Handicapable gaming

[jdoggg12]

So I lost the use of my left arm a while back. It hasn't stopped me and, for the most part, hasn't slowed me down. I've been using a Razer Naga to play games (Skryim, Far Cry 3, Deus Ex, ect. etc)

I find that even with 12 buttons on the side, it's hard to set all the controls I need. I recently picked up ARMA 3... wow, the buttons!!

Anywho, my ultimate goal for this thread is to see if anyone has any leads on a setup like i'm envisioning... Picture this: I'd like to have a Logitech G13 mouse... I know, crazy, but hear me out... I had an N52 back in the day and I loved it.

I realize that a game-pad size mouse will be a bit unwieldy.. but then again, so is playing with one hand.

So, it'd be great if I could take this, http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2008/12/g13gamepadhand-on.jpg and hack a mouse sensor to the bottom. I'd have to rig some sort of wrist bracket to allow me to lift it. But I have the DIY skills of a drunken monkey.

No, I don't want to use an Xbox controller... it's not a mouse. I like the mouse. I love the mouse. The mouse is my friend. I love my 360 controller, I can use it just fine, but I reserve that for my 360 games (1.1 K/D ratio in Halo 4, not bad for gimp gaming!)

Can anyone offer feedback on this? Anyone willing to give it a go if I paid you?

 

[OlafSicky]

OCZ had some device a while ago for gaming where you could control things with your mind might be what you are looking for.

 

[jdoggg12]

OCZ had some device a while ago for gaming where you could control things with your mind might be what you are looking for.

I've not seen this one in particular, but of all the devices using mind/eye/motion controls, none seem to have any appreciable level of precision... like, you could control a driving sim, but not a racing game.

I could be wrong, but since you suggested it, i'll go look into it now! Thank you !

 

[Ben90]

My friend had purchased that OCZ thing a few years ago and he said it worked okay for using as a single button, but wasn't very accurate beyond that. He did only play around with it for a few days, and has access to the standard keyboard+mouse setup. So it is possible he didn't quite get over the learning curve, but overall he wasn't impressed.

I don't know how fluently you are able to move around with your current setup, but if all you really need are more buttons you could consider adding a modifier button through something like AutoHotkey. You would leave all the common and time sensitive controls like moving on the top layer while switching weapons could be a combination of this modifier button and another key. Upon release of the modifier, everything goes back to the top layer.

A problem I see with your setup is since the majority of the buttons are on the thumb, the modifier might have to be something drastic like the right mouse button. Ergonomics and creativity are really the only limits when you start adopting this approach.

Other than that, I am not sure where you would get started with your DIY approach. Maybe make a small platform with ball transfer bearings with a cutout for a mouse, and then place the G13 on top of that? I personally break everything I try to work on so I'm not the best for advice.

 

[HeXen]

So, it'd be great if I could take this, http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2008/12/g13gamepadhand-on.jpg and hack a mouse sensor to the bottom. I'd have to rig some sort of wrist bracket to allow me to lift it. But I have the DIY skills of a drunken monkey.

Remove housing of mouse. 3M tape it to bottom center. A couple or more furniture sliders to each side to stabilize perhaps. Use Velcro strap around hand. There probably isn't too many options when it comes to such precision for one hand. That thumbstick on the G13 can work as a mouse and once you get used to it, it's not bad.
I prefer the Nostromo to the G13 myself, shouldn't be too hard to just rig some mouse parts to bottom.
Best of luck finding what your looking for though.

 

[Geosurface]

Can you describe for me how you do one handed xbox controller action? I'm intrigued.

 

[jdoggg12]

Can you describe for me how you do one handed xbox controller action? I'm intrigued.

I use my right hand as normal, then use my lower lip/chin to control the left analog stick. When I need to use the left trigger/bumper I just rotate the controller up and hit it with my nose (trigger) or upper lip (bumper). It looks ridiculous, but it's pretty effective... but I cannot possibly describe how much a LOATH games that wont let you set your own button mappings.

 

[Geosurface]

I use my right hand as normal, then use my lower lip/chin to control the left analog stick. When I need to use the left trigger/bumper I just rotate the controller up and hit it with my nose (trigger) or upper lip (bumper). It looks ridiculous, but it's pretty effective... but I cannot possibly describe how much a LOATH games that wont let you set your own button mappings.

