super glad you still do these, you are one of the most eloquent English speakers on this platform and its not even your first language--plus your essays are hyper original and well done.
I just want to note that the reason Simon from Cry of Fear wields weapons in his left hand when he's holding a source of light is more pragmatic than anything; the devteam couldn't figure out how to put a light source in the left hand without causing GoldSrc to crash.
Interesting fact relating to RDR2 and handedness: One of the duels in game against Boy Calloway gave a few players trouble because they forgot when you first meet him he's introduced as the fastest left hand draw so it throws you off when it comes time to duel him.
I've habitually been "tracking" my duelling opponents' right hands in order to shave a fraction of a second off aiming time during showdowns... Calloway will probably catch me out with that (I'm progessing through RDR2 VERY slowly!) despite fully knowing he's a southpaw. Here's the thing though; it won't be for lack of awareness! I find that I'll willingly, if not consciously, prioritise gameplay conventions over other factors as soon as I'm in full control of the action. Other quickdraw duellists have all drawn with their right so I'll take it as read that they won't have put in the extra effort to fully realise a left-handed draw. Suspension of disbelief and "benefit of the doubt" are my default, so that when a game follows through on a mechanically counter-intuitive detail it can EASILY trick me.
Author of New Vegas mod here. Oh boi, never thought to see myself in video like this! This was my literally second animation in my life and it's kinda cringe. Glad that you like it though
There's something in another Hideo Kojima game, Death Stranding. The player character Sam can throw cargo and some other items. Sam throws objects in his dominant hand further with his right hand. Throwing objects held in his left hand leaves them landing noticeably closer. The throwing can be used to toss cargo over gaps you cant afford to carry them and jump for weight reasons, so throwing cargo might end up overshooting and causing damage with your right but left can just make the distance without hitting the ground as fast or hard. When I discovered this it became a little useful every now and then!
I'm shocked there was only one example of a character being consistently left-handed with right-handed weapons. It seems like an easy way to stand out, so I'm suprised more people haven't done it.
i found the topic of reload animations to be quite interesting, though it felt like he was talking about virtually the same concept over and over. id watch half a segment and move on and it did not feel refreshing at all. almost like he could remove many of the chapters interchangeably and the overall ‘message’ of the essay would stay intact. although this is pretty much subjective, my own opinion on video essays did influence the way i viewed this video.
not finished the video yet, just got to the Sheva part, such a good positive example. I didn't expect it to hit me this way, but I'm actually tearing up a bit seeing the care put into her animations.
My grandfather grew up back when people weren't "allowed" to be left-handed. We weren't close, but one of the few good memories I have with him was when he got a real kick out of seeing Link in all his left-handed glory in Wind Waker.
Dude made me fall in love with every game that did a cool thing and absolutely feel disgust for any game that got lazy. Amazing video, really eye opening!
I respectfully disagree. Some games "get lazy" because resources or skill is allocated somewhere else. If a game does hands really well and bungles up an important game feature, the hands won't make up for it. Games, much like any form of art, are a balance of effort, skill, money, and the developers' intentions.
I played RE5 Co-op with my friend to death. I was Sheva and my friend, Chris. I didn't realise Sheva was a lefty until I played Chris on a whim. I'm not even left-handed but playing her for so long it just felt so weird playing as Chris. I just got used to her gameplay! And thank you for pointing out how the reloading animation changes with her. I'm not a gun expert but I appreciate how much work and effort they put in to make it realistic as they could.
Man I’m not even a minute into this video but the topic of it for some reason has been smth that always fascinated me. The way characters move their hands, in first person games especially always felt satisfying to me and can convey a lot about the main character. Not to mention the way it gets exemplified when discussing a games reload animations. This is one of the most unique subject matters that goes very underlooked and I’m happy someone like you, of all people is talking about it.
This made me think about all the times I've seen left-handedness in games before, and what's weird is that only two hyper-specific cases come to mind: 1. The character MUL-T from Risk of Rain 2 wields all of its weapons in its left arm. this is similar to Captain from the same game, who has an integrated shotgun replacing his left hand. 2. Every single weapon in the game Titanfall 2, when viewed in the menu, is displayed by your character holding it in a left-handed grip, despite all weapons being right-hand only in-game.
I seem to remember the Peter Jackson King Kong Movie Game had an option in the settings where you could select to be left handed. And all it did was flip the screen. Like the whole game flipped. Doors on the right of the room would now be on the left for example
Zelda Twilight princess did similar. Link has always been left-handed but since Twilight princess came out on the Wii they mirrored the entire game because most people are right-handed and would hold the Wii remote in their right hand. Funny enough that game only really had waggle controls. It wasn't until the sequel skyward Sword that they had true one-to-one sword motion and in that game they forced link to be right-handed which completely ruined a lot of interactions for left hand people
It's interesting to see the issue if handedness come up in VR game. Often things are set up for the convenience of right handedness. I remember playing a game where they put a pistol on a table to my right. This added a awkward passing of the gun to use in my left hand. I have never really been aware of my left handedness in videogames before VR
Oh, yeah. Being a lefty with vr titles is a special kind of nightmare. We thought the real world was bad with how right-handed it can be, but VR games are a different beast! From something like you mentioned with the pistol, or to objects that can ONLY be interacted with using the right hand, and especially controls that don't have a lefty flip. It can be a real hurdle sometimes!
as someone who is cross-eye dominant and a lefty, pavlov is a special kind of hell, especially because the game is not well designed to support lefties.
Resident Evil 4 VR lets you do Left handed. Reloading is done with the right hand, drawing the knife is done cross-draw with the left hand, 2-handed weapons are drawn with the left hand behind Leons' back, and healing is done with the right hand drawn from behind also.
Yeah, I remember watching some video about Half-Life Alyx, and they mentioned that you actually can't play it with your left-hand as dominant, because it was hard-wired to a dominant-right hand. Literally unplayable Valve-jank!!
You are my favourite RUclipsr without any competition. I watch every second of these long format videos, I absolutely adore the "Games are art" mindset and I wish modern game developers truly believed that.
i honestly think face full of eyes makes the absolute best video game essays. runners up are like hbomb for his ability to be funny and well reasoned, Whitelight who has done god's work in highlighting the subtle brilliance of today's most mediocre games like AC, Watch Dogs, and Far Cry, or Scott the Woz who's videos are the closest to classic G4 stuff. this guys are just so much more intellectually stimulating and thought provoking.
@@R3TR0J4N technically just about every video essay is a "retrospective" since you're thinking about something after the fact. Whitelight does "gameplay analysis" and some "narrative analysis" taking a look at how games use dynamic gameplay and systems to provide fun and how they support the themes of the stories on display. this guy extensively quotes philosophy and talks about how the visual design of games provides narrative icebergs in the aesthetics series to both deepen the gameplay and thematic intentions of each game. this ones a bit more esoteric and hard to nail down, but i personally have a different definition of gaming literacy (how games actually teach you to play and somewhat subtly guide you through complex environments, whether its tutorials or tricks like using strong coloration to distinguish a climbing path) so i would probably call his videos "style analysis"
I'd agree but offer a critique that in this video he defaults purely to game design, meaning that in his parsing he loses some fidelity. Game magic is part of game design and is no indicator of laziness, it is the illusion of suspended belief. We all know how boring simulator games are regardless of authentic representation. He struck me as little too critical/rational.
Was having a really rough time, but seeing you upload a video really made my day. To quote my husband, "I love this guy because he's the only person playing Doom and paying attention to which hand Doomguy is using to do things with." Love your work, it's always well worth the wait!
I would love for a game to feature a left handed main character using right handed weapons in a way that has them learn the weapon over time. Have them start the game reloading and clearing jams by moving the gun to the right hand, but as they use a certain gun more they get better with it and eventually handle it strictly left landed. I'm sure it would be tricky to implement but it world be a really cool touch I think.
