-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
I have been using my index finger on W, in WASD
- Thread starter Erasus
- Start date
fascinating
Mikey Jr.
Member
My hand. I don't have that extra joint or whatever. OP's thumb can reach across the keyboard.
Looks like this:
That lateral wrist angle... couple more degrees and you'd need to tap out, lol
Unaha-Closp
Member
if it works for you then that's cool - but holy god man I just tried it and I don't even comprehend how its done. Have fun however you control games.
careless mango
Member
<snip>
Last edited:
nkarafo
Member
They did if you wanted to. That's how i played most of them. And it was great.
dickroach
Member
yeah, that was really uncomfortable.
Zalusithix
Member
No, this is a poor attitude to take. Some things shouldn't be left as is just because it currently works for them. The wrist angle required for this is bad form, and will likely lead to future medical issues if left as is. It might take years, even decades, for the issues to form, but once they do, there's no going back.
Unaha-Closp
Member
Its the OP's wrist not mine so I don't see what I or anyone else's business it is if he wrecks his wrist in the future. It will make no difference to me nor you and OP obviously knows its odd or he would not have pointed it out. I don't disagree with you in theory but show me where the in the 'RULES on HOW TO USE YOUR HANDS' its says you cannot do what OP is doing. Like I say - makes no difference to anyone but himself. I have no inherent right to say he is wrong.
roadrunn3r
Member
I don't see that much subjectivity here to be honest. That hand position is not natural and will give you problems sooner or later, simple as that. Also we are talking about human hands here and yes there are "rules" on how to use them.
Unaha-Closp
Member
There are indeed 'Rules' but if OP wants to ruin his wrist what is that to me or you or anyone but OP? I already agreed that it will give OP problems but I say again those are his problems and not anything I can categorically state he cannot do. Free will dictates that OP can. Science and Biology says he will have problems. OP knows this. That is that. How many people smoke? Millions and Millions. They shouldn't. But they do. How many drink too much alcohol? Millions and Millions. They shouldn't. But they do. Free Will is a powerful thing.
Harothewanderer
Member
How does that even work ?
If it was the truth you wouldn't have to rebind your keys in literally every PC game.
WASD is life because I'm not a hipster
The thing is, he realized this just now. At least it was before any major damage was caused.
Maybe someone had noticed it before but decided to say nothing because it wasn't their business.
edit: actually that's the impression I got from the original post, but it doesn't really say he just realized it just now.
Dead Prince
Banned
That's how I hold mine because I don't want to be gripping like like a penis
Unaha-Closp
Member
Maybe. Maybe not. All I was doing was answering his OP. Then answering a reply to my answer. I know nothing about OP or how he came to use a keyboard that way so I cannot take any hypothetical's into consideration. I think there is a difference in saying hey OP you are doing it wrong and hey OP you MUST change or else. I think he's doing it wrong but I say again if it works for him then so be it. I cannot tell OP to change. Its not my business.
Zalusithix
Member
There's a difference between accepting the fact that people won't always do what's best for themselves and actively encouraging the behavior by treating it like it's no big deal. Beyond that, nicotine and alcohol are addictive substances. Ergonomic choices are just a matter of habit, and comparatively easy to overturn with minimal effort. They're not even remotely on the same level.
As for it not making a difference to anybody else... The land of insurance begs to differ. Everybody pays extra to cover the costs associated with many of the completely avoidable ailments that plague us in the modern age.
protomouse
Member
Can you not, say, curl your thumb into the palm of your hand (so as to clench your fist)? If you can, the joint is there.
Unaha-Closp
Member
I don't disagree with you but I was not encouraging the behaviour. I was accepting and saying good luck. His post clearly shows he knows its odd so I don't have to point it out to him. I still say he can if he wants to and I will always say he can. I 100% agree he shouldn't but he can. I did not know Free Will was frowned upon on GAF
LostDonkey
Member
What the...
Must feel like your pickin' up grapes while trying to game!
Must feel like your pickin' up grapes while trying to game!
Its like when people use their index finger for all three mouse buttons. Or when they use just one index finger to type on smartphones.
When I started working as a grad 10 years ago, all the people older than me were still typing with two fingers, managers, execs etc. I bet they still are. Astonishing really how the generation before mine are technology illiterate (not everyone, but alot of people are).
