Valve showed off the new controller for its Steam Box, an attempt to bring another gaming console into the living room to compete against the Xbox and PlayStation. It’s definitely… unique. Looking at the image of the Steam controller, Valve tried to take a completely different approach to how controllers are made by making it look like it’s the back of a controller.
Trackpads have replaced the familiar analog sticks, but use essentially the same idea in terms of movement control and are also clickable. The A/B/X/Y buttons are in the middle of the controller instead of being located on the right, in what seems like an awkward transition. In the center of those four buttons is a touch screen with a settings button, chat button and what seems to be a home button, much like the Xbox and PlayStation controllers have.
Valve’s site went on to explain this more thoroughly: “The whole screen itself is also clickable, like a large single button so actions are not invoked by a simple touch, they instead require a click. This allows a player to touch the screen, browse available actions and only then commit to the one they want.” Players can swipe through pages of actions in games. Valve suggested game developers could program the touch screen to work as a scrolling menu, a radial dial or provide secondary information like maps or inventory.
The site also says the buttons are “placed based on frequency of use, precision required and ergonomic comfort.” There are sixteen buttons total on the Steam Controller, half of which are accessible to players without removing their thumbs from the trackpads with all controls and buttons being symmetrically placed.
What makes it really stand out, though, is the way the shape of the controller’s handles, facing toward the front rather than backwards, leaving an unfamiliarity of how the controller will feel tucked in each hand.
I’m excited to see how Valve will implement this controller with the Steam Box and the games that go with it, but I am still unsure as to whether it will play as smoothly as original controllers because of the location of the buttons as well as the touchpads. I would prefer to say nothing negative in terms of the design, though, until I have tested out the controller myself. A couple of game developers have already tried it and their thoughts are generally positive.
Tommy Refenes, a game developer for Team Meat, left a lot of feedback on the controller after getting a hands-on demo and summarized with: “Great Start, needs some improvements, but I could play any game I wanted with it just fine.”
The controller sure looks innovative as well as promising. With it still in beta, Valve is happy to accept any thoughts and critiques developers and gamers will have in the following months so they can continue to improve the controller for the next year.
