The Wii was my first console and Wii sports offered left-handed options so I tended to play Wii games with the Wiimote in my left hand unless the game was dependent on the Wiimote in the right hand.
@@markusmitchell8585 Im left handed, but I use my right hand for just about everything other than writing and drawing. (You might be like me, ambidextrous)
Is it weird that I'm kind of upset Link isn't a lefty anymore? It kind of made sense with Skyward Sword, but they did it again with BotW/TotK, so I assume it's the new standard when it doesn't need to be.
@@ClintOrWhateveri think it a kind of relatability since you don’t see many lefty’s. The only one i can think of other then link is Raphael from soulcalibur. But i was also upset that they changed it.
As a leftie I gotta say the wii was my first console and I ALWAYS held the wii-mote on my left hand! It was just my first time holding a controller of any kind so I just held it in this more "natural" way
Even as an old school gamer from the snes era, when I played the wii I always held the wiimote in my left hand for games like resident evil and skyward sword and it felt pretty natural.
The reason why people say it makes no sense is that people view it as a general controller where lefthanded layout is controlstick left(Yes, everyone plays with lefty-controls). The thing is, it is NOT a general controller. Not only are there games that do not even use the nunchuk, so lefthanded players are encouraged to hold the wiimote in their dominant hand anyways, but it's also like holding a sword or pistol in your weaker hand. It can be done, but feels bad and you will have issues aiming. Infact, that is the logic for why Nintendo made Skyward Sword's link righthanded because the majority of the userbase was righthanded.
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As a leftie who has thought about this topic a crazy amount, I could not disagree with your conclusion more, though I agree with many of your points. It's complicated. I am so excited to see that somebody made a video on the topic! TL;DR: Left-handed options aren't for left-handed people who've been gaming for years like you and me. It's for new gamers who are still figuring out what's comfortable for them. Usage would start low but if every game had GOOD left-handed options we would start to see more and more new-to-gaming players use them. I agree with you on this point: I am completely left-handed in everything I do, except gaming. I have my left hand on the thumbstick or d-pad and that HAS to be what I move with. When half-life Alyx launched and its launch version of the left-handed mode required you to walk with the right joystick, I played through the whole game in the right-hand mode because it felt worse to walk with the right joystick than it did to shoot with my right hand. But here's what you kind of touched on but didn't seem to really fully understand: It's all conditioning. As you said, basically since the beginning every game system has had the left-hand handle character movement. This is how it's always been. And so as existing gamers, it's what we've been conditioned to be comfortable with. Not because we just like it that way but because it has been the only way to play games. This is really important. When you played the Wii for the first time, it didn't sound like it was your first gaming experience by a long shot. It sounded like you had a lot of gaming experience. And which thumb did you walk with during those gaming experiences? If you took a left-handed person who had never played a video game of any kind in their life (and everybody has to start somewhere) and handed them a Wiimote and nunchuck and told them to play Metroid Prime, they would shoot with their left hand and walk with their right. I know, because that's what I did as a kid. People like this are who these settings are for. Beginners. When I was a kid, I grew up playing emulated Nintendo games and flash games on my computer with the arrow keys for movement. Unlike you, who seemed to have existing gaming experience I had absolutely no prior gaming experience and so this was just normal. I would also try to use the mouse with my left hand. Because these PC games enabled me to play how I was comfortable and to grow that experience, when I played Metroid Prime Trilogy on the Wii for the first time, I played with my left hand holding the Wii remote. Over a decade later though when I replayed Prime on the Wii I used my right hand on the Wii mote and my left hand on the nunchuck. What changed? Well, I ran up against a wall. Emulated games and flash games sure let me be a lefty easily and the ambidextrous mouse we had let me navigate the computer left-handed - though doing things like ctrl+z was a pain - but when 12-year-old me wanted to play games like Minecraft and Roblox - games that didn't have any left-handed options - child me finally said "ok, fine. I'll do it your way" and started _forcing myself_ to use my right hand on the mouse and my left on WASD. As I played more and more games on the Wii U gamepad, friends Xboxs, and Playstations, and got really into PC games I was forced into playing right-handed due to no convenient options for playing left-handed. Here's the crux of the problem; most games just don't have a left-handed option and even when they do, they're often bad. The only systems I've ever played that consistently had good left-handed options were the Wii and VR. So how would we fix this? Well, on PC it's literally just a software problem. Most computer mice that come with prebuilt PCs (what most families will have around the house that will introduce kids to gaming for the first time) are ambidextrous. QWERTY keyboards are symmetrical. A leftie WHO IS NEW TO GAMING could easily place their right hand on P L ; ' instead of W A S D and use the right side of the keyboard instead of the left. The only thing stopping this is that no game offers default keybindings like this. You would have to go into the keybindings and manually switch over every single one which is really hard to do with a game you are unfamiliar with. No kid is going to do that. They're just going to force themself to play right-handed. I strongly believe that every PC game should have an option at first startup: "left-handed or right-handed?" with a visual example of what these layouts would look like on the keyboard. As a left-handed person, I would pick the right-handed option every single time but these options aren't for me. They're for the next generation of players. The reason I believe this so strongly is because this is so very very simple to implement (at least from my knowledge as an indie game developer.) If you already have a system for user-assignable keybindings (which the vast majority of PC games do) and have the option for players to reset those bindings to default, you could very easily at least have two "reset to default" buttons, one that resets to left-handed and one for right. At the end of the day, it's just storing two lists of default bindings instead of one. It's so much easier than hardware solutions like mirrored keyboards. (And no, mirrored keyboards don't count. What kid walks up to their parents and says "I WILL NOW BE A GAMER AND REQUIRE A PROPER LEFT HANDED GAMING KEYBOARD"? When I was a kid, I just wanted to try the games to see if I would even find them fun. I didn't even know mirrored keyboards and mice were a thing not to mention increased prices and reduced options of such devices. I just used what I had. Plus I used public computers a lot and would not have faired well switching back and forth between mirrored and standard. Good luck finding a good laptop like this.) Consoles have it a little rougher, though Nintendo has shown something can be done. The D-pad on the Switch Joycons are literally just face buttons with different glyphs. There is nothing but software stopping a new-to-gaming player from walking with the right joystick, looking with the left, and interacting with the world and jumping with the d-pad buttons. It seems really strange to you and me because we've never played like this but for a person who's brand-new to gaming this being an option is a huge deal to me to enable people to play how they like. I really wish I had options like this as a kid. You might say that this wouldn't be good because the d-pad is under the joystick on the left but the face buttons are over the joystick on the right, but the Wii U gamepad had the joysticks level with each other, and the face buttons and d-pad level with each other. The Steam Deck also does this. A console that had the d-pad of the Switch joycons and the d-pad/left stick positioning of the Wii U and Steam Deck and also had good software support would enable new players to play however they feel comfortable instead of being forced to play right-handed. I want the next generation of kids getting into gaming to get what I was frustrated that I couldn't have over a decade ago. Sorry for the book, I have very strong feelings about this. I hope at least somebody reads this. I'm very passionate about it.
The Wii doesnt get enough credit in terms of accessibility. It was the first time a mainstream console actually accommodated a large part of its user base: left handed people. Not like many cases where accessibility options are catered to 0. % of the user base. Left handed people are way more numerous. Another bonus was that a lot of wii games supported one handed controls which increased accessibility to handicapped users.
same i played a ton of flash games growing up that let me play left handed, but had to switch to right handed when i started playing minecraft and other pc games. it was annoying but at least didnt take long to get used too
@@Refreshment01I remember how much of a stink it caused that twilight princess (and later skyward sword) specifically _didn't_ allow for left-handed control schemes. As a kid I remember playing TP with wiimote in left hand anyway, because any waggling would register as a sword strike anyway; but for SS I was forced to play with the wiimote in my right hand for the motion plus swordplay. What I remember most was feeling the _weight_ of the wiimote in my right hand... Something that had long faded past background feeling for my left hand.
Didn't even realise how long your comment was until I scrolled up to check your name, AFTER reading it fully! As a right-handed lad, it was really interesting learning about your experience as a lefty, and you brought up points I hadn't even thought of regarding this topic. Thanks for the read, and agreed. Having ptions in general should be the norm in video games since yesterday, accessibility to all kinds of people should be a priority so games are not only playable, but truly enjoyable to the most players possible. Sometimes it's possible to bruteforce it, like you did, but not always. Doing so as a kid is also, typically, easier than as an adult. I put up with some inconveniences as child that I wouldn't have the patience for today. So having your nature be challenged as an adult is extra infuriating.
As someone who is cross dominant, which handedness is going to be best for you for a particular task is always a gamble. Pitching a baseball? Throwing a dart? Pressing a button or pulling a switch? Who knows! Just feel weird trying both hands until you figure it out!
Also cross dominant. Better at batting, sword usage (LARP style, never done real combat), and a few other things with my left hand. Oh, and steering wheel usage.
Cross-dominate here. Everything I did as a child was forced-right handedness. The rest now is with my left hand. It’s a gamble to figure out which hand works best with which task.
This is what it’s like for me, it’s so weird. Some tasks are equally easy with both hands, and others are best with one or the other, but for the most part I can do anything with either hand it’s just that one is weaker, although even for handwriting my weaker hand is usually better than most people would expect it to be. Sometimes I switch hands, especially when one gets tired. I remember back in primary school, I changed hands all the time and didn’t seem to settle on one, so they tried to push me to use my right hand for everything, leading to some weird situations such as using right handed scissors like they told me, but in my left hand where it was easier. This was somehow still standard practise around here even as late as the 2010s since my lefty brother had the same treatment. My family actually have a suspicion I was meant to be left handed but just learned to use my right for most tasks, although I think being cross dominant is a better explanation, I wasn’t aware of this until now.
Yep same. I only played skyward sword on the switch, but I immediately turned off motion controls, because it was so awkward to control. On the other hand(pun intended), I use pc mice in the right hand
Fellow lefty hear, I was also really confused by why controlling movement with your right thumb matters. Like … the entire Wii Remote/Nunchuck set up separates analog/digital inputs anyway. It was more natural to do anything motion control related on my left side
@@Julie-ns8vm On both Switch & Wii, right-handed motion controls are a on starter for me. I would hold a sword with my left hand in real life, so it is too counter-intuitive to swing from specific angles on my right side.
This seems like just to be a thing where since you grew up playing a certain way, that specific way is natural to you. The thing is though not every left handed person has the years of experience you have. Skyward Sword HD was someone's first gaming experience and thus to them not having left handed controls can be an issue
My cousin is left handed and he grew up playing PC games where he could have the keyboard be controlled by his right hand for movement and use the mouse in his left hand. He hates playing a lot of console games because they default to movement on the left and actions on the right often not having anyway to change it (and even if you did, movement using the Playstation face buttons and attacking with the dpad is cursed). It's 100% down to just what you are used to when first learning how to play games. I hear similar things for people who drive and move to another country where the cars go on the opposite side of the road and swap the driver side seat/stick position to what they're used to and it feels awkward.
Realistically, left handed people get a lot of right hand practice, and left handed gamers are essentially ambidextrous gamers for all intents and purposes
@@azup8235 I truly and with all my heart and all my intents and purposes meant to write intents and purposes because the purposes are not intensive, but they are instead additional to the intents
Yeah not sure if you're trolling or not, but the expression really is "for all intents and purposes". I dunno, just kinda irks me to see someone confidently correct someone else...and be wrong. But every comment on the internet is like 16 layers deep into irony so I have no idea who's memeing and who's serious.
I don't think I've ever related _less_ with a fellow southpaw lol. Wiimote goes in the left hand and nunchuck in the right; and I remember needing a period of adaptation when I switched from arrow keys to wasd for PC gaming. On the other hand, my left click and right click aren't swapped on a mouse, and according to my parents putting a watch on the left wrist is the right handed way to do it, so... I think we live in a world so designed for right-handedness that it is the fate of every leftie to pick up slight ambidextrous tendencies along the way.
>putting a watch on the left wrist is the right handed way to do it I just had my mind blown, because...how? It feels natural that way to me not because I see other people do it, but because putting more focus on one's dominant hand is just more intuitive. It also means I could check the time while I was writing.(At least during the teen-period where I was wearing a watch...or writing stuff by hand.)