I’m a left handed shooter with a right eye dominance. When I first started shooting I shot lefty and it was a PAIN to find modern rifles built accordingly. It’s possible the characters that are able to shoot left with efficiency are in a similar situation. It has given me the talent of being able to switching hands on the fly at the range or competitions
I shoot pistols with my left and rifles with my right so I have the same cross eye dominance but only with pistols. In hindsight it sounds stupid that I never even thought to do what you did and just put the pistol in my right hand, especially since I can already shoot from the right lol. My only defense is that I like to hold whatever item is less important in the off hand, so if I need to use a knife or flashlight with a gun I'd put it in my right with the gun in my left
I'm the opposite, I'm a rightie with left eye dominance, and let me tell you it's a pain in the ass in VR. It's not great for immersion when I'm just trying to look down my sights and my right arm is where my visor would need to be.
I'm right handed as all hell, but found out I'm left eyed in hunter safety class. There are some interesting antique shotguns with bent stocks for us crossed folks.
When I was younger I briefly took Olympic shooting classes, and there were, I think, only two left-hand pistols in the entire school, and no left-hand rifles. There were, if I remember correctly, four left-handers in the class, but we almost never had a problem because when some would have to practice pistol shooting, the others had to practice with the rifle. Plus, while the rifles were designed for right-handers , you could technically wield them either way, as the grip was universal.
The dedication you pour into your videos is stunning... With how many games you displayed I can only dream of how much research this took. Amazing work.
I just watched an hour and forty-five minute video on specific hand animations in video games. Thank you for presenting and exposing me to a world I did not even realize was overshadowed.
as someone who is left handed, watching this video legit just made me happy. even if its small. having a little representation means a lot. s'why im so disappointed in link suddenly being right handed.
Can't believe that this is what my life has come to that I will watch a nearly two hour video about the history of hands in video games with utter curiosity. Truly the human mind is something else.
Thanks for this. I always appreciate having an option to play a left handed character. I can never get immersed in an FPS with a gun in right hand. Lazy mirror is better than no option at all. Or just keep it centered like OG Doom and Quake. Nobody holds a gun the way most first person shooters' avatars hold it. But of course, it's great to have character that is decidedly lefty. About 10% of population is left handed and handling most long weapons is incredibly fiddly. Some even throw the hot shells right in your face!
i generally get frustrated when games with character creation don't have left options, and some have mods like on Skyrim but they don't solve it all, like its supposed to be my character let me use the hand i want.
This is one of the most consistently engaging two hour videos I've ever watched. Corner cutting in animations is definitely something that at least subconsciously bugs me a lot in video games I think. The first time I think I really consciously thought about handedness though was when Hellboy got added to Injustice 2, and when he changes sides, his iconic *Right Hand* of Doom switches hands. There is also an animation of him sort of touching his off hand with it as if to pass it over, which is one of those perplexing moments when you can see the developers obviously considered the implications of such a thing and chose to go the easy route.
About twice a year I come back to your videos to binge them all, and every time I'm fully invested the entire time. Your research is always so intriguing and in-depth, and it feels like one of the only channels that can really nail down a specific subject that hasn't been explored throughoughly enough by others. The way your writing flows feels like poetry, it's beautiful but perfectly descriptive of what you're explaining. That's one of the main reasons I come back to these videos, because all too often a quote you said gets stuck in my head, haha. Thank you for gifting us with your creativity, I really appreciate it.
Left handed VR player chiming in, surprised that didn't come up! It's been a real struggle with some things and is completely passed by on such a fundamental level in some cases. Even without that though, great video ❤️
1:18:45 One of the few benefits of a gen 4 or 5 glock for southpaws is you can install the mag release upside down and reversed, so the button is on the right. You can also benefit from an ambidextrous slide release.
I am actually pleasantly surprised to see that you included Nero gameplay from Devil May Cry, that was the first thing I thought of coming into this video and that was the first game that I played where I was pleased that left handed-ness was demonstrated and had a reason to be there as he cannot use his right hand because he hides it in the story.
I'm someone who shoots left-handed despite being right-handed I like seeing games try to animate left-handed reloads. They're already kind of awkward trying to do with certain weapons (i.e. MP5s) but it's always funny seeing devs just mirror the right-hand animation. Always nice to see the effort put in.
Kinda wanted to add: 34:30 a lot of southpaws shoot revolvers left-handed specifically because the reload process for modern revolvers with swing-out cylinders is pretty awkward with a left-handed grip.
I do just genuinely love how educational your videos are, it truly makes me and others see video games in a whole new dimension if you will. This video reminds me of why I was very interested in becoming a game designer when I was younger. I remember scouring the web to find any available information on how games were developed on every level, no detail was too small and I still find it all fascinating to this very day. The educational value compounded with the entertainment value of your videos is truly a remarkable skill to have when crafting a video and you've mastered it. Ik these take a long time to make but im always happy to make the time to watch anytime you upload its truly inspiring seeing the the passion behind all your work and I come out feeling more knowledgeable about my favorite past time. Please continue to keep up the good work
In "Greg Hastings Paintball 2" from 2010, which is a first person shooter, you can freely swap shoulders. Your character will walk around permanently shouldering his marker on this shoulder after the swap. You must do this in order to lean around cover in the direction you want. The interesting part is, that the default is LEFT.
Woah you just brought out a real old memory for me. I remember booting up the game and being so confused why the marker was on the opposite side I had to switch it at the beginning of every game XD
I'm sure editing this monster of a video was a huge undertaking. I thank you for such deep dive into this topic. This is something I notice, and can really bug me when devs don't handle this well. Pun intended!
ive seen so little discussion about cross-dominance that this video caught my eye. ive only seen like 1 wikipedia article and one other source ever bring it up. It was cool to see a whole video about handedness! I'm not fully lefty so I don't care so strongly about the representation but its all very interesting
44:16 the shotgun used is based on the Ithaca Model 37, which actually has both the ejection port and loading port combined into one, the Model 37 was used in the Vietnam by USMC and South Vietnam forces
Hitman: Blood Money's handedness felt gold to me. Needing to consider what and how to hold various things made the game world feel that more physical and immersive, and it was a great mechanic. 47's right-handed, preferring to use his left hand to hold briefcases and unconcealable long guns not in use, giving pistols additional practicality in being one-handed by allowing for a smooth transition from pistol to long gun/vice versa, or being forced to drop something from your left hand when you need it free to wield two-handed weaponry or perform certain actions (or both in the case of unpacking the sniper rifle). Furthermore, those single-handed pistols could be hidden from view while unholstered, allowing for instant surprise attacks when not too close. I sorely miss these intricacies from the new games.
Really glad YT recommended me this video. Fantastic work mate - an interesting aspect of gaming that I hadn't really thought about all these years and it was really well researched and presented. Great stuff!
When I first played Resident Evil 5 I was so possessive of Sheva and insisted on solely playing her simply because she was left-handed. Years later she's still one of my favorites from the series. Loved the video, and I hope one day I have the opportunity to push for handedness in games more, because I think it's a super unique overlooked little problem child.
I think to your last point one of my favorite examples of a character's development via handedness was in Dying Light. Parkour movements at the beginning of the game were super clumsy and awkward, but as you leveled up, the avatar animations became faster and more fluid. Amazing video as always, thanks FFE!
i can actually remember back when i was 12 and my father was teaching me to fire his old air rifle i could never properly figure out how to aim it since my only rifle exposure was videogames where the shooter is nearly always having a dominant right hand and right eye but he told me to try the other side and it was immediately natural to me i just had no idea you could have a dominant eye or be cross dominant in that way due to how it was always depicted in what i saw and played
Incredible video to round off the year. Amazing amount of research involved. I'm a lefty so I found this topic extremely interesting. Link was one if not the only major left-handed video game characters. I was sad when he was forced to become a righty.
This is a great essay, and one that will definitely stick with me. I hope you keep doing these - I never gave much thought to handedness in games outside of the more visible "lefty guns" seen in Fallout 4 and mirrored guns of Counter Strike, but I was captivated by the history and arguments you put forward.
I was expecting an hour of postmodernist freeform poetry with killer editing. Instead I got a documentary about handedness in video games and am strangely fascinated. Well played.
as a lefty myself i never stoped being amazed about how often i use my right hand, i don't consider myself ambidextrus but rather i assign specific tasks to specific hands, it is especialy the case when you start a task you have never done before, in my experience you can immediately learn to do it with either hands, for example being a baker, i started to learn the job at 18 and i learned a lot of action with my right hands because it was more conveignient wile other action are still done with my left one, when it come to weapons, when i play airsoft, i allways use guns like a right handed because it is often easier that way, however for mele combat i deliberately choose to mix things up for a ballance question: i learned to use an axe or a hammer with my left hands wile i trained on swords with my right hands, it made the learning way easier that way
Made something I've never cared about into a fascinating video. Please keep making videos they are so unique and well made!! I enjoy how you give devs props for doing the little things correctly like in Splinter Cell for example.
