Why do people seem to think Gamepads are better than KB+M?

[crazygameguy4ever]

I've always used a controller... because i've always played consoles almost exclusively (besides Star Wars Jedi Knight.. which is my only computer game i own) a controller just feel better then a mouse and keyboard.. playing a game with a keyboard and mouse is uncomfortable for my wrists and hands in general..using my PS3 controller feels way more comfortable for my hands and wrists.. controllers were designed for playing games.. a mouse and keyboard on there other hand clearly wasn't and it shows when you try and play a game long term on a computer... but that said.. does it really matter if you like playing on a pc then stick with it, just like i'll stick with consoles

 

[Diddy_Mao]

Depends entirely on the game in question really.

I wouldn't play an RTS or Sim style "god" game with a controller because the UI and control scheme just isn't designed for it.

On the other hand most 3D action or platform games don't control quite as fluidly when using a Keyboard & Mouse. To be fair the latter is largely due to those games being PC ports of console games that probably weren't designed for keyboard controls to begin with.


On a more personal note, I'm left handed and QWERTY controls just don't work for me since I use my left hand to control the mouse. I've played more than a couple games where keybinding options weren't part of the game (usually find this in smaller indy titles) and it's more of a hassle than it's worth to have to customize my keybindings on every game I play so I tend to default to gamepad controls when I can.

 

[SecondPrize]

Being a PC and console user I can see the advantages of using both. But for the broader scale KB+M seems to win out, the control of your whole wrist greatly beats the control of your thumb for FPS games, having hotkeys RPG's readily available. For fighters Gamepad DEFINITELY beats KB+M by miles, but a fightstick wipes the floor with both.

Off the top of my head, the only time I've prefered to use a gamepad was when I HAD to resort to plugging in my 360 controller for Metal Gear Rising and both Dark Souls but those feel designed for gamepads.

As an anecdote, I've seen decenttohigh level FPS players from PC and Console go head to head in a LAN match, the console users who were using Gamepads got their cute little buttocks handed to them every time.

On a more personal scale, my performance on online FPS with a gamepad is just horrible compared to my performance with KB+M.

It's not hard, you pretty much laid it out in your post. The natures of some games lend themselves to M and KB, while others shine with a gamepad. There is no best control method for all games, just best controls for certain games.
edit- best for shooters is of course modified M16s with laser dealies, a projection on the wall in front of you and your teammates lying alongside. Though that was a decade ago so they may have fancied it up somehow since then.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

Arguments about efficiency aside one is a flat board laid out for indexing, the other is designed around ergonomics. I play games for leisure. Being comfortable is much more important to me than being slightly better at getting headshots or whatever, especially in single player games which a majority of my favorite games are.

 

[viranimus]

Because they are? Even the argument about "precision" of K&M is wrong as K&M only offers greater precision in one element which is "look" control. Gamepads are vastly superior in overall efficiency and ease of use but the one thing they do not get credit for is that they are more precise in "movement" input.

So for example, using the predominant genre where K&M is considered to have unquestioned advantage in first person shooters, yes the speed of which you can hone in on a target is a crucial element to survival, but that still comes at the expense of wildly ineffective movement that feels more like trying to drive a tanker truck with a broken axle.

The truth is theres really only one type of game that benefits from K&M and it has nothing to do with genre. Its isometric viewpoint that makes K&M advantageous. Doesnt matter if its an RTS, RPGs like inquisitor or Diablo or even shooters in Iso Perspective. So when it is one single perspective (of which has long since been made obsolete) and the sheer number of games that are better with gamepads compared to the few that are better in K&M then by virtue of such an unbalanced ratio means gamepads are the superior overall choice. The input method that is optimal for the greatest number of games becomes the optimal method of input overall.

Outside of that, truthfully it falls to the most simple end. Its a poor craftsman who blames their tools.

 

[L. Declis]

*walks into thread*

This looks interesting, I'll just have a read.

*see the room is on fire*

Well, I suppose I'll just leave now.

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Alternative ending:

*Sees the OP saying "Well, OBVIOUSLY keyboard and mouse is better and anyone else who thinks otherwise is stupid"*

Ah, it's one of these threads. I suppose I'll just leave now

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Secret 100% completion ending:

Because I am used to gamepads and while I would only ever play an RTS with a keyboard and mouse (and honestly, I only need the mouse), a game pad doesn't just stick a million functions onto random keys and call it a day, whereas a controller designed game will be a little more clever with how it lays things out and removes useless functions and makes it pretty and nice.

Compare Mass Effect. With a controller, a lot of fun. With a keyboard and mouse, a pain in the arse. But that's my COMPLETELY PERSONAL AND SUBJECTIVE OPINION!

 

[Lunar Templar]

Because most people play console ports on their PCs, rather than play games actually designed for the platform.

^
that, well partly that.

not helped by a lot of actual PC games just not being very appealing.

and lastly, some of us, my self include, are only playing on PC because that's where all they're/my friends are.

 

[Denamic]

Eh, this is the internet, everyone's a douch it's the land of "MY OPINION>YOUR OPINION"

Holding your own opinion over the opinions of others is the universal default state for any sapient being. You'd have to have some kind of mental disability to to hold an opinion you yourself consider inferior to another's.

