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.
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 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.
And he’s right too
(and thus another 20 page long argument about gamepads and kb+m was started on the interwebs)
nah
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.
nah
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.
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.
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
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 go the opposite. I have been console gaming for 40 years. I can perform much better even in fps games while on a controller
With auto aim off?
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
I really hate how many people haven’t really picked up or understood the profound difference that gyro aiming makes for controller players.
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
C’mon valve make a steam controller 2
to each their own.
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
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, something much more elegant.
The Wiimote.
So… Now do you see what’s funny about this article?
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.
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
I feel like everything besides shooters and rts is better on controller. I can’t play an fps with a controller though.
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
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.
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.
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
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…
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.
A controller was designed to play with it. Keyboard and mouse were not. People got used to it.