What is so great about the keyboard as a gaming tool?

[LilithSlave]

There are a lot of Pc vs. Console wars out there on the out in the world.

Many of them on the PC side are valid. You prefer console style games? You can emulate almost anything, including the PlayStation 2, Gamecube, and Wii on a half decent computer. Prefer a controller over a keyboard, the computer has a huge array of USB controllers made for it, and there is an adapter for every console controller in existence.

But there's one argument to me about PC gaming that seems inane and pushing one's luck. The claim that PC gaming is better than console gaming because the keyboard is superior in every way to the controller and complain when a game has any controller support or gamers use a controller for gaming instead of a keyboard, because "controllers are for non-true gamer plebeians".

What? I can understand many arguments in favor of PC gaming. And I myself own a nice computer with an HD 6870 in it. But the keyboard is often a terrible device for many types of gaming. I would never want to play a fighting game with a keyboard. You know what WASD is good for? Making your fingers ache. Playing games with a keyboard is uncomfortable. I know, because many years ago as a poor person without a computer controller who had to play many games on an emulator with a keyboard and a keyboard only, I had to quit after around 3 hours because my hands were absolutely throbbing with pain. There's oft the argument that "you can simply hit more buttons with a keyboard than a controller", but is that really true? That sounds silly, there's already a huge amount of buttons on controllers and if people wanted to, they could add more.

Why, why on either would a keyboard ever be a "superior gaming device"? It's a device made specifically for typing, not gaming. The amount of games that are made better for a gamepad/joystick are far greater than ones made better for a keyboard.

You can think a person is better for playing Street Fighter IV on Windows rather than a console all you like. But I would rather use an arcade joystick. And I have tried playing some with a keyboard, it is one of the greatest exercises in frustration and futility I have ever encountered.

 

[Baneat]

People emphasise the mouse.

And for some games, you can't do without, WoW and all RTS games would fail without a keyboard.

Also: My favourite bonus is that learning to game on a keyboard especially at the games mentioned above vastly enhances your typography, especially accuracy since you can hit the key you are thinking of much more easily. I actually type now with my left hand defaulting to WASD (It used to default to asdf as it should) since I can hit what my keybinds would be for WoW so accurately that way. That's just a cool plus.

I have a fightpad for platformers and a 360 controller for things that need twinsticks though, such as a racing game or a third person slasher. But all FPS games need that mouse and the additional left hand binds.

Also: Modify that claim, since it's the fact that you may always choose freely which method of control you want which makes PC control superior. There are no controllers I can think of which exclusively function on a console only, other than build in pads on handheld devices. And they're generally space-constrained versions of a better controller. (And a few of them are even usable on a PC with some mods XD)

 

[enzilewulf]

No clue to be honest. I hate it too, I prefer me a controller. I love the fact that mine craft will be on xbox soon because that means I can ditch this shit pc I have in favor for a nice controller.

I have nothing against PC gaming though. I just have a shit rig.

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

No, surely keyboard and mouse is claimed as superior? Especially in games requiring aim? But I've never seen any PC gamer trumpet lone keyboard as anything but utilitarian. Though gaming keyboards do a pretty good job of having a fuckton of features and functionality, but honestly I think this argument is moot. I have never, EVER, heard anyone say keyboard alone is superior.

I dunno, maybe it's been said, but I think it's usually been a functionality/utility argument as apposed to actual gaming advantage; k&m perhaps, but not keyboard alone. That's weird, if someone is actually saying that. Eh.

Edit:

People emphasise the mouse.

And for some games, you can't do without, WoW and all RTS games would fail without a keyboard.

Oh look you said what I said in four words, go you >_<'

...I completely forgot about hotkey games. That's an excellent point too. You're a good explainer.

 

[theheroofaction]

I think it really has mote to do with what genres you play.

For one, it would be hard to make an arguement for controlers on an rts, but at the same time, a keyboard proves a pain for fighters.

 

[FreakSheet]

I can only play FPS with either keyboard and mouse. WASD + mouse = super precise controllers, and mouse wheel = rapid weapon switch. For an RTS like StarCraft, playing with a controller is just short of a sin. Having all the hotkeys, control groups, and click drag is 100% needed.