I'm sure few animators were sqeaking with delight while watching someone notice those small details they put into their animations. What a masterful video this is. I've watched it at least 5 time, and it stayed interesting every single time. Even though I'm a lefty, I never thought about this subject, but this video made me fascinated by this topic the entire way through and even after. Easily your best work.
As a lefty, using a bolt action with the bolt on the wrong side causes a horrible issue if its a classic style stock (Kar98 for example). Your thumb is right behind the bolt and almost always skins it when you operate it unless you learn to move it out of the way. The same would be true for a left handed bolt with a righty shooter. Its the one thing I always found weird while playing Far Cry 2.
An earlier example of sprites being redrawn to preserve handedness is Namco’s tower of druaga. Gil’s shield is always on his left arm. That way when he wields his sword his shield goes to his side and it will block projectiles from that direction.
Damn, I wasn't expecting an after-Christmas present but I'll take it, thanks again for making such unique and amazing videos on the platform, you always come up with something interesting and now I have even more respect for animators, it's a lot of work that goes taken for granted
Man, the amount of time in research, recording, voicing and editing this masterpiece is unimaginative for me. You're doing great my dude. Can't wait for your next video.
Glad you brought up the souls games as they where the first games to ever make me super impressed with the amount of freedom I felt just by being able to decide what Items I wanted to use in what hand
I love when first person games show the animations on screen instead of hiding it. This video was extremely satisfying to watch. P.S. for your aesthetics series, left 4 dead might be a good game to look into. I started noticing little details and stories told through aesthetics in left 4 dead after your videos pointed them out on other games
For the first time in quite a while, every example I thought to comment about was brought up in the video before I had the chance. This is a wonderfully comprehensive dive into this subject.
I greatly appreciated this look into our main method of interaction, complex machines, and all the tricky little issues that arise when they come together in a less-than-ideal manner.
Another thing about TF2, all the shotguns are left handed in the world model and the default view model. Every single shotgun has its ejection port on the left side of the gun except for when you turn on left handed view models, in which case, the ejection port flips to the right side of the weapon. Another detail worth mentioning with the left handed view models, jiggle bones end up breaking when mirrored. So most of Scout's melee weapons, the jar of not milk the Scout has, most every bot killer weapon, and three of the all class melees end up being horribly distorted and contorted should you hold them in your left hand. One other cool little detail. Pyro is cross dominant. Pyro wields all of her ranged weapons in their right hand while he wields the fire axe left handed. Interestingly, the Pyro will switch handedness whenever she gets a crit holding a melee weapon, causing that left handed swing to turn into a right handed slam. Of course, left handed view models inverts this behavior. Now the coolest thing that TF2 does with its option for left handed view models has to be on the Heavy. With all of the melee weapons that involves Heavy punching, a left click will result in a left jab and a right click will result in a right jab and if you get a crit, the Heavy will perform a right handed uppercut. Now when you turn on left handed view models, instead of flipping everything, the game instead keeps the left click, right click behavior but it does invert the right handed uppercut into a left handed one. That is such a simple detail that would have been so easy to overlook, and yet the TF team paid attention to that detail. Though knowing how boxing works, you do kinda have to remember to hold right click rather than left should you decide to hold true to best boxing practices. Speaking of boxing, did you know that in the punch out series, Little Mac can throw punches faster with his right arm than with his left, but his left hooks are stronger than his right hooks? And in Super Smash Brother's Ultimate, his left arm is noticeably larger than his right arm? Kinds sad that last detail didn't find its way into this video. Especially with how swinging left or right has its advantages and disadvantages and how using both hands one after the other can let you put out punches faster than if you swung single handedly.
An interesting thing that I noticed about handedness in video games from when I was growing up is how Link's handedness in 3D Zelda titles changed over time. From Ocarina of Time, the decision was made to make Link left-handed, yet since the Wii port of Twilight Princess, Link has now remained right-handed in every mainline title after. The Wii port of Twilight Princess had the entire game mirrored to fit better with swinging the sword with a controller designed to be used right-handedly, and it seems like Nintendo just kinda stuck with that afterwards. Even with Breath of the Wild, which has no need for motion controls (in terms of swinging the sword), still opts for a right-handed Link over a left-handed one now. Just an interesting observation that I saw where the change came from initially a practical reason that has now just kind of stuck around.
Actually, there was at least a reason at _some_ point for BotW Link to be right handed. He was originally a girl who mistook herself as the next Link after he was critically wounded, hence why she wasn't left handed, why she didn't wear green, etc. Details about her were wrong, and it was going to be a story about _real_ courage (because honestly, if you're born with magically innate bravery, are you really brave?). However, in my opinion, that isn't an excuse not to flip the animations afterwards. This is an important thing, after all.
I'm suprised you never ended up mentioning VR games and how some developers are so dedicated and consistent on the handedness of the player character that they force left handed players to play right handed. (See: Half-life Alyx at launch)
You're my favorite type of nerd: you don't gatekeep the enjoyment of others by showing off how much meaningless trivia you memorize, but improve it by obsessively dissecting the minor details of the things you love. It's truly a sight to behold, and videogame criticism needs more of it.
I sure hope that escape from tarkov finally adds left-handedness to the game, it would be revolutionary given their extreme attention to detail in all other aspect of weapon operation
Glad to see I'm not the only one obssessed with hands in games😅great video! I always loved how Bioshock used the left hand for plasmids and the right hand for weapons.
I once asked an old military vet in my neighbor (he was a us solider who was sent to fight communists in Central America for context) how left handed people in his time were dealt with in training. All he said was “Yeah… those people learned how to shoot right handed pretty quick.” He training camp was shut down for apparently being too intense so yeah, go figure.
Back then there was a lot less forgiveness over "unique" people. If you were different, then something was wrong, and you had to change. Lefties specifically were retaught to be righties very often
Whats interesting is many of the earlier ambidextrous shooters are agents or other highly trained shooters. They are typically trained to be able to do this, no matter their handedness, which means its not really unlikely for them to be able to fire left handed but otherwise prefer right. Now what I would like to see is someone left handed who is shown to only shoot right handed. This is common in most soldiers, as obviously all the guns they'll be using are right handed models.
Really interesting video and ideas! As a lefty, I usually play with left-handed models wherever possible (even Minecraft, which I believe could outplay someone if they paid enough attention, haha), but I've never thought about it this much, especially since I don't have the hardware to play such detailed games as you've showcased. I do agree with your overall thesis that details, such as handedness, can really matter in some types of games, especially those ultra realistic super detailed AAA shooter blockbuster kinds, but similar to how you mentioned Stanley Parable, I believe it's quite important to see the games in their respective context, and what they're trying to achieve; a game like CS is not meant to be a realistic portrayal of our world, even though it's set in a version of it, it pushes gameplay as the primary thing, and thus, lots of details are omitted, and a large part of the game is totally unrealistic/undetailed for the sake of gameplay. I would also include most indie games in this category, which, due to a combination of smaller budgets/teams/scopes and usually more focused visions (both as a result of the former and because they have a higher chance to succeed while experimenting), create a much more "tight" experience where details do not matter as much as the big picture. With all this being said, I completely agree that art should strive to follow its internal logic. I absolutely hate how in some media, for example Harry Potter, inconsistencies, plot holes, nonsensical decisions, and plot progressions are all excused by "It's a world full of magic!" but I suppose that I'm preaching to the choir with this. P.S: You briefly mentioned TF2 as allowing mirroring but nothing else, however, there is a pretty obscure mechanic which actually affects gameplay in a small but impactful way; while using any rocket launcher (apart from The Original), the rockets fire slightly off to the right of the screen (this impacts some advanced movement tech in rocket jumping, and also modifies the difficulty of peeking from behind corners, depending on if it's on the left or right side), but if you switch your viewmodels to the left side (which usually just mirror them, as far as I know), the rockets actually come out of the left side of the screen.
