Sony's Scott Steinberg: Gears of War 3 should be on Blu-Ray

[Dallinor]

rocketpig said:

Dallinor said:

Isn't natural? The dualshock is more symmetrical then the 360 controller (which you haven't mentioned outright but keep comparing it to). Symmetry is the universal standard for perfection. Look at the mouse your using, the two buttons at the front are perfectly in line with each other. Look at the keys on your keyboard, the script on this page, etc. If anything the 360 controller is more 'unatural'.

Also your left thumb doesn't usually become 'bent' unless your actually pressing the L3 button in.

Facinated by the physical limitation remark I picked up a DS2 controller and reinacted the finger movements required to strafe right and aim.

This might blow your mind, but instead of my thumbs actually smacking together, one thumb (my right) dips slighly below my left as they come almost into contact. There is still about 1cm of space between my two thumbs.

In fact, the only way I could get my thumbs to smack together was by resting my thumbs directly on top of the analogues, with the tips of my thumbs actually jutting out. (As opposed to placing my thumbs slightly to the side of the analogues as I usually hold it).

Perhaps I have unconciously learned a technique, (that looks remarkably similar to the way my friends hold their controllers), to overcome the glaring problem the DS2 has. I must be some sort of genius, if other gamers (like yourself) keep consistently smacking their thumbs together and find the controller "limiting".

This debate really is, as I mentioned in the beginning, merely personal opinion and not fact.

I don't have a problem with any of the controllers while playing FPS. I'm sure there are millions just like me.

This hardly makes us retarded, or individuals that need to be punched in the head Rocketpig.

Put your hands on the controller in a natural way without contorting your hands at all. Where do your thumbs sit? On the DS2, right over the buttons and d-pad, that's where. Symmetry is only perfect when you're trying to achieve the same goal with both hands. That's not what you're doing with a controller. One hand is used mainly for control while the other splits duty between buttons and analog. The DualShock is a design from the days when d-pads ruled gaming. That is no longer the case and the analog should take priority and be placed right where your thumb naturally wants to sit.

Now do the same test with the 360 controller. Where do your thumbs sit? The left should be right next to the analog - if not on it - while the right is nestled between the buttons and right analog, right where it should be for split duty between the two.

We shouldn't have to learn a "technique" to use a controller. It should just work from the get-go. The fact that you admitted you have worked around the design of the controller itself should be testament enough to show that the ergonomic design of the controller is lacking in some way. 

The whole 'looking while moving' thing in FPS is achieved by using both analogue sticks in tandem.

To the right of the controller, where the buttons lie, is the least used area of the controller while playing a FPS.

So for the most part, your thumbs are resting over the analogues, with your index fingers on the triggers. Your hands are making a letter 'C' with your index finger and thumb.

When you play a FPS with a 360 controller, you still make the same 'C' shape with your fingers, but this time one hand is titled at a different angle to the other.

Which controller then, for the most part, is keeping your hands and fingers symmetrical (talking strictly about how you're holding the controller, not what the button inputs mean to the symmetry on-screen) while playing a FPS?

The answer is the DS2.

As for your 360 controller test, why would one thumb be over the left analogue, then the other thumb be slightly lower then it on the other side? It makes no sense. Your thumbs would rest exactly level with each other. One on the left analogue, and the other in between the X Y B A buttons.

I thought you would pick up on the evident sarcasm of my "technique" section in my previous post...

I'm starting to think you just have some unnatural bias against the DS2 controller. The differences between the controllers are very minimal, but you paint a picture like they're worlds apart.