 

[DoPo]

Eh, this is the internet, everyone's a douch it's the land of "MY OPINION>YOUR OPINION"

Holding your own opinion over the opinions of others is the universal default state for any sapient being. You'd have to have some kind of mental disability to to hold an opinion you yourself consider inferior to another's.

The rational attitude, however, is to consider the opinion of others and to be ready to reasses your own. That would be the behaviour of an intelligent being.

 

[Denamic]

Eh, this is the internet, everyone's a douch it's the land of "MY OPINION>YOUR OPINION"

Holding your own opinion over the opinions of others is the universal default state for any sapient being. You'd have to have some kind of mental disability to to hold an opinion you yourself consider inferior to another's.

The rational attitude, however, is to consider the opinion of others and to be ready to reasses your own. That would be the behaviour of an intelligent being.

The fact I said 'opinions you consider superior to your own' implies that said opinion has already been considered.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

Because controllers fit more comfortably in my hand. My arm starts to ache after extended keyboard and mouse use.

 

[RedDeadFred]

Yes for FPS KB-M is going to make you better, but I simply find a gamepad to be more comfortable. I almost always plug in my 360 controller when a game supports it on my PC.

 

[DoPo]

Eh, this is the internet, everyone's a douch it's the land of "MY OPINION>YOUR OPINION"

Holding your own opinion over the opinions of others is the universal default state for any sapient being. You'd have to have some kind of mental disability to to hold an opinion you yourself consider inferior to another's.

The rational attitude, however, is to consider the opinion of others and to be ready to reasses your own. That would be the behaviour of an intelligent being.

The fact I said 'opinions you consider superior to your own' implies that said opinion has already been considered.

Actually, it does not. It does not imply, infer or even hint at this. It may for you, but the words you used do no such thing. What Gankytim referred to is the default assumption that all others' opinions are inferior - therefore, when you try to build on top of that with your unspoken assertion that one has already considered the said others' opinions, that actually contradicts the quote you used. Therefore, the unspoken part becomes unrecognised.

 

[Tarfeather]

Can you lay down in your bed and play with your keyboard and mouse? No? Thought so. Yes, KB&M is far more accurate and versatile, which is why I use it for things like programming, but if I just want to relax with a game, rather than be productive, a gamepad is just that much more comfortable to me.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Speaking specifically about shooters I always felt that KB+M made them too easy, it's just point & click death. It just feels like cheating to me.

I generally agree with this. It's not that KBM is worse, in fact it's quite the opposite. It's, in a sense, too good for shooters. There's no real weight or tactile sense to aiming/shooting with a mouse. It just feels like point and click whack a mole to me.

Anywho, in a larger sense, I tend to prefer controller in most games simply because it's what I'm used to. There's very few genres I would point out where controller is better than MKB, but there's also very few genres where I'd specifically say I prefer using MKB. In other words, I'd never debate someone over controller being better than MKB because I don't think it objectively is, but I'd still rather use controller in most cases anyway.

 

[michael87cn]

This is one of those situations where everyone feels like they're an expert. But, in my opinion... not everyone uses KB+M or a gamepad enough to be an expert with both. A lot of people stick with what they enjoy, and in reality, that means their EXPERIENCE is quite limited. That said, people are still going to want to share their opinions, and that's fine.

As someone who has played everything from space sims to strategy games with keyboards, mice, and gamepads, for almost two decades now, all I can do is provide my opinion.

In my opinion, each device is better at .... what its better at! A tool is a tool, and if used wrong, will produce worse results.

Strategy games like Command and Conquer can be played with gamepads, but it is simply easier to do with a keyboard, for most people. However, if you start off playing this game with a gamepad and then after many, many hours go and try playing it with a keyboard, it WON'T appear easier to you, because it will be outside of muscle memory territory. So, your opinion will be biased.

You know what matters, really? Are you enjoying yourself? If you can say yes, then do whatever you want.

 

[00slash00]

They do? All I hear from other PC gamers is how unfair it is that some games play better with a controller than mouse and keyboard. The amount of people complaining that Dark Souls 2 was a bad PC port (despite the fact that it looked and ran better than the console version) simply because you had to use a controller to play effectively, was absurd. Mouse and keyboard is superior for many types of games, but not all

 

[00slash00]

Compare Mass Effect. With a controller, a lot of fun. With a keyboard and mouse, a pain in the arse. But that's my COMPLETELY PERSONAL AND SUBJECTIVE OPINION!

I suspect my completely personal and subjective opinion would be the complete opposite. I'm too used to mouse and keyboard, so aiming in first or third person shooting games is just an impossible challenge for me. Though having only ever played the Mass Effect games with a mouse and keyboard, I'm now a little curious to try plugging in a controller. I will say that it always felt weird to me that the PC version has all those keys to work with, but just map half the actions to the spacebar

 

[ReadyAmyFire]

You're all wrong!

Clearly a SpacePilot Pro for movement and a Novint Falcon for orientation is the only way to play games. Anything else is an affront to the industry, quite frankly.