I love that major console manufacturers are finally taking steps create accessible controller options and system-level support for button remapping and alternative control styles. More than once I’ve been talking to a friend of mine about new game coming out, and he casually reiterates that he has to wait and see what accessibility options the game even supports, so he knows if he can play it.
It’s overdue, but I’m glad to see it happening. And also, I’m endlessly fascinated with the form factor these controllers take on. Controllers for abled gamers have followed such a standardized general structure for so long, that its incredible to see what controllers look like when the designers have to think outside the box. The sheer variety of ways in which controllers can be built to account for different inputs is always really cool to me from a mechanics standpoint.
🙂
Wow, that is pretty awesome Tim.
What happened to your companion mother?
She got so filthy rich from sitting at home falling for scams that she reitred early
That is one weird (but cool) looking controller right there.. I wonder for what kind of handicap it is suitable for?
To me it looks like its for people with impairments to both hand/arms. You could manipulate that with your feet. Edit – Now that I look in the comic though its strapped to an upper arm. Maybe for one handed play?
I think that is only for story purposes. My thought was foot control as well.
Maybe because I don’t have some scale there, but is the goal of that a controller that can be used with just one hand? Like thumb on the stick, other fingers on the ring?
Potentially. A lot of the time its larger buttons for ease of use. Potentially even foot powered.
That’s one option. You can also combine two of them (and a Dualsense if you want) into one “virtual” controller and you can replace the buttons with double-size and more, so you can build whatever works best for your needs and abilities.
It’s about time Microsoft has been doing this since the Xbox one.
Now all games companies need to do is make games better accommodate for epilepsy as Cyberpunk 2077 i’m sure prepatched was set on purpose to set off photosentsitve seizures as the braindance scene flashes at the right range to set off most photosentsive seizures
Technically true, but the Xbox Adaptive Controller came out at the very tail end of the Xbox One era, so it’s a little misleading to say they’ve done it since the Xbox One as that implies it was there from the start (or at least the majority) of that console’s lifetime. Still, I gave (and give) MS a lot of credit for that. And I’m very happy to see Sony follow suit.
Sony has been at the forefront of software accessibility options though, so that combined with the Leonardo looks really great.
Microsoft has been doing this for at least half a decade by now? Gotta give credit where it’s due! Although yeah, about time Sony pulled their finger out, for sure.
I’m not aware of any first-party solutions from Nintendo but third-party options do exist (I guess there is less support on the software side though?)
Honestly… I’m supprised there hasn’t been a ‘lego’ controller.
Here’s a flat sheet (or round or whatever)… and buttons. You want X button here, you put it here. Your friend doesn’t like that position and wants Y button there.. they can put y button. To make it customizable for people with limited movement or that… just ‘plug it in here and it tells the board that it is key X, and that way each person can customize it to their own unique needs/wants’.
Suppose that could open to hackers/bots.. but hey, those already exist :S
Looking at the blogpost about it, that’s exactly what Leonardo is. You can even remap what direction is “north” on the stick.
Is that… a joystick!
An actual honest-to-goodness joystick on a modern controller!
Screw disabled people, if this is at a reasonable price, I might get it just to play retro arcade games!
There’s gotta be a better way to phrase that.
Like “Hell, I’m not even disabled and that looks like something I’d like to get!”
Disabled people have heard enough of “screw disabled people, I could use this product for myself!”. Botox was initially to be used for children with crossed eyes or cerebral palsy. But then the world went “screw disabled people, I could use this to make myself look younger!”
Yeah, those disabled people totally got screwed now that the Real Housewives of California have used up the world’s supply of Botox. It’s now impossible to find Botox anywhere!
Oh wait, that’s not what happened. Now that additional uses have been found (i.e. looking younger or at least looking more like a mannequin) Botox is even more available and effects even better known. I don’t think this is a good example of disabled people getting screwed…
Do you think that rich people accessing it and taking up the source and raising the prices on said services as a result is not messing with the disabled community?