Same on the bolded part, I've used the number pad in lieu of WASD since 1997 (Jedi Knight) and it always irritates me greatly when I run into a game nowadays which won't allow keys to be mapped to the number pad. Happens on occasion.

I did not anticipate your method involved your face. Doesn't that make it hard to also be watching the action on screen?

If you don't mind me prying, what happened to your left arm?

Do you see the Oculus Rift as possibly helping you a lot, since looking around can be done by head movements?

 

[jdoggg12]

Same on the bolded part, I've used the number pad in lieu of
I did not anticipate your method involved your face. Doesn't that make it hard to also be watching the action on screen?

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a219/jdoggg1/TV/mexbox.jpg

If you don't mind me prying, what happened to your left arm?

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a219/jdoggg1/bikemulti2.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a219/jdoggg1/bikesidelarge.jpg
Lost it on the freeway. My fault, but am glad no one else was involved or even nearby

Do you see the Oculus Rift as possibly helping you a lot, since looking around can be done by head movements?

Yes - I'd own one now if the dev kit had higher resolution. I just can't justify pulling the trigger on it till the higher resolution version is available :-\

 

[Cerb]

Check out foot pedals, too (a racing pedal set per foot, FI, would give you 4 or more emulated/mapped buttons/axes). On the PC, you could use something like Xpadder, and map the axes how you please.

 

[Geosurface]

Lost it on the freeway. My fault, but am glad no one else was involved or even nearby

You have my sympathies. How long ago was this? Did it take you a while for it to even occur to you to try to return to gaming? Was there a time when you figured that was off the table?

Not to pry, but are you saying your arm got straight up ripped off or something as you skidded up against something on your motorcycle? Or what?

 

[styrafoam]

I think you would lose most of the precision that using a mouse gives you while gaming if you were to integrate the mouse into the whole assembly of the G13. I realize that we are looking for usability rather than perfection here, just the first thing that popped into my head. The other obstacle would be making the whole of the G13 mobile in some way. Mouse skates might work, but with the extra weight you would need to reduce friction more then they might be capable of.

According to the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gaSdoI3iNg the wrist rest of the G13 appears to be mostly just padding. This would certainly allow you the space you would need to add the mouse internals to the lower part of the pad. One idea that crossed my mind was cutting away the top half of the frame on the wrist rest to allow you to integrate a mouse pad of some sorts, letting you keep your mouse immediately below the g13 hotkey assembly. The other problem this solution would solve would be that when the mouse eventually gives up and dies it would save you from having to have it rigged up all over again, it would just be a matter of swapping the mouse. A really good DIY type person would probably be able to move the thumb stick over to the left side also. The true life details of this would probably only be able to be worked out with one of them torn down and in front of you. If there is a person who could take this on I think you would find them somewhere on reddit.

 

[spat55]

I think it is time for someone to make some input devices for people that have lost there use of one of their hands, why hasn't anyone done it yet? I mean I would hate to not be able to game!

 

[HeXen]

I think it is time for someone to make some input devices for people that have lost there use of one of their hands, why hasn't anyone done it yet? I mean I would hate to not be able to game!

Most gaming peripherals that make it to market don't last long especially if they don't resemble a 360 or ps3 pad. Over the last couple of decades there has been tons of weird and highly potential ones including one that did resemble the Nostromo/G13 and had a pivotal point inside that could be used as a mouse but acted more like an analogue stick but that was years ago. I suspect Razer's Hydra won't be around forever either.

 

[zebrax2]

How about the Stinky Footboard. You could probably use it as the directional pad freeing up your hand quite a bit.

 

[_Rick_]

There's also TrackIR, which allows you to use your head movement as a two-axis controller.

Sure, it's no mouse, but you might be able to combine it with a trackball for precision.

Have you considered getting some software to do mouse-button chording? Something like a pinky-shift, which modifies the thumb-buttons.

 

[spat55]

Most gaming peripherals that make it to market don't last long especially if they don't resemble a 360 or ps3 pad. Over the last couple of decades there has been tons of weird and highly potential ones including one that did resemble the Nostromo/G13 and had a pivotal point inside that could be used as a mouse but acted more like an analogue stick but that was years ago. I suspect Razer's Hydra won't be around forever either.

Maybe there arn't enough people that need these devices? If they were making money they would surely keep making them?

 

[XavierMace]

http://thecontrollerproject.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=48
I have zero experience with those people, but it looks like it might be worth talking to them.