Regarding TF2, I don't know if this is the case now (haven't seriously played the game in years) but I remember the rocket launcher thing led to them making the handedness setting only apply on respawn; keeping you from switching sides to better fit whichever corner you're at.
I have to say that I love this entire video, very detailed. I'm always picking apart how guns work (and other things) in movies and games. I will say on the using your index finger for the slide release on left hand ( a couple of personal opinions): 1) I agree the gun has an ambidexters slide release there is no reason to use your index finger. 2) Although its cool that they added that animation in, it 'looked' awkward / uncomfortable. 3) On the last point, it "looked" that way due to I'm a Right handed shooter and never had to use a slide release for my left hand. That being said I tried it and its very easy and not even kind of uncomfortable. In a lot of ways its better than my thumb on the right hand.
As a lefty that’s had to adapt to and live in a right hand dominated world, I’ve always paid attention to handedness.. Any game or piece of media that faithfully depicts a true left handed perspective gets my upmost respect
it's kinda crazy how many things are made for right handed people that you'd NEVER REALIZE as a right handed person. They don't, but we do when we try and are like "why is this so awkward?! Who designed it this way?" They didn't design it that way, they just forgot we exist 😂 (for the right-handed people: playing cards, rulers, scissors, the English language [think about it], pants zippers, credit card readers, spiral notebooks, can openers, desks, measuring cups, mice/keyboard, guitars, vegetable peelers, DOOR KNOBS, cameras, cell phones [if you're left handed, your hand is covering the antenna on most modern phones]... the list goes on. Not to mention how much it sucks having to sit on the end at dinner parties 😑)
@@idontwantahandlethough YESS!!! and oh god I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost killed my self in an industrial or manufacturing environment because I’ve either had to adapt a right handed tool to work left handed, or use my non dominant hand to make it work…
And don’t get me started on using firearms.. the ONE thing I’ve never seen depicted in games or media as a whole is when a lefty uses a right handed weapon and ends up ejecting hot brass in their face or worse yet, down their shirt.. Being in the ARMY was hell for this very reason.. I’ve still got scars on my chest from the hot brass smh
I never considered left-handedness until I saw a CSI episode where a left-handed guy used a chainsaw meant for right-handed people and killed himself. In the same episode, approximately 2,000 people die yearly, but I've never seen any article or other data confirming this.
Do you guys just find it easier to learn a new skill with the left hand or is it more like your right hand's dexterity is way below your left so you stuck with what you're better at? Because I'm left handed, but whatever hand I was taught to do something with I use. So right handed tools for me are typically fine (except for those FUCKING scissors), but I can't use most left handed tools unless I practice it.
amazing video once again! crazy to think how long it must have taken to have footage for every single example of different video games lol. Great job and keep it up!!
Despite how different the subject of this video was from the others I think you did an amazing job as always. I've come to appreciate you more after seeing how your format and style can adapt to different subjects, I believe you're a very flexible artist and critique and this only proved that to me. I learned quite a lot through this video thanks to the deep research you made Keep the good work and wish you a healthy and inspiring incoming year!!
Tangentially related I suppose; have you ever noticed that in games with martial arts combat, the player character might have two distinct stances -- one with their left foot in front, while the other with their right foot in front? Whenever the character attacks which requires them to take a step forward, they will alternate between left foot and right foot forward, and the attack animation will change accordingly depending on their stance.
it also changes depending on the martial art they got that move from, judo for example is a left foot forward sport (alternate foot from dominate hand) meanwhile boxing is a right foot forward sport
This reminds me of the stance switching playing Tekken's Taekwondo fighter Hwoarang and Boxer Steve. Made them into exceedingly complex characters to learn, up there with Xiaoyu, King, Jin Kazama and the like.
Yeah, I've noticed in MK9, 10XL, and 11 being able to turn the fighters with a button press also merits moves being both right and left handed and footed(?)
@@jeremyj.5687 bro. Hwoarangs six stances was something I definitely used to my advantage 😂 Not a lot of people usually fought him where I'm from, and I was able to dominate once I got a hang of his different stances and the combos they led into
You've once again, and single-handednessly made the most interesting video of the year! I consistently revisit your vids, FFoE! (Especially the Aesthetics of Far Cry 2!)
I love that you focused on this. I'm right handed but I want more games to take me out of my comfort zone. I wanna pull the left trigger to shoot and the right trigger for ADS. Anyway, thank you for the vid
1:17:17 Far Cry 2 does actually have a bit of a lore excuse for the left handed Springfield 1903s. It makes sense for the Jackal to have gotten some old military crates of them for dirt cheap since demand for left handed rifles being so low. They're easy for him to sell in Africa since the warlords just want whatever they can get their hands on to supply their guys.
im awestruck when this retrospective video essay sports various sub-genres and perspective to gamelay mechanics and UX underneath the amount of titles aforementioned.
Timestamps:
1. Intro 00:00
2. History: 2D sprites, 2.5 and 3D, Birth of consistency 1:13
2.1 FPS 5:28
2.2 Cover mechanic and third-person perspective 6:50
2.3 Spectrum of ambidexterity 14:07
2.4 Cover mechanic and third-person perspective (Continuation) 16:17
2.5 Trends within studios 32:46
3. Correlation with firearm mechanics 34:13
3.1 Dual wielding 47:06
4. Cross dominance 1:05:50
5. The Problem 1:10:57
5.1 Origin of categories 1:11:39
5.2 Attention to detail 1:22:57
5.3 Fundamental believability 1:31:35
6. Special thanks 1:45:06
How did you know I was right-handed?
Glad to see you back man!
super glad you still do these, you are one of the most eloquent English speakers on this platform and its not even your first language--plus your essays are hyper original and well done.
Subbed off the meaning of the title alone. Watching in an hour after this comment... Let's see but I think I will agree
there is a editing error at 30:13 where you labeled grand theft auto V as max payne 3
I just want to note that the reason Simon from Cry of Fear wields weapons in his left hand when he's holding a source of light is more pragmatic than anything; the devteam couldn't figure out how to put a light source in the left hand without causing GoldSrc to crash.
Fun trivia haha
gold source moment
I still can't believe that they did so much with the GoldSrc engine
it's honestly impressive how well it works
@@nobleradical2158 honestly, i thought forever that it used 2005 source
Gzdoom would never crash
Interesting fact relating to RDR2 and handedness: One of the duels in game against Boy Calloway gave a few players trouble because they forgot when you first meet him he's introduced as the fastest left hand draw so it throws you off when it comes time to duel him.
I've habitually been "tracking" my duelling opponents' right hands in order to shave a fraction of a second off aiming time during showdowns... Calloway will probably catch me out with that (I'm progessing through RDR2 VERY slowly!) despite fully knowing he's a southpaw.
Here's the thing though; it won't be for lack of awareness! I find that I'll willingly, if not consciously, prioritise gameplay conventions over other factors as soon as I'm in full control of the action. Other quickdraw duellists have all drawn with their right so I'll take it as read that they won't have put in the extra effort to fully realise a left-handed draw. Suspension of disbelief and "benefit of the doubt" are my default, so that when a game follows through on a mechanically counter-intuitive detail it can EASILY trick me.
Missed that, it would've been cool to include that footage in the video.
way to overstretch "cognitive skills as spatial awareness and visual profiling", nevertheless take my upvote
No doubt inspired by 'The Left-Handed Gun'.
Buy what if you just kill him like I do in all duels?
Author of New Vegas mod here. Oh boi, never thought to see myself in video like this! This was my literally second animation in my life and it's kinda cringe. Glad that you like it though
There's something in another Hideo Kojima game, Death Stranding.
The player character Sam can throw cargo and some other items.
Sam throws objects in his dominant hand further with his right hand.
Throwing objects held in his left hand leaves them landing noticeably closer.
The throwing can be used to toss cargo over gaps you cant afford to carry them and jump for weight reasons, so throwing cargo might end up overshooting and causing damage with your right but left can just make the distance without hitting the ground as fast or hard.
When I discovered this it became a little useful every now and then!
What will he think of next?
@@zeallust8542 A movie.
@@nouhorni3229 aged like milk
@@SpunkMayo wait, he does have a movie in the works though
I'm shocked there was only one example of a character being consistently left-handed with right-handed weapons. It seems like an easy way to stand out, so I'm suprised more people haven't done it.
