The uber compassionate One-handed Wiimote mod

by Griffin McElroy { Feb 19th 2008 at 10:30PM }

A wide majority of gamers don't have to worry about the logistics of actually interacting with their video games of choice -- the simplicity of picking up a controller and playing a game is the main draw of home consoles. However, gamers who suffer from certain physical handicaps are often not in the minds of console and controller designers, often excluding them with peripherals they may find difficult to use. Luckily, the Earth's got people like Ryan Culy.

Culy designed the pictured Wii Remote/Nunchuk hybrid with one of his friends, who had lost most of his left arm, in mind. By moving the C and Z buttons from the 'Chuk to the Wiimote, and by detaching the joystick and motion sensor so that they could be controlled by an elbow, the two peripherals can now be used with one arm. It's a very kind gesture from Culy -- one we hope will inspire future console and peripheral designers to keep gamers of all shapes and sizes in mind when they create their products.

Tags: controller, handicap, nintendo, nunchuk, remote, ryanculy, wii, wiimote

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Psaakyrn @ Feb 19th 2008 10:40PM

Considering that the Wiimote-Nunchuck control system is non-biased towards left or right handed people, Nintendo is still better than Sony and Microsoft in this regard..

Chilly Willy @ Feb 19th 2008 10:59PM

As a southpaw, it's great to be able to hold the Wii remote in my left hand, but sadly many of the games are still built with righty's in mind (I'm looking at you Zelda and Zack & Wiki).

On topic: That is a very cool gesture for his friend. Nice!

Arteen @ Feb 20th 2008 1:12AM

As a lefty, it's nice to be able to use the Wiimote with my left hand, but when it's the combo, holding the Wiimote in the left and nunchuck on the right is impractical. Nearly every control scheme is designed so that movement (analog stick or D-pad) is done with the left hand, so it's naturally much easier to keep the nunchuck in my left hand, even if pointing with my right hand isn't as precise. Not to mention that some Wii games assume (and rely on the fact) that the Wiimote is in the right hand and Nunchuck on the left (e.g. Raving Rabbids).

Psaakyrn @ Feb 20th 2008 5:57AM

Well, that's the problem with the program, not the controls, isn't it?

kip @ Feb 20th 2008 11:01AM

What's righty-biased about Sony/MS controllers? You need to have pretty much equal skill of both thumbs.

Booxatron @ Feb 20th 2008 11:37AM

I'm a lefty, and I've found that some Wii games work better for me with the remote in my left hand, and somem work better with it in my right. I'm not ambidextrous whatsoever but I can usually adapt pretty well to what the game requires (I've spent my whole life adapting to a right-handed world.) I use the remote with my left hand for games that are more pointer-focused, like Resident Evil or Zack and Wiki. With games that are more joystick-focused, like SM Galaxy, I tend to use the nunchuck in my left hand. Using a 360 or PS3 controller (and going all the way back to NES controllers) the 'right-handed' way feels completely natural to me, just because I learned them that way when I was young. Same goes for keyboard/mouse.

To answer your question, kip, I don't think it's so much in the sticks as it is in the button layout. The R trigger is usually primary and all the face buttons are on the right side of the pad. For me, though, using a controller this way feels completely natural because I started playing NES games when I was four years old or so. I remember the Atari Lynx actually took this into consideration in the design; you could actually flip the system over and have the d-pad on the right, buttons on the left. I always wondered if anybody actually used it that way, because, if they were like me, they just adapted to the standard setup.

Anticrawl @ Feb 19th 2008 10:57PM

I wish console manufacturers would produce controllers for handicaped people. It would look great to the public and would be great to handicaped gamers.

waynski1457 @ Feb 19th 2008 11:08PM

im pretty sure that they do, they just dont advertise them. ive seen plenty of custom controllers in hospitals for the handicapped.

as it stands tho, this is awesome. i always like seeing stuff like this.

mike @ Feb 19th 2008 11:24PM

yeah. Im sure companies do create controllers for the handicap. They wouldnt advertise and sell them in your local retail market as there would be no market for them. They probably are sold and advertised along with other devices/equpiment to those with disabilities. Which would explain why a hospital per say may have one.