@@lpfan4491Yeah i don't know either, the watch on the dominant hand just felt natural to me too, but I was told otherwise is all. Doesn't really matter much anymore in the age of smartphones though.
Interesting. THIS lefty feels differently. Maybe it's because the wii was the first console I played that had an analogue stick, but I've always found it much more comfortable to hold the nunchuk in my right hand. Never felt awkward playing with other, standard analogue stick-having controllers - but to this day, the wii remote in my left and nunchuk in my right just feels... right.
same here. imagine being called crazy for being left handed and playing games ... left handed. this entire video amounts to "i disagree it needs left handed controls because i play right handed and you're stupid if you dont" 😂
I’m left handed and was 21 when I first played the Nintendo Wii. There was no psychological adjustment to placing analog character control on my right side. Wii games required motion control, & that was only natural on my left side.
There are a handful of "anti left hand" mario party games that bother me. They're the ones where you have to mash while using the control stick, such as eatsa pizza. Those make me feel legitimately disadvantaged, as someone who mashes with his left hand.
You remind me of another game series: Dillon's Rolling Western on the 3DS. Before the 3DS, when touch-based games released on the DS, like Zelda PH/ST, the game would be fine for each hand, as not only there was an option to flip the HUD, but the D-pad does EXACTLY the same actions as the 4 buttons, so no matter which hand you held the stylus with, the other hand could do everything it should be able to. However, the 3DS brought assymetry with the top non-tactile screen being the prefered 3D scene screen and the circle pad being only on one side, dropping the Dpad down aswell. Dillon has you swipping the touchscreen like a slingshot movement to roll and propell the Armadillo main character. Problem is, you are also expected to steer him with the circle pad while you continuously swap to keep momentum ( in this tower defense game you're on a time limit so each swipe counts ). The 4 buttons do something else than steering Dillon, so a left handed cannot swipe and steer at the same time unless you try to rest an extra finger on the pad and even then it's awkward to do. I wish there was at least Circle Pad Pro / C-stick support, that would have fixed it...
I forgot about this. I mash much faster on my left hand than my right hand. For games like M&L the only nuisance is my left hand getting in the way of seeing the bottom screen. With Mario Party it's definitely a problem. It's the reason I lose Eatsa Pizza almost every time. However the worst offender has to be the Cheep cheep chase one. I have such a disadvantage in that minigame it's not even funny.
I was honestly taken aback by the fact the movement/action controls cross wiring that made hold the controller like he did. That as an instinct just didn’t exist for me and I was in college when the Wii came out. What mattered was that motion controls were more natural to execute from my left side
As a lefty I can definitely relate to this video. If it's a game on the wii or switch I can play with my right hand just fine. (I was actually playing skyward sword as I watched this video) But if it's a vr like Half life Alyx I absolutely need a left handed mode or I wouldn't be able to play it.
I gave up on the Wii version of Skyward Sword because it was just too unnatural and unfun to do that much motion control stuff in a counter intuitive manner. But I was really confounded by the idea of it being difficult to use the nunchuck in your right hand, because that is the only way I played Wii games
I'm actually one of the "no one is crazy enough to play Twilight Princess with their left hand" people you mentioned at 8:17 This was maybe one of the most interesting videos that was recommended to me in quiet a while. I was almost 19 when I first started playing video games on a regular basis. I quickly became a huge Zelda fan, and played through large parts of the franchise in the following months. Twilight Princess was one of the last games I played, and at this point I was extremly familiar with the "standard controller layout", as well as some special controll methods that are typical for the Zelda series (for example the camera reset button always being the larger left shoulder button). Having learned that Nintendo made Link right handed in the game, I therefore decided "fuck it, I'm playing with my left hand; because why not". And honestly? it wasn't bad, it was even really good. It took me one or two hours to get used to it; but as soon as i did, it felt perfectly natural and fine (maybe even better than the other way round, but certainly not worse). Ironically enough, my right hand had more problems adjusting to the movement controlls, than my left hand had adjusting to the action controlls (oh also, I'm right handed, maybe should have mentioned that earlier) . Therefore, it was really interesting to hear that for you the movement controlls only felt correct in the left hand, despite you being "opposite handed" from me. Ever since that gaming experience I became fascinated with controllers; how the standard layout devoloped, which hand takes controll over what action , how much of 'controlling a game' is just down to exposure etc. So, thank you so much for that video, I always wondered what a leftist perspective on this is (even when you don't speak for all leftist). Also, as a quick side note: I just realised a few hours ago that even in the games where Link is left handed, the player still comands the "use sword action" with the right hand. Kind of ironic....
Interesting video topic, I’m a lefty but when I box I still stand regular because I have more control over my left I’d never be able to throw a ball with any distance from my right hand, but holding a wii mote in my right hand just feels comfortable
Huh. I’ve always played Galaxy with the wiimote in my dominant left hand since it felt more comfortable that way. The movements being on my right was surprisingly ergonomic for me, amazingly so, actually. I wouldn’t play galaxy any other way.
I've been thinking a lot about how being left handed factors into how I play games. I've always been bad at shooter games on a controller. I've used a mouse (with my right hand) and even motion controls and played fine. I realized being left handed could play into it heavy. Movement is typically the most important, but in a shooter, it's aim. On a controller it's always the right joystick. I haven't finished the video so sorry if this is brought up already!
Same for me. I've been playing CSGO for so long now and my aim is still really shaky. It sometimes feels like, I'd imagine, writing your whole life with the non-dominant hand would be like. But then again, there's no way to tell, because I'm so used to using my right hand, there's no way I can relearn that. Also good left handed mice are expensive or just unavailable
Can relate, this comment section may have finally made me realize why I prefer to play shooters on a controller with gyro aim - less fine control required from my right hand. Mouse&keyboard controls, or rather, any overly dextrous use of the mouse with my right hand, has always been uncomfortable to me. But, from a early age, using the mouse with my right was what I conditioned myself to do (it's simply more convenient), so it wasn't until now that I remembered, "oh yeah, that's my weaker hand!" Curious. Anyway, gyro controls rock, and the wiimote was awesome (when it had a lefty option, anyways)
Honestly analog stick aim, on its own, is just a really bad idea on general... a single thumb moving a little stick will never be able to provide the level of precision a good aiming-based game will need. So if you feel worse on controller than on mouse, even though both are using your right hand, that makes a LOT of sense
Your point about growing up with a certain control scheme really hits home with me, cause growing up, my dad was left handed, and the mouse for the computer would always be on the left hand, so I just used it like that. Keep in mind I'm a right handed person, I just learned how to play computer games with my left hand. When I saw that most people use it on the other side, I just couldn't understand why. I mean, my thumb can easily hit the shift, ctrl, and alt keys, so it just made sense.
100 percent agree. Never had any issues using controllers as a lefty and found it super weird using the wiimote in my left. The only time it's been an issue is when I got a Thrustmaster Hotas flight stick and realised it was extremely difficult to use with my right hand.
But at the same time, it would be nice to have the option. More accessibility options is only a good thing if done well. I mean with skyward sword, you can just have sword swinging on the left while all actions stay the same. Or many other control schemes. Either way, Japanese devs needs more accessibility options
I recently started thinking about this, and especially thinking about how shooters and shooting as a mechanic is becoming so common, to the point that I feel that for many games, you are at a real disadvantage if you are a lefty. I notice I have finer control of the left joystick, being a lefty. One way you can test this is just by spinning the joystick in circles with your left and then right hand and see how much faster you can do it with your dominant hand. I’ve recently started trying to swap the joysticks (southpaw) in some games, and I actually got used to it fairly quickly, but one thing I found very interesting was that I preferred inverting the y axis when controlling the camera with the left stick, which is a setting I never used before. Unfortunately playing southpaw means you’ll likely have to use the dpad as face buttons, which is not ideal.
Tangentially related pro tip for lefty gamers: if you want to be an absolute badass at Wii bowling, play with your left hand... *_but pick the right handed controls._* Then when you throw the ball, flick your wrist the OPPOSITE way that you normally would while bowling (so move your left wrist counter-clockwise), and it will give you an obscene amount of spin that otherwise isn't possible. It's super neat :) I can get fairly consistent perfect games this way, which is neat.. but you want to know the best part? If you play this way, you can play sitting down and never have to get up 😂
As a leftie, I'm very happy you're covering this topic. Though I wish you had talked a bit about DS games, specifically the ones that require you to hold the DS sideways, such as Rhythm Heaven. Those games actually need the left-handed modes they typically have, because it's using the same skills you would use for writing. Less importantly, I also wished you would mention the Virtual Boy, as that console had a symmetric controller for left-handed people and it looked awful lol
I am a lefty that’s been gaming since the age of 5 in 1989, way before the Wii. I think that gaming in general (primarily on Nintendo systems since the NES) has trained me to prefer using my right hand for a remote control. I think the reason is simple. We gamers, due to controller design, have been trained from youth to appreciate the feel of face buttons under the right thumb. I find that pointing a controller at the tv feels normal with either hand, but working the buttons only feels natural in my right hand, despite being a lefty.
Sadly for many VR games, the left handed setting also swaps all the controls so I once again have to move with the right hand or settle with piss poor aiming. Some else to note is that with most VR shooters, changing the hand setting also swaps which eye gets displayed in the game window so spectators can properly see you aiming down sight rather than at a weird angle.
> changing the hand setting also swaps which eye gets displayed in the game window so spectators can properly see you aiming down sight rather than at a weird angle. wtf just let us be left handed, damn
Interesting video! I am also a lefty myself and tend to rebind any game controls (for MNK) to mirror the default controls. As for the Wii, I used the Wiimote in my left hand, but when I used a nunchuck, I held it in my right hand.
I am right handed and I always played Wii games with the Wii remote in the left hand, and Knuchuck in the right. When I learned you were supposed to play the other way around, I tried switching but it just felt weird after playing this way for so long. Not sure how I managed to play Wii boxing though.
I also am left handed, and I can see your point about movement. I did get used to moving with the nunchuk in my right hand, but if there was another stick for camera controls I would likely stick to the controls I got used to growing up (movement on left and camera on right). My only disappointment is that even after the motion control games they kept Link right handed. He was one of the few gaming heros who was left handed, so losing that is disappointing.
My first experience with the Wii was failing completely in a Raving Rabbids music minigame until I realized it expected me to hold the controllers like a righty. From there on out, it was the same story with tons of other games I wanted to enjoy (Mario Galaxy, Sin & Punishment)--none of them ever felt as comfortable as gaming on a normal pad. Even certain games like Pikmin 3 on the Wii U years later were a struggle whenever the Wiimote got involved. Words can't describe how happy I was when the Switch came out... The one and only time I practically reprogrammed my brain through sheer willpower was to enjoy Kid Icarus: Uprising, and none of those control schemes ever felt natural, either.
Thats because there are no issues playing wii games with either hand. Unless there were inherent bias on how they were programmed. For example, if the game has a left hand option and you decided to play right handed then it can cause issues. But galaxy, zelda, pikmin, metroid all play perfectly left handed. Infact galaxy has the star spin mapped to the nunchuck also 😁
God KI:U is my favorite 3DS game I can never replay because digital movement with abxy is the worst, but aiming with my right hand on the touchpad would be _worse than the worst_ . I have no idea through which force of will I managed to complete some 9.9 difficulty levels when I walked into every fight with such a massive handicap.
I've played through Mario Galaxy multiple times, I've never had a single issue playing it as a lefty, even the motion control segments like the ray racing or ball balancing, that game it feels perfectly okay to switch hands I feel.
Yeah, it's definitely a spectrum. Some lefties are more adaptable than others--for me it just never felt natural. I always had to switch hands in Sin & Punishment, too. @@plbster
As a lefty who uses right handed control schemes, I agree with this loads. Its the same concept as why when I’m using just my mouse for an extended period of time I’ll use my left hand because it’s more comfortable, but that doesn’t mean it’s inconvenient to use my mouse in my right. I’ve been playing that way my whole life so it’s not a big deal at all.
