is UNPLAYABLE for them. Then of course, there's the mystifying situation of control configurations being standard in games for years before they disappeared for no reason at all.

http://gamerant.com/dead-space-2-customizable-controls-disabled-gamers-bow-65817/

This is 1 of the things which has happened already with Gareth's thread, this was his issue, he couldn't do custom re-mapping in Dead Space 2.

[crunchyfrog555]

http://gamerant.com/dead-space-2-customizable-controls-disabled-gamers-bow-65817/

This is 1 of the things which has happened already with Gareth's thread, this was his issue, he couldn't do custom re-mapping in Dead Space 2.

Excellent. I hope he feels happier now it seems to be happening. Feel free to pass him my details, to keep me informed of how it goes. I may be able to help or offer advice in future.

For the record, petitions (while making you feel better)generally don't achieve very much, as the people you're petitioning against take little or no notice of them. There are other ways to get the point across though, instead of wasting a lot of time and effort of the petition.

[Sneaky Bear]

Excellent. I hope he feels happier now it seems to be happening. Feel free to pass him my details, to keep me informed of how it goes. I may be able to help or offer advice in future.

For the record, petitions (while making you feel better)generally don't achieve very much, as the people you're petitioning against take little or no notice of them. There are other ways to get the point across though, instead of wasting a lot of time and effort of the petition.

It's a disabled gamer who's going to Pax to meet lots of developers in a month who made the petition. I think he wants to know people are backing the situation and print it off to show devs there. I'm sure it's harder for devs to ignore if it's someone in person who's in a wheelchair asking for custom controls because he doesn't have complete control of his hands so he can enjoy games too.

Just hope it works out for him, to me honestly it doesn't make much difference, but it's nice for people who need these things to get them included in the game.

[crunchyfrog555]

It's a disabled gamer who's going to Pax to meet lots of developers in a month who made the petition. I think he wants to know people are backing the situation and print it off to show devs there. I'm sure it's harder for devs to ignore if it's someone in person who's in a wheelchair asking for custom controls because he doesn't have complete control of his hands so he can enjoy games too.

Just hope it works out for him, to me honestly it doesn't make much difference, but it's nice for people who need these things to get them included in the game.

Ah well, that's a bit more reassuring. The old methods such as face-to-face with statements of support is much more powerful. They guy clearly seems to know what he's doing in any case. Brilliant.

Well, if you want to use any of what I've put here and pass it along, by all means be my guest. If he (or you) need anything else from me, just PM me. I'd be happy to do what I can.

[tibetanpunk]

My plea to game developers: Add button remapping to your games! (http://youtu.be/jK5kCaGk1CY)

http://www.petitiononline.com/cu5t0m/petition.html

Petition FAQ: http://www.AskACapper.com/petition

Worthy cause.

I am actually surprised that Valve took the option to map controls out of Portal 2 when it was there in Portal 1...

[Sait]

I have been turned off many games on my ps3 because of clunky controls. Killzone and resistance comes to mind. Any settings I picked there was still controls that was pissing me off, like zooming with the joystick, running with L1, reloading with the arrows, etc. I couldn't find a good trade-off so I didn't play the game.

[tibetanpunk]

Who is down-rating this thread? Wtf is wrong with you whoever you are? Seriously...

[Excygy]

well some game on console already have button mapping, and i think it's a great idea!

[crunchyfrog555]

I have been turned off many games on my ps3 because of clunky controls. Killzone and resistance comes to mind. Any settings I picked there was still controls that was jarateing me off, like zooming with the joystick, running with L1, reloading with the arrows, etc. I couldn't find a good trade-off so I didn't play the game.

I'm lucky in that I only have what I consider slight disability (in comparison to others, at least). Gaming-wise all it means is that I sometimes have trouble with controls if my joints are playing up, which buggers my grip and dexterity somewhat.

So, I hear you, although in general I find the PS3 controller one of the better ones (nothing beats the joy of the Gamecube controller for comfort I feel).

If you REALLY want to experience pain with bad controls, I suggest you try "Burn Zombie Burn" on the PS3. Having to continually keep one shoulder button pressed in to auto-aim, while the other side shoulder button needs mashing to fire is excrutiating particularly when a level often lasts more than 20 minutes!

I wrote to the developers of that game highlighting my concerns and asking for custom control configurations, pointed them also to a few stats about disabled gamers (and the lovely AbleGamers guys). The response I got was that they couldn't be bothered to change it, even though this was not long after the game's release, I also chased it up again later. Such a tiny change code-wise, I particularly found their answer insulting.

I won't buy any more of their products...

[crunchyfrog555]

Who is down-rating this thread? Wtf is wrong with you whoever you are? Seriously...

