Different Platforms, Controls and UI's. Discuss Pro's and Con's.

[StaceyPowers]

What are some game controls that work well on PC but play awkwardly if you are on a console? Like, I find clicking and dragging to feel very unnatural on a console, but totally expected on a PC game.

 

Moderator Edit; Title change, see "Shagger's" post below.

Edited July 23, 2021 by Shagger

[killamch89]

To be honest, I find playing Skyrim on consoles to be a very awkward scenario because I could do so many things with the keyboard on PC but the controller just has too few buttons.

[Family sedan]

PlayStation Monopoly is a perfect example.  I'd rather have that interface with a mouse.

[killamch89]

20 hours ago, Family sedan said:

PlayStation Monopoly is a perfect example.  I'd rather have that interface with a mouse.

It's true - some board games are very difficult to play using a controller especially when you need precision. As a matter of fact, most FPS are harder to play using a controller than using a mouse and keyboard.

[Shagger]

@StaceyPowers I'm gonna be honest, here. If it were really up to me, I might not let topics like this be posted at all. I feel that way because this serves a platform to bash one platform over others and that can cause real problems on gaming forums. "Fanboying" and "Waring" over platform preference has not really been an issue on VGR compared to other multi-platform gaming forums and communities in my experience. The VGR community has proven that these discussions can happen here on without it getting out of hand. I'm very thankful for that, but I want to keep it that way. So, whilst that's a marginal concern at best, there is another issue.

 

That other issue being with this particular thread is the original title, it limits people to post very much in bias in favour of PC's as a platform without giving room to post otherwise. The core of the topic is fine, it's really about discussing differences in game controls and user interfaces, but it should be OK to post from various perspectives rather than just one. M/K controls and other control methods indigenous to PC's have drawbacks as well, and it's only fair to open this topic up to discuss those. This shouldn't be limited to PC's and consoles either, it would also be great to discuss the advantages and disadvantages mobile gaming bring to the table.

 

So having thought about it, I have decided I will not lock nor delete this topic, but I am going to change the title to open the discussion up to accommodate a more broad and general perspective.

 

Remember, we'll all gamers. Regardless of what we play on, we deserve equal respect.

 

And @StaceyPowers, consider the title change a "working title".  If you have a title in mind that would fit the new, more accommodating theme I've described, please let me know. This is still your topic, after all.

[StaceyPowers]

1 hour ago, Shagger said:

@StaceyPowers

And @StaceyPowers, consider the title change a "working title".  If you have a title in mind that would fit the new, more accommodating theme I've described, please let me know. This is still your topic, after all.

Ironically, I don't enjoy gaming on PC. I do see your concern, but I'm not sure my original title or yours really grasped what I was getting at.

Basically, I want to discuss how some games essentially have controls that are really centric to one platform or another. For example, the clicking and dragging in No Man's Sky is strange on console, but would feel quite at home on PC. I wasn't asserting this makes PC superior, simply that some games play awkwardly on some systems due to how they were designed. I'd welcome further thoughts.

[Reality vs Adventure]

I think every game would be weird to play on one console, then again on pc; or vice versa. I don't play on computer, but can't they save commands to a certain button? That would seem more convenient. Then again, I would find it awkward to play a game on the computer assuming they use the keyboard instead of a handheld controller. 

[Shagger]

19 hours ago, Reality vs Adventure said:

I think every game would be weird to play on one console, then again on pc; or vice versa. I don't play on computer, but can't they save commands to a certain button? That would seem more convenient. Then again, I would find it awkward to play a game on the computer assuming they use the keyboard instead of a handheld controller. 

 

Most games give you an option to re-bind the keyboard to other commands that aren't the default. Even if a game doesn't allow it, there's always third party software and programmable keyboards and mice that will do the same thing. I use a programmable mouse as I like to transfer as much control away from the keyboard as possible. In my perfect world, I'd only use the keyboard to access to access and navigate menus, WASD keys to move, number keys for hotkey shortcuts for items and weapons and that's it. It's not perfect, though. Programmable peripherals take time to get set up right. I was only satisfied with how I had set up the M/K controls for Horizon Zero Dawn on PC after about 2-3 hours of fiddling with it.

 

For me though, the whole issue of preference when it comes to control is mostly down to the game. I would hate trying to play a RTS game with a controller, and would equally hate a very stealth focused 3rd person game like Metal Gear Solid or Assassin's Creed using M/K as a keyboard just doesn't allow for the same control over speed of movement. It's useally a toggle choice between fast as a thief at market or slow as an ass with no legs. Even in games like Skyrim I find it annoying.

[Heatman]

On 7/22/2021 at 9:35 PM, StaceyPowers said:

What are some game controls that work well on PC but play awkwardly if you are on a console? Like, I find clicking and dragging to feel very unnatural on a console, but totally expected on a PC game.

 

Moderator Edit; Title change, see "Shagger's" post below.

Personally, I don't really criticize what others like to play with because we are mostly different and I believe that it's very important to have mutual respect for everyone irrespective of what we decide to play with. 

[StaceyPowers]

5 hours ago, Heatman said:

Personally, I don't really criticize what others like to play with because we are mostly different and I believe that it's very important to have mutual respect for everyone irrespective of what we decide to play with. 

So do I. I was only trying to explain that without a physical object like a mouse to move physically across a surface, using a cursor on a screen (with a gamepad) feels awkward, design-wise.

[Heatman]

13 minutes ago, StaceyPowers said:

So do I. I was only trying to explain that without a physical object like a mouse to move physically across a surface, using a cursor on a screen (with a gamepad) feels awkward, design-wise.

Of course, I get what you were trying to explain which is understandable to a great extent. I know a lot of gamers who find it awkward too.