Forum Discussion
Dance Pad
I have been thinking about using a ddr dance pad to control character movement in-game, basically just using it as a big d-pad, and was wondering, has anyone had any experience with this? I have a couple of wii dance pads that have the GC plugs, so I just ordered a usb adapter for it, and I'll see if I can make something work.
While I like the idea of the omni, and being able to walk/run around, I think I would end up not using it most of the time because its too tiring. I have a fairly active job, and when I come home in the evening I want to relax and play some games, not run around for two hours.
I think standing on a giant d-pad, stepping forward, side to side, and back would give an added level of immersion, maybe not as good as something like the omni, but better than nothing, and without all the exercise. It would be way cheaper, easier to set up and put away, and much less storage requirements, so no objections from the wife.
One issue with it I can think of would be that the buttons would need to be remapped on the fly as you turn in different directions, but if the Rift has an absolute position sensor, this could possibly be done, or use a kinect or something to tell which way you are facing.
Another thing would be not knowing where you are on the pad, but I was thinking about putting something on the center of it so you could just feel where center is without looking down. You would constantly have to recenter yourself on it, but I don't think that would be too big a deal.
Any thoughts?
While I like the idea of the omni, and being able to walk/run around, I think I would end up not using it most of the time because its too tiring. I have a fairly active job, and when I come home in the evening I want to relax and play some games, not run around for two hours.
I think standing on a giant d-pad, stepping forward, side to side, and back would give an added level of immersion, maybe not as good as something like the omni, but better than nothing, and without all the exercise. It would be way cheaper, easier to set up and put away, and much less storage requirements, so no objections from the wife.
One issue with it I can think of would be that the buttons would need to be remapped on the fly as you turn in different directions, but if the Rift has an absolute position sensor, this could possibly be done, or use a kinect or something to tell which way you are facing.
Another thing would be not knowing where you are on the pad, but I was thinking about putting something on the center of it so you could just feel where center is without looking down. You would constantly have to recenter yourself on it, but I don't think that would be too big a deal.
Any thoughts?
5 Replies
- I've actually tried this a few times. It is best in demos or games that separate looking direction from "body" rotation. In the Tuscany demo, I could just press the dance pad in the direction I wanted to walk, turning in place myself, without having use the mouse or hydra thumbstick to rotate.
Games like Skyrim, which you will walk in the direction you are looking, you have to stay standing in the same direction basically and it works less well.
The Tuscany demo though was a bit sensitive to the dance pad presses and that made me almost fall over a few times at first, because it would suddenly whip you forward quite fast.
The Razer Hydra has been used quite a few times in demos for body rotation and can also be used to keep you in a certain "safe" area as TeddyOK has done in his demos. - Did the game just recognize the dance pad as a controller or did you use any software for this?
- Yes, I've done this years ago. It's a little cheesy, but I guess it works.
- Well, I did try it, and it works ok, but wouldn't recommend it for any game where speed or accuracy is required.
It does help with motion sickness though. I guess it gives your body some feedback that you are actually moving (slightly) in the direction your eyes tell it.
