Surely the first time a game told you to press L3, you started looking at the controller from all sides looking for that little button. Console controllers have more and more buttons, are more complicated and are full of technological advances. This makes the gaming experience more satisfying for most players. But… What happens when a title is handled simply with two buttons and a crosshead? Do we really need such a complex command?
Can you play video games with one hand?
Surely you remember how insistent Steve Jobs was in life defending that the iPhone had to be able to be used with one hand. In video games, this rule has never been applied. Controllers increasingly have more buttons, tactile surfaces, feedback triggers and a multitude of technologies. Even so, there are games in which all this button panel falls short, requiring the player to end up memorizing all kinds of combos.
On the other hand, there are games that are left over with an accept button, a cancel button, another to open the menu and a crosshead. Surely playing this type of games, you thought that they would be totally playable with one hand – we refer to games like turn-based RPGs or puzzle games, not graphic novels with Chinese monkeys. However, in all the controllers on the market, the direction pad is on one side and the button panel is just on the opposite side, making this task impossible unless the game in question allows you to remap the buttons. It may sound crazy, but the Pokémon games for the Game Boy Advance had just this feature: you could set the ‘L=A’ option, allowing you to use the console only with your left hand. Perfect for not letting go of the sandwich or colacao while you passed the gym on duty.
Do you have a spare hand? Print this accessory for the DualShock 4
The solution that youtuber Akaki Kuumeri has reached has not been software. And the DualShock 4 has not been modified internally to be able to play with one hand either, but the result is simply spectacular. After many attempts, Kuumeri has created a shell that surrounds the controller and is able to transfer the buttons of the DS4 to the left side of the controller , even preserving the feedback that we usually have when pressing a key.
On the other hand, it has also transferred the right triggers to the left part of the controller. And, regarding the analog stick that is used to move the camera, Kuumeri has made another wrapper that allows you to operate the joystick by resting the controller on your leg. But the thing does not stop there. The design is fully reversible , so the shell can be reversed and the controller can only be operated with the right hand.