Today I learned about the Jogcon controller for PS1 & PS2:

This was a dualshock where the analog sticks are replaced by a dial with force feedback, so players could play Ridge Racer and really FEEL the road as if the dial was a steering wheel. I have no clue if it was good (probably not), but I do miss a good weird controller.

  • I guess this is “weird” in the sense of “unique”.

    The Steel Battalion Mech controls. The size of a table, it was an appropriate recreation of the control panel for a mech, requiring you to go through all the steps from firing it up to ejecting in case of danger. You had pedals, sticks, knobs, switches galore.

    • I have one. It’s pretty sweet. Wish Capcom made more games that supported it. It is real awkward to use, though. You gotta strap it down so it doesn’t slide around your table. Also trying to steer a match with so much articulation is a challenge. You can aim independently of the mech, whose torso is also independent from the legs. It’s a lot of joystick to keep track of.

      It’s got tons of buttons, but you don’t really use most during gameplay. Mostly the triggers, pedals, and a few buttons for some silly stuff , like fire extinguisher for when you take a hit and are on fire, or the windshield wiper.

  •  Julian   ( @julianh@lemm.ee ) 
    link
    fedilink
    English
    155 months ago

    The steam controller was (and still is) fantastic. I once got a comfortable binding for the original System Shock, which already has a pretty untenable control scheme with a keyboard and mouse. Also its haptic feedback can play music.

    • Came here to say this. I use mine almost every day, specifically for titles that don’t have controller support.

      While I do prefer a twin-stick like the DualSense for games with support, you cannot at all beat a Steam Controller for strategy gaming from the couch. I’m still on my first, but have two as backup (it was limit 2 when Valve offloaded them for $5 each).

      • Try a strategy title with the pads, in particular something like Civ, where there is no time limit. Right pad works fantastic as a mouse replacement. Left pad is always kind of just there, though it can be useful as a radial menu if you use the configurator (albeit that makes more sense on Steam Controller since the pads are round).

      •  Julian   ( @julianh@lemm.ee ) 
        link
        fedilink
        English
        25 months ago

        I’ve played lot of slower paced first person games with them. It also feels really nice in games with inventory screens and other mouse-focused ui. I never really tried to get used to them though, they just kind of clicked with me.

      • 100% a title that would struggle with full controller, for me it was cities skylines and rimworld. Also played a lot of warframe and spec ops:the line with mine, being able to have actions trigger at different points of the trigger pull was interesting, had a profile I grabbed for shooters that’d enable gyro aiming at the last bit of your trigger pull for fine adjustment and seriously, it works extremely well once you get used to it. The pads also supported osd rotary menus for hotkeys which was probably what the left pad got the most use out of, had the ability to set different behaviour too using mod buttons are by touching the rim of the pad. Also the haptic feedback on the pads was interesting, did a lot to make them feel more real, seriously had a really powerful piece of hardware with the og steam controller.

  • This is a Nyko Air Flow controller. I had one for the original Xbox. It was supposed to keep you from sweating during long sessions of gameplay, because it was ventilated and had a fan on the back. To be honest, I don’t remember it being excellent at keeping you cool. I think the fan was pretty lousy, but it was a great gimmick none the less.

    I had a lot of weird controllers back then. Some good, some bad. Most of them Mad Catz.

    • Mad Catz and their controllers that seem like they were designed by two actual, mad, cats. They still make ridiculous stuff like their R.A.T. mouse with like a dozen different dials and sliders and removable parts for customization:

      Of course, I think Mad Catz was absorbed by some other company at some point, so i’m not 100% on if it’s even the same people anymore. But the spirit is alive and well, it would seem.

    • LOL I had completely forgotten about this controller. One of my roommates in college had one of these and I usually wound up with it. I didn’t hate it, though, for a third party controller it was surprisingly decent. The fan was mid, but you could feel it, from what I remember.

        • NYKO were a decent third party, back in the day. Not great, but a step above the competition. Downside, I don’t think they ever really changed their plans that much. I swear I saw PS3 controllers with the “air cool” marketing still on it, just now with RGB through the controller!

  • Not super weird in the grand scheme of things but I played the shit out of FFXI using this controller and when my friends found out I was using this they were astounded at my typing speed. This was back in the era of texting with a number pad so thumb typing wasn’t as prevalent as it is today.

    •  Sordid   ( @Sordid@beehaw.org ) 
      link
      fedilink
      English
      25 months ago

      I unironically wish all controllers were like this. IMO the main way hardware limits game design is the number of buttons on modern controllers; more buttons = more actions that can be performed = more complex and interesting games.

  •  sundray   ( @sundray@lemmus.org ) 
    link
    fedilink
    English
    85 months ago

    I had an ASCII Grip for the original Playstation that I really loved. It was a one-handed controller that I mostly used to play RPGs, and although it took a little getting used to, I eventually got so comfortable with it I could menu faster with the Grip than with a normal pad!

    • the orb! The Orb was the number one controller i had in mind when making this post. I never had one but i’ve watched so many videos about it. It’s like a controller from an alternate timeline of what could have been, if we never moved to analog sticks or mouse look. Apparently the tech is still preferred in the 3D CAD space. After several acquisitions, the company is now a Logitech subsidiary called “3Dconnexion”, and they make CAD tools like the SpaceMouse that use the same 6-axis tech that the SpaceOrb used:

  •  Sordid   ( @Sordid@beehaw.org ) 
    link
    fedilink
    English
    25 months ago

    I don’t know if it counts as a controller per se, but I’ve been using an MMO mouse with a big number pad for the thumb for quite a few years now. I used to laugh at these things, but once I tried one, I couldn’t go back. Those extra buttons come in handy a lot more often than you might think, and sometimes I wish it had even more.