This man could talk about the history of eyebrow representations for hours and still completely captivate me. Keep working hard, it pays off.
I found it boring
@@walterclements_ for the sake of posterity, what did you find boring about it? Maybe FFoE can use your feedback.
i found the topic of reload animations to be quite interesting, though it felt like he was talking about virtually the same concept over and over. id watch half a segment and move on and it did not feel refreshing at all. almost like he could remove many of the chapters interchangeably and the overall ‘message’ of the essay would stay intact. although this is pretty much subjective, my own opinion on video essays did influence the way i viewed this video.
@@walterclements_ walter
@@walterclements_ great criticism, nice to see people who can still give their own view with such respect
not finished the video yet, just got to the Sheva part, such a good positive example. I didn't expect it to hit me this way, but I'm actually tearing up a bit seeing the care put into her animations.
Yeah, I was pretty happy finding that unique example.
This video is hypnotizing
Yooo, it's cool to see you here dude!
love everything you do! such an inspiration
As a lefty it's always a joy to see left-handed characters and how they overcome the issues of using a right-handed weapon. Like always, great video.
hot metal ejecting straight into my face, YAY!
@@idontwantahandlethough Burn scars on the wrist, too :)
There was no greater joy than to smack myself in the face with spicy shells while shooting an AUG left handed. What a wild ride
@@comfysauce6707 funnily enough the AUG is one of the bullpups that *can* be used left-handed!
Lefty here, I just taught myself to be right handed for most stuff, guns included
My grandfather grew up back when people weren't "allowed" to be left-handed. We weren't close, but one of the few good memories I have with him was when he got a real kick out of seeing Link in all his left-handed glory in Wind Waker.
Your content is so well made and unique. Please, if you enjoy it, keep it up.
I love the caveat " if you enjoy it, ".
How considerate and sweet (not sarcastic).
@@GackleBlax I also felt it that way.
Dude made me fall in love with every game that did a cool thing and absolutely feel disgust for any game that got lazy. Amazing video, really eye opening!
now your face is full of eyes
I used to hate farcy 2...now I love it because of this guy
I respectfully disagree. Some games "get lazy" because resources or skill is allocated somewhere else. If a game does hands really well and bungles up an important game feature, the hands won't make up for it. Games, much like any form of art, are a balance of effort, skill, money, and the developers' intentions.
That's not lazy, it's having different priorities. Devs have a limited time and have to make choices what they want to include in.
and what are this game that you felt digust w/? (in retrospect and regards its scale, genre, and production/studio budget)
You are the only dude who can make a long form essay about hands in video games and have me frolicking like over a Christmas present.
Oh boy, I can't wait to watch a 2 hour long video about HANDS
I hope ur serious, cuz face full doesnt miss
Why did i read this with Steven He voice
People with hand fetishes are up now
Yes
Oh man, I we were talking about FEET, nobody would be saying this
I played RE5 Co-op with my friend to death. I was Sheva and my friend, Chris. I didn't realise Sheva was a lefty until I played Chris on a whim. I'm not even left-handed but playing her for so long it just felt so weird playing as Chris. I just got used to her gameplay!
And thank you for pointing out how the reloading animation changes with her. I'm not a gun expert but I appreciate how much work and effort they put in to make it realistic as they could.
Man I’m not even a minute into this video but the topic of it for some reason has been smth that always fascinated me. The way characters move their hands, in first person games especially always felt satisfying to me and can convey a lot about the main character. Not to mention the way it gets exemplified when discussing a games reload animations.
This is one of the most unique subject matters that goes very underlooked and I’m happy someone like you, of all people is talking about it.
This made me think about all the times I've seen left-handedness in games before, and what's weird is that only two hyper-specific cases come to mind:
1. The character MUL-T from Risk of Rain 2 wields all of its weapons in its left arm. this is similar to Captain from the same game, who has an integrated shotgun replacing his left hand.
2. Every single weapon in the game Titanfall 2, when viewed in the menu, is displayed by your character holding it in a left-handed grip, despite all weapons being right-hand only in-game.
I seem to remember the Peter Jackson King Kong Movie Game had an option in the settings where you could select to be left handed. And all it did was flip the screen. Like the whole game flipped. Doors on the right of the room would now be on the left for example
That's how it works IRL if I'm not mistaken.
🤯 I used to have that game. I didn't even know that!
Zelda Twilight princess did similar. Link has always been left-handed but since Twilight princess came out on the Wii they mirrored the entire game because most people are right-handed and would hold the Wii remote in their right hand. Funny enough that game only really had waggle controls. It wasn't until the sequel skyward Sword that they had true one-to-one sword motion and in that game they forced link to be right-handed which completely ruined a lot of interactions for left hand people
Not only that, but ever since Skyward Sword, Link has become permanently right handed, loosing one of his most unique characteristics
It's interesting to see the issue if handedness come up in VR game. Often things are set up for the convenience of right handedness. I remember playing a game where they put a pistol on a table to my right. This added a awkward passing of the gun to use in my left hand. I have never really been aware of my left handedness in videogames before VR
Oh, yeah. Being a lefty with vr titles is a special kind of nightmare. We thought the real world was bad with how right-handed it can be, but VR games are a different beast!
From something like you mentioned with the pistol, or to objects that can ONLY be interacted with using the right hand, and especially controls that don't have a lefty flip. It can be a real hurdle sometimes!
as someone who is cross-eye dominant and a lefty, pavlov is a special kind of hell, especially because the game is not well designed to support lefties.
Resident Evil 4 VR lets you do Left handed. Reloading is done with the right hand, drawing the knife is done cross-draw with the left hand, 2-handed weapons are drawn with the left hand behind Leons' back, and healing is done with the right hand drawn from behind also.
@@PzOwNeD I was asking my middle son about this😅
Yeah, I remember watching some video about Half-Life Alyx, and they mentioned that you actually can't play it with your left-hand as dominant, because it was hard-wired to a dominant-right hand. Literally unplayable Valve-jank!!
You are my favourite RUclipsr without any competition. I watch every second of these long format videos, I absolutely adore the "Games are art" mindset and I wish modern game developers truly believed that.
Thank you!
Retro Ahoy has just got some real competition in videogame essays. The quality of your videos just keeps getting better and better!
i honestly think face full of eyes makes the absolute best video game essays. runners up are like hbomb for his ability to be funny and well reasoned, Whitelight who has done god's work in highlighting the subtle brilliance of today's most mediocre games like AC, Watch Dogs, and Far Cry, or Scott the Woz who's videos are the closest to classic G4 stuff. this guys are just so much more intellectually stimulating and thought provoking.
@@quinnmarchese6313 whitelight does retrospective essays. "intellectually stimulating and thought provoking" id say gaming literacy.
@@R3TR0J4N technically just about every video essay is a "retrospective" since you're thinking about something after the fact. Whitelight does "gameplay analysis" and some "narrative analysis" taking a look at how games use dynamic gameplay and systems to provide fun and how they support the themes of the stories on display. this guy extensively quotes philosophy and talks about how the visual design of games provides narrative icebergs in the aesthetics series to both deepen the gameplay and thematic intentions of each game. this ones a bit more esoteric and hard to nail down, but i personally have a different definition of gaming literacy (how games actually teach you to play and somewhat subtly guide you through complex environments, whether its tutorials or tricks like using strong coloration to distinguish a climbing path) so i would probably call his videos "style analysis"
I'd agree but offer a critique that in this video he defaults purely to game design, meaning that in his parsing he loses some fidelity. Game magic is part of game design and is no indicator of laziness, it is the illusion of suspended belief. We all know how boring simulator games are regardless of authentic representation.
He struck me as little too critical/rational.
Ahoy is generally much more consise though. Both are good.
Was having a really rough time, but seeing you upload a video really made my day. To quote my husband, "I love this guy because he's the only person playing Doom and paying attention to which hand Doomguy is using to do things with." Love your work, it's always well worth the wait!
As a lefty/mixed, I thoroughly enjoyed your analysis and breakdown to something I’ve noticed myself quite a lot in games. Definitely earned a sub 👍🏼
I would love for a game to feature a left handed main character using right handed weapons in a way that has them learn the weapon over time. Have them start the game reloading and clearing jams by moving the gun to the right hand, but as they use a certain gun more they get better with it and eventually handle it strictly left landed.