When I started working as a grad 10 years ago, all the people older than me were still typing with two fingers, managers, execs etc. I bet they still are. Astonishing really how the generation before mine are technology illiterate (not everyone, but alot of people are).
That's actually really fascinating. Millions of people using WASD because of one guy.
LostDonkey
Member
Dad typing lol
I don't disagree with you but I was not encouraging the behaviour. I was accepting and saying good luck. His post clearly shows he knows its odd so I don't have to point it out to him. I still say he can if he wants to and I will always say he can. I 100% agree he shouldn't but he can. I did not know Free Will was frowned upon on GAF
Nobody is forcing him to do anything. Nobody here can.
Still doesn't change the fact that we think, for his sake, that he should work on using a more natural configuration.
I know ESDF is 'better', and I've known ESDF is 'better' since like 2001, but goddamn I cannot get used to it. I spent six straight months of shooters/MMOs using it and I just felt like my pinkie was in the wrong spot and I kept hitting the wrong keys haha.
Maybe this year is the year.
RomanticHeroX
Member
WASD is an abomination, and the awkwardness of the hand shape shows keyboards have never been a good answer for how to handle character movement.
EVA UNIT 01
Member
John Kowalski
Banned
The kind of buffoonery that challenges intelligent design.
UpDownLeftRight
Banned
What sort of torture is this OP? I just tried it and instantly reverted to the type of player that spends 3 seconds walking into a wall trying to reload his gun.
Kent
Member
I started using ESDF when I got Tribes 2. After having previously done things like using the arrow keys, and then WASD, starting up Tribes 2 and seeing the default keybindings for movement made complete and total sense.
I have no doubt that moving away from WASD will be problematic for most people, but switching to ESDF, when it finally clicks, is more or less epiphanic.
chrominance
Member
The first 3D shooter I played significant amounts of was Descent. As a result, for years my standard FPS control setup was something like this:
A - Forward
Z - Backward
Left Ctrl - Strafe Left
Space - Strafe Right
Left Shift - Jump (or Strafe Down in Descent)
Caps Lock - Strafe Up in Descent
It was even worse before I used a joystick and stopped using just the keyboard. I think back then, Left Alt was my Strafe Right key instead, with Space being primary fire. It took a few years to unlearn for FPSes, and for Descent-like games I still use that config.
A - Forward
Z - Backward
Left Ctrl - Strafe Left
Space - Strafe Right
Left Shift - Jump (or Strafe Down in Descent)
Caps Lock - Strafe Up in Descent
It was even worse before I used a joystick and stopped using just the keyboard. I think back then, Left Alt was my Strafe Right key instead, with Space being primary fire. It took a few years to unlearn for FPSes, and for Descent-like games I still use that config.
Mad Season
Banned
I laughed
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
This thread might have converted me to ESDF. Seems like WASD but better without any disadvantages.
SturokBGD
Member
Too far away from the comfort of the mighty TAB. The big button that's reserved for pressing to make shit go down.
I used to play ZX Spectrum games with 6 7 8 9 0 (up/down/left/right/fire) because the inputs of Sinclair standard joysticks basically just pressed those keys.
Palculator
Unconfirmed Member
what
Zalusithix
Member
To hell with character movement, standard keyboards aren't even good answers for character entry. As in typing. The key positions are anything but natural for the way our fingers move. Then the wrists have to deal with the hands having to be too close together on a flat plane. The entire design is a holdover from the typewriter age with concessions that had to be made for their mechanical nature.
Unfortunately, breaking free from the chains of that old design is going to be damn near impossible. It's the ubiquitous standard, and people get in a tizzy when even minor changes are made to what they're used to. Thankfully there's alternative options for those willing to put forth the effort to learn to use them.
Looks like this:
It does look pretty weird.
The "right" way looks better, but my hand is not used to that position. Muscle memory takes over and there is a slight tinglig feeling.
But Ill think about where I place my hand and Im sure I can use the correct way if I force myself to use it for a few weeks so I can unlearn muscle memory.
I'm trying to figure out your thumb. Even in your picture doing it the right way, it looks really uncomfortable.
Here's my hand on my tiny little keyboard:
It's a very comfortable position. I don't know if maybe your thumb is longer or you have an extra pronounced joint or what. It just looks contorted in an uncomfortable way.
With his palm, obviously.
D
Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
get the fuck out