And my fingers have never hurt from FPS's on PC. And I can play TF2 for a long time. Maybe you just need a more ergonomic one.

 

[Baneat]

I can only play FPS with either keyboard and mouse, or wii-remotes. WASD + mouse = super precise controllers, and mouse wheel = rapid weapon switch. For an RTS like StarCraft, playing with a controller is just short of a sin. Having all the hotkeys, control groups, and click drag is 100% needed.

And my fingers have never hurt from FPS's on PC. And I can play TF2 for a long time. Maybe you just need a more ergonomic one.

Super meat boy on a keyboard is killer on the hands. That's why there's a warning at the start to use a gamepad.

 

[Burst6]

Yeah it's more about the mouse, but the keyboard is more efficient when you get used to it. As you may have noticed, the keyboard has a lot of buttons, and all of them are controlled with multiple fingers. This means proper PC ports can have weapons and things spread out to different buttons that you can reach a bit quicker than the controller.

So yeah keyboard is a bit more efficient, but the mouse is the main thing though. In a shooting game it's mouse>analog stick.

 

[The Madman]

Depends on the game obviously. Street Fighter is much better with a gamepad for example, but I'd hate to even try playing games like Starcraft 2 without.

If you're more into fighters and beat & ups then consoles are obviously where you'll want to go and gamepads and controllers with be your implements of choice. Better variety and better default input method. For someone like myself who's a huge fan of strategy and simulation styled games however the controller is just a clumsy poor implement without enough buttons or accuracy to even begin to do what I want it to.

That said that's also why when I *do* feel the urge to play games better with a gamepad I use one. You can hook those up to the PC, it's pretty nifty. Was just using my 360 controller to play Trackmania a little while ago, fun times. Can't really plug in a mouse & keyboard into consoles however whenever it suits you, even if they did have any strategy games worth a damn which in all genuine honesty they really don't. Shame, but whatever. That's the nature of the different platforms.

So yeah, depends on the game.

 

[Hisshiss]

All the buttons. allows for alot of creativity with controls, which is always a good thing. On the other hand, a dual analog stick is a game changer for some genre's. I didn't realize that until I tried playing a hard game on a PSP.

 

[New Troll]

To me, a controller will always 'feel' like the true gaming peripheral. That said though, I still give a 1-up to the keyboard/mouse for better accuracy control and a ton more buttons (as in the keys on your keyboard) at your fingertips.

Some games I prefer the controller (like with every fighter) and some I prefer the keyboard/mouse (like with every MMO) but a lot of the time it also just depends on my gaming mood.

And you also have to remember, most games are made with one or the other in mind to begin with. Won't ever see me play Mario Kart with a keyboard, though you can in a couple of different ways. But to me, that's not playing the game as it's meant to be played. And I already have a big enough handicap with that particular game so why add to it!?!

As a console gamer, I would expect a person to have difficulty with a keyboard/mouse at first. Definitely would take some getting use to. But I grew up gaming on both at the same time. Had both my Atari and my Commodore 64. Wizardry on NES and Might and Magic on IBM Compatible (Dos). Diablo for Windows and Diablo for PSX! Fun times!

 

[Creator002]

I'm switching from console to PC gaming. Mainly because I just needed a better PC, but I also like more lonely type games (Oblivion and Fallout).[footnote]Huh. Funny I mentioned two Bethesda games[/footnote] The social aspects of console gaming, mixed with the games my friends buy (literally ONLY FPSs), are just boring or annoying to me.
However, I have bought a 360 controller for Windows. I know that most games being released on PC are also going to be branded with that "Game for Windows" logo. I prefer the contoller over the mouse and keyboard.
I even got a program that lets you map controller inputs to a mouse or keyboard press and, as such, when playing Minecraft alone, I use the 360 controller.

