Gaming with Handicaps/Disabilities

[deeman010]

I recently got into an accident that (hopefully won't but) might claim one of my fingers.
Its getting really boring here just sitting here in my house since I am an active person and I was just wondering if there are any games that one could play with one hand (preferebly PC)? Also, if anyone knows any workarounds that could make it possible to play the wsad set up without an index and middle finger cos ultra sad face. Man this sucks, I even love playing fast paced FPSs.

I'm sorry I meant to type out something long but one handed typing is really freaking hard. my arm is now tired

TLDR; does anyone know any games that a one handed gamer could play? + any suggestions on peripherals/controller/keyboard set ups?

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well you should mostly look into RTS games with lesser micromanagement and games that control in a similar way, and there is the obvious turn based option.

So for RTS you got Dawn of War and Company of Heroes series that work with squads so you don't really need or benefit from that 4 billion APM Korean specialist play, and Sins of a Solar Empire that is just a nice slow paced galactic conquest sort of thing).
Then you got the dungeon crawler/loot grinders such as Torchlight, Diablo, Path of Exile,... these do most things with the mouse plus the occasional hotkey.

FPS probably also doable in a limited way, as in you either go full controller or just for movement, some games will support a gamepad + mouse option but for most you will need a gamepad->key emulator.

 

[deeman010]

Haha I used to play SC2 even (

 

[stormeris]

You might want to try out Xcom Enemy unknown, especially with it's expansion coming up soon.

I think turnbased games are your best bet.

 

[deeman010]

You might want to try out Xcom Enemy unknown, especially with it's expansion coming up soon.

I think turnbased games are your best bet.

Great suggestion! Time to re-fire xcom again I guess, I still don't think I can properly hold the 360 controller to play though (I have it on the 360 btw).

 

[hazabaza1]

Ouch, shit man, sorry. That must suck.
But like Stormeris, turn based games are probably your best bet. If you've got a PS2 or 3 I recommend the Persona or Disgaea series. Might be a bit JRPG for your tastes but they're fun and don't need both hands. I think The Walking Dead would work very well without both hands, though it's very light on the gameplay.

There's also the Civilisation series that are fun and enjoyable, slow and turned based and each game can last a good few hours.

 

[SanguiniusMagnificum]

Man, I feel your pain, I've also been in a situation like that (broke four fingers and a wrist, stupid jiu-jitsu tournament)... I mostly spent my time playing either old school turn-based RPG's (try Fallout 2 or Planescape: Torment) or grand strategy games (Europa Universalis III, Crusader Kings II).

I've already been ninja'd on X-COM EU, but yeah, I'm just going to repeat that, it's a great game and it's playable with only one hand.

Well, those are just the games that I can think off the top of my head.

 

[deeman010]

Ouch, shit man, sorry. That must suck.
But like Stormeris, turn based games are probably your best bet. If you've got a PS2 or 3 I recommend the Persona or Disgaea series. Might be a bit JRPG for your tastes but they're fun and don't need both hands. I think The Walking Dead would work very well without both hands, though it's very light on the gameplay.

There's also the Civilisation series that are fun and enjoyable, slow and turned based and each game can last a good few hours.

Aw cool good suggestions, I havent played civ yet but I heard it was good. Already finished walking dead though ^_^

 

[deeman010]

Man, I feel your pain, I've also been in a situation like that (broke four fingers and a wrist, stupid jiu-jitsu tournament)... I mostly spent my time playing either old school turn-based RPG's (try Fallout 2 or Planescape: Torment) or grand strategy games (Europa Universalis III, Crusader Kings II).

I've already been ninja'd on X-COM EU, but yeah, I'm just going to repeat that, it's a great game and it's playable with only one hand.

Well, those are just the games that I can think off the top of my head.

Haha jiu jitsu, man you must be tough. I'm only starting out learning escapes and etc... but i might have to give that up too.... for now. I didt get into the accident cos of jiu jitsu though, freaking handbreak was down............ f

 

[ForumSafari]

TLDR; does anyone know any games that a one handed gamer could play? + any suggestions on peripherals/controller/keyboard set ups?

