The paddle controller needs to return

[S1500]

You know, I bought a paddle controller set for my FB2, cleaned it up, and played against a few friends in Warlords. Okay, 2 of them. They never played Warlords before, and they both whooped my ass. It's like I was the dumb green player or something.

 

The paddle. It's an analog device that makes for great, precise control and to me, pretty darn unique.

 

My question for the forum is, what ever happened to it? The only notable paddle controller I know about is the Atari 2600 one, with seemingly slim pickings on other consoles. Add to that fact not many games were made for 'em.

 

IIRC the Apple // series had paddle controllers. Does anyone know if they go a full 360? Never tried 'em myself, just saw a magazine ad for 'em.

 

It seems that the paddle controller was sold short on games you could build around it. If I were Nintendo, I would design a paddle controller(no, not a driving controller), and go nuts making unique games for it. Then add more than 1 button to it, and make it go a full 360. Have it hook up to the Wii controller, and make a buncha fun party games for it. Who wouldn't want a remake of 4-player Warlords? Kaboom? Eh, I can skip that one. That one never appealed to me.

 

Then go further with driving games(Super Sprint & Championship Sprint come to mind) or fun shoot 'em ups. Port Tempest & Arkanoid to it.

 

Anyone feel the same way? I'm not gong to make a Space Boss like comment saying the Atari paddle was the Wii controller of its generation, but surely games can be made around a specific controller, just like the games done for the Wii controller.

 

If I had the programming knowledge, I'd try to exploit the paddles for fun.

[potatohead]

Totally!

 

The Paddle games are really fun and are unique these days. My kids love them. WARLORDS and KABOOM! are two reasons I'll always have a VCS around. Everybody, who picks up the paddle, will play these two games period.

 

Apple ][ paddles do not go 360, they are pots just like the Atari ones. Our school had them long ago. Paddle 0 and 1 form the analog joystick in common use on the Apple. The Apple didn't have that crisp, 1:1 display that somehow adds value to the paddle games. Joystick seemed much better on the Apple. Choplifter still plays very well on that computer, with the analog controls, than it does most everywhere else with digital ones.

 

The driving controllers are also great fun, and under appreciated. They go all the way around, but lack that kind of absolute positioning the paddles can have, given good programming.

 

(am I wrong on the driving controllers in this respect?)

 

Would be really great to have a paddle controller where there was more than one button, and or being able to rotate it, tip it in 2 more axis. So, you get to push buttons, turn it along it's center axis, and either move it up and down, left right, or rotate on the other two remaining axis. (think space ball controller, only just simple analog control.)

[S1500]

Totally!

 

 

Would be really great to have a paddle controller where there was more than one button, and or being able to rotate it, tip it in 2 more axis. So, you get to push buttons, turn it along it's center axis, and either move it up and down, left right, or rotate on the other two remaining axis. (think space ball controller, only just simple analog control.)

 

I never thought of a 'tiltable' paddle in the x-y axis. That would be interesting to see. That would be like the inverse of the Heavy Barrel/Ikari Warriors control. that was just a simple directional(digital) joystick with hard-click rotation(45 degrees) with no pot limiters.

 

Another thing to bring to the table is the MBX expansion system controller. Rotational control stuck on the stick knob. Yeah, not many games you can play with that.

 

My dream control idea would be something like a PS2 controller cut in half, with the paddle above the shoulder buttons. Stuff an analog trigger underneath, and you could have some fun with that. One hand does the buttons(have the diamond button layout behind the paddle, and some underneath) , the other does the paddle. Stuff a dimple onto the top of the paddle so you can do super-fast rotation(think jogger dial on my old Magnavox VCR control) if a game calls for it.

 

 

Some crazy game ideas:

 

1. Inside-out tempest. You fire from the center. Have goofy power ups like death rays(instead of single bullets) that destroys anything the ray touches. Don't make a Jaguar port to piss off the Jaguar fanboys, which will create hundreds of entertaining threads.

 

2. A remake of Midway's Space Zap. Okay, a dumbed down version idea of #1. Have later levels have more than 4 sides to shoot from. After you defend the triangle-shaped base, you move onto the square & pentagon & hexagon-shaped bases.

 

3. A remake of Astroblast. Twitch arcade time. Allow 4-player simultaneous. Heck, have other players play on the sidewall and have them compete to see how many rocks they blow up.

 

4. An update of Defender, where the paddle moves you up & down. Button controls thrust & direction change. Yes, make the controls hard as hell just like the arcade! ie a side-scrolling shooter.

 

5. Mario-party like game where you have to spin the paddle faster than your opponents to win. This will spawn YouTube videos of people hooking it up to a drill to get insanely high scrores.

[2600Lives]

It wouldn't really be all that hard to implement a small knob type device on most modern controllers. Hell, stick it right in the middle of the 360 controller. Could be used for racing parts of games and such. Looks like right now, Nintendo is about the only game company innovating on controllers, though.

[Lord Helmet]

The wiimote sort of functions as a paddle. In Exite truck you steer by leaning the controller. It works great once you get used to the sensitivity.

[128bytes]

The wiimote sort of functions as a paddle. In Exite truck you steer by leaning the controller. It works great once you get used to the sensitivity.

 

I would love to play Kaboom! on a Wii where I would be moving the buckets left or right by moving the controller.

 

 

Also, some of the games in Wario Ware Twisted! for the GBA have a paddle-like feel to them.

[+Random Terrain]

I thought the paddle was going to return when I bought Arkanoid for the NES, but we know how that went. It wasn't like having the good old Atari paddles anyway.

 

[8bitgamer]

No doubt about it. One of the best things about the 2600 was the paddle controller. Games like Warlords, Kaboom!. Super Breakout, and Circus Atari were great fun. Perfect, precision control.

 

http://brettweisswords.blogspot.com/

Edited July 20, 2007 by 8bitgamer

[2600Lives]

I've seen these little plastic steering wheels for the Wii where you snap the Wiimote into a socket on it and then just turn it left and right like a real wheel. Pretty nifty.

[liveinabin]

It's so odd how the paddle just vanished, isn't it? I'd love it back.

 

I remember there was a PS1 game, Puchi Carat - I think - that came packaged with one, but that's the last time I've seen one for a console.

 

Heck, maybe with the iPod clickwheel interface being the UI of choice for millions, we might get a return to that paddle style someday.

[Lord Helmet]

I would like to see some kind of driving controller for the Xbox 360 that wasn't a big steering wheel. I'd rather have a handheld controller than a big wheel.