Video games are one of the few things in life that force the audience to be ambidextrous. You need to use both hands simultaneously to beat some games. Some games even habe the player control multiple characters with the same controller. The only reason arcade games typically have the stick or knobs on the left side was because gamers got used to it being on the right side, then they got used to it being on the left side. It's a weird case study of how adaptable and malleable the human brain can be with enough focus and determination.
My friend who claims to be color blind and left handed uses the control option in shooting games that puts firing the gun on the left trigger and moving it to the center of the screen on the right trigger. some games even mirror the gun/arms so it looks like it is held in the left hand.
well when you say you only speak for yourself you’re certainly correct, you certainly don’t speak for me. i’m left handed, three of my four siblings are left handed, and all of us held the remote in our left hands. maybe it’s just that i was a kid and had only been playing the gamecube for a few years, so who knows maybe “stick on the left” just wasn’t so ingrained in my mind, but that what feels natural to me to this day. so, when i borrowed the original skyward sword from a friend and realized there was no lefty mode, i was seriously let down. i’m left handed, so naturally that means my aim and stability with my right hand will be worse. so especially in a game like that, it really made me feel like my needs weren’t being accounted for
Yeah, that is basically a thing. Even today just randomly, I can try swinging a small bottle around as vague approximation and it just feels more natural to hold it in the left. That is far more convincing than "But controlstick left!"
As a lefty who never played games until the Wii became a juggernaut, I had the complete opposite thought process as you. I always held the wii remote in my left hajd and would hold the nunchuck in my right when applicable. It’s kinda funny since when playing games with the Wii remote on its side, that wasn’t an issue. Luckily the Wii had enough wiggle room for both hands to work like you said, but honestly, I can’t imagine playing something like Super Mario Galaxy the other way. I can play most games no problem but when having to consider two separate controls detached, i need left hand dominance.
i'm a lefty and while i've never played a vr game and the only games with motion controls i've played are kinect games, i do always like when the kinds of ds games where you have to hold your ds sideways like a book have left-handed options (eg rhythm heaven ds lets you switch between lefty and righty mode on the title screen)
That’s why I love the Wii remote. It’s made for both left and right handed people and skyward sword didn’t need to accommodate for that because it was so easy to just swap the Wiimote into your left hand and the nunchuck into your right.
You use the word "intuitive" to refer to the fact that in most controllers directional controls are situated in the left. But it has to do more with standardization, since like you pointed out the NES popularized that particular setup. Remember since the Wii controls were based more in moving the actual control itself it made sense that the setup was simetrical allowing players with distinct dominsnts hands to feel confortable. Also remember thst the idea of the Wii was to attract as many people as possible so it ended up being for many their 1st gaming console. So sllowing to control the games with whatever hand the user felt more comfortable was paramount.
this was an insightful video! I’m a lefty and had a similar experience with trying to use the wiimote in my dominant hand, I do prefer it if all I’m doing is holding the remote upright, but if the nunchuck is plugged in, no way I much prefer the nunchuk on my left hand. I also liked what you pointed out with settings that move where things are positioned visually like having them hold it in the opposite hand especially on VR, it can feel quite natural though not a necessity to me
I grew up on the DS so I was stunted while I was learning but I've gotten pretty good at the normal setup. I have switched controlls for when(if) I use my Joycons because I'm only using those pieces of shit on people that suck and honestly the controll switch only makes me have to think slightly more
The part about the bolt switching side of the rifle in RE4 VR when you switch to left handed mode was so interesting. Face Full of Eyes made a great video about that sort of stuff 6 months before this video came out. I don't know if hes seen that game but I bet he would find it interesting especially the part where you said its easier to use it with the bolt on the right side, that sort of stuff is so fascinating to me because of the way so many games over the years have had left handed guns or unique animations with gun handedness. Resident evil 5 had a character that was left handed but used right handed guns and would reload the bolt action rifle in a very similar way. I just love exploring the psychology with this kinda stuff.
@@Lattrodon Sheva is one of my favorite left handed characters because of that attention to detail. If I had to presume and speak for other lefties, it boils down to simply getting used to right handed designed items and finding our own comfortable workarounds to them as we hardly even get to use left handed designed items. Like how there really aren’t many game controllers for lefties so ultimately it’s just easier to use regular controllers until it feels natural which basically is what happened to me.
@@Mr.Welbig Thats awesome, I would love to see more games with characters that are left handed by design and written around that as a character trait. I think some people are speculating that Jason in GTA 6 will be left handed but its hard to know for sure yet because in Red Dead 2 Arthur/ John could shoot left handed when it was convenient for the animators. Seems like being left handed is most often either overlooked or injected into a game artificially even if a character is written to be right handed, kinda like how Nintendo will mirror an entire Zelda game to make Link right handed for convenience. I do think it wouldn't make sense for the controller to be mirrored like using the right stick for movement, you brought up a lot of great points and I think it would be funny to see a game controller with the face buttons on the left and the D-pad on the right. The world we live in was built for right handed people.
I am a Leftie and I disagre. I naturally picked the Wii remote with my left and that was the way ever since. The weird thing is that the wii and those flashgames you mention where my first gaming experiences. To be fair after that really easilly transtioned to a normal controller an traditional K&M controlls. And now in games like pokemmo I change the controlls from the arrow keys to WASD. I will have to pick up a wii game game again to see how I feel now that I have been exposed to rest of gaming.
I wanted to give my perspective on this as well, since I am sort of ambidextrious. It really depends on what I'm doing. For example, when eating and writing, I use my left hand, and, when playing tennis, I use my right hand. And I've played on a wii a few times and, I have to say, I always defaulted to holding the remote on the right and nunchuck on the left. It feels natural, just like you said. And I've never had problems playing games using right-handed layouts. Maybe this doesn't count for much, because I already use my right hand for quite a few things, but it really does feel natural.
When I was talking with my friends about it they did mention how hand dominance is only one part of the equation. For example I write with my left, yet I see out my write eye. Like if it's bright I'll close my left eye before my right. When picking up objects and holding things I also use my right. I wonder if shaking hands with other people right handed may have had an effect on it.
@@Mr.Welbigheh, this actually goes into some weird stuff with the way our body works. If you are left handed, then it is the right half of your brain that is dominant. Your eyes aren’t affected by this weird criss crossing. I’m right handed, but it’s easier for me to wink with my left eye. Brains are weird.
been forced to do thing right handed my whole life, including the wii. while it definitely felt more natural to do, I felt pains in my arm and hands holding them as a right handed person
As a left handed person myself, this was an interesting topic to listen to. Personally, I’ve always used the Wii remote in my left and nunchuck in my right, and whether or not is was because of sensor bar placement, or Wii motion plus, the motions I would do would be tracked really well. I personally play Pandora’s Tower using this scheme, and never had any problems with it. Guess it takes being told that your control style is the wrong way to convert to the right handed side…
I find this weird. Why is there people that thing there are problem playing wii games left handed? The controls were made symmetrical with thst purpose 😁
I'm left handed and for the most part prefer using the mouse in right handed mode, and the gamecube non-flipped version of Zelda. I also really prefer the right-handed mode on guitar hero. lefty-flip just feels wrong. I think my left handedness actually helps with movement because many games use the left hand for that. It's kind of a waste in FPS games, So I should try a lefthanded mouse for those some time. I was very good at N64 games that used the Control Stick for aiming. I also really like symmetry in design. The Wii remote is great about that, as is the Virtual Boy controller.
This video is so cool! Im left handed and I’ve always had the wii remote in my left hand and the nunchuck in my right (I grew up with my wii and it’s the only console I own). In addition to that I’ve always held computer mice in my left hand and have had my right hand on my keyboard, cause it’s just what felt and still feels natural, despite mice not being made for this and it being difficult to press certain keys while gaming.
As a lefty and I have always appreciate that link used to traditionally be lefty. But in life I just put in the practice to be ambidextrous with tasks and activities.
As a left handed person, Maybe it's because it was my first console but I always used the wiimote in my left hand, Even recently when I went back to it, I used my left hand
I was almost convinced on your point, but, even as a righty, I remembered this game I've played for hundreds of hours called The Binding of Isaac, that has movement on the right for keyboard players, and I've never had a problem with it. I think maybe just a case by case basis and heavily dependent on what you're used to.
I hold a wiimote in my left hand except in games that use directional controls. So Wii Sports left handed, Super Mario Galaxy right handed. The only time I feel like I'm being hindered is when playing lightgun games that use directional controls as I'm quicker and more accurate aiming with my left. I remember buying Time Crisis 4 with the Guncon3 for PS3 and finding it to be unplayable because the Guncon3 was designed specifically for right handed players. It basically has a nunchuck attached on the left side of it so you have to hold the Guncon in your right hand.
This is such an interesting video, I'm left handed myself and I grew up with the Wii but I always held the Wii remote in my left hand with the nunchuk in the right. And it felt so comfortable. Pikmin, Pikmin 2, My Sims Kingdom, Mario Galaxy, Wii Sports, Wii Play, I always stuck with the remote in my left hand for these and it worked amazingly, I remember trying to hold it in my right and it feels so off. I prefer the stability of the pointer than having the analog stick feel in the right position I never have issues with movement or anything like that. Granted I've never played skyward sword or twilight princess so then I may have had a different opinion, and in terms of VR I have the Quest 2 and its the same I still use my dominant hand at all times. nevertheless thats my thoughts on this topic, seeing you're experience is something else. Great video I never even thought about how backwords us left handed people have it.
Both Skyward & Twilight work perfectly using the right hand. Something the video author forgets its that infact there are Wii games that rely on very fine tuned motor skills, so it made sense to accommodate left hand players. For example, Elebits had the player aiming at things that were a couple of pixels in size & also needed to rotate & move in/out the controller to open doors & drawers. Art of balance its another example.
I will always be a little sad that Link is no longer left handed. I know it's not really a big deal, and I would even argue that left-handed people don't _reaaaallly_ need representation in the same way other groups do (because there isn't really anyone left who is genuinely and seriously prejudiced against left-handed people), but I still liked seeing a left-handed video game character. And FWIW, I think Link _seems_ left-handed. He fits the mold.. whatever that means 😂
While there's no prejudice in the same form as other minorities, there's still problems that we left handed suffer when doing certain activities, be it on using tools, writing on paper and so on, also how can we actually measure how much a minority needs representation? there's no minority in more need than another, just because there's no prejudice in the form of hate, there is in the form of bias. The whole notion of left handed don't need representation creates the notion that left handed people problems are either inferior and they need to tough it up, when a bit more of accessibility would do wonders, its like saying that a color blind person should just play normal because there's not really prejudice against someone that's color blind they dont need accessibility at all. The only reason most think there's no prejudice is either because people don't experience the same difficulties or because they got conditioned or accustomed to a way and they believe it don't need change because its not affecting them, like the one that made the video, he is accustomed to play right handed, me on the other hand never played on a wii, so if i would play any motion control game that needs to be only right handed, it would damper my gaming experience. Also its not like lefthanded people are asking for a parade its simple quality of life thing for left-handed gamers but yeah Link being left handed feels like a part of the character feels natural, and for left handed people a character to look up to.
As a right handed person I realized when I got into fighting games and struggled with quarter circles and z motions etc on an arcade stick that games kind of already have a left handed bias. For most games analogue stick movement is going to take more precision than pressing buttons. The only exception is fps/tps where aiming with right stick is going to need more precision than moving around usually so it's catered more towards right handed players.
I saw a comment here talking about cross-handedness, and I hadn’t heard that term before, but that seems like what’s really being discussed in this video. Handedness seems to be really terribly understood overall, and just because you use one hand for most things doesn’t mean it’s always dominant and that it’s the same for everyone with the same dominant hand as you. I write, use scissors, shoot guns, and usually hold things with my left hand, but I throw balls, play guitar, and hold the Wii remote in my right. Like most things in life, I feel like handedness isn’t generally as black and white as some people believe. My handedness settings in Wii Sports are completely fucked up too, lol. It’s basically an even split between left and right.