I'm sure it would be tricky to implement but it world be a really cool touch I think.
I’m a left handed shooter with a right eye dominance. When I first started shooting I shot lefty and it was a PAIN to find modern rifles built accordingly. It’s possible the characters that are able to shoot left with efficiency are in a similar situation. It has given me the talent of being able to switching hands on the fly at the range or competitions
I shoot pistols with my left and rifles with my right so I have the same cross eye dominance but only with pistols. In hindsight it sounds stupid that I never even thought to do what you did and just put the pistol in my right hand, especially since I can already shoot from the right lol. My only defense is that I like to hold whatever item is less important in the off hand, so if I need to use a knife or flashlight with a gun I'd put it in my right with the gun in my left
I'm the opposite, I'm a rightie with left eye dominance, and let me tell you it's a pain in the ass in VR. It's not great for immersion when I'm just trying to look down my sights and my right arm is where my visor would need to be.
I'm right handed as all hell, but found out I'm left eyed in hunter safety class. There are some interesting antique shotguns with bent stocks for us crossed folks.
When I was younger I briefly took Olympic shooting classes, and there were, I think, only two left-hand pistols in the entire school, and no left-hand rifles. There were, if I remember correctly, four left-handers in the class, but we almost never had a problem because when some would have to practice pistol shooting, the others had to practice with the rifle. Plus, while the rifles were designed for right-handers , you could technically wield them either way, as the grip was universal.
The dedication you pour into your videos is stunning... With how many games you displayed I can only dream of how much research this took. Amazing work.
Thank you!
I just watched an hour and forty-five minute video on specific hand animations in video games. Thank you for presenting and exposing me to a world I did not even realize was overshadowed.
as someone who is left handed, watching this video legit just made me happy. even if its small. having a little representation means a lot. s'why im so disappointed in link suddenly being right handed.
Can't believe that this is what my life has come to that I will watch a nearly two hour video about the history of hands in video games with utter curiosity.
Truly the human mind is something else.
Thanks for this. I always appreciate having an option to play a left handed character. I can never get immersed in an FPS with a gun in right hand. Lazy mirror is better than no option at all. Or just keep it centered like OG Doom and Quake. Nobody holds a gun the way most first person shooters' avatars hold it. But of course, it's great to have character that is decidedly lefty. About 10% of population is left handed and handling most long weapons is incredibly fiddly. Some even throw the hot shells right in your face!
Right!! What I would give to have one of those magical left handed long guns some of those games showed a right handed guy using 🤦🏻♂️🤣
i generally get frustrated when games with character creation don't have left options, and some have mods like on Skyrim but they don't solve it all, like its supposed to be my character let me use the hand i want.
This is one of the most consistently engaging two hour videos I've ever watched. Corner cutting in animations is definitely something that at least subconsciously bugs me a lot in video games I think. The first time I think I really consciously thought about handedness though was when Hellboy got added to Injustice 2, and when he changes sides, his iconic *Right Hand* of Doom switches hands. There is also an animation of him sort of touching his off hand with it as if to pass it over, which is one of those perplexing moments when you can see the developers obviously considered the implications of such a thing and chose to go the easy route.
The level of research that clearly went into this video is beyond impressive and the clarity and eloquence with which it is presented is even more so
About twice a year I come back to your videos to binge them all, and every time I'm fully invested the entire time. Your research is always so intriguing and in-depth, and it feels like one of the only channels that can really nail down a specific subject that hasn't been explored throughoughly enough by others. The way your writing flows feels like poetry, it's beautiful but perfectly descriptive of what you're explaining. That's one of the main reasons I come back to these videos, because all too often a quote you said gets stuck in my head, haha.
Thank you for gifting us with your creativity, I really appreciate it.
Thank you very much for these words - they are an inspiration to keep going
I can't believe I've watched a 1.5 hour video about handedness in games and enjoyed it fully throughout. You, sir, are a master indeed.
Left handed VR player chiming in, surprised that didn't come up! It's been a real struggle with some things and is completely passed by on such a fundamental level in some cases. Even without that though, great video ❤️
1:18:45 One of the few benefits of a gen 4 or 5 glock for southpaws is you can install the mag release upside down and reversed, so the button is on the right. You can also benefit from an ambidextrous slide release.
Hand animations are my favorite things in a shooter, something about the care put into em just make me happy
I am actually pleasantly surprised to see that you included Nero gameplay from Devil May Cry, that was the first thing I thought of coming into this video and that was the first game that I played where I was pleased that left handed-ness was demonstrated and had a reason to be there as he cannot use his right hand because he hides it in the story.
Seeing videos like this reminds me of just how many shooter games existed in the 2000’s
FACE FULL OF EYES COME BACK WE MISS U MORE VIDEOS PLEASE WE BEG
This is the most nerdy, random thing for a video essay to be about, but I am loving it 🖤
I'm someone who shoots left-handed despite being right-handed I like seeing games try to animate left-handed reloads. They're already kind of awkward trying to do with certain weapons (i.e. MP5s) but it's always funny seeing devs just mirror the right-hand animation. Always nice to see the effort put in.
Kinda wanted to add: 34:30 a lot of southpaws shoot revolvers left-handed specifically because the reload process for modern revolvers with swing-out cylinders is pretty awkward with a left-handed grip.
I do just genuinely love how educational your videos are, it truly makes me and others see video games in a whole new dimension if you will. This video reminds me of why I was very interested in becoming a game designer when I was younger. I remember scouring the web to find any available information on how games were developed on every level, no detail was too small and I still find it all fascinating to this very day. The educational value compounded with the entertainment value of your videos is truly a remarkable skill to have when crafting a video and you've mastered it. Ik these take a long time to make but im always happy to make the time to watch anytime you upload its truly inspiring seeing the the passion behind all your work and I come out feeling more knowledgeable about my favorite past time. Please continue to keep up the good work
Thank you!
That single-handed bolt-action reload is absolutely hilarious. I can imagine it maybe working, but omg🤣🤣
In "Greg Hastings Paintball 2" from 2010, which is a first person shooter, you can freely swap shoulders. Your character will walk around permanently shouldering his marker on this shoulder after the swap.
You must do this in order to lean around cover in the direction you want.
The interesting part is, that the default is LEFT.
Woah you just brought out a real old memory for me. I remember booting up the game and being so confused why the marker was on the opposite side I had to switch it at the beginning of every game XD
I'm sure editing this monster of a video was a huge undertaking. I thank you for such deep dive into this topic. This is something I notice, and can really bug me when devs don't handle this well. Pun intended!
Thank you!
ive seen so little discussion about cross-dominance that this video caught my eye. ive only seen like 1 wikipedia article and one other source ever bring it up. It was cool to see a whole video about handedness! I'm not fully lefty so I don't care so strongly about the representation but its all very interesting
44:16 the shotgun used is based on the Ithaca Model 37, which actually has both the ejection port and loading port combined into one, the Model 37 was used in the Vietnam by USMC and South Vietnam forces
20+ years later, Metal Gear still surprises with it's attention to detail... didn't know about the knocking with gun quirk. amazing
I'm so impressed by your channel, it's amazing how deep you can go into random passing thoughts people have about video games.
Hitman: Blood Money's handedness felt gold to me. Needing to consider what and how to hold various things made the game world feel that more physical and immersive, and it was a great mechanic. 47's right-handed, preferring to use his left hand to hold briefcases and unconcealable long guns not in use, giving pistols additional practicality in being one-handed by allowing for a smooth transition from pistol to long gun/vice versa, or being forced to drop something from your left hand when you need it free to wield two-handed weaponry or perform certain actions (or both in the case of unpacking the sniper rifle). Furthermore, those single-handed pistols could be hidden from view while unholstered, allowing for instant surprise attacks when not too close. I sorely miss these intricacies from the new games.
Really glad YT recommended me this video. Fantastic work mate - an interesting aspect of gaming that I hadn't really thought about all these years and it was really well researched and presented. Great stuff!
When I first played Resident Evil 5 I was so possessive of Sheva and insisted on solely playing her simply because she was left-handed. Years later she's still one of my favorites from the series. Loved the video, and I hope one day I have the opportunity to push for handedness in games more, because I think it's a super unique overlooked little problem child.