That’s not what happened with Botox. When a market gets much much much bigger, it brings down the prices as compared to when it’s a rare treatment for a rare disorder. There’s no “limited supply” of Botox. It’s not Spice from Dune.
Not how I would put it, but it is remarkable how many accessibility options are beneficial for everybody. I appreciate the people who pushed for so long for subtitles. I’m really glad they’re a normal feature nowadays, and I miss them when they aren’t.
Ramps and sidewalks which are wheelchair or walking assistive compatible being also good for adults with strollers and young children is the biggest one I have seen explained.
Almost embarrassed to say but I still use the Claw for gaming. I bought a back up if my old one dies…. https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/svg/1f60a.svg https://www.eurogamer.net/r-claw
As a physically disabled gamer, it really is nice to see this finally starting to happen. The fact that there exist games where you can’t even remap the controls is mind-bogglingly stupid. Nintendo seems to be the worst offender here, in my personal experience.
As a disabled person who plays games with stupid uneditable controls, I feel that pain. As a fledgling solo game developer trying to program things people consider industry standard features like remappable controls, I fell that pain, too.
Yeah it’s not great. At least on PC there’s third party programs (Like reWASD) that you can use to do so.
Even not being disabled, I’m always baffled why some games don’t allow control remapping. I don’t want crouch to be C, or interact to be Enter or Space. Heck, I’m starting to not even use WASD because my long fingers make using ESDF more personally practical.
Everyone wins when controls can be remapped.
Nintendo does need to step up their game. For whatever it is worth, the Switch allows you to remap buttons in a menu from the home screen. It is a feature that is not pushed by Nintendo, so unfortunately not enough people know about it.
Really? I had no idea! I’ll have to take a gander at that…
Why is it called Leonardo?
Because poor Leonardo was disabled. He was stuck in the 15th century, which made it impossible for him to play any video games.
Clearly because it’s a hero, in what appears to be half a turtle shell.
This is why you’re the comic writer and I’m the sap waiting on the next one 🙂
Yeah it’s about time, particularly since Microsoft released their Xbox Adaptive Controller in 2018.
I saw the press release last night and was really impressed and happy for everyone these controllers will allow to play video games.
This comic is poignant and very fitting. I love it.
I can’t even guess how you’re supposed to use this…
is it like simon says?
I bet its not cheap.
Probably going to cost an arm and a leg.
I love this comic. All three major consoles have adaptive controllers now to enable gamers with mobility disabilities to play. The first was Xbox with the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Then Nintendo with the Hori Flex. And now Sony has Project Leonardo. I’d *love* to see a comic that had soldiers represented from all three consoles using these controllers.
Thanks so much for bringing attention to this, Tim!
Several years back I had the pleasure of seeing the Xbox Adaptive Controller at a conference, where each control could be mapped to individual buttons that could be attached to a wheelchair or other frame rather easily.
There’s so much more that can and should be done to improve accessibility in games, this controller is great and long overdue: Captions for all dialogue, including barks, NPC comments and such, not just main conversations x Captions (with the direction and distance) for all sound effects and audio cues. Gunfire starting, a distant explosion or engine, a music change indicating alert status, all of this needs to be captioned. More formatting options for captions, including size, colour, duration and position. Full rebinding for all controls, not just inverting an axis or a handful of schemes, and smarter tooltips/tutorials that… Read more »
You made this fast.
Wish Tim had included a link to it, but here is a good article about the project and a video: https://www.polygon.com/23540502/ps5-accessibility-controller-project-leonardo-sony
as someone who has MS in my left hand and physically can not use it… its about time. so happy for this.
be shocked how hard it is to game with 1 hand holding a controller jerry rigged. remapping helps me a lot.
Companies going out of their way to increase their products’ accessibility to all users is always a great thing to see. I don’t understand this controller’s design, though. Is it, for example, in the size of a PS5 controller so that it can be used with only one hand, or is it big enough like a bathroom scale so it can be used only with one’s feet?
OMG thats so cool i’m glad sony finally made their own adaptive controller