J.P.

As a huge fan of No Man’s Sky (maybe my favourite game), this is the game that really got my attention. It looks stunning.

I’m not sure about why that’s the standard, but it may have to do with the fact that in fighting games you don’t want to be jumping all the time, it’s something that you have to do carefully, while crouching is something you do constantly, and most motion inputs involve the “down” direction (like quarter circles or the shoryuken input), and having left-down-right lined up makes it pretty easy to do those motions. Think about pressing your Q-W-E keys in quick succesion. You can probably do that without much practice. That’s a half-circle-forward motion. If you have “down” in your thumb, a half-circle would be like pressing “Q-Spacebar-E” in quick succesion, which is more difficult.

Maybe it’s also because people often use the space bar in keyboards to jump in many games, and that’s what they were used to.

In any case, once you get used to this layout, it’s very comfortable.

Usually, thumb is for jumping, but some people prefer the other way.

They both look awesome. I asked because I love the size and shape too. Great work!

They are arcade sticks that, instead of using a joystick with 4-directional switches, use 4 buttons for the directions. They are often called “Hitbox” because that’s the brand that popularized them. Some people also call them “all-button controller” or “stickless controller”. The advantages are ergonomics (many people have developed carpal tunnel syndrome from traditional joysticks) and economy of motion (it’s easier to press 4 buttons with 4 fingers than move the entire wrist/forearm to move a joystick).

It’s pretty much like using a keyboard for fighting games, but you only have the buttons that you actually use, the keys are large buttons, and there are no issues with pressing many simultaneous buttons (many keyboards have problems with that). People also often use PCBs that are compatible with PS5 or other consoles, and also SOCD cleaners (which is a piece that helps configure which inputs should be sent if you press “Simultaneous Opposite Cardinal Directions”).

They’ve been gaining more and more popularity over the last few years. If you are good at typing, you may be more comfortable playing fighting games with this than with a traditional joystick or even a gamepad.

I love the black&white color scheme!

What did you use for the case?

That’s definitely my issue, there is so much to learn that I’m trying to learn too much at once. I’ll try focusing on one thing at a time. Thanks for the tips!

Thanks for the encouragement! I’ll keep trying, I just feel like there is a very steep curve until I reach the point of not having to use 110% of my brain power. As things become muscle memory, they’re becoming easier and more enjoyable.

Apex Legends has become my go-to comfort game (non-ranked, and without any voice or written chat, everyone muted by default).

I’m also trying to get into Street Fighter 6, but just watching tutorials melts my brain. Everything is an overwhelming info dump.

Hello everyone! I’m JP, still undecided on pronouns (any for now). I tend to be a lurker even IRL (I’m the quiet person who just likes to be there), but I’d like to start participating more in the spaces I enjoy and maybe find some sense of community.

Lately I’ve grown tired of my hobbies, and I’ve been looking for new ones. Growing up I read a lot, I used to draw and write, I played a lot of videogames, and I practiced martial arts (Karate and Judo). Later in my teens I learned to play guitar and bass, some friends got me into anime and manga (although I don’t watch or read many anymore), and like most people, I’ve enjoyed many movies and TV shows.

Recently I learned how to code (just the basics in Java, I still don’t know how to build a full web/mobile app), I started learning gamedev in Godot (I did the basic tutorials for 2D and 3D games), and now I’m trying to learn 3D modeling in Blender, but I’m pretty slow and inconsistent. I also spend a lot of time online learning about social issues, probably to the detriment of my mental health.

Other hobbies I’d like to try in the future include cooking (I suck at it, but I’d like to get good); sewing, knitting and crocheting; painting, and I’d like to get into reading and writing again at some point. I’d also like to learn how to make music, since I only know how to learn songs, but not how to write, record or produce one. My favourite music falls into the “alt-rock/indie-rock” umbrella, and lately I’ve also been discovering post-rock, which I love.

Nice to meet you all! So far, Beehaw seems like a really nice place to be(e).