Left handed, agree on the standard controller layout. Have no idea how right handed people deal with it because it makes the most sense to move a character with your dominant hand. On the other hand, I always used the wii controller with my left hand, analogue stick in the right. It just felt right, corresponds with my dominant hands. But that is absolutely the exception, and only matters for motion games. Would absolutely have preferred Skyward Sword have a leftie mode. It's why I still haven't played the game. Although i can appreciate some people feel differently
@@Refreshment01 Both. I'm sure it can be played as a left handed person, but I want Link to hold the sword in the left hand. It creates a real disconect for me
This was a pretty interesting video as a right-handed person, don't have much more to add to the discussion other than recommending a really good video (that I dont know if someone else might've mentioned already) from "face full of eyes" on handedness in videogames, it deals more with the representation of left-handed characters but I think you might find it interesting
I’m a lefty and I grew up playing with the Wii with the remote in my left and stick on the right. It works well for me because I feel like I can game holding the controllers comfortably in any position. I also played a lot of Trauma Center where you had to be very precise to where you point the cursor while picking the instruments with the stick. I can see why people don’t like holding the stick on their right though. With an actual controller there’s no way I could play with the right stick as the main source of movement.
Kind of reminds me how I wear a watch on my right wrist despite being a righty. Yes, it gets very annoying when handwriting, but it feels so wrong when I put it on my left.
As a lefty i can confirm and agree with what this guy is saying. I started recently trying to play lefty in all the games that had it. but if it was a weird setup or control setting I would go but to right hand settings. I just recently started playing black ops 3 with lefty controls, and I love that it does not change the right stick to move and the left stick to look
Makes me remember most old 3DS games, like Pokémon X for example just not having ABYX support, while I do understand it’s hard to replicate the circle pad, I was still convinced they thought lefties didn’t exist
As a left-handed person I found this video very fascinating and interesting on how other lefties handled right-handed controls. With the Wii I actually was accustomed to Remote on left and Nunchuck on right, it's what felt most natural to me and while moving with my right thumb wasn't the most ideal layout it never bothered me as much as it probably should. It did kinda suck seeing Link became right-handed in Twilight Princess and Skward Sword (And BotW and TotK) losing one of gaming's notable left-handed characters, but that's just preference and not too big of a deal. The one thing I noticed that wasn't brought up in this video though was left-handed people with the DS and 3DS, cause unlike the Wii, this is where I felt handicapped due to a handful of games requiring movement with the D-Pad/circle pad and touch screen controls simultaneously. A specific example was the Super Training mini-game in Pokemon X and Y, which made aiming much more difficult than it needed to be.
So I want'ed to mention this but I always have played the wii this way and the funny part is I can't write with my left hand. I always though the left hand with he remote and right with numbchuck make sense to me.
@@Mr.Welbig No not really, I would move the character with the left joystick on a Ps4 or Xbox, even joycons but on the wii, I thought it was normal to move the character on the right hand for some reason and I still do it. I even tried the right hand method and I can't do it for some reason. It's weird but when I played Twilight Princess and seeing Link with the right hand got me confused a bit. I even played smash, Rabbits go home, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 that way. It was a thing I enjoy but seeing that it was left hand method had me very confused, I always thought the Wii remotes works better on the left hand for me.
As a lefty myself the only games I really had problems with were DS/3DS games that needed both touchscreen and dpad/c stick controls. Wii games never really seemed to cause any problems for me somehow
The way I tackled the issue was to cross my arms, so my right hand could control the circle/D-pad, while my dominant hand was actually playing the part of the game that required more precise inputs. It felt very unnatural and hard, but it worked.
As a lefty, I always used the WiiMote in my left hand, and never had trouble with it, even though with a nunchuck, the hand using the analog stick is the opposite of most other controllers. The only other significant game I noticed my left hand affecting is Kid Icarus Uprising. It made it so I had to constantly switch controls when going from land to sky levels, but I actually ended up finding a configuration that I really liked and felt comfortable.
I have always done Wiimote in left hand and Nuchuck in right. I never really even thought about it for years despite some games I loved being specifically deisgned for right handed players.
This is weird bc I am a lefty and when growing up I was like the only person who had the wii remote in my left hand and the nunchuck in my right, mainly bc when the we came out the right only game I had was Wii sports so it felt much more natural to swing a tennis racket, throw a ball or swing a gold club with my left hand rather than my right. So when I started playing more games that used both controllers the Wii remote was in my left hand. My main topic of this video that I really which u talked about was the DS bc using the stylus was terrible. Bc trying to use it with my right hand always felt weird and was difficult to do.
I never did that because it was just not happening with my lack of coordination in my right hand. In the cases when I had to use the D-pad while using the stylus, I instead crossed my arms so my right hand was doing that while I was doing touch-stuff with the left hand.
@@lpfan4491 that seems like the most uncomfortable way to play the DS. I would just try my best and figure out a way to play using the stylus with my right hand.
I'm left handed and I started out on the wii too. I never thought that much about the non dominant hang using the motion controls in twilight princess and skyward sword, but I think I agree with you that the joycon in the right hand would've been too awkward. I'm gonna go test some of these things out now
I think it mostly depends on the game. I play shooters with the L2 for shooting and R2 for aiming because I’m left handed and my left hand moves faster than my right. I also did some experiments with some fighting games and DMC3 where I flipped the button layouts. I went into the accessibility settings for the ps4 button configuration and swapped the function of D pad,face buttons and joysticks. That way it functions more like a mirror reversed controller. It works for the most part. Just gotta practice with it and develop the muscle memory. I don’t use this set up for every game, though. Mostly ones with an automatic camera or no camera like 2D platformers and such
IIRC, movement on left, buttons on right IS the left-handed layout. For stand up arcade cabinets, originally it was the other way around, but when people got too good, they swapped it around. Those swapped controls eventually became the standard.
I wanted a heavy thing in my left hand when playing wii games. I played everything left-handed. But also I've noticed that "left-handed" versions of devices would actually be more right-hand friendly. "left-handed" guitars actually put the fine motor task to the right hand whereas supposedly right-handed guitars are actually where you need your left hand to be accurate. a mirrored controller would be more right-handed too the default non-wii controllers are left-handed enough and the wii controller can be used in whichever way unless you've already learned to move with the left hand, which i had not done, because the wii was my first console and I played how I played
Arcade cabinets actually had the joysticks on the right originally. They switched it to the left so that right handed people would have more trouble playing, because if they died more often, they would spend more money. Now most people seem to becompletely used to it though.
I'm a lefty, and I do in fact use the wii-mote in my left hand most of the time. That is, unless I'm playing a game like skyward sword or red steel 2. I do actually get pretty bad cognitive dissonance between myself and the character if I hold the wiimote in my left hand, but only if its trying to be one-to-one (as opposed to twilight princess). Its probably important to note though that when I was like, 5, I couldn't play any fps games because of cognitive dissonance, as it was just an issue with my brain until I eventually got over it. I can also switch what hand I use for movement on a mouse and keyboard seamlessly at this point. The only thing that I still cant work with are shooters on the ds and 3ds. I may love kid icarus uprising, but there is a reason I havent gone back to play it. I just cant easily use the stylus in my right hand.
I think I agree with Liam. I play wii games with the remote in my left hand, so when playing the remaster it was really jarring. It hadn’t clicked with me until I started playing the remaster that I had been holding the Wii remote in the wrong hand the entire time lol.. just kind of got used to it. Maybe it was my lack of playing tons of games by that point, but I cannot play it the other way. I don’t use left handed modes in anything that uses a normal controller, probably because I had a PS2 around the same time to get me used to how a typical controller is used. This is an interesting perspective to hear though. Great vid.
good video, ig the real thing is tho imo there should always be options, even if lefties dont benefit the curb cut effect applies, maybe the option would make say one handed players more able to play (as there's a lot of controller grips on switch for that n stuff) or maybe it'll sit in a menu and never matter, but i think curb cut is always worth considering on feature viability, it might not serve the intended group but could still serve someone... glad you mentioned that at the end!
You may not find issues with controllers HOWEVER the DS STYLUS SUCKED anything involving that thing plus movment I couldnt do it because of how uncoordinated with my right hand I was
I definitely agree with you on the getting used to controls aspect, I think it’s entirely based on how you first used the control scheme (I use standard pads and KBM right handed). My first experience with the wii was wii sports which really does accommodate for lefties so i got used to holding the wiimote like that. Also tangent aside the ds family has some awful accessibility for lefties, I’ve put off kid icarus uprising for so long because of how its designed. Makes me wish more Games had the consideration stuff like the world ends with you did, that game had excellent lefty controls
I'm a lefty (in both hand and visual focus) i.e. I tend to look more to my left vs. right and most of the time I do okay with game controllers. I've been playing since the Game Boy Pocket/N64 era and the only time I have issues with this is when quick time events in adventure/RPGs games pop up or fast info drops in off to the far upper right of the screen. This can include mini-maps, rapid L or A button presses for targeting or maybe having to block/dodge things that come from way off screen to me.
As a lefty, the basic premise of this video blew me away because I always held the Wii Remote in my left hand, and it wasn’t an adjustment at all that movement/actions were switched. I was in college when the Wii came out! Skyward Sword and Red Steel 2 were basically unplayable for me because it was uncomfortable having to hold the Wii Remote in my right hand. The only reason I can get through the Switch version of Skyward Sword is that I can switch off the motion controls that were originally the whole point of the game. Wii Sports/Wii Sports resort give you the basic accessibility feature of controlling your character left-handed
Watching this video as a lefty is like watching a lefty get converted into a righty in real-time
It's not that deep bud
That's literally what happened in this video LMFAOOOO
@@ProbsChaseSpoken like a right hander
It's a right handed world and us lefties are just livin in it lmao.
@@Mr.Welbig real
The Wii was my first console and Wii sports offered left-handed options so I tended to play Wii games with the Wiimote in my left hand unless the game was dependent on the Wiimote in the right hand.
sidenote I tend to use my computer mouse with my right hand.
I'm right handed but I always used the Wii remote in my left hand I don't know why
@@markusmitchell8585 Im left handed, but I use my right hand for just about everything other than writing and drawing. (You might be like me, ambidextrous)
@whitesausagedog5392 I think what you have is mixed handedness which is the bias of certain hands for certain tasks
@@randomperson4137bro just helped me figure out my shower thoughs
As a right handed person, I would have gladly play Skyward Sword in left handed mode to keep the special trait Link had.
Is it weird that I'm kind of upset Link isn't a lefty anymore? It kind of made sense with Skyward Sword, but they did it again with BotW/TotK, so I assume it's the new standard when it doesn't need to be.
Ok
@@ClintOrWhateveri think it a kind of relatability since you don’t see many lefty’s. The only one i can think of other then link is Raphael from soulcalibur. But i was also upset that they changed it.
Yea!
Saaaame
As a leftie I gotta say the wii was my first console and I ALWAYS held the wii-mote on my left hand! It was just my first time holding a controller of any kind so I just held it in this more "natural" way
Left handed Wii-mote homies hell yeah
Even as an old school gamer from the snes era, when I played the wii I always held the wiimote in my left hand for games like resident evil and skyward sword and it felt pretty natural.
The reason why people say it makes no sense is that people view it as a general controller where lefthanded layout is controlstick left(Yes, everyone plays with lefty-controls).
The thing is, it is NOT a general controller. Not only are there games that do not even use the nunchuk, so lefthanded players are encouraged to hold the wiimote in their dominant hand anyways, but it's also like holding a sword or pistol in your weaker hand. It can be done, but feels bad and you will have issues aiming. Infact, that is the logic for why Nintendo made Skyward Sword's link righthanded because the majority of the userbase was righthanded.