I think to your last point one of my favorite examples of a character's development via handedness was in Dying Light. Parkour movements at the beginning of the game were super clumsy and awkward, but as you leveled up, the avatar animations became faster and more fluid. Amazing video as always, thanks FFE!
i can actually remember back when i was 12 and my father was teaching me to fire his old air rifle i could never properly figure out how to aim it since my only rifle exposure was videogames where the shooter is nearly always having a dominant right hand and right eye but he told me to try the other side and it was immediately natural to me i just had no idea you could have a dominant eye or be cross dominant in that way due to how it was always depicted in what i saw and played
Incredible video to round off the year. Amazing amount of research involved. I'm a lefty so I found this topic extremely interesting. Link was one if not the only major left-handed video game characters. I was sad when he was forced to become a righty.
This is a great essay, and one that will definitely stick with me. I hope you keep doing these - I never gave much thought to handedness in games outside of the more visible "lefty guns" seen in Fallout 4 and mirrored guns of Counter Strike, but I was captivated by the history and arguments you put forward.
I was expecting an hour of postmodernist freeform poetry with killer editing. Instead I got a documentary about handedness in video games and am strangely fascinated.
Well played.
as a lefty myself i never stoped being amazed about how often i use my right hand, i don't consider myself ambidextrus but rather i assign specific tasks to specific hands, it is especialy the case when you start a task you have never done before, in my experience you can immediately learn to do it with either hands, for example being a baker, i started to learn the job at 18 and i learned a lot of action with my right hands because it was more conveignient wile other action are still done with my left one, when it come to weapons, when i play airsoft, i allways use guns like a right handed because it is often easier that way, however for mele combat i deliberately choose to mix things up for a ballance question: i learned to use an axe or a hammer with my left hands wile i trained on swords with my right hands, it made the learning way easier that way
Made something I've never cared about into a fascinating video. Please keep making videos they are so unique and well made!! I enjoy how you give devs props for doing the little things correctly like in Splinter Cell for example.
I'm sure few animators were sqeaking with delight while watching someone notice those small details they put into their animations. What a masterful video this is. I've watched it at least 5 time, and it stayed interesting every single time. Even though I'm a lefty, I never thought about this subject, but this video made me fascinated by this topic the entire way through and even after. Easily your best work.
This is an instant like for me. Keep up the good work dude your analyses are such a breath of fresh air in an incredibly oversaturated genre.
As a lefty, using a bolt action with the bolt on the wrong side causes a horrible issue if its a classic style stock (Kar98 for example). Your thumb is right behind the bolt and almost always skins it when you operate it unless you learn to move it out of the way. The same would be true for a left handed bolt with a righty shooter. Its the one thing I always found weird while playing Far Cry 2.
An earlier example of sprites being redrawn to preserve handedness is Namco’s tower of druaga. Gil’s shield is always on his left arm. That way when he wields his sword his shield goes to his side and it will block projectiles from that direction.
I love RUclips videos that could be a college dissertation, really enjoyed this video I’m now a fan of your channel keep up the great work man
Damn, I wasn't expecting an after-Christmas present but I'll take it, thanks again for making such unique and amazing videos on the platform, you always come up with something interesting
and now I have even more respect for animators, it's a lot of work that goes taken for granted
Man, the amount of time in research, recording, voicing and editing this masterpiece is unimaginative for me.
You're doing great my dude. Can't wait for your next video.
Glad you brought up the souls games as they where the first games to ever make me super impressed with the amount of freedom I felt just by being able to decide what Items I wanted to use in what hand
Ive watched this video four times and all four I've stopped what I'm doing and given it my full attention. The journey you take us on is mesmerising.
I love when first person games show the animations on screen instead of hiding it. This video was extremely satisfying to watch. P.S. for your aesthetics series, left 4 dead might be a good game to look into. I started noticing little details and stories told through aesthetics in left 4 dead after your videos pointed them out on other games
For the first time in quite a while, every example I thought to comment about was brought up in the video before I had the chance. This is a wonderfully comprehensive dive into this subject.
I greatly appreciated this look into our main method of interaction, complex machines, and all the tricky little issues that arise when they come together in a less-than-ideal manner.
Another thing about TF2, all the shotguns are left handed in the world model and the default view model. Every single shotgun has its ejection port on the left side of the gun except for when you turn on left handed view models, in which case, the ejection port flips to the right side of the weapon. Another detail worth mentioning with the left handed view models, jiggle bones end up breaking when mirrored. So most of Scout's melee weapons, the jar of not milk the Scout has, most every bot killer weapon, and three of the all class melees end up being horribly distorted and contorted should you hold them in your left hand. One other cool little detail. Pyro is cross dominant. Pyro wields all of her ranged weapons in their right hand while he wields the fire axe left handed. Interestingly, the Pyro will switch handedness whenever she gets a crit holding a melee weapon, causing that left handed swing to turn into a right handed slam. Of course, left handed view models inverts this behavior. Now the coolest thing that TF2 does with its option for left handed view models has to be on the Heavy. With all of the melee weapons that involves Heavy punching, a left click will result in a left jab and a right click will result in a right jab and if you get a crit, the Heavy will perform a right handed uppercut. Now when you turn on left handed view models, instead of flipping everything, the game instead keeps the left click, right click behavior but it does invert the right handed uppercut into a left handed one. That is such a simple detail that would have been so easy to overlook, and yet the TF team paid attention to that detail. Though knowing how boxing works, you do kinda have to remember to hold right click rather than left should you decide to hold true to best boxing practices.
Speaking of boxing, did you know that in the punch out series, Little Mac can throw punches faster with his right arm than with his left, but his left hooks are stronger than his right hooks? And in Super Smash Brother's Ultimate, his left arm is noticeably larger than his right arm?
Kinds sad that last detail didn't find its way into this video. Especially with how swinging left or right has its advantages and disadvantages and how using both hands one after the other can let you put out punches faster than if you swung single handedly.
An interesting thing that I noticed about handedness in video games from when I was growing up is how Link's handedness in 3D Zelda titles changed over time. From Ocarina of Time, the decision was made to make Link left-handed, yet since the Wii port of Twilight Princess, Link has now remained right-handed in every mainline title after. The Wii port of Twilight Princess had the entire game mirrored to fit better with swinging the sword with a controller designed to be used right-handedly, and it seems like Nintendo just kinda stuck with that afterwards. Even with Breath of the Wild, which has no need for motion controls (in terms of swinging the sword), still opts for a right-handed Link over a left-handed one now. Just an interesting observation that I saw where the change came from initially a practical reason that has now just kind of stuck around.
Actually, there was at least a reason at _some_ point for BotW Link to be right handed. He was originally a girl who mistook herself as the next Link after he was critically wounded, hence why she wasn't left handed, why she didn't wear green, etc. Details about her were wrong, and it was going to be a story about _real_ courage (because honestly, if you're born with magically innate bravery, are you really brave?).
However, in my opinion, that isn't an excuse not to flip the animations afterwards. This is an important thing, after all.
@@Bacxaber damn bro... didn't realize BoTW Link had titties
I'm suprised you never ended up mentioning VR games and how some developers are so dedicated and consistent on the handedness of the player character that they force left handed players to play right handed. (See: Half-life Alyx at launch)
6 minutes in and I've already learned I am not actually ambidextrous but cross dominant. Huh. Neat!
bro really went above and beyond for almost 2 hours on what seems to be such a simple topic, amazing video
You're my favorite type of nerd: you don't gatekeep the enjoyment of others by showing off how much meaningless trivia you memorize, but improve it by obsessively dissecting the minor details of the things you love.
It's truly a sight to behold, and videogame criticism needs more of it.
I sure hope that escape from tarkov finally adds left-handedness to the game, it would be revolutionary given their extreme attention to detail in all other aspect of weapon operation
Glad to see I'm not the only one obssessed with hands in games😅great video!
I always loved how Bioshock used the left hand for plasmids and the right hand for weapons.
I once asked an old military vet in my neighbor (he was a us solider who was sent to fight communists in Central America for context) how left handed people in his time were dealt with in training. All he said was “Yeah… those people learned how to shoot right handed pretty quick.” He training camp was shut down for apparently being too intense so yeah, go figure.
