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Push your buttons!

What is your preferred method of control?

  • Controller

    Votes: 16 61.5%
  • Touch

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Motion

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Keyboard/Mouse

    Votes: 10 38.5%

  • Total voters
    26

Cello

Tonight!
  • 1,498
    Posts
    15
    Years
    So, today I was in GameStop, and while I was at the front checkout I had to listen to an associate go on and on about how he can't understand why I play FPS games on the inferior PC with a mouse/keyboard rather than on a superior 360 with a controller.
    It took every ounce of energy in my body not to tell him why I think he's wrong, but eventually I managed to cool my jets and say "Hey... to each their own bro."

    So that's why I come to you asking:

    What is your preferred control method when playing games? Controller, Touch, Motion, or Mouse/Keyboard?
    Was there ever a time you wish you had a certain game on a different system so you could play using that control method?



    And for the record, the thread story isn't meant to start any kind of argument or debate, I just thought i'd share a short story to go with a poll thread. :P
     
    Last edited:
    I'm not against either one because I'm both a PC and console player; however, it is common sense that a mouse is more accurate. o.o;
     
    I'm quite comfortable with the Keyboard and mouse, I got used to it. I can't imagine myself playing on touch or motion, It's difficult for me and I wont like probably. I don't need a controller, the keyboard and mouse do the job with ease for me. Speaking of that, I think my keyboard is like 12 years old :S
     
    For an FPS? I can't play it with a mouse and keyboard. I know that's strange. Actually, I can't play any game short outside of point-and-click games on a PC. I am just not used to it.

    But I think my preferred way of playing an FPS is with motion. It's closer to the mouse/keyboard setup than a traditional controller is. The Wii has very few FPS titles for some reason but Metroid Prime 3, The Conduit (even if the game outside of the controls was awful), and especially GoldenEye showed just how great these games play with motion.

    But really, I'm a stickler for the N64 days. Games like GoldenEye and Perfect Dark where you controlled the camera and your movement at once. I've played Nintendo all my life. Even though I have a 360 now, I am just not used to controlling the camera independently in a shooter. Feels so strange to me.

    Outside of FPS, I think it just depends on the game. I love Skyward Sword's swordplay. Does that mean the older games where you swung a sword with a button press were bad? No. The control was weaved into the game design, so it worked well. If you tacked it on to an old game, it would be out of place.

    So, I don't think it is about the control scheme itself, but more how it is used.
     
    The only thing I like keyboard+mouse for is FPS and I don't play a whole lot of those so it's not that big a deal for me. For everything else, I prefer a traditional controller. I hate motion control and touch is too finicky so controller it is. :P I also feel a lot more at home sitting on the couch with a controller (or lying in bed with a handheld) since that's what I grew up with over a computer that could play real games.
     
    Keyboard + Mouse please... :P

    There is no way one could get that degree of control with another control method.
     
    I always found it interesting that people prefer the keyboard/mouse combo over a controller. Now, I'm not saying one is better than the other, but I always found that with certain games, especially shooters, that the point and click to shoot takes the challenge away from the games, whereas with a controller there is a higher degree of error (but doesn't take away from the fun of the game).
     
    Very much a firm believer in Keyboard + Mouse or Die.

    It's just the most superior control method for games.
     
    For an FPS? I can't play it with a mouse and keyboard. I know that's strange. Actually, I can't play any game short outside of point-and-click games on a PC. I am just not used to it.

    But I think my preferred way of playing an FPS is with motion. It's closer to the mouse/keyboard setup than a traditional controller is. The Wii has very few FPS titles for some reason but Metroid Prime 3, The Conduit (even if the game outside of the controls was awful), and especially GoldenEye showed just how great these games play with motion.

    But really, I'm a stickler for the N64 days. Games like GoldenEye and Perfect Dark where you controlled the camera and your movement at once. I've played Nintendo all my life. Even though I have a 360 now, I am just not used to controlling the camera independently in a shooter. Feels so strange to me.

    Outside of FPS, I think it just depends on the game. I love Skyward Sword's swordplay. Does that mean the older games where you swung a sword with a button press were bad? No. The control was weaved into the game design, so it worked well. If you tacked it on to an old game, it would be out of place.

    So, I don't think it is about the control scheme itself, but more how it is used.

    I'm actually very pleased to see someone say Motion is their preferred method of control for FPS games. A lot of people tend to brush of motion controls when it comes to shooters because they either find it gimmicky or think it wont work out well. I know my cousin and I were that way when Goldeneye for the Wii came out. I kinda want to go back and try it out through.
     


    I'm actually very pleased to see someone say Motion is their preferred method of control for FPS games. A lot of people tend to brush of motion controls when it comes to shooters because they either find it gimmicky or think it wont work out well. I know my cousin and I were that way when Goldeneye for the Wii came out. I kinda want to go back and try it out through.
    Well, to be fair, you do have to a bit of configuration with the motion controls.

    Metroid, at least have Advanced/Pro mode or whatever it was called.

    Conduit and GoldenEye, has a lot more configuration options. Very extensive. Eventually, you'll get to something that works wonders (or just Google it. Look up Call of Duty settings for GoldenEye and Metroid settings for Conduit)
     
    Before I started playing a ton of games on my PC (I still don't play many as my PC sucks) I would play Xbox a lot and preferred the controller to mouse + keyboard.

    Now that i've played quite a few PC games and haven't touched my Xbox in ages, I can't imagine myself using a controller for anything, bar some third person action-adventures like Assassin's Creed.

    I played over 100 hours of Fallout 3 on Xbox 360, and when I first started it on PC I felt awful with the mouse + keyboard. But after playing it for a while, I don't think I could ever go back to the controller.
     