As a left handed gamer, i can confirm that wiimotes in the left hand are better, and they should've made a left-handed nunchuck
I m not saying you leftdesis are not good doings with your left had cuz for you its your maie had but your not the loney megoritey how has and dos play zelda a lager megoritey fo thos how like me ther maie had is ther right had and even be for n46 mosth player both on nes and super nes wer a mixs fo both roght hadid playersis and left hadid playersis but as the games fo zelda gorw over time the makersis pike to make link a rightey but on thos zelda games wer its top down i did not mater witch had thay show link hollding the sword and shlled in but wen it slowliey move to 3d thay had yet gone from top odwn with link and cuz some fo thos makeing the games had ye to desidey witch had link in 3d wood holld his mastder word in and cuz ther was and stell is a hier megoritey. Fo righteysis link over time be cam a right cuz fo it but yet thay had a ther way thay wer abell to hadle it bey makeing link be aball to holld it in both hadsis sam with his shled but wet thay pike was to be links left had is his week had and his right his dominethad but even aftder that in some fo the zelda games thay wood switch betewen both right and left hadidsis. A coreing. To how thay wet link in saydid game hav a nices day
As a leftie who has thought about this topic a crazy amount, I could not disagree with your conclusion more, though I agree with many of your points. It's complicated. I am so excited to see that somebody made a video on the topic!
TL;DR: Left-handed options aren't for left-handed people who've been gaming for years like you and me. It's for new gamers who are still figuring out what's comfortable for them. Usage would start low but if every game had GOOD left-handed options we would start to see more and more new-to-gaming players use them.
I agree with you on this point: I am completely left-handed in everything I do, except gaming. I have my left hand on the thumbstick or d-pad and that HAS to be what I move with. When half-life Alyx launched and its launch version of the left-handed mode required you to walk with the right joystick, I played through the whole game in the right-hand mode because it felt worse to walk with the right joystick than it did to shoot with my right hand.
But here's what you kind of touched on but didn't seem to really fully understand: It's all conditioning. As you said, basically since the beginning every game system has had the left-hand handle character movement. This is how it's always been. And so as existing gamers, it's what we've been conditioned to be comfortable with. Not because we just like it that way but because it has been the only way to play games. This is really important.
When you played the Wii for the first time, it didn't sound like it was your first gaming experience by a long shot. It sounded like you had a lot of gaming experience. And which thumb did you walk with during those gaming experiences?
If you took a left-handed person who had never played a video game of any kind in their life (and everybody has to start somewhere) and handed them a Wiimote and nunchuck and told them to play Metroid Prime, they would shoot with their left hand and walk with their right. I know, because that's what I did as a kid. People like this are who these settings are for. Beginners.
When I was a kid, I grew up playing emulated Nintendo games and flash games on my computer with the arrow keys for movement. Unlike you, who seemed to have existing gaming experience I had absolutely no prior gaming experience and so this was just normal. I would also try to use the mouse with my left hand.
Because these PC games enabled me to play how I was comfortable and to grow that experience, when I played Metroid Prime Trilogy on the Wii for the first time, I played with my left hand holding the Wii remote. Over a decade later though when I replayed Prime on the Wii I used my right hand on the Wii mote and my left hand on the nunchuck. What changed?
Well, I ran up against a wall. Emulated games and flash games sure let me be a lefty easily and the ambidextrous mouse we had let me navigate the computer left-handed - though doing things like ctrl+z was a pain - but when 12-year-old me wanted to play games like Minecraft and Roblox - games that didn't have any left-handed options - child me finally said "ok, fine. I'll do it your way" and started _forcing myself_ to use my right hand on the mouse and my left on WASD.
As I played more and more games on the Wii U gamepad, friends Xboxs, and Playstations, and got really into PC games I was forced into playing right-handed due to no convenient options for playing left-handed.
Here's the crux of the problem; most games just don't have a left-handed option and even when they do, they're often bad. The only systems I've ever played that consistently had good left-handed options were the Wii and VR.
So how would we fix this? Well, on PC it's literally just a software problem. Most computer mice that come with prebuilt PCs (what most families will have around the house that will introduce kids to gaming for the first time) are ambidextrous. QWERTY keyboards are symmetrical. A leftie WHO IS NEW TO GAMING could easily place their right hand on P L ; ' instead of W A S D and use the right side of the keyboard instead of the left.
The only thing stopping this is that no game offers default keybindings like this. You would have to go into the keybindings and manually switch over every single one which is really hard to do with a game you are unfamiliar with. No kid is going to do that. They're just going to force themself to play right-handed.
I strongly believe that every PC game should have an option at first startup: "left-handed or right-handed?" with a visual example of what these layouts would look like on the keyboard. As a left-handed person, I would pick the right-handed option every single time but these options aren't for me. They're for the next generation of players.
The reason I believe this so strongly is because this is so very very simple to implement (at least from my knowledge as an indie game developer.) If you already have a system for user-assignable keybindings (which the vast majority of PC games do) and have the option for players to reset those bindings to default, you could very easily at least have two "reset to default" buttons, one that resets to left-handed and one for right. At the end of the day, it's just storing two lists of default bindings instead of one. It's so much easier than hardware solutions like mirrored keyboards.
(And no, mirrored keyboards don't count. What kid walks up to their parents and says "I WILL NOW BE A GAMER AND REQUIRE A PROPER LEFT HANDED GAMING KEYBOARD"? When I was a kid, I just wanted to try the games to see if I would even find them fun. I didn't even know mirrored keyboards and mice were a thing not to mention increased prices and reduced options of such devices. I just used what I had. Plus I used public computers a lot and would not have faired well switching back and forth between mirrored and standard. Good luck finding a good laptop like this.)
Consoles have it a little rougher, though Nintendo has shown something can be done. The D-pad on the Switch Joycons are literally just face buttons with different glyphs. There is nothing but software stopping a new-to-gaming player from walking with the right joystick, looking with the left, and interacting with the world and jumping with the d-pad buttons. It seems really strange to you and me because we've never played like this but for a person who's brand-new to gaming this being an option is a huge deal to me to enable people to play how they like. I really wish I had options like this as a kid.
You might say that this wouldn't be good because the d-pad is under the joystick on the left but the face buttons are over the joystick on the right, but the Wii U gamepad had the joysticks level with each other, and the face buttons and d-pad level with each other. The Steam Deck also does this. A console that had the d-pad of the Switch joycons and the d-pad/left stick positioning of the Wii U and Steam Deck and also had good software support would enable new players to play however they feel comfortable instead of being forced to play right-handed.
I want the next generation of kids getting into gaming to get what I was frustrated that I couldn't have over a decade ago.
Sorry for the book, I have very strong feelings about this. I hope at least somebody reads this. I'm very passionate about it.
regarding mapping controls to pl;',
many keyboards are not symmetrical, featuring a large enter key on the right
The Wii doesnt get enough credit in terms of accessibility. It was the first time a mainstream console actually accommodated a large part of its user base: left handed people. Not like many cases where accessibility options are catered to 0. % of the user base. Left handed people are way more numerous.
Another bonus was that a lot of wii games supported one handed controls which increased accessibility to handicapped users.
same i played a ton of flash games growing up that let me play left handed, but had to switch to right handed when i started playing minecraft and other pc games. it was annoying but at least didnt take long to get used too
@@Refreshment01I remember how much of a stink it caused that twilight princess (and later skyward sword) specifically _didn't_ allow for left-handed control schemes. As a kid I remember playing TP with wiimote in left hand anyway, because any waggling would register as a sword strike anyway; but for SS I was forced to play with the wiimote in my right hand for the motion plus swordplay. What I remember most was feeling the _weight_ of the wiimote in my right hand... Something that had long faded past background feeling for my left hand.
Didn't even realise how long your comment was until I scrolled up to check your name, AFTER reading it fully! As a right-handed lad, it was really interesting learning about your experience as a lefty, and you brought up points I hadn't even thought of regarding this topic.
Thanks for the read, and agreed.
Having ptions in general should be the norm in video games since yesterday, accessibility to all kinds of people should be a priority so games are not only playable, but truly enjoyable to the most players possible. Sometimes it's possible to bruteforce it, like you did, but not always.
Doing so as a kid is also, typically, easier than as an adult. I put up with some inconveniences as child that I wouldn't have the patience for today. So having your nature be challenged as an adult is extra infuriating.
As someone who is cross dominant, which handedness is going to be best for you for a particular task is always a gamble. Pitching a baseball? Throwing a dart? Pressing a button or pulling a switch? Who knows! Just feel weird trying both hands until you figure it out!
I'm cross dominant aswell but i never even knew what to call it. Just thought i was ambidextrous :/
Same as both of you, I'd been calling it Weird-bidextrous most of my life. Never knew what to call it 😂
Also cross dominant. Better at batting, sword usage (LARP style, never done real combat), and a few other things with my left hand. Oh, and steering wheel usage.
Cross-dominate here. Everything I did as a child was forced-right handedness. The rest now is with my left hand.
It’s a gamble to figure out which hand works best with which task.
This is what it’s like for me, it’s so weird. Some tasks are equally easy with both hands, and others are best with one or the other, but for the most part I can do anything with either hand it’s just that one is weaker, although even for handwriting my weaker hand is usually better than most people would expect it to be. Sometimes I switch hands, especially when one gets tired. I remember back in primary school, I changed hands all the time and didn’t seem to settle on one, so they tried to push me to use my right hand for everything, leading to some weird situations such as using right handed scissors like they told me, but in my left hand where it was easier. This was somehow still standard practise around here even as late as the 2010s since my lefty brother had the same treatment. My family actually have a suspicion I was meant to be left handed but just learned to use my right for most tasks, although I think being cross dominant is a better explanation, I wasn’t aware of this until now.
I'm a lefty, and use the wiimote in my lefthand, and never had any trouble using my right hand for movement, which even I'm surprised by.
Same
Yep same. I only played skyward sword on the switch, but I immediately turned off motion controls, because it was so awkward to control. On the other hand(pun intended), I use pc mice in the right hand
me too, I remember playing Umbrela Chronicles like that.
Fellow lefty hear, I was also really confused by why controlling movement with your right thumb matters. Like … the entire Wii Remote/Nunchuck set up separates analog/digital inputs anyway. It was more natural to do anything motion control related on my left side
@@Julie-ns8vm On both Switch & Wii, right-handed motion controls are a on starter for me. I would hold a sword with my left hand in real life, so it is too counter-intuitive to swing from specific angles on my right side.
This seems like just to be a thing where since you grew up playing a certain way, that specific way is natural to you. The thing is though not every left handed person has the years of experience you have. Skyward Sword HD was someone's first gaming experience and thus to them not having left handed controls can be an issue
My cousin is left handed and he grew up playing PC games where he could have the keyboard be controlled by his right hand for movement and use the mouse in his left hand. He hates playing a lot of console games because they default to movement on the left and actions on the right often not having anyway to change it (and even if you did, movement using the Playstation face buttons and attacking with the dpad is cursed).
It's 100% down to just what you are used to when first learning how to play games. I hear similar things for people who drive and move to another country where the cars go on the opposite side of the road and swap the driver side seat/stick position to what they're used to and it feels awkward.
Realistically, left handed people get a lot of right hand practice, and left handed gamers are essentially ambidextrous gamers for all intents and purposes
great comment and all, but i think you meant intensive purposes. unless you truly meant intents and purposes. just felt like pointing it out Haha
@@azup8235 I truly and with all my heart and all my intents and purposes meant to write intents and purposes because the purposes are not intensive, but they are instead additional to the intents
Yeah not sure if you're trolling or not, but the expression really is "for all intents and purposes".
I dunno, just kinda irks me to see someone confidently correct someone else...and be wrong.
But every comment on the internet is like 16 layers deep into irony so I have no idea who's memeing and who's serious.
I don't think I've ever related _less_ with a fellow southpaw lol. Wiimote goes in the left hand and nunchuck in the right; and I remember needing a period of adaptation when I switched from arrow keys to wasd for PC gaming. On the other hand, my left click and right click aren't swapped on a mouse, and according to my parents putting a watch on the left wrist is the right handed way to do it, so... I think we live in a world so designed for right-handedness that it is the fate of every leftie to pick up slight ambidextrous tendencies along the way.
>putting a watch on the left wrist is the right handed way to do it
I just had my mind blown, because...how? It feels natural that way to me not because I see other people do it, but because putting more focus on one's dominant hand is just more intuitive. It also means I could check the time while I was writing.(At least during the teen-period where I was wearing a watch...or writing stuff by hand.)
