Ultimate FPS Controller Design & Build

Thanks to everyone for all the views and taking the time to comment! All the support has been amazing. Special thanks for the donations to the channel. Those were totally unexpected and mean a lot to me! Wanted to take some time to respond to some of the recurring questions below: “Why didn’t you source an internal board for electronics?” I’m trying to release project videos every 3-6 months which means I have to finish my physical builds in 3-6 weeks on top of my day job as a design consultant. Specifying and integrating electronics into this concept would have stretched my release schedule way beyond that timeline. Leveraging off the shelf product internals isn't a pretty solution, but it makes it so I can quickly build out a design. It's a shortcut to quickly experience the ergonomics and design details of an early stage concept. “Why no gyro control?” I was looking into gyro options during the early research phase and have some experience with handling telemetry data on past projects pyottdesign.com/product/skana But, to be honest, getting the data stream out of the gyro sensor and passed into the Steam controller API would have been outside of my skill set. Pretty sure I could have gotten there and it's definitely something I want to learn more about but, again, that would have been more of a year long project instead of a multi-week build. “Are your design files available for download?” I had to cut a lot of things for time, but there was a bunch of Dremeling and manual labor that went into this build after 3D printing. There aren’t really “complete” digital build files for it. This controller was also made specifically for my hands and grip. Because of those reasons, I don’t plan on releasing the files yet. I am looking to revisit a variation on this controller design in the future, and I will (hopefully) include build files when I do! “Can I buy your controller?” Unfortunately, not at this time. This project was really about sharing my design process by exploring a fun working test prototype. I don’t want to totally slam the door on the idea, but it isn’t something I am pursuing right now. “This will never beat a mouse/keyboard” I was more curious about why alternative controllers aren’t more common and why the controller and MKB became the standards. I really like projects like this because they challenge my own assumptions on why different industries exist the way they do. I also just love making this type of thing 🙂 Thanks again for all the feedback, comments and great information everyone has shared

The mouse vs. stick debaters keep ignoring the enlightened gyro-aimers.

Having the track ball accessible on the back of the controller is nothing short of FUCKING BRILLIANT

As a designer in the game industry currently, this was really awe inspiring to watch. This was a fantastic piece of content. Really impressive.

Being able to control the right "stick" with a finger from under while using thumb to press face buttons is actually a game-changer for console I would say.

the numbers of individual skillsets combined in this project is simply amazing

An xbox 360 controller infected by the flood.

There's no "Stay for Part 2" BS. You kept it in for so long, compiled it, and emerged to display your talents and visions with a bang! Keep your flight 👑.

I am Japanese. I'm glad there are people out there who think the same as me. It was exactly the kind of ideal device I had imagined. Watching videos like this makes me feel good. Good luck in your future. Thanks you.

having all the requisite skills to prototype such a polished and actually potentially useful product is super impressive.

Being able to control the trackball on both sides is a touch of genius!

I need this in my life immediately. I really hope this comes to market in the near future.

This is nothing short of astonishing. A simple idea of fitting a trackball into a controller presented so many challenges that you are forced to innovate the overall design.... Thankfully, you're a brilliant engineer. I would LOVE to see this thing passed around some professional FPS players, maybe even on-stream, so we can see their impressions.

As a Steam Controller/Deck trackpad enjoyer, something that basically kills this is that most games do not have support for mixed input so you can either use the mouse or stick, not both. Trackpad/ball are superior in controller form than to stick, but because they weren't looked at seriously until recent years they are so against the norm that even one of the biggest gaming companies in the world couldn't make people take it seriously.

THIS IS SIMPLY CRAZY GOOD ! Damn ! Like, just wow. The idea, the results, the promising gaming performance, the MANY skillset needed to put this together, the pedagogy of the video, the pace of script, the editing, the overview various softwares used and their purpose and strenght...JUST WOW. A video to be studied for ages.

This video was phenomenal. You fully covered your whole process providing enough detail to follow along without drowning us in them or glossing over things. I look forward to more of your work.

This looks like the Xbox 720 controller I would’ve seen in concept videos made as slideshows in Movie Maker years, years back

This is BY FAR the most professional and well designed homebrew controller I've ever seen. Your final product has so much care and effort put into it, the first question a person might have isn't "how long did this take to make", but "where did you buy this from?"

This was absolutely fascinating to watch it go from a vague idea to a competitive viable product. Thank you for so much detail! <3

First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you. What you have achieved is simply incredible. The idea, the design and the realisation are simply brilliant and will revolutionise the gaming scene. Secondly, I absolutely must have one. I really hope it comes onto the market soon. If you still have one left, I'll pay any price. Really!!! And lastly, please keep up the good work, the gaming scene needs people like you. Thank you.