I don't know why, but from my disabled access auditing, legal work, and disabled campsite operations at music festivals you only generally get two types of people - those that are sympathetic, and those that for some reason are against disability. I can only assume they're either frightened of the unknown or they are jealous in some way.

Sadly, very, very few are in the middle (ambivalent).

[Firestorm998]

/Signed. I've a problem with my left hand so can't use some controller configs.
My main problem though is that I can't use a keyboard properly.
I'd like to see more PC games offer controller support too. Choice is good.

I don't know why, but from my disabled access auditing, legal work, and disabled campsite operations at music festivals you only generally get two types of people - those that are sympathetic, and those that for some reason are against disability. I can only assume they're either frightened of the unknown or they are jealous in some way.

Sadly, very, very few are in the middle (ambivalent).
I lost a few friends after my accident. When I asked one of them how come we'd not spoke for a while, he said that he didn't like seeing me like this and that it's hard for him.
Real hard I'm sure.

[Shadoww0lf]

Only the PC doesn't phase out random, important features with new updates.

Like Apple phasing out Java on Macs... oh oh wait wait... a Mac isn't a PC.

Never mind.

[SeanHraefn]

As a self-coined gaming control freak, I support this not just for disabled gamers, but I support this because it is ludicrous to think that one control scheme fits everyone.

Some people like to melee with F, some with E and some with V (and I'm sure some with other buttons, but these are common ones) so doesn't it make a lot of sense that some people want to melee with Square instead of Circle, or Y instead of LT?

Back in the days that I owned a console, I swore by Halo's "Boxer" set up. If they had just never had multiple button sets, I would have never "come into my own" in Halo 1 and 2 because I would have been stuck with a control scheme I found less intuitive.

How a person controls a game is an extension of themselves and one cannot reach true mastery of a game unless one can truly customize every input.

I also support the use of mouse and keyboards on consoles, and the fact that you can't use them to game on an Xbox 360 (I'm not sure if you can use them to game on a PS3, I know you can browse with them) is not cool.

Let the player choose their weapon.

[THE Nakedgun]

F1
Something like this benefits everyone so there is no reason to oppose it.

One thing I always hated about more recent Console games is button mapping options the vast majority only allow half a dozen (at best) configs to choose from.

The best this gen was SOCOM Confrontation that game can map any action to any button and adjust sensitivity and acceleration of the sticks but it wasn't possible to test them before joining a game.

The Worst this gen is killzone 2 to start with it has got horrendous input lag which the developers claim is intentional to add weight I hated it it meant over shooting targets and buttons not responding when I wanted them to like melee and reload it stopped me buying killzone 3. It hink there was maybe 3 configs to choose from.

Last gen all the Time splitters games had full controller customisation, all my friends used the old N64 style from Goldeneye - Left stick move and turn and the right stick - strafe and look up/down.
Goldeneye had loads of config options as did Perfect Dark it was even possible to use 2 controllers.


Its not much fun playing a game when I cant have the controls exactly how I want even CO on consoels annoys me slightly I want to swap the sprint and duck around but couldn't.

[Eriako]

I'd like this just because my hands are small enough where certain movements are hard to pull off. The Playstation controllers have always been great, but I've a difficult time with any Microsoft ones to the point where it's a factor in why I don't buy their consoles. Especially those original Xbox ones.

[monkeedude1212]

I've got a buddy who's brother has like, cerebral palsy, or something in that neighbourhood of ailments. One of his arms has to stay curled next to his chest, so he typically plays games with 1 hand. I watched him play Halo 3 one day.

He wasn't bad. Headshotting people with the sniper rifle. I was impressed. He just had his hand like right over top of center of the controller. His thumb would work the left stick, the bottom of the palm would work the right, and his figers could reach all the buttons and triggers.

[Chris C177]

You wouldn't customize a car, would you? How about a video, or a song?

When you change controls, you are customizing. And that's wrong.

You wouldn't customise a policeman...and then customise his helmet! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZZx1xmAzg)

[tibetanpunk]

/Signed. I've a problem with my left hand so can't use some controller configs.
My main problem though is that I can't use a keyboard properly.
I'd like to see more PC games offer controller support too. Choice is good.

Sorry to hear about your accident. I shattered my index finger a few years ago and it took a long while to get it usable again...You don't realise how hard it is to manage without something as simple as a finger until you don't have the use of it.

For sure, they need to have button remapping on the PC as well, and support for all types of controllers, not just 360 ones...

These common features are being phased out with time...Especially when you play a GFWL game, it won't even support other game pads besides the 360 one, and certainly can't be remapped...Pure greed.

It's such a waste of perfectly good hardware too as there must be millions of generic ps2 style rumble pads out there from the days when button mapping was common place...Great game pads too.

