How to Play First Person Games Using a Walk Forwards Button | How To… Video

First-person games often require the use of both analog sticks, with one stick for movement and the other stick for looking. In this video we’re going to have a look at a “Walk Forward Switch.” This can be helpful if you’re finding it difficult to use both analog sticks. So you could use a switch to walk forwards and the joystick to look around. In most first-person games you will walk in the direction that your character is facing. So, if you look one way whilst holding down the Walk Forwards button you will walk in that direction. We will be showing how you can create this setup using an Xbox Adaptive Controller for Xbox One and also by using an adapter for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. We’ll be concentrating on first-person games. Third person games can work with a walk forward switch providing the camera follows the character independently. We will use a variety of different switches with a different combination of controllers and joysticks. You can position these wherever it’s easiest for you to use them. Other control options such as switches, voice controls or a second controller can then be added to help you have access to more of the controls. The X1 switch port on the Xbox Adaptive Controller is mapped to Up on the Left Stick as standard. If we plug a switch into here it will act as Walk Forwards. So, now we’re going to have a look at a few the games that can work well with a single joystick and a Walk Forwards button. First we’ll have a look at Apex Legends on Xbox One. I’ll be using the right hand side of the controller. So, I use the Right Analog Stick to aim which direction I want to walk in and I’ll use the yellow Buddy Button to Walk Forwards. So, I can use the right hand analog stick here for looking around. In whichever direction I’m facing, if I hold down the yellow Buddy Button I walk that way. And I can still use the other buttons on the controller. So A would be Jump, I use Right Trigger for Shoot and if I needed any extra buttons, for example for Left Trigger or Left Bumper, we can potentially do this with other accessibility switches. So now we’re going to have a look at Call of Duty: World War II on the PS4. So using the Xbox Adaptive Controller on the PS4 is possible if you use an adapter. Here we’re using a Titan Two. So we’ll have a quick look at using the Right Analog Stick. I’m going to be using chin movement to kind of aim and to look which direction we want to walk and then I’ve got an Ultra Light switch on the tray, which I’ll use for Walk Forwards. So this chin joystick is letting me look in each direction and if I click down this Ultra Light switch it will let me Walk Forwards as well. So to play Call of Duty you’re going to need to be able to use the majority of the controller including the Triggers for Aim and Shoot, Square for Reload, Triangle to Swap Weapon. You can do this by having either the controller (using the Titan Two you can still use the controller) so it’s all still fully functional. If using the controller is difficult then you could potentially have more accessibility switches on the tray and perhaps use your head movement or feet to click them. Just any way that you can press them. So now we’re going to have a look at Firewatch on the Nintendo Switch. This time we’ll be using a Buddy Button on the floor. I’ll be using that as a Walk Forwards button and I’ll use the Ultrastik joystick with my hand for steering the direction that we’re going to walk. So Firewatch is another game where ideally you’d need other buttons as well to be able to fully control the game, but we’re just concentrating on moving around at the moment. So if I press the foot switch the character will walk forwards, then I can use the joystick
to control which direction we’re going in. A Walk Forwards switch can work well for many first-person games, but there are some that you would benefit from having every single direction on the Left Stick. This can especially be true in fast-paced multiplayer games. Having a Walk Forward button may make the game playable but to be able to fully control the game or to be able to compete with other people you might need every direction on the stick. An example of this is Rainbow Six Siege which we are looking at now on the Xbox One. It’s a game that does require you to be able to move each way whether you’re walking, running or sneaking and there are certain situations where you do need to be able to move in other directions don’t than just forwards. I’m using the Buddy Button on the floor for my Walk Forwards button the red switch is acting as my Left Trigger, so that’s to aim down the sights of the gun. If I hold that down. I’ll be using the Right Analog Stick of the controller for aiming each direction and then I’ll be able to use the right hand side of the controller as well for for Shoot and Reload. So in Rainbow Six you might have situations for example where there’s someone might be coming towards you you might just want to be able to sidestep out and sidestep back in for example or you might find yourself in a position where you need to pull backwards to move away. With a Walk Forwards button you would be holding that button down and using the right stick to turn so if you wanted to get away that would be the best way for you to be able to do it. So potentially, obviously if you’re playing an online game against other people you might find that your character is getting shot before you manage to turn back around. In Rainbow Six you sometimes need to rappel up and down buildings. It’s a way to get into Windows for example. If you’re using the Walk Forward switch you can go straight up. You’re not able to go left and right. If you didn’t need to go back down you can press B to change stance, then you can go back down. So the only way really to get to that window is to make sure that you’re properly lined up before you start. So for generally moving around in game, for controlling the drones, that kind of thing, the Walk Forwards button and one analog stick does work well and see just more for those precise moments, those really specific situations that you might find yourself in, where you ideally would have every direction on the left stick. There are potentially a couple of options including a “Swap Sticks” button
or you could always try having four switches, one for each direction of the joystick. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the game that you can play in a first-person perspective and there are some parts of the game where a Walk Forwards button does work really well. For generally moving around in game you will find that the Walk forward button and one analog stick does work, but there are some situations, such as when you have to ride the horse, where the Right Stick actually controls what direction your character is looking, rather than what direction the horse would be running. Here the Walk Forward button will make me move in the direction I’m facing, as you’d expect. And then the right analog stick allows me to change the direction that I need to walk, but if I was to go over to the horse and try and ride that. So the Walk Forward button will still make the horse go in the direction that we’re currently facing, but now if I tried to steer the horse the character just will look around, but the horse is still walking forwards. So this is a situation in a first-person game where the Walk Forward button probably wouldn’t be the ideal solution for every aspect of gameplay. Any first-person game that does require the use of both analog sticks, even if it’s only for certain parts, will likely not work as well with just a Walk Forward switch. You could consider other options such as a swap sticks button, this means you use one joystick press the button and it will change function to act as the other analog stick. We have another video which explains this in more detail. Thank you for watching. If there’s anything that you’ve seen in this video that you would like to discuss, then please do get in touch.