    Well sweeties, it depends on game/genre.

    Platformer: Controller.
    FPS: Keyboard/Mouse. Motion if it's executed done right.
    Fighting: Arcade stick.

    Most of the time it's the suggest control method, like touch screen + slider for Kid Icarus: Uprising.
     
    So, today I was in GameStop, and while I was at the front checkout I had to listen to an associate go on and on about how he can't understand why I play FPS games on the inferior PC with a mouse/keyboard rather than on a superior 360 with a controller.
    It took every ounce of energy in my body not to tell him why I think he's wrong, but eventually I managed to cool my jets and say "Hey... to each their own bro."

    So that's why I come to you asking:

    What is your preferred control method when playing games? Controller, Touch, Motion, or Mouse/Keyboard?
    Was there ever a time you wish you had a certain game on a different system so you could play using that control method?



    And for the record, the thread story isn't meant to start any kind of argument or debate, I just thought i'd share a short story to go with a poll thread. :P
    It's a good thing I wasn't there, I would have made him look like a complete fool.

    Give him this little tidbit: Microsoft was going to hold an FPS tournament a little under a decade ago for cross-platform gaming. They got the best of the best on Xbox and PC together and put them against each other. PC gamers came out on top every time. They tried to remedy this by putting worse PC players against the same console players. Same results.

    Anyone who argues that FPS controls are better on console is flat-out wrong and possibly lacking the requisite mental facilities to talk without drooling. It has nothing to do with "opinions," a controller is an objectively inferior form of input with respect to the FPS genre. The reason for this is simple enough. A mouse allows a nearly unlimited range of motion without sacrificing precision. A thumbstick doesn't; you have to hold in the direction you want to turn. You can increase the turn speed, but you sacrifice precision. It would be like if you drew a circle on your desk and made it so if the mouse moved outside the circle, you'd turn at a fixed speed until you moved it back in. It's an obvious impediment.

    Here's an easy way to resolve the difference. Challenge them to an FPS game on a PC, hook up an Xbox 360 controller to one of the PCs and set up the inputs in the in-game settings (many modern FPS games support controller input on PC for anyone stupid enough to use it). Even one of the worst FPS players on PC could beat someone using a controller for input.

    Also: it's fine if you prefer controller for FPS, but realize it's demonstrably inferior.

    I always found it interesting that people prefer the keyboard/mouse combo over a controller. Now, I'm not saying one is better than the other, but I always found that with certain games, especially shooters, that the point and click to shoot takes the challenge away from the games, whereas with a controller there is a higher degree of error (but doesn't take away from the fun of the game).
    One is better than the other. Also, poor controls are not a feature. Challenge should come from gameplay, not from bad design. Dying repeatedly because of a glitch, for example, is not something that should be praised. If you happen to like the challenge that arises from it, more power to you, but that does not make it a feature.

    And if you want to talk about challenge, how about that auto-aim? Nearly every FPS on console since Goldeneye has it enabled; it basically makes it harder to move your crosshairs off of a target. This is because developers also realize controller is a flawed input method for FPS.

    There's a reason competitive FPS takes place overwhelmingly on PC. Quake and UT using a controller is just wrong.
     
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    Gotta be a controller. I would find most pc games quite hard to play with just a mouse/keyboard, unlike Minecraft where I find it quite easy. But things like FPS shooters, well, a controller seems very easy for me.
     
    It literally depends on what type of game is it. Too many times have I seem games designed like others, but on a different platform, and you just can't control them correctly!

    In general, if I have to do anything precise I like to use a mouse. If my computer could handle it, I'm sure I'd enjoy my Assassin's Creed game on Steam very well. How ever, if it's just move in general directions and attack, I'd rather have a controller, as my wrist hurts sitting them at the keyboard for so long.

    When playing on DS games I like games that if I have to use the controller I can just click what ever I need on the screen with my thumb. I don't like full touch for DS or Wii or otherwise in menu heavy games. It just don't work.

    Yeah. Basically it's a mix match.

    On a scale it's
    Precision -------------------------- Lax
    Computer ----- Controller -----Touch
    Menus -------------------------- Open
     
    In general, if I have to do anything precise I like to use a mouse. If my computer could handle it, I'm sure I'd enjoy my Assassin's Creed game on Steam very well. How ever, if it's just move in general directions and attack, I'd rather have a controller, as my wrist hurts sitting them at the keyboard for so long.

    It really depends on the aiming precision required. For Assassin's Creed, Alice: Madness Returns, Psychonauts, or any other 3rd Person, non-shooter action game, I will use an Xbox controller. However for any game that requires accuracy, such as any FPS/RTS game, or even the Batman: Arkham games (gadgets, especially the grappling hook need fast and consistent accuracy), then I can ONLY use a keyboard and mouse. Racing games, wherever possible, I use a wheel and pedals (Logitech Driving Force GT, although I almost bought a G27 today).

    One of the problems with using mice for shooters is that either because they're bad console ports or because the developer thinks we're still in the early 90s, they implement mouse acceleration that is impossible (or very difficult) to turn off. In some games (Mass Effect, RPGs) this is bearable, but for FPS games (Halo, Bioshock), it's just horrible and makes the game unplayable for anyone who is accustomed to twitch shooters.

    I'm not going to say that people can't prefer a controller for FPS games - that's personal preference and I fully respect that. But to suggest that they're even in the same league in terms of aiming precision is just a bad joke.
     
    How I now loathe touch screen, at first they were fine but when word check came into the picture it just became a disaster. I've always been comfortable with a Keyboard/Mouse however.
     
    I'd definitely say a controller. Sure, you can play the "almighty" Minecraft with a mouse, but you can't beat a controller for comfort and ease of play.
     
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