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[Jackson31]

just make the PC controls unplayable, like street fighter IV

[st33d]

or Super Meat Boy

(shift key for run, seriously?)

[rivon]

Super Meat Boy was perfectly playable on keyboard. Shift is a pretty standard button to switch between Walk/Run.

[st33d]

Not on a macbook pro it ain't. It's pretty far from the rest of the keys.

[EdgeOfProphecy]

I throw my chips in with the "encourage controller use, but allow some sort of mapping for standard input devices."  I always think your controller bindings should be remappable.  I'm always astounded when I play a game where this isn't possible.

However...

I think this only applies if it is physically possible for the game to be played on a keyboard + mouse.  If you have some crazy idea for a game that simply cannot be played on a keyboard + mouse, then forget about it.  Don't support them.  I don't see anyone complaining that Johann Sebastian Joust didn't have a keyboard mode.

[ASnogarD]

Depends on what your goal is with the game...

Do you want to get people to play your game, the more that play it the more successfull you think the game is ? Then you must cater to the whims of your playerbase, the more you cater for the more will play.

If however you are making a game YOU want to play, and merely let others play if they want to , then make the control suit your needs.

To me if a gamepad suits the game design , I will make the game based on the gamepad...may add minimal keyboard support if it doesnt break or take too much from the game... and if the game isnt suited to a pad, then K&M only I afraid... then again I am not currently planning to sell my games ( that I will make, sometime...soon...ish ).

[MadWatch]

I think every game should allow the player to use any device he wants with whatever configuration (I mean key and button mapping) he wants. The argument "I must force the player to use this kind or device to play because he will enjoy the game more that way" is wrong. Each player is different.

For example, I'm sure most of you would consider that gamepad support is useless for a PC FPS. Those are meant to be played with a mouse after all. But what if your player has carpal tunnel syndrome and can't hold a mouse for a long time without pain ? I had that problem for several years (it's finally gone now) and during that time I've been playing FPS with my pad (and became pretty good at it).

So my point is you can't predict what will be best for all your players so just let them choose.

[iffi]

Sure, I don't mind if developers very clearly suggest a gamepad (like in Super Meat Boy), but there's no reason to not at least support keyboard + mouse if the player so chooses. I mean, even the PC port of Dark Souls will supposedly support keyboard + mouse, even though that's one of the most keyboard-unfriendly games I've ever seen (besides motion-controlled games and other games with "special" controllers, but that's a different story).

If you don't support keyboard + mouse there are still going to be those who use external software to emulate a gamepad using keyboard + mouse anyway.

[st33d]

I'm a bit on my soap box about input remapping, and not simply because of some bad experiences with games:

http://www.change.org/petitions/console-game-developers-and-video-game-console-manufactures-make-custom-button-remapping-a-standard-in-all-console-games

[Nix]

Is that you or are you just a supporter of the cause?

[st33d]

lol

I'm not a cripple. I'm a bald guy with big ears that hasn't shaved for two weeks.

[SolarLune]

Depends on what your goal is with the game...

Do you want to get people to play your game, the more that play it the more successfull you think the game is ? Then you must cater to the whims of your playerbase, the more you cater for the more will play.

If however you are making a game YOU want to play, and merely let others play if they want to , then make the control suit your needs.

To me if a gamepad suits the game design , I will make the game based on the gamepad...may add minimal keyboard support if it doesnt break or take too much from the game... and if the game isnt suited to a pad, then K&M only I afraid... then again I am not currently planning to sell my games ( that I will make, sometime...soon...ish ).

I agree with this - unless you're doing some sort of experimental game that uses every single button of a gamepad, you probably want to add keyboard controls, too. I think that's something that I'm going to have to do for a project of mine, as well.

[DrDerekDoctors]

Okay, having listened to everyone this is what I'm going to do:

1) Limit it so that players can only use the right-hand stick of their game pads.
2) Only allow them to define controls to those letter keys which appear in the word "Rumplestiltskin"

[Graham.]

Choose letters from the phrase "suck my dick" instead.

[st33d]

that you have to read as a QR code