Anything turn based would be fine, if you're one handed but it's just temporary then you're not going to have had time to relearn actions.

Turn based moves at your pace and you can take as long as you want, it also contains the god-emperor of genres; 4X. Try XCOM, Alpha Centauri (oldie but goodie) and Endless Space if you get the 4X bug.

 

[deeman010]

TLDR; does anyone know any games that a one handed gamer could play? + any suggestions on peripherals/controller/keyboard set ups?

Anything turn based would be fine, if you're one handed but it's just temporary then you're not going to have had time to relearn actions.

Turn based moves at your pace and you can take as long as you want, it also contains the god-emperor of genres; 4X. Try XCOM, Alpha Centauri (oldie but goodie) and Endless Space if you get the 4X bug.

Here's the thing though, I'm currently HOPING that its noy going to be permanent. Aside from that my index and middle finger are both fractured in multiple places so ((( thsanks for the suggestions ima google 'em

 

[GoaThief]

Firstly I wish you the best of luck and very sorry to hear of the accident.

In the worst case scenario, you're probably better off with a regular controller if your left thumb is mobile, using ring and/or pinkie for bumper/trigger. Good news is you can still be competitive at pretty much any FPS, I have made a huge transition to almost exclusively playing my PC games with a controller and it's very viable. For example, I have recently been smashing competitive CS:GO and finished top on my team literally every single game bar one (where I was second) playing with a regular 360 controller and the default config. Have a nose at my Steam profile if you have doubts, it's been amusing having varied comments over the last couple of weeks where the usual reaction is largely negative when they see "@ 360 controller" added to my alias but it soon gets very quiet an/or complimentary whilst the game unfolds. I haven't used my proper stereo headset either (just regular 360 mic with crappy TV speakers) so in a game like CS where sounds are paramount I've no doubt that I'd further improve if I used them.

You say fast paced FPS too, I presume the likes of Quake and Warsow? I love those far more than CS and my end goal is to hit top tier play again without using a m/k. I've yet to brave it as I've not figured out a config that i believe will work well enough yet (mainly due to strafe jump/bunny concerns rather than aim) but after being introduced to some trackball controller videos on this very website my resolve has only been steeled. I may well invest in one if available in the UK and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the upcoming Steam controller.

I know that was a whole lot of "me me" above but my intentions are only reinsure that despite common perception, controllers and other less fashionable devices are right up there too. Not from the position of some fantasy or the raving bias of a console-centric loon, but a practical tried and tested perspective.

There's already been plenty of good suggestions for mouse only games so I'd suggest getting the free trial of Pinnacle Game Profiler as I think it's the best overall for mapping a controller to a m/k layout for games that don't offer native support. Works well with Steam too so when you launch a game it automatically loads the correct mappings for the game then disables on exit. Let us know how you get on with everything.

 

[ForumSafari]

Here's the thing though, I'm currently HOPING that its noy going to be permanent. Aside from that my index and middle finger are both fractured in multiple places so ((( thsanks for the suggestions ima google 'em

As colossally insensitive as it sounds I just tried playing the original Quake and keeping a finger off the mouse. The good news is even if you lose a finger it shouldn't be too hard to learn to use a mouse without it. I seriously hope you don't lose a finger but you're only unable to use a mouse while they're both immobilised. The upside of this is that longer term you could switch your mouse to the other side and rebind wsad to up/down/left/right and rock it old school.

Temporarily you could try a hybrid mouse/controller pad bind and hold the controller in your immobilised hand, using the stick for movement and the bumpers for jumping and crouching. Then just use the mouse for aiming and firing.

 

[TrevHead]

Lots of 2D games require only 2-3 buttons.

Use a pad profiler like Xpadder or JoytoKey and map the two shoulder buttons and analog button on one side of a pad to play any three button game. It might help if you reduce the analog deadzone if using it for twitchy 2d games.

