Games play better using keyboard

[Serguei2]

Which Atari VCS games play better with keyboard using an emulator?

 

Mine is Q*Bert. I can reach higher levels with a keyboard. My gamepad is slower to respond sometimes.

[Superkitten]

Atari VCS games were mostly designed to be played with a *certain type* of joystick, which could give you a better experience than either keyboard or gamepad.  A keyboard control that works better than your gamepad might still not be as good as a proper joystick, but personal preference based on how your reflexes are trained for each controller will also be a factor.  But in my personal experience, I wouldn't assume that a keyboard is the best control system for a game if only contrasted to a gamepad, neither of which the games were designed for.  I've tried gamepads, keyboard, and what I call "flight simulator joysticks," and I havent found a game yet that works better than a good atari-style joystick for gentle taps of the reflex to get the responses needed.  A USB Trooper 2 Joystick seems to work comparably to the original joystick I use on the console.  But yes, I could see myself using keyboard often rather than a playstation-style gamepad for some Atari games.  Back in the OS 9 days, I got my hands on a gamepad for use with stella, and i drilled a hole in the directional pad to insert a long screw to get sensitivity for a more joystick experience, and that helped.  Demon Attack is playable on keyboard to some extent, but Cosmic Ark needs the response sensitivity of the joystick, for example.  I suspect Pitfall would be fine on a gamepad, but haven't tested it.  I'm pretty bad with most of the isometric games, so maybe I should give them a try on keyboard and see what you're telling us about.  Other similar isometric games to try might be Congo Bongo, Rabbit Transit, Boing!, Crystal Castles.....  MAYBE Desert Falcon?  How do those work for you on keyboard vs gamepad?

[radventure]

If you're looking at option on ACTUAL Atari hardware, this has potential (7800 targeted, but I think the pinout for the 7800 still works for 2600, just not registering the other button independently). 

 

 

C64-JoyKEY/adapters/Atari 7800 at main · tebl/C64-JoyKEY · GitHub

[+KaeruYojimbo]

When I was playing in the High Score Club regularly I would occasionally find a game I was able to do better at playing with a keyboard. It felt a little like cheating to play game in Stella rather than on real hardware specifically because I knew I’d get a better score that way (not enough to stop me from posting my scores though). One was Solar Fox. It’s pretty easy to go off course if you aren’t super precise with the joystick so I found the game much easier with a keyboard.

[kermit73]

I would think that any game which requires rapidly hitting the fire button would be easier.  I can almost always tap some assigned key on a keyboard more rapidly than I can tap a joystick button with my thumb.  One game that comes to mind is Empire Strikes Back, especially during the "use the force" mode.

[toiletunes]

Montezuma's Revenge

[kermit73]

Another game which is probably easier with a keyboard is the Activision Decathlon.  Rather than trashing a joystick, you can pick your least favorite keyboard buttons to destroy.