Yeah, I can't remember the show on BBC, but a guy was told before shooting an L82 rifle to switch shoulders lest the bolt would hit his face.
Back then there was a lot less forgiveness over "unique" people. If you were different, then something was wrong, and you had to change.
Lefties specifically were retaught to be righties very often
In a never-ending sea of video game video essays, you're up there with the most consistently unique content. Great vid!
Whats interesting is many of the earlier ambidextrous shooters are agents or other highly trained shooters. They are typically trained to be able to do this, no matter their handedness, which means its not really unlikely for them to be able to fire left handed but otherwise prefer right.
Now what I would like to see is someone left handed who is shown to only shoot right handed. This is common in most soldiers, as obviously all the guns they'll be using are right handed models.
Really interesting video and ideas!
As a lefty, I usually play with left-handed models wherever possible (even Minecraft, which I believe could outplay someone if they paid enough attention, haha), but I've never thought about it this much, especially since I don't have the hardware to play such detailed games as you've showcased.
I do agree with your overall thesis that details, such as handedness, can really matter in some types of games, especially those ultra realistic super detailed AAA shooter blockbuster kinds, but similar to how you mentioned Stanley Parable, I believe it's quite important to see the games in their respective context, and what they're trying to achieve; a game like CS is not meant to be a realistic portrayal of our world, even though it's set in a version of it, it pushes gameplay as the primary thing, and thus, lots of details are omitted, and a large part of the game is totally unrealistic/undetailed for the sake of gameplay. I would also include most indie games in this category, which, due to a combination of smaller budgets/teams/scopes and usually more focused visions (both as a result of the former and because they have a higher chance to succeed while experimenting), create a much more "tight" experience where details do not matter as much as the big picture.
With all this being said, I completely agree that art should strive to follow its internal logic. I absolutely hate how in some media, for example Harry Potter, inconsistencies, plot holes, nonsensical decisions, and plot progressions are all excused by "It's a world full of magic!" but I suppose that I'm preaching to the choir with this.
P.S: You briefly mentioned TF2 as allowing mirroring but nothing else, however, there is a pretty obscure mechanic which actually affects gameplay in a small but impactful way; while using any rocket launcher (apart from The Original), the rockets fire slightly off to the right of the screen (this impacts some advanced movement tech in rocket jumping, and also modifies the difficulty of peeking from behind corners, depending on if it's on the left or right side), but if you switch your viewmodels to the left side (which usually just mirror them, as far as I know), the rockets actually come out of the left side of the screen.
Regarding TF2, I don't know if this is the case now (haven't seriously played the game in years) but I remember the rocket launcher thing led to them making the handedness setting only apply on respawn; keeping you from switching sides to better fit whichever corner you're at.
I have to say that I love this entire video, very detailed. I'm always picking apart how guns work (and other things) in movies and games. I will say on the using your index finger for the slide release on left hand ( a couple of personal opinions): 1) I agree the gun has an ambidexters slide release there is no reason to use your index finger. 2) Although its cool that they added that animation in, it 'looked' awkward / uncomfortable. 3) On the last point, it "looked" that way due to I'm a Right handed shooter and never had to use a slide release for my left hand. That being said I tried it and its very easy and not even kind of uncomfortable. In a lot of ways its better than my thumb on the right hand.
As a lefty that’s had to adapt to and live in a right hand dominated world, I’ve always paid attention to handedness.. Any game or piece of media that faithfully depicts a true left handed perspective gets my upmost respect
it's kinda crazy how many things are made for right handed people that you'd NEVER REALIZE as a right handed person. They don't, but we do when we try and are like "why is this so awkward?! Who designed it this way?" They didn't design it that way, they just forgot we exist 😂
(for the right-handed people: playing cards, rulers, scissors, the English language [think about it], pants zippers, credit card readers, spiral notebooks, can openers, desks, measuring cups, mice/keyboard, guitars, vegetable peelers, DOOR KNOBS, cameras, cell phones [if you're left handed, your hand is covering the antenna on most modern phones]... the list goes on. Not to mention how much it sucks having to sit on the end at dinner parties 😑)
@@idontwantahandlethough YESS!!! and oh god I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost killed my self in an industrial or manufacturing environment because I’ve either had to adapt a right handed tool to work left handed, or use my non dominant hand to make it work…
And don’t get me started on using firearms.. the ONE thing I’ve never seen depicted in games or media as a whole is when a lefty uses a right handed weapon and ends up ejecting hot brass in their face or worse yet, down their shirt.. Being in the ARMY was hell for this very reason.. I’ve still got scars on my chest from the hot brass smh
I never considered left-handedness until I saw a CSI episode where a left-handed guy used a chainsaw meant for right-handed people and killed himself. In the same episode, approximately 2,000 people die yearly, but I've never seen any article or other data confirming this.
Do you guys just find it easier to learn a new skill with the left hand or is it more like your right hand's dexterity is way below your left so you stuck with what you're better at? Because I'm left handed, but whatever hand I was taught to do something with I use. So right handed tools for me are typically fine (except for those FUCKING scissors), but I can't use most left handed tools unless I practice it.
Hoping to see Fistful of Frags handedness system in here, although it’s more of a gameplay thing then an accommodation of handedness
It's still nice that it's not purely cosmetic
amazing video once again! crazy to think how long it must have taken to have footage for every single example of different video games lol. Great job and keep it up!!
Yo tbag !
Thank you!
You’re such a chad you got me to watch a 2 hour video on right and left handed video game characters
Despite how different the subject of this video was from the others I think you did an amazing job as always. I've come to appreciate you more after seeing how your format and style can adapt to different subjects, I believe you're a very flexible artist and critique and this only proved that to me.
I learned quite a lot through this video thanks to the deep research you made
Keep the good work and wish you a healthy and inspiring incoming year!!
Thank you, you're too kind. All the best to you as well!
I was just rewatching your SWAT 4 video before I took a nap. That’s sick.
Tangentially related I suppose; have you ever noticed that in games with martial arts combat, the player character might have two distinct stances -- one with their left foot in front, while the other with their right foot in front? Whenever the character attacks which requires them to take a step forward, they will alternate between left foot and right foot forward, and the attack animation will change accordingly depending on their stance.
it also changes depending on the martial art they got that move from, judo for example is a left foot forward sport (alternate foot from dominate hand) meanwhile boxing is a right foot forward sport
wait swap those for righthandedness
This reminds me of the stance switching playing Tekken's Taekwondo fighter Hwoarang and Boxer Steve. Made them into exceedingly complex characters to learn, up there with Xiaoyu, King, Jin Kazama and the like.
Yeah, I've noticed in MK9, 10XL, and 11 being able to turn the fighters with a button press also merits moves being both right and left handed and footed(?)
@@jeremyj.5687 bro. Hwoarangs six stances was something I definitely used to my advantage 😂
Not a lot of people usually fought him where I'm from, and I was able to dominate once I got a hang of his different stances and the combos they led into
Never thought I'd sit through almost 2h of someone talking about hands in video games but im here for it. Amazing work
Hell, it's about time.
Btw a video about RDR2 from you would be a dream come true.
I agree. I've seen short vids on why GTA6 is taking so long, and you see rail road spikes being hammered into place in RDR2😄
alright you got me, i am left handed and i care about it being well represented
same
You've once again, and single-handednessly made the most interesting video of the year!
I consistently revisit your vids, FFoE!
(Especially the Aesthetics of Far Cry 2!)
Thank you!
I love that you focused on this. I'm right handed but I want more games to take me out of my comfort zone. I wanna pull the left trigger to shoot and the right trigger for ADS. Anyway, thank you for the vid
1:17:17 Far Cry 2 does actually have a bit of a lore excuse for the left handed Springfield 1903s. It makes sense for the Jackal to have gotten some old military crates of them for dirt cheap since demand for left handed rifles being so low. They're easy for him to sell in Africa since the warlords just want whatever they can get their hands on to supply their guys.
How about most of the guns though? Most of the mirrored, I'm only remember that the m249 one of the gun that isn't mirrored.
im awestruck when this retrospective video essay sports various sub-genres and perspective to gamelay mechanics and UX underneath the amount of titles aforementioned.