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This is a continuation of here.
Getting my NDS was very exciting for me - it was my first hand-held system as well as the first game console that I bought and owned in my life. After some minor difficulty (that is, myself being retarded and bought SDHC instead of MicroSDHC), I was able to play on the same day as I bought it (June 16th).
Thanks to the TLer We Are Here, I was able to download certain things and start quickly. Influeced by the comments of many from the post above, I first tried Tetris - for about 2 minutes - before my mom saw the game I was playing and she wanted to try - for about the next hour or so. Basically, my mom first played my first console, and it was kind of fun because she really likes Tetris and probably she hadn't played it for years.
When she retired, I was eager to play something on it. And the one I chose was New Super Mario DS, since the game mechanism is kind of similar to the classical mario game and I *should* be able to play well. Well...
The keyword here is "should". The reality was that I sucked so much that I was a little angry (much worse than getting tanks rolling over my UD base 13 games in a row in wc3). In fact I think I died about 10 times for World 1-4 or 1-5.
I am 100% certain that I am not retarded and only a retard can lose 10 life in World 1. So what went wrong? Some deeper analysis showed me the answer: the control. The control on NDS (and other conventional gaming pad) was bad, in my opinion, in the following way:
Direction keys. On NDS, and other conventional gaming pad, the direction keys, as I would call them, are on the left.
Direction keys (looks like a cross) are on the left
In my opinion this is totally counter-intuitive. In most games, the most of the precision control are generated from movements of your characters, and that is usually done by the direction keys (in fact many games can be played with only the direction keys). Consequently, it makes since that the direction keys should be managed by the dominate hand, which for most people should be their right.
To further strengthen my argument that the direction keys should be on the same side as the dominate hand, I will use the standard keyboard as an example. The keyboard is central to inputting information into a computer, and it has its direction keys on the right for the movement of the cursor.
They are on the right! (Unless you have a Number pad, but that is hardly useful)
Also, when a right-handed person use keyboard and mouse, one will always use his/her right hand for the mouse, which again is for the movement of the cursor. If right-handed people do not use their mouse with their left hand, why would they use their hand for the direction keys?
Therefore, it makes sense (at least for the companies that sell these) to have direction keys on the right, since the majority of the general population are right-handed. Yet for the game pad it's always on the left. Everyone's left-handed, I guess.
+ Show Spoiler +Of course, eventually I will be able to get over the control. Eventually. If not I can still play Pokemon with it.
 
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I think all video game systems use movement control on the left side (left thumb)
edit: lol I didn't read it the whole way through
iono, as long as your'e used to it it works...
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I'm pretty sure pressing buttons on a controller require so little physical activity that whether or not you're using a dominant hand does not matter at all
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On June 18 2009 13:40 Sunyveil wrote:
I think all video game systems use movement control on the left side (left thumb)
You are right, but I think my right-thumb can do better and the way it is designed I cannot do that.
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The DS was your first console! That's horrible...
Most people who have played console games (such as myself, who grew up on snes) are pretty used to it. Also, FPS games? WASD is definitely left hand for movement, and although it may not be the most important thing in a game I think it would be awkward to switch between left for movement and right for movement based on the importance of that aspect in the game..
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i also thought this a bit strange. that console controllers use movement for the left hand, while its usually right hand for other games. i can see some games that would be better with movement on the left hand, while other games movement for the right hand.
if i were to play mvc2, movement should definitely be on the left. hitting the attack/assist buttons requires more dexterity, so naturally, use the right hand (most people are right handed).
on counterstrike, movement is left hand though. but thats cuz the mouse is more accurate for aiming, so you need your right hand on that. mmorpgs also use left hand for movement...
vertical shoot em ups - seems like both kinds exist. usually on the computer, its right hand for movement, on consoles/arcades, left hand for movement. although some people buy controllers for their computer. i personally like right hand for movement, because the movement in shoot em ups needs to be precise and quick, while your attacks are usually just holding a button down or spamming that button (or pressing a single button for bomb).
what i ended up thinking after writing this - left hand movement for controllers (or devices that require more dexterity for other tasks) and right hand movement for keyboards. unless youre using a mouse. then left hand movement.
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If the DS Super Mario is anything like the NES Super Mario Brothers, the difficulty is more in holding the jump button (right hand) for just the right amount of time since there's no air control. It also requires the coordination to hit any combination of the two buttons (to run and/or jump) with just your thumb.
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When I play a game on a keyboard that mimics a game pad (say through an enumlator), I always put the direction keys on the right. All of my friends that I know do that too (except one of my friend who is left-handed; he does it exactly the opposite way and have direction keys on the left).
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On June 18 2009 14:02 SonuvBob wrote:
If the DS Super Mario is anything like the NES Super Mario Brothers, the difficulty is more in holding the jump button (right hand) for just the right amount of time since there's no air control. It also requires the coordination to hit any combination of the two buttons (to run and/or jump) with just your thumb.
That is the other difficulty I am having. I was going to write about it, then decided to save it for another day.
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Using a keyboard as a directional pad sucks no matter what you do. I remember doing Sabin's fight game-style moves in FF6 on a numpad, it was hard as hell. :p
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On June 18 2009 14:05 SonuvBob wrote:
Using a keyboard as a directional pad sucks no matter what you do. I remember doing Sabin's fight game-style moves in FF6 on a numpad, it was hard as hell. :p
I used to play KoF with a keyboard, and I'd say I was pretty good in that game (and I use direction keys on the right).
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It's good for me because I am left-handed. But on a tonne of portable games they make it so you can choose to move with the right side buttons and aim a gun with the D-pad in shooters. You complain about this, but have you ever tried playing console shooters as a left-handed person? I can't fucking aim worth shit because I am left-handed and my right hand is extremely unsteady when using another analog to aim(like halo for example). How is that fair? T___T
And I'm pretty sure there's more console players than portable console players...
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It's always been this way. And whether playing an FPS or WoW, people set up the WASD keys for movement. Even if they were to use the built-in directional keys, they still use the mouse in the right hand, so they can use their left hand on the keys.
It would be interesting to find out why they put the directional keys on the left side, from a design standpoint. As a left-handed person I don't mind it at all. I would hazard a guess that the ability to rapidly and dextrously push the buttons on the right side by themselves and in combination requires more skill than moving with the left hand.
Think about it in sports, as well. You're not hindered defensively by using your non-dominant hand to wield a glove for catching the ball. Same with batting - in fact, the way you hold a bat is the opposite of how you hold a tennis racquet, but that doesn't keep someone from being equally proficient with both instruments. How about guitar? Your fretting hand is typically the non-dominant one.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://www.gameboy-advance.net/img/supercard/nds-cg1.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://techreport.com/r.x/dell-xps-m1210/keyboard.jpg)
![[image loading]](https://www.cliffracer.com/store/images/NES_controller.jpg)
