5 ms·

Quad Gods: The world-class gamers who play with their mouths

breakfastduck 6y ago
Amazing stories & big props to Microsoft for pushing this thing on with their accessibility controllers. I mean it sounds like common sense that gaming would help the metal state of people with this level of disability.
tjr225 6y ago
When I think about how flawed technology is and how it hurts our society I try to remember that I liberates others who are limited by the physical world.
danbolt 6y ago
The Xbox Adaptive controllers are a remarkable device as far as OEM gamepads go. Every input can be specialized and hotswapped with switches connected via headphone jacks. Existing DirectInput USB controllers can also be plugged in to the device as well and used in tandem. The customizability and hackability is through the roof, and the cherry on top is that they work on existing computers and Xbox consoles.
eulers_secret 6y ago
I think accessibility is going to become more important as Millennials start to age. I'm only in my mid-30's and already have RSI and CTS due to decades of mouse use & bad ergonomics. I suspect I'm not alone. I bet many folks want to play videogames once retired/aged, and old hands can be painful, arthritic, or simply worn out. I love to see things like this, and OpenBCI - it gives me some hope that I can continue a hobby I love well into old age. Despite my body rebelling. I've been thinking of a career change lately... I might dedicate myself to fixing this problem so I can game in my 80's and keep schooling n00bs. Looks like Microsoft is doing something in this space, and I've heard Valve is interested in brain-control interfaces.
- Agingcoder 6y ago
  You're not alone, unfortunately. 17 years ago, I went to the office, and by 10am, my right hand wouldn't move much . This wasn't exceedingly pleasant, and was a fairly common case of cts/rsi/etc. I had had rsi issues previously which had been very painful, but never something which to me looked like some kind of partial paralysis. So I started looking into it, and realized that I could greatly improve my situation by paying attention to ergonomics, starting with my mouse. First problem : convincing tech support to replace my old ball mouse with a led one. They didn't want to give me a new one since 'it was obviously a joke'... The good news is that things are a lot better now than they used to be, from decent mice and keyboards (ergo mechanical keyboards are a godsend) to all kinds of accessibility options in OSes, and rsi issues being broadly known. Rather surprisingly I'm in less pain now than I used to be (some things will most likely remain off-limits forever, such as using a laptop ), after having adjusted mouse, keyboard, chair, screens, font sizes, and general software environment to avoid doing 'bad' movements. In any case, if you want to go down this road, please do! You'll improve everyone's life.
- giantDinosaur 6y ago
  At the risk of this becoming a meme: do you do strength training? I used to get persistent burning sensations (RSI related) in my hands after a day of computer use which has completely vanished after I started lifting heavy. You get the benefits of an aesthetic improvement too, which is nice.
- forgotmypw17 6y ago
  > I think accessibility is going to become more important as Millennials start to age. I'm only in my mid-30's and already have RSI and CTS due to decades of mouse use & bad ergonomics. I suspect I'm not alone. Definitely a pattern I'm seeing on the Web, accessibility is becoming more and more important, and "bending over backwards" for the user/client is on the horizon. Furthermore, I think accessibility will be the breaking point between huge dinosaurs like Facebook and Twitter and small communities of dozens, hundreds, and thousands of members. The big ones will have to choose between opening up the platform to accessibility, which inevitably also means opening it up to automation, abuse, and data flight -or- alienating an increasing number of accessibility users. Either way is not that attractive.
DC1350 6y ago
Impressive! It’s crazy how far accessibility has come. I’d like to think Helen Keller would be a pro gamer if she were born today.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
ironman1478 6y ago
This is an awesome article. Here is another example of somebody overcoming their disability to play games. https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/27114444/mike-brolylegs-begum-most-extraordinary-street-fighter-competitor https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/27114444/mike-brolyl...

Amazing stories & big props to Microsoft for pushing this thing on with their accessibility controllers. I mean it sounds like common sense that gaming would help the metal state of people with this level of disability.

tjr225 6y ago

When I think about how flawed technology is and how it hurts our society I try to remember that I liberates others who are limited by the physical world.

danbolt 6y ago

The Xbox Adaptive controllers are a remarkable device as far as OEM gamepads go. Every input can be specialized and hotswapped with switches connected via headphone jacks. Existing DirectInput USB controllers can also be plugged in to the device as well and used in tandem. The customizability and hackability is through the roof, and the cherry on top is that they work on existing computers and Xbox consoles.

eulers_secret 6y ago

I think accessibility is going to become more important as Millennials start to age. I'm only in my mid-30's and already have RSI and CTS due to decades of mouse use & bad ergonomics. I suspect I'm not alone. I bet many folks want to play videogames once retired/aged, and old hands can be painful, arthritic, or simply worn out. I love to see things like this, and OpenBCI - it gives me some hope that I can continue a hobby I love well into old age. Despite my body rebelling. I've been thinking of a career change lately... I might dedicate myself to fixing this problem so I can game in my 80's and keep schooling n00bs. Looks like Microsoft is doing something in this space, and I've heard Valve is interested in brain-control interfaces.

Agingcoder 6y ago
You're not alone, unfortunately. 17 years ago, I went to the office, and by 10am, my right hand wouldn't move much . This wasn't exceedingly pleasant, and was a fairly common case of cts/rsi/etc. I had had rsi issues previously which had been very painful, but never something which to me looked like some kind of partial paralysis. So I started looking into it, and realized that I could greatly improve my situation by paying attention to ergonomics, starting with my mouse. First problem : convincing tech support to replace my old ball mouse with a led one. They didn't want to give me a new one since 'it was obviously a joke'... The good news is that things are a lot better now than they used to be, from decent mice and keyboards (ergo mechanical keyboards are a godsend) to all kinds of accessibility options in OSes, and rsi issues being broadly known. Rather surprisingly I'm in less pain now than I used to be (some things will most likely remain off-limits forever, such as using a laptop ), after having adjusted mouse, keyboard, chair, screens, font sizes, and general software environment to avoid doing 'bad' movements. In any case, if you want to go down this road, please do! You'll improve everyone's life.
giantDinosaur 6y ago
At the risk of this becoming a meme: do you do strength training? I used to get persistent burning sensations (RSI related) in my hands after a day of computer use which has completely vanished after I started lifting heavy. You get the benefits of an aesthetic improvement too, which is nice.
forgotmypw17 6y ago
> I think accessibility is going to become more important as Millennials start to age. I'm only in my mid-30's and already have RSI and CTS due to decades of mouse use & bad ergonomics. I suspect I'm not alone. Definitely a pattern I'm seeing on the Web, accessibility is becoming more and more important, and "bending over backwards" for the user/client is on the horizon. Furthermore, I think accessibility will be the breaking point between huge dinosaurs like Facebook and Twitter and small communities of dozens, hundreds, and thousands of members. The big ones will have to choose between opening up the platform to accessibility, which inevitably also means opening it up to automation, abuse, and data flight -or- alienating an increasing number of accessibility users. Either way is not that attractive.

DC1350 6y ago

Impressive! It’s crazy how far accessibility has come. I’d like to think Helen Keller would be a pro gamer if she were born today.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

ironman1478 6y ago

This is an awesome article. Here is another example of somebody overcoming their disability to play games. https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/27114444/mike-brolylegs-begum-most-extraordinary-street-fighter-competitor https://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/27114444/mike-brolyl...