 

[Something Amyss]

Are you a fan of Shmups? Quite a few of them can be set to operate with just the mouse, and you can use a mouse with either hand with training.

 

[deeman010]

Here's the thing though, I'm currently HOPING that its noy going to be permanent. Aside from that my index and middle finger are both fractured in multiple places so ((( thsanks for the suggestions ima google 'em

As colossally insensitive as it sounds I just tried playing the original Quake and keeping a finger off the mouse. The good news is even if you lose a finger it shouldn't be too hard to learn to use a mouse without it. I seriously hope you don't lose a finger but you're only unable to use a mouse while they're both immobilised. The upside of this is that longer term you could switch your mouse to the other side and rebind wsad to up/down/left/right and rock it old school.

Temporarily you could try a hybrid mouse/controller pad bind and hold the controller in your immobilised hand, using the stick for movement and the bumpers for jumping and crouching. Then just use the mouse for aiming and firing.

Haha that wasnt insensitive I appreciate it

 

[deeman010]

Firstly I wish you the best of luck and very sorry to hear of the accident.

In the worst case scenario, you're probably better off with a regular controller if your left thumb is mobile, using ring and/or pinkie for bumper/trigger. Good news is you can still be competitive at pretty much any FPS, I have made a huge transition to almost exclusively playing my PC games with a controller and it's very viable. For example, I have recently been smashing competitive CS:GO and finished top on my team literally every single game bar one (where I was second) playing with a regular 360 controller and the default config. Have a nose at my Steam profile if you have doubts, it's been amusing having varied comments over the last couple of weeks where the usual reaction is largely negative when they see "@ 360 controller" added to my alias but it soon gets very quiet an/or complimentary whilst the game unfolds. I haven't used my proper stereo headset either (just regular 360 mic with crappy TV speakers) so in a game like CS where sounds are paramount I've no doubt that I'd further improve if I used them.

You say fast paced FPS too, I presume the likes of Quake and Warsow? I love those far more than CS and my end goal is to hit top tier play again without using a m/k. I've yet to brave it as I've not figured out a config that i believe will work well enough yet (mainly due to strafe jump/bunny concerns rather than aim) but after being introduced to some trackball controller videos on this very website my resolve has only been steeled. I may well invest in one if available in the UK and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the upcoming Steam controller.

I know that was a whole lot of "me me" above but my intentions are only reinsure that despite common perception, controllers and other less fashionable devices are right up there too. Not from the position of some fantasy or the raving bias of a console-centric loon, but a practical tried and tested perspective.

There's already been plenty of good suggestions for mouse only games so I'd suggest getting the free trial of Pinnacle Game Profiler as I think it's the best overall for mapping a controller to a m/k layout for games that don't offer native support. Works well with Steam too so when you launch a game it automatically loads the correct mappings for the game then disables on exit. Let us know how you get on with everything.

I hope I get to cope like you............. master. Haha I never thought of using a console controller before... I'll give this a shot.

Have you tried Hawken? )

 

[Eve Charm]

Well bust out the old school point and click adventure games and remakes like secret of monkey island, sam and max, and day of the tentacle. TCG's like magic or hearthstone if you can get a beta would be fine to.

 

[GoaThief]

I hope I get to cope like you............. master. Haha I never thought of using a console controller before... I'll give this a shot.

Have you tried Hawken? )

LOL, you must complete your training.

No, I haven't played it yet and I've really been meaning to for a while. Do you?

 

[deeman010]

I hope I get to cope like you............. master. Haha I never thought of using a console controller before... I'll give this a shot.

Have you tried Hawken? )

LOL, you must complete your training.

No, I haven't played it yet and I've really been meaning to for a while. Do you?

Yes and I was hoping to get into the list of top 100 players in the world but then (( its fun and the community is really friendly, the devs arent as quick about things though so balance issues tend to persist for a while before being resolved.