[Getsuga Tensho]

I signed it, I've been asking for button mapping for years on consoles. We need it there as well as on PC. There is not a single control layout/style that suits all gamers, not one. Often, we find one style for particular types of games that we really like and want to stick with that for all games, even then a good few of us tend to change one or two minor things when we can that ends up being part of how we play.

I have a problem with muscles in my hands every so often with them getting really sore (and not just a little, it's the joints that get it) and they get worse when using them. Not all the time just every so often (after a few mins guaranteed if I start writing on paper though) and gaming isn't really worth it at times because I have to reach to bits of the control pad too often that make it worse whereas if I could remap them, I could change it so the things that aren't used just as often are further away.

I think everyone would have a use for something like this, about time we get it. Things like Halo for example restrict you to using presets you can choose from, it's far from ideal.

[crunchyfrog555]

/Signed. I've a problem with my left hand so can't use some controller configs.
My main problem though is that I can't use a keyboard properly.
I'd like to see more PC games offer controller support too. Choice is good.


I lost a few friends after my accident. When I asked one of them how come we'd not spoke for a while, he said that he didn't like seeing me like this and that it's hard for him.
Real hard I'm sure.

Sadly, I've all too aware of that. A lot of so-called friends dried up for me in much the same way, although in my case very few of them even bothered with an excuse at all, let alone a lame one like that.

I just can't understand some people. I can honestly say I'm better off without them though.


Also, I know of no good reason why button-mapping is somewhat consigned to the past. It is very, very lazy of developers not to add it, as it is oh-so-easy to implement. I've heard some ridiculous comments from some people who claim to know coding (which I doubt) and have said "ooh no, that's not easy to code at all" - utter crap!

Mentioning Ablegamers again, they have a "mandate" of sorts which they have published and have given to several major developers, and they also give talks at the major gaming events such as E3 and PAX.

Anyhow, on top of the custom configuration issue, there are a few things that should be absolutely MANDATORY:

(1) Subtitling everything, wherever possible, even ambient noise. Could you imagine trying to follow some major RPG such as Mass Effect with not a clue what's happening simply because you have hearing impairment?

(2) Around 30% of ALL males have some degree of colour-blindness, blue-green being the most common followed by red-green. Try doing those mini-game like puzzles in Bioshock with red-green colour-blindness and see how far you get. It's no real effort to add symbols to colour-coded points.

(3) In RTS style games, allow a pause function to be implemented that still allows you to be able to queue commands. This is another simple addition that makes the difference between enjoyable and completely inaccessible for people with problems of fine motor control.

(4) On online PC games, allow for the use of on-screen keyboard. Again, people with severe physical disabilities may find this is their only way of entering text. You'd be surprised how many games don't allow third-party plug-ins of this kind.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. But as you can see, most of them are relatively simple to implement and make such a difference.

This might seem excessive to someone not in these shoes, but consider this: how would you feel when you go to buy a game (or more than one) that you were really looking forward to, only to find when you got it home, you could not play it AT ALL due to one of the problems or more? Imagine also having to go back to the store to argue your refund AGAIN, because there was no way of knowing how accessible the game was going to be either.

Next time you enter a game's options menu, just remember this post :)

[SeanHraefn]

Sadly, I've all too aware of that. A lot of so-called friends dried up for me in much the same way, although in my case very few of them even bothered with an excuse at all, let alone a lame one like that.

I just can't understand some people. I can honestly say I'm better off without them though.

Ditching a friend for a physical disability seems really... I dunno. I just couldn't imagine doing it, I can't see why one of my buddies is suddenly different just because his body is broken.

I've ditched friends for changes in their personality, or for becoming religious, but for a physical disability? You definitely didn't need those friends.

Unless of course you were also horribly disfigured, then I could at least see a logical reasoning if you were tough to look at, but you'd have to be pretty disfigured for me to suddenly ditch a friend.

[crunchyfrog555]

Ditching a friend for a physical disability seems really... I dunno. I just couldn't imagine doing it, I can't see why one of my buddies is suddenly different just because his body is broken.

I've ditched friends for changes in their personality, or for becoming religious, but for a physical disability? You definitely didn't need those friends.

Unless of course you were also horribly disfigured, then I could at least see a logical reasoning if you were tough to look at, but you'd have to be pretty disfigured for me to suddenly ditch a friend.

I quite agree, but you;d be surprised how often I've heard this. It jarateed me off mightily when it then happened to me as well.

Just goes to show you never truly know some people...

Personally, I've had the "you're no fun anymore because you can't get out so much" to "I don't like being seen with someone who uses a stick". Of course, I had to overhear these statements as cowards never say them to your face.

The ironic thing is, after I had these "friends" problems, I started running disabled campsites at the major music festivals (in England). As quite a few of them liked to try for Glastonbury tickets every year, they came creeping round. I gave them all two words of advice...