@@lpfan4491Yeah i don't know either, the watch on the dominant hand just felt natural to me too, but I was told otherwise is all. Doesn't really matter much anymore in the age of smartphones though.
Interesting. THIS lefty feels differently. Maybe it's because the wii was the first console I played that had an analogue stick, but I've always found it much more comfortable to hold the nunchuk in my right hand. Never felt awkward playing with other, standard analogue stick-having controllers - but to this day, the wii remote in my left and nunchuk in my right just feels... right.
same here. imagine being called crazy for being left handed and playing games ... left handed. this entire video amounts to "i disagree it needs left handed controls because i play right handed and you're stupid if you dont" 😂
I’m left handed and was 21 when I first played the Nintendo Wii. There was no psychological adjustment to placing analog character control on my right side. Wii games required motion control, & that was only natural on my left side.
There are a handful of "anti left hand" mario party games that bother me. They're the ones where you have to mash while using the control stick, such as eatsa pizza. Those make me feel legitimately disadvantaged, as someone who mashes with his left hand.
You remind me of another game series: Dillon's Rolling Western on the 3DS.
Before the 3DS, when touch-based games released on the DS, like Zelda PH/ST, the game would be fine for each hand, as not only there was an option to flip the HUD, but the D-pad does EXACTLY the same actions as the 4 buttons, so no matter which hand you held the stylus with, the other hand could do everything it should be able to.
However, the 3DS brought assymetry with the top non-tactile screen being the prefered 3D scene screen and the circle pad being only on one side, dropping the Dpad down aswell.
Dillon has you swipping the touchscreen like a slingshot movement to roll and propell the Armadillo main character. Problem is, you are also expected to steer him with the circle pad while you continuously swap to keep momentum ( in this tower defense game you're on a time limit so each swipe counts ). The 4 buttons do something else than steering Dillon, so a left handed cannot swipe and steer at the same time unless you try to rest an extra finger on the pad and even then it's awkward to do.
I wish there was at least Circle Pad Pro / C-stick support, that would have fixed it...
I forgot about this. I mash much faster on my left hand than my right hand. For games like M&L the only nuisance is my left hand getting in the way of seeing the bottom screen. With Mario Party it's definitely a problem. It's the reason I lose Eatsa Pizza almost every time. However the worst offender has to be the Cheep cheep chase one. I have such a disadvantage in that minigame it's not even funny.
As a lefty I’ve always held the Wii remote in by left hand and nunchuck in by right, never experienced any issues with it
I was honestly taken aback by the fact the movement/action controls cross wiring that made hold the controller like he did. That as an instinct just didn’t exist for me and I was in college when the Wii came out. What mattered was that motion controls were more natural to execute from my left side
As a lefty I can definitely relate to this video. If it's a game on the wii or switch I can play with my right hand just fine. (I was actually playing skyward sword as I watched this video) But if it's a vr like Half life Alyx I absolutely need a left handed mode or I wouldn't be able to play it.
I gave up on the Wii version of Skyward Sword because it was just too unnatural and unfun to do that much motion control stuff in a counter intuitive manner. But I was really confounded by the idea of it being difficult to use the nunchuck in your right hand, because that is the only way I played Wii games
I'm actually one of the "no one is crazy enough to play Twilight Princess with their left hand" people you mentioned at 8:17
This was maybe one of the most interesting videos that was recommended to me in quiet a while.
I was almost 19 when I first started playing video games on a regular basis. I quickly became a huge Zelda fan, and played through large parts of the franchise in the following months.
Twilight Princess was one of the last games I played, and at this point I was extremly familiar with the "standard controller layout", as well as some special controll methods that are typical for the Zelda series (for example the camera reset button always being the larger left shoulder button). Having learned that Nintendo made Link right handed in the game, I therefore decided "fuck it, I'm playing with my left hand; because why not". And honestly? it wasn't bad, it was even really good. It took me one or two hours to get used to it; but as soon as i did, it felt perfectly natural and fine (maybe even better than the other way round, but certainly not worse). Ironically enough, my right hand had more problems adjusting to the movement controlls, than my left hand had adjusting to the action controlls (oh also, I'm right handed, maybe should have mentioned that earlier) . Therefore, it was really interesting to hear that for you the movement controlls only felt correct in the left hand, despite you being "opposite handed" from me.
Ever since that gaming experience I became fascinated with controllers; how the standard layout devoloped, which hand takes controll over what action , how much of 'controlling a game' is just down to exposure etc.
So, thank you so much for that video, I always wondered what a leftist perspective on this is (even when you don't speak for all leftist).
Also, as a quick side note: I just realised a few hours ago that even in the games where Link is left handed, the player still comands the "use sword action" with the right hand. Kind of ironic....
Interesting video topic,
I’m a lefty but when I box I still stand regular because I have more control over my left
I’d never be able to throw a ball with any distance from my right hand, but holding a wii mote in my right hand just feels comfortable
Huh.
I’ve always played Galaxy with the wiimote in my dominant left hand since it felt more comfortable that way. The movements being on my right was surprisingly ergonomic for me, amazingly so, actually. I wouldn’t play galaxy any other way.
I've been thinking a lot about how being left handed factors into how I play games. I've always been bad at shooter games on a controller. I've used a mouse (with my right hand) and even motion controls and played fine. I realized being left handed could play into it heavy. Movement is typically the most important, but in a shooter, it's aim. On a controller it's always the right joystick. I haven't finished the video so sorry if this is brought up already!
Same for me. I've been playing CSGO for so long now and my aim is still really shaky. It sometimes feels like, I'd imagine, writing your whole life with the non-dominant hand would be like. But then again, there's no way to tell, because I'm so used to using my right hand, there's no way I can relearn that. Also good left handed mice are expensive or just unavailable
Gyro controls are the best for console shooters
Can relate, this comment section may have finally made me realize why I prefer to play shooters on a controller with gyro aim - less fine control required from my right hand. Mouse&keyboard controls, or rather, any overly dextrous use of the mouse with my right hand, has always been uncomfortable to me. But, from a early age, using the mouse with my right was what I conditioned myself to do (it's simply more convenient), so it wasn't until now that I remembered, "oh yeah, that's my weaker hand!"
Curious. Anyway, gyro controls rock, and the wiimote was awesome (when it had a lefty option, anyways)
Honestly analog stick aim, on its own, is just a really bad idea on general... a single thumb moving a little stick will never be able to provide the level of precision a good aiming-based game will need. So if you feel worse on controller than on mouse, even though both are using your right hand, that makes a LOT of sense
Your point about growing up with a certain control scheme really hits home with me, cause growing up, my dad was left handed, and the mouse for the computer would always be on the left hand, so I just used it like that. Keep in mind I'm a right handed person, I just learned how to play computer games with my left hand. When I saw that most people use it on the other side, I just couldn't understand why. I mean, my thumb can easily hit the shift, ctrl, and alt keys, so it just made sense.
People using it normally can hit the shift and such keys with their little finger.
100 percent agree. Never had any issues using controllers as a lefty and found it super weird using the wiimote in my left. The only time it's been an issue is when I got a Thrustmaster Hotas flight stick and realised it was extremely difficult to use with my right hand.
But at the same time, it would be nice to have the option. More accessibility options is only a good thing if done well.
I mean with skyward sword, you can just have sword swinging on the left while all actions stay the same. Or many other control schemes. Either way, Japanese devs needs more accessibility options
I simply don't understand why some people say we have problems about controllers. I mean, most of the controllers must be used with *both hands*
I recently started thinking about this, and especially thinking about how shooters and shooting as a mechanic is becoming so common, to the point that I feel that for many games, you are at a real disadvantage if you are a lefty. I notice I have finer control of the left joystick, being a lefty. One way you can test this is just by spinning the joystick in circles with your left and then right hand and see how much faster you can do it with your dominant hand.
I’ve recently started trying to swap the joysticks (southpaw) in some games, and I actually got used to it fairly quickly, but one thing I found very interesting was that I preferred inverting the y axis when controlling the camera with the left stick, which is a setting I never used before. Unfortunately playing southpaw means you’ll likely have to use the dpad as face buttons, which is not ideal.
Tangentially related pro tip for lefty gamers: if you want to be an absolute badass at Wii bowling, play with your left hand... *_but pick the right handed controls._*
Then when you throw the ball, flick your wrist the OPPOSITE way that you normally would while bowling (so move your left wrist counter-clockwise), and it will give you an obscene amount of spin that otherwise isn't possible. It's super neat :)
I can get fairly consistent perfect games this way, which is neat.. but you want to know the best part? If you play this way, you can play sitting down and never have to get up 😂
Omg it wasnt just me, i did this all the time and it was hilarious
As a leftie, I'm very happy you're covering this topic. Though I wish you had talked a bit about DS games, specifically the ones that require you to hold the DS sideways, such as Rhythm Heaven. Those games actually need the left-handed modes they typically have, because it's using the same skills you would use for writing. Less importantly, I also wished you would mention the Virtual Boy, as that console had a symmetric controller for left-handed people and it looked awful lol
10:50 Sin & Punishment controls like that.
D-Pad movement, stick aiming, and none of the face buttons are used. It works well.
popping in to say hi as a lefty who used her wii left-handed
I am a lefty that’s been gaming since the age of 5 in 1989, way before the Wii. I think that gaming in general (primarily on Nintendo systems since the NES) has trained me to prefer using my right hand for a remote control. I think the reason is simple. We gamers, due to controller design, have been trained from youth to appreciate the feel of face buttons under the right thumb.
I find that pointing a controller at the tv feels normal with either hand, but working the buttons only feels natural in my right hand, despite being a lefty.
Sadly for many VR games, the left handed setting also swaps all the controls so I once again have to move with the right hand or settle with piss poor aiming. Some else to note is that with most VR shooters, changing the hand setting also swaps which eye gets displayed in the game window so spectators can properly see you aiming down sight rather than at a weird angle.
> changing the hand setting also swaps which eye gets displayed in the game window so spectators can properly see you aiming down sight rather than at a weird angle.
wtf just let us be left handed, damn
In my experience most vr games let you swap the sticks even if you put it in left handed mode
Interesting video! I am also a lefty myself and tend to rebind any game controls (for MNK) to mirror the default controls.
As for the Wii, I used the Wiimote in my left hand, but when I used a nunchuck, I held it in my right hand.
I am right handed and I always played Wii games with the Wii remote in the left hand, and Knuchuck in the right. When I learned you were supposed to play the other way around, I tried switching but it just felt weird after playing this way for so long. Not sure how I managed to play Wii boxing though.
I also am left handed, and I can see your point about movement. I did get used to moving with the nunchuk in my right hand, but if there was another stick for camera controls I would likely stick to the controls I got used to growing up (movement on left and camera on right). My only disappointment is that even after the motion control games they kept Link right handed. He was one of the few gaming heros who was left handed, so losing that is disappointing.
My first experience with the Wii was failing completely in a Raving Rabbids music minigame until I realized it expected me to hold the controllers like a righty. From there on out, it was the same story with tons of other games I wanted to enjoy (Mario Galaxy, Sin & Punishment)--none of them ever felt as comfortable as gaming on a normal pad. Even certain games like Pikmin 3 on the Wii U years later were a struggle whenever the Wiimote got involved. Words can't describe how happy I was when the Switch came out... The one and only time I practically reprogrammed my brain through sheer willpower was to enjoy Kid Icarus: Uprising, and none of those control schemes ever felt natural, either.
Interesting, I actually think I just played Mario Galaxy with the wiimote in the left hand, and I don't remember having any issues
Thats because there are no issues playing wii games with either hand. Unless there were inherent bias on how they were programmed. For example, if the game has a left hand option and you decided to play right handed then it can cause issues.
But galaxy, zelda, pikmin, metroid all play perfectly left handed. Infact galaxy has the star spin mapped to the nunchuck also 😁
God KI:U is my favorite 3DS game I can never replay because digital movement with abxy is the worst, but aiming with my right hand on the touchpad would be _worse than the worst_ . I have no idea through which force of will I managed to complete some 9.9 difficulty levels when I walked into every fight with such a massive handicap.
