Too many buttons?

[Dyne]

Lately i dont know what it is but developers seem to be using every button just to say they can do it. up until the Dreamcast i never had a problem with controlling my games but now its just so rediculous. ill sit there for a good 10 minutes just looking at the button layout for most games and still either dont use half the features given or give up on a game because of too many controls. take for example Hitman 2......there are so many things you dont need to use. i went thru the first couple stages just using the shoot button....and a seperate button to run? sheesh. anybody else ever feel overwhelmed lately with some of these games and feel we could get by not having so many things at our controls?

[StriderKyo]

Yeah, those button layout screens on the OPM demo discs feel like cramming for an engineering exam or something. It's not that tough to keep track of, though, and if they want to include that many functions in their game, I'd rather they use all the buttons than mapping multiple functions to a single button. *looks at Jet Grind Radio*

[burgundy]

It all depends on the layout. Vice City uses almost all the buttons, but I rarely get confused about what does what.

Now, something I run out of fingers, but that's another story...

[Jeremy]

Eh, too many buttons? Remember the Jag controller? Compared to that thing, nothing uses too many buttons.

[Andy]

I had absolutely no trouble with Hitman 2's controls myself. And while yes, you can just blast your way through most spots in the game, it's just not nearly as fun. Personally, I only have trouble with controls when you're trying to play a demo with a different control scheme for every game, but no game I've played the full version of has given me difficulty with controls in quite some time.

[Master]

As a rule I just figure out the controls as I play.

[Astral]

I think the problems stems more from uninttuitive placement of actions.

DMC for instance, the jump button should have been X instead of triangle, for me at least that is much more natural.

MGS2 a big offender, the controls are very unatural and Headhunter did a couple of the same things like leaning on a well much easier to perform. Splinter cell looks like it merged them and is going to make it even better.

to me at least no matter the number of buttons used doesnt matter its how natural the configuration feels.

[Johnny Nighttrain]

problem solved everyone

[Andy]

The Gamecube controller actually hurts controls much more than it helps in most genres. If it weren't for the GC controller, I'd probably have bought a lot more multiplatform games for it, but anything that's not designed for it is generally not nearly as intuitive as PS2 or XB.

[StriderKyo]

Originally posted by Lucas Barton

problem solved everyone

Ugh. I hate that thing. My fingers still get psychosomatic cramps every time I think about Luigi's Mansion or SSX Tricky.