 

[Stall]

The mouse is INCREDIBLY more precise than a gamepad, and is much quicker, and genres like FPSs where precision and speed is everything, it's clear why someone who say M+K is superior to a gamepad. The keyboard also has a metric buttload more buttons than a gamepad, and some games like strategy games and MMOs can utilize a huge number of them. When I play MMOs, I use pretty well the entire left side of my keyboard for my abilities, and the entire right side for bringing up windows and menus and such.

There are, of course, genres that do work better with gamepads, but as you pointed out, this is one reason why PC wins: you can easily use a gamepad on PC, but it takes much more work to make M+K work on consoles (in most cases).

 

[Baneat]

People emphasise the mouse.

And for some games, you can't do without, WoW and all RTS games would fail without a keyboard.

Oh look you said what I said in four words, go you >_<'

...I completely forgot about hotkey games. That's an excellent point too. You're a good explainer.

Ninja >

But a picture's worth a thousand words right? Here's my User interface in WoW:

Spoiler: UI

So, OP, Each one of those little boxes has a key bound to it, aside from about half of the ones running down the right(Which have been cut off by site formatting ,http://i51.tinypic.com/2v3h5hs.png) also some have two binds. And I need to be able to hit all those fast, very fast in fact. They're also important.

Some games absolutely can't do a controller, I have no idea how you'd fit all these buttons onto controller mapping.

 

[LilithSlave]

The mouse is INCREDIBLY more precise than a gamepad, and is much quicker, and genres like FPSs where precision and speed is everything, it's clear why someone who say M+K is superior to a gamepad.

So basically, I've been coming across FPS people who mostly play FPS games who think that what's good for First Person Shooters are good for everybody?

I'm not surprised. I also guess I wouldn't know this about the first person shooter genre as it's among my least favourite genres is all of video gaming. I have just never enjoyed first person perspective in video games. And as such I tend not to play them and would have no idea what works for these games. Though I also wouldn't claim that the controller is superior for them as I wouldn't know. Though I'm surprised it doesn't make people's hands ache.

 

[Baneat]

The mouse is INCREDIBLY more precise than a gamepad, and is much quicker, and genres like FPSs where precision and speed is everything, it's clear why someone who say M+K is superior to a gamepad.

So basically, I've been coming across FPS people who mostly play FPS games who think that what's good for First Person Shooters are good for everybody?

I'm not surprised. I also guess I wouldn't know this about the first person shooter genre as it's among my least favourite genres is all of video gaming. I have just never enjoyed first person perspective in video games. And as such I tend not to play them and would have no idea what works for these games. Though I also wouldn't claim that the controller is superior for them as I wouldn't know. Though I'm surprised it doesn't make people's hands ache.

Movement's better even in an FPS if you have a thumbstick, difference is I can't do that (Use the left side of one and a mouse on the right) because your reload, weapon switch etc. are on your left side on a KB+M game instead of the right hand for a console shooter. Keys are 1 or 0, you can't walk by lightly holding W, the best you can get is a modifier for a fixed slower speed.

And no, totally not painful for games which the designer would recommend the keyboard as the control method for. Those being RTS, FPS, MMOs, point and click, text adventure(I guess), and a few other genres.

Us PC gamers should have a control pad for when they recommend one, right?

 

[Stall]

So basically, I've been coming across FPS people who mostly play FPS games who think that what's good for First Person Shooters are good for everybody?

I don't actually like FPSs either . It just comes down to the fact that the mouse is a very precise and fast instrument... much faster and more precise than an analogue stick. The reason you don't notice this shortcoming when playing an FPS on a console is because there are various little "fixes" like slight auto-aim or smoothed aiming. If you play without these little fixes though, you will DEFINITELY notice the shortcomings of a controller for FPSs.

Go try to play a game like Serious Sam on PC with a controller. Spoiler: it won't be a very fun experience. Heck, go try to find a video of someone playing COD with a M+K on their 360 and watch how badly they dominate people.

 

[I forgot]

Most games better on a PC was better because of the mouse. Most people don't say the keyboard is a great gaming tool.

The majority of PC games would be better on consoles nowadays because we have the touchscreens and pointers that would do the mouses job and with the addition of buttons and analog/d-pads.