I've played through Mario Galaxy multiple times, I've never had a single issue playing it as a lefty, even the motion control segments like the ray racing or ball balancing, that game it feels perfectly okay to switch hands I feel.
Yeah, it's definitely a spectrum. Some lefties are more adaptable than others--for me it just never felt natural. I always had to switch hands in Sin & Punishment, too. @@plbster
frogger music at the end nice
As a lefty who uses right handed control schemes, I agree with this loads. Its the same concept as why when I’m using just my mouse for an extended period of time I’ll use my left hand because it’s more comfortable, but that doesn’t mean it’s inconvenient to use my mouse in my right. I’ve been playing that way my whole life so it’s not a big deal at all.
Video games are one of the few things in life that force the audience to be ambidextrous. You need to use both hands simultaneously to beat some games. Some games even habe the player control multiple characters with the same controller. The only reason arcade games typically have the stick or knobs on the left side was because gamers got used to it being on the right side, then they got used to it being on the left side. It's a weird case study of how adaptable and malleable the human brain can be with enough focus and determination.
My friend who claims to be color blind and left handed uses the control option in shooting games that puts firing the gun on the left trigger and moving it to the center of the screen on the right trigger. some games even mirror the gun/arms so it looks like it is held in the left hand.
well when you say you only speak for yourself you’re certainly correct, you certainly don’t speak for me. i’m left handed, three of my four siblings are left handed, and all of us held the remote in our left hands. maybe it’s just that i was a kid and had only been playing the gamecube for a few years, so who knows maybe “stick on the left” just wasn’t so ingrained in my mind, but that what feels natural to me to this day. so, when i borrowed the original skyward sword from a friend and realized there was no lefty mode, i was seriously let down. i’m left handed, so naturally that means my aim and stability with my right hand will be worse. so especially in a game like that, it really made me feel like my needs weren’t being accounted for
Yeah, that is basically a thing. Even today just randomly, I can try swinging a small bottle around as vague approximation and it just feels more natural to hold it in the left. That is far more convincing than "But controlstick left!"
Guitar hero’s lefty flip function is the greatest invention.
I salute the devs.
As a lefty who never played games until the Wii became a juggernaut, I had the complete opposite thought process as you. I always held the wii remote in my left hajd and would hold the nunchuck in my right when applicable. It’s kinda funny since when playing games with the Wii remote on its side, that wasn’t an issue. Luckily the Wii had enough wiggle room for both hands to work like you said, but honestly, I can’t imagine playing something like Super Mario Galaxy the other way. I can play most games no problem but when having to consider two separate controls detached, i need left hand dominance.
I guess Im just built different. since I have zero issues using the wii mote in my left hand and switching to any other controller
i'm a lefty and while i've never played a vr game and the only games with motion controls i've played are kinect games, i do always like when the kinds of ds games where you have to hold your ds sideways like a book have left-handed options (eg rhythm heaven ds lets you switch between lefty and righty mode on the title screen)
I was trying to find your vid after it refreshed for 2 hours 😂😂😂😂😂
That’s why I love the Wii remote.
It’s made for both left and right handed people and skyward sword didn’t need to accommodate for that because it was so easy to just swap the Wiimote into your left hand and the nunchuck into your right.
You use the word "intuitive" to refer to the fact that in most controllers directional controls are situated in the left. But it has to do more with standardization, since like you pointed out the NES popularized that particular setup.
Remember since the Wii controls were based more in moving the actual control itself it made sense that the setup was simetrical allowing players with distinct dominsnts hands to feel confortable. Also remember thst the idea of the Wii was to attract as many people as possible so it ended up being for many their 1st gaming console. So sllowing to control the games with whatever hand the user felt more comfortable was paramount.
this was an insightful video! I’m a lefty and had a similar experience with trying to use the wiimote in my dominant hand, I do prefer it if all I’m doing is holding the remote upright, but if the nunchuck is plugged in, no way I much prefer the nunchuk on my left hand.
I also liked what you pointed out with settings that move where things are positioned visually like having them hold it in the opposite hand especially on VR, it can feel quite natural though not a necessity to me
I grew up on the DS so I was stunted while I was learning but I've gotten pretty good at the normal setup. I have switched controlls for when(if) I use my Joycons because I'm only using those pieces of shit on people that suck and honestly the controll switch only makes me have to think slightly more
The part about the bolt switching side of the rifle in RE4 VR when you switch to left handed mode was so interesting. Face Full of Eyes made a great video about that sort of stuff 6 months before this video came out. I don't know if hes seen that game but I bet he would find it interesting especially the part where you said its easier to use it with the bolt on the right side, that sort of stuff is so fascinating to me because of the way so many games over the years have had left handed guns or unique animations with gun handedness. Resident evil 5 had a character that was left handed but used right handed guns and would reload the bolt action rifle in a very similar way. I just love exploring the psychology with this kinda stuff.
@@Lattrodon Sheva is one of my favorite left handed characters because of that attention to detail. If I had to presume and speak for other lefties, it boils down to simply getting used to right handed designed items and finding our own comfortable workarounds to them as we hardly even get to use left handed designed items.
Like how there really aren’t many game controllers for lefties so ultimately it’s just easier to use regular controllers until it feels natural which basically is what happened to me.
@@Mr.Welbig Thats awesome, I would love to see more games with characters that are left handed by design and written around that as a character trait. I think some people are speculating that Jason in GTA 6 will be left handed but its hard to know for sure yet because in Red Dead 2 Arthur/ John could shoot left handed when it was convenient for the animators. Seems like being left handed is most often either overlooked or injected into a game artificially even if a character is written to be right handed, kinda like how Nintendo will mirror an entire Zelda game to make Link right handed for convenience. I do think it wouldn't make sense for the controller to be mirrored like using the right stick for movement, you brought up a lot of great points and I think it would be funny to see a game controller with the face buttons on the left and the D-pad on the right. The world we live in was built for right handed people.
I am a Leftie and I disagre. I naturally picked the Wii remote with my left and that was the way ever since. The weird thing is that the wii and those flashgames you mention where my first gaming experiences.
To be fair after that really easilly transtioned to a normal controller an traditional K&M controlls. And now in games like pokemmo I change the controlls from the arrow keys to WASD. I will have to pick up a wii game game again to see how I feel now that I have been exposed to rest of gaming.
I wanted to give my perspective on this as well, since I am sort of ambidextrious. It really depends on what I'm doing. For example, when eating and writing, I use my left hand, and, when playing tennis, I use my right hand. And I've played on a wii a few times and, I have to say, I always defaulted to holding the remote on the right and nunchuck on the left. It feels natural, just like you said. And I've never had problems playing games using right-handed layouts. Maybe this doesn't count for much, because I already use my right hand for quite a few things, but it really does feel natural.
When I was talking with my friends about it they did mention how hand dominance is only one part of the equation. For example I write with my left, yet I see out my write eye. Like if it's bright I'll close my left eye before my right. When picking up objects and holding things I also use my right. I wonder if shaking hands with other people right handed may have had an effect on it.
@@Mr.Welbigheh, this actually goes into some weird stuff with the way our body works. If you are left handed, then it is the right half of your brain that is dominant. Your eyes aren’t affected by this weird criss crossing. I’m right handed, but it’s easier for me to wink with my left eye. Brains are weird.
been forced to do thing right handed my whole life, including the wii. while it definitely felt more natural to do, I felt pains in my arm and hands holding them as a right handed person
Im also left handed and ive always used a Wii mote in my left hand but the joy cons it never bothered me
same
As a left handed person myself, this was an interesting topic to listen to. Personally, I’ve always used the Wii remote in my left and nunchuck in my right, and whether or not is was because of sensor bar placement, or Wii motion plus, the motions I would do would be tracked really well. I personally play Pandora’s Tower using this scheme, and never had any problems with it. Guess it takes being told that your control style is the wrong way to convert to the right handed side…
I find this weird. Why is there people that thing there are problem playing wii games left handed? The controls were made symmetrical with thst purpose 😁
NICE FROGGER MUSIC AT THE END :D I LOVE YOU!
;)
I'm left handed and for the most part prefer using the mouse in right handed mode, and the gamecube non-flipped version of Zelda. I also really prefer the right-handed mode on guitar hero. lefty-flip just feels wrong. I think my left handedness actually helps with movement because many games use the left hand for that. It's kind of a waste in FPS games, So I should try a lefthanded mouse for those some time. I was very good at N64 games that used the Control Stick for aiming.
I also really like symmetry in design. The Wii remote is great about that, as is the Virtual Boy controller.
This video is so cool! Im left handed and I’ve always had the wii remote in my left hand and the nunchuck in my right (I grew up with my wii and it’s the only console I own). In addition to that I’ve always held computer mice in my left hand and have had my right hand on my keyboard, cause it’s just what felt and still feels natural, despite mice not being made for this and it being difficult to press certain keys while gaming.
As a lefty and I have always appreciate that link used to traditionally be lefty. But in life I just put in the practice to be ambidextrous with tasks and activities.
Moving with my right hand always felt so natural to me for some reason some reason that I always just played like that
As a left handed person,
Maybe it's because it was my first console but I always used the wiimote in my left hand,
Even recently when I went back to it, I used my left hand
I was almost convinced on your point, but, even as a righty, I remembered this game I've played for hundreds of hours called The Binding of Isaac, that has movement on the right for keyboard players, and I've never had a problem with it. I think maybe just a case by case basis and heavily dependent on what you're used to.
This is a really great topic choice and great video
I hold a wiimote in my left hand except in games that use directional controls. So Wii Sports left handed, Super Mario Galaxy right handed. The only time I feel like I'm being hindered is when playing lightgun games that use directional controls as I'm quicker and more accurate aiming with my left. I remember buying Time Crisis 4 with the Guncon3 for PS3 and finding it to be unplayable because the Guncon3 was designed specifically for right handed players. It basically has a nunchuck attached on the left side of it so you have to hold the Guncon in your right hand.
As a leftie I honestly completely agree. Whenever I try use left for action and right for movement it just feels wrong.
This is such an interesting video, I'm left handed myself and I grew up with the Wii but I always held the Wii remote in my left hand with the nunchuk in the right. And it felt so comfortable. Pikmin, Pikmin 2, My Sims Kingdom, Mario Galaxy, Wii Sports, Wii Play, I always stuck with the remote in my left hand for these and it worked amazingly, I remember trying to hold it in my right and it feels so off. I prefer the stability of the pointer than having the analog stick feel in the right position I never have issues with movement or anything like that. Granted I've never played skyward sword or twilight princess so then I may have had a different opinion, and in terms of VR I have the Quest 2 and its the same I still use my dominant hand at all times. nevertheless thats my thoughts on this topic, seeing you're experience is something else. Great video I never even thought about how backwords us left handed people have it.
Both Skyward & Twilight work perfectly using the right hand. Something the video author forgets its that infact there are Wii games that rely on very fine tuned motor skills, so it made sense to accommodate left hand players. For example, Elebits had the player aiming at things that were a couple of pixels in size & also needed to rotate & move in/out the controller to open doors & drawers. Art of balance its another example.
OHHHH, left handed, this makes way more sense than what I expected.
I will always be a little sad that Link is no longer left handed. I know it's not really a big deal, and I would even argue that left-handed people don't _reaaaallly_ need representation in the same way other groups do (because there isn't really anyone left who is genuinely and seriously prejudiced against left-handed people), but I still liked seeing a left-handed video game character.
And FWIW, I think Link _seems_ left-handed. He fits the mold.. whatever that means 😂
While there's no prejudice in the same form as other minorities, there's still problems that we left handed suffer when doing certain activities, be it on using tools, writing on paper and so on, also how can we actually measure how much a minority needs representation? there's no minority in more need than another, just because there's no prejudice in the form of hate, there is in the form of bias.
The whole notion of left handed don't need representation creates the notion that left handed people problems are either inferior and they need to tough it up, when a bit more of accessibility would do wonders, its like saying that a color blind person should just play normal because there's not really prejudice against someone that's color blind they dont need accessibility at all.
The only reason most think there's no prejudice is either because people don't experience the same difficulties or because they got conditioned or accustomed to a way and they believe it don't need change because its not affecting them, like the one that made the video, he is accustomed to play right handed, me on the other hand never played on a wii, so if i would play any motion control game that needs to be only right handed, it would damper my gaming experience.
Also its not like lefthanded people are asking for a parade its simple quality of life thing for left-handed gamers
but yeah Link being left handed feels like a part of the character feels natural, and for left handed people a character to look up to.
I don't have hands...
As a right handed person I realized when I got into fighting games and struggled with quarter circles and z motions etc on an arcade stick that games kind of already have a left handed bias. For most games analogue stick movement is going to take more precision than pressing buttons. The only exception is fps/tps where aiming with right stick is going to need more precision than moving around usually so it's catered more towards right handed players.
I saw a comment here talking about cross-handedness, and I hadn’t heard that term before, but that seems like what’s really being discussed in this video. Handedness seems to be really terribly understood overall, and just because you use one hand for most things doesn’t mean it’s always dominant and that it’s the same for everyone with the same dominant hand as you. I write, use scissors, shoot guns, and usually hold things with my left hand, but I throw balls, play guitar, and hold the Wii remote in my right. Like most things in life, I feel like handedness isn’t generally as black and white as some people believe.
My handedness settings in Wii Sports are completely fucked up too, lol. It’s basically an even split between left and right.
I always used the wii right handed even though I was a leftie. Never felt right the other way.
I always played the Wii with the Wiimote in my left hand and nunchuck in my right 🤷🏼♂️
I’m a leftie in the field of wii mote left hand, nunchuck right. I feel it made more sense to use a dominant arm for the more motioney stuff
Left handed, agree on the standard controller layout. Have no idea how right handed people deal with it because it makes the most sense to move a character with your dominant hand. On the other hand, I always used the wii controller with my left hand, analogue stick in the right. It just felt right, corresponds with my dominant hands. But that is absolutely the exception, and only matters for motion games. Would absolutely have preferred Skyward Sword have a leftie mode. It's why I still haven't played the game. Although i can appreciate some people feel differently
You mean the switch version? Since skyward plays fine left handed on the wii.
@@Refreshment01 Both. I'm sure it can be played as a left handed person, but I want Link to hold the sword in the left hand. It creates a real disconect for me
I will be honest this was recommended to me by youtube and honestly I love this video like wow my guy good commentary!
This was a pretty interesting video as a right-handed person, don't have much more to add to the discussion other than recommending a really good video (that I dont know if someone else might've mentioned already) from "face full of eyes" on handedness in videogames, it deals more with the representation of left-handed characters but I think you might find it interesting
I’m a lefty and I grew up playing with the Wii with the remote in my left and stick on the right. It works well for me because I feel like I can game holding the controllers comfortably in any position. I also played a lot of Trauma Center where you had to be very precise to where you point the cursor while picking the instruments with the stick. I can see why people don’t like holding the stick on their right though. With an actual controller there’s no way I could play with the right stick as the main source of movement.
Kind of reminds me how I wear a watch on my right wrist despite being a righty. Yes, it gets very annoying when handwriting, but it feels so wrong when I put it on my left.
As a lefty i can confirm and agree with what this guy is saying. I started recently trying to play lefty in all the games that had it. but if it was a weird setup or control setting I would go but to right hand settings. I just recently started playing black ops 3 with lefty controls, and I love that it does not change the right stick to move and the left stick to look
Makes me remember most old 3DS games, like Pokémon X for example just not having ABYX support, while I do understand it’s hard to replicate the circle pad, I was still convinced they thought lefties didn’t exist
That also includes Dillon....
Huh? Are you talking about remapping movement controls to ABYX? I don't know any games that do that.
As a left-handed person I found this video very fascinating and interesting on how other lefties handled right-handed controls. With the Wii I actually was accustomed to Remote on left and Nunchuck on right, it's what felt most natural to me and while moving with my right thumb wasn't the most ideal layout it never bothered me as much as it probably should. It did kinda suck seeing Link became right-handed in Twilight Princess and Skward Sword (And BotW and TotK) losing one of gaming's notable left-handed characters, but that's just preference and not too big of a deal.
The one thing I noticed that wasn't brought up in this video though was left-handed people with the DS and 3DS, cause unlike the Wii, this is where I felt handicapped due to a handful of games requiring movement with the D-Pad/circle pad and touch screen controls simultaneously. A specific example was the Super Training mini-game in Pokemon X and Y, which made aiming much more difficult than it needed to be.
So I want'ed to mention this but I always have played the wii this way and the funny part is I can't write with my left hand. I always though the left hand with he remote and right with numbchuck make sense to me.
Interesting. Is that how you would play on a normal controller? Like moving a character with the right stick?
@@Mr.Welbig No not really, I would move the character with the left joystick on a Ps4 or Xbox, even joycons but on the wii, I thought it was normal to move the character on the right hand for some reason and I still do it. I even tried the right hand method and I can't do it for some reason. It's weird but when I played Twilight Princess and seeing Link with the right hand got me confused a bit. I even played smash, Rabbits go home, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 that way. It was a thing I enjoy but seeing that it was left hand method had me very confused, I always thought the Wii remotes works better on the left hand for me.
Forgot how scary bokoblins are in twilight princess 😳
As a lefty myself the only games I really had problems with were DS/3DS games that needed both touchscreen and dpad/c stick controls. Wii games never really seemed to cause any problems for me somehow
I feel you, I has to play Metroid prime hunters moving around with the face buttons
The way I tackled the issue was to cross my arms, so my right hand could control the circle/D-pad, while my dominant hand was actually playing the part of the game that required more precise inputs. It felt very unnatural and hard, but it worked.
@@lpfan4491 yeah I tried that then realized their was a left handed option
Bro got that 2011 nostalgic resolution vibes, 1st video I seen of his and I gotta say he's going places... the RIGHT places.
As a lefty, I always used the WiiMote in my left hand, and never had trouble with it, even though with a nunchuck, the hand using the analog stick is the opposite of most other controllers.
The only other significant game I noticed my left hand affecting is Kid Icarus Uprising. It made it so I had to constantly switch controls when going from land to sky levels, but I actually ended up finding a configuration that I really liked and felt comfortable.
I'm a lefty and the Wii remote on my right hand feels weird
I've never used the wii remote in my right hand as a lefty lmao
I have always done Wiimote in left hand and Nuchuck in right. I never really even thought about it for years despite some games I loved being specifically deisgned for right handed players.
This is weird bc I am a lefty and when growing up I was like the only person who had the wii remote in my left hand and the nunchuck in my right, mainly bc when the we came out the right only game I had was Wii sports so it felt much more natural to swing a tennis racket, throw a ball or swing a gold club with my left hand rather than my right. So when I started playing more games that used both controllers the Wii remote was in my left hand.
My main topic of this video that I really which u talked about was the DS bc using the stylus was terrible. Bc trying to use it with my right hand always felt weird and was difficult to do.
I never did that because it was just not happening with my lack of coordination in my right hand. In the cases when I had to use the D-pad while using the stylus, I instead crossed my arms so my right hand was doing that while I was doing touch-stuff with the left hand.
@@lpfan4491 that seems like the most uncomfortable way to play the DS. I would just try my best and figure out a way to play using the stylus with my right hand.
@@kaylanpatel00 It was and it sucked. But better than just being stuck because of being lefty xD
I'm left handed and I started out on the wii too. I never thought that much about the non dominant hang using the motion controls in twilight princess and skyward sword, but I think I agree with you that the joycon in the right hand would've been too awkward. I'm gonna go test some of these things out now
I think it mostly depends on the game. I play shooters with the L2 for shooting and R2 for aiming because I’m left handed and my left hand moves faster than my right.
I also did some experiments with some fighting games and DMC3 where I flipped the button layouts. I went into the accessibility settings for the ps4 button configuration and swapped the function of D pad,face buttons and joysticks. That way it functions more like a mirror reversed controller. It works for the most part. Just gotta practice with it and develop the muscle memory.
I don’t use this set up for every game, though. Mostly ones with an automatic camera or no camera like 2D platformers and such
IIRC, movement on left, buttons on right IS the left-handed layout. For stand up arcade cabinets, originally it was the other way around, but when people got too good, they swapped it around. Those swapped controls eventually became the standard.
I wanted a heavy thing in my left hand when playing wii games. I played everything left-handed.
But also I've noticed that "left-handed" versions of devices would actually be more right-hand friendly.
"left-handed" guitars actually put the fine motor task to the right hand whereas supposedly right-handed guitars are actually where you need your left hand to be accurate.
a mirrored controller would be more right-handed too
the default non-wii controllers are left-handed enough and the wii controller can be used in whichever way unless you've already learned to move with the left hand, which i had not done, because the wii was my first console and I played how I played
Arcade cabinets actually had the joysticks on the right originally. They switched it to the left so that right handed people would have more trouble playing, because if they died more often, they would spend more money. Now most people seem to becompletely used to it though.
I'd still rather use a full hand joystick with my right, but thumbstick I'm completely used to left.
I'm a lefty, and I do in fact use the wii-mote in my left hand most of the time. That is, unless I'm playing a game like skyward sword or red steel 2. I do actually get pretty bad cognitive dissonance between myself and the character if I hold the wiimote in my left hand, but only if its trying to be one-to-one (as opposed to twilight princess). Its probably important to note though that when I was like, 5, I couldn't play any fps games because of cognitive dissonance, as it was just an issue with my brain until I eventually got over it. I can also switch what hand I use for movement on a mouse and keyboard seamlessly at this point.
The only thing that I still cant work with are shooters on the ds and 3ds. I may love kid icarus uprising, but there is a reason I havent gone back to play it. I just cant easily use the stylus in my right hand.
I think I agree with Liam. I play wii games with the remote in my left hand, so when playing the remaster it was really jarring. It hadn’t clicked with me until I started playing the remaster that I had been holding the Wii remote in the wrong hand the entire time lol.. just kind of got used to it. Maybe it was my lack of playing tons of games by that point, but I cannot play it the other way. I don’t use left handed modes in anything that uses a normal controller, probably because I had a PS2 around the same time to get me used to how a typical controller is used. This is an interesting perspective to hear though. Great vid.
good video, ig the real thing is tho imo there should always be options, even if lefties dont benefit the curb cut effect applies, maybe the option would make say one handed players more able to play (as there's a lot of controller grips on switch for that n stuff) or maybe it'll sit in a menu and never matter, but i think curb cut is always worth considering on feature viability, it might not serve the intended group but could still serve someone... glad you mentioned that at the end!
You may not find issues with controllers HOWEVER the DS STYLUS SUCKED anything involving that thing plus movment I couldnt do it because of how uncoordinated with my right hand I was
As a right-handed person.. I seriously play Guitar Hero left handed.
I definitely agree with you on the getting used to controls aspect, I think it’s entirely based on how you first used the control scheme (I use standard pads and KBM right handed). My first experience with the wii was wii sports which really does accommodate for lefties so i got used to holding the wiimote like that.
Also tangent aside the ds family has some awful accessibility for lefties, I’ve put off kid icarus uprising for so long because of how its designed. Makes me wish more Games had the consideration stuff like the world ends with you did, that game had excellent lefty controls
I'm a lefty (in both hand and visual focus) i.e. I tend to look more to my left vs. right and most of the time I do okay with game controllers. I've been playing since the Game Boy Pocket/N64 era and the only time I have issues with this is when quick time events in adventure/RPGs games pop up or fast info drops in off to the far upper right of the screen. This can include mini-maps, rapid L or A button presses for targeting or maybe having to block/dodge things that come from way off screen to me.
As a lefty, the basic premise of this video blew me away because I always held the Wii Remote in my left hand, and it wasn’t an adjustment at all that movement/actions were switched. I was in college when the Wii came out! Skyward Sword and Red Steel 2 were basically unplayable for me because it was uncomfortable having to hold the Wii Remote in my right hand. The only reason I can get through the Switch version of Skyward Sword is that I can switch off the motion controls that were originally the whole point of the game. Wii Sports/Wii Sports resort give you the basic